Barcelona's Formula for Success!

It took me a while to think about what should be the first thing I write about in my football blog but in the end the decision was easy-my favourite team Barcelona!- who I had the privilege of seeing live at the Nou Camp this season.

I wanted to write as to why they are so successful, not only about their great players but their tactical style. Any coach/fan or journalist will tell you that they play 4-3-3 but what are the intricacies of the system that makes the perform so well compared to other teams that try and copy the style and formation? For the sake of the article i have broken it into formation, defence, midfield and attack.

FORMATION:

By consistently playing the 4-3-3 system the Barca players are so in tune with it that it often looks like they could play it with their eyes closed. Whilst the thinking of modern coaches is to continually change systems and personnel dependent on the opposition, this tinkering sometimes tends to break up the rhythm of the players, who suffer from lack of familiarity to each other and the changing systems. However Barca only play one way, always looking to attack mostly with a 4-3-3, and although this may make it predictable in some ways it is too difficult to stop due to the level it is played at and the expertise of the players with the system.

Having said that it is notable that Guardiola has changed and chopped the formation this season, mostly due to injuries and also due to the long period of playing 4-3-3. He recognises that his players are tactically intelligent enough to play a variety of systems so as to always keep the opponent guessing. Therefore he has utilised the flexibility of Alves/Iniesta/Adriano/Fabregas to play 3-4-3 or 3-3-4 this season.

DEFENCE: Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal
or; Montoya, Mascherano, Fontas, Adriano

Barcelona plays with a zonal defence and their defenders have very quick recovery powers when the opponent is countering. They are extremely intelligent with their distribution, thereby putting themselves under pressure a lot less than other teams who turnover the ball more often.

What makes the centre-back pairing of Puyol and Pique special though is their ability to play the ball out comfortably under any circumstances, the fact that Pique was at one stage the third most successful passer in the 2010 Champions League is astounding! The two are always there as back up to the midfielders to receive the ball back if they are under pressure, with the midfielders knowing that they can rely on them to keep possession. They also complement each other perfectly, Puyol/Mascherano the more abrasive and aggressive of the two and the leader of the defence, Pique the quieter one but with the more effective distribution. Barcelona's insistence to build from the back is also the key factor in maintaining possession.

At the right back position Dani Alves is as an attacking right back as anyone in the world. Not only is he fast which enables him to recover and seldom be out of position when the opponent is counter attacking but his dribbling and the timing of his runs is excellent. So often he ends up on the blind side of the defence, unmarked, and able to receive a pass whilst the opponent is focusing on Barca’s 'tiki-taka' football in the middle or the opposite wing.

Abidal at left back is extremely athletic and versatile, more of a defender than Alves and also able to double up as a centre back, however like his colleague on the right flank, his runs forward are timed exceptionally well. When under pressure they are also comforted that they can play back to a ball playing keeper in Victor Valdes, much like Ajax used to do in the 90’s but not used as often thankfully.

Valdes is a commanding keeper and excellent shot stopper who has saved his team on countless occasions when the opponent has countered, especially in 1 v 1 situations. However, like most non-British keepers he can be weak at crosses at times. His ability with the ball at his feet however is second to none.

Of course the last thing to mention is the collective pressure that Barca puts on the opponent when not in possession, the beauty of it being that it all starts with the attackers and therefore allowing the team to defend high up the park.

When they lose possession the team's clever positional sense and work rate allows the team to press the opposition high up the park, much like the great AC Milan team of the early 90's would do. They hunt in packs and leave the other side of the park free, thereby creating 2 v 1 situations in the immediate vicinity of the ball. By retrieving the ball quickly they can then work on their wonderful possession game again.

MIDFIELD: Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta
or; Thiago, Keita, Afellay

The midfield for Barca is unique in that it has essentially two playmakers. Whereas the trend in world football is to have two defensive midfield screeners with little playmaking ability, Barca has only one: Busquets. And his distribution is in fact immaculate. His covering in front of the defence allows Xavi and Iniesta, two midfielders as skilful and visionary as can be, to roam the pitch and be available not only for passes out of defence but also to link up with the three forwards.

Defensively Xavi will play predominantly on the right and Iniesta to the left but once Barca gets possession they can be found almost anywhere. Xavi's consistent passes to the attacking trio are always a threat, and Iniesta's creativity in the middle adds the decisive and necessary flair in the middle of the park which keeps teams on the back foot, especially when he runs at them. The false No.9, whether its Messi or Fabregas drops into the midfield to mesmerise the opponent with exquisite wall passes and dangerous balls to overlapping full backs or wingers on the run. The smart positioning skills of these players makes it impossible for the opponent to dominate the midfield, hence the vast possession stats of Barca.

Furthermore if you watch the midfielders and forwards closely they are very comfortable with playing a wall pass and making another angle for another pass, thereby creating space and/or allowing the ball to be switched to another attacker or players making the 3rd man run.

ATTACK: Villa, Messi, Pedro
or; Sanchez, Cesc, Cuenca

Barca is unique also in attack and that they actually play with three true forwards. Whereas a lot of teams play 4-5-1 and claim that they do in fact play with 3 forwards when in possession Barca’s wingers play as out and out forwards. The forwards are also versatile to be able to play on either wing or through the centre, which means they can switch during a game to make it had for the opposition to mark them. This is something that was perfected by Johann Cruyff's Dream Team of the 90's, and Guardiola his disciple has carried on the tradition.

In addition to this Barca has perfected movement of the forwards around the penalty box, particularly when the wingers are cutting inside to one of Xavi’s or Iniesta’s through balls. These diagonal runs make it extremely hard for defenders to keep all three strikers marked at all times.

The 'No.9s' role for Barca is not only a finishing one but one that also has to contribute to the link up play. Of course it would be wrong to not mention that Barcelona have the world's greatest player Leo Messi to perform that role. It is worth noting that Barca really became a superpower when Guardiola had the smarts to deploy Messi in this role in the Champions League final of 2009 against Manchester United, thereby throwing off United's centre backs who expected the typical No.9 Eto'o to play there. With Messi dropping into the midfield hole this leaves no one for the centre-backs to mark, whereby they push up and leave the space behind them exposed to a diagonal run from the wingers or a forward run into space from the midfielder.

So in summary, Barcelona is a team with quick recovery skills and work rate in defence, and a flexible, creative team who's excellent sense of positioning and passing skills allows the team to make this great game look wonderfully easy.

VIVA BARCA!