This discussion about sidepasses, shortpasses are so boring. Barca plays this kind of football since ever. 99% of the players in the world makes more back and sidepasses than forward passes. For anyone that watches City games, they're passing the ball forward, back, side, switch the play, back, side, forward. It's City principles of game, like Barca has their own. The intention is not to always go forward, but to keep the ball and choose the best side to attack. If you need to choose the best side, you can't just go forward.
About how Barca played that type of football since EVER, I don't agree.
Imo, we played something like 70% of possession and 30% direct, crosses, long balls during our 110 years before Pep.
Then Pep came and turned into something close to 99% shortpasses and 1% crosses, longballs and others.
So, Barca always played a possession based, attacking football.
But it was different to Pep's football.
Pep turned Barca's classical possession based game into extremes.
A good thing is: it worked for 4-5 years for Spain and Barca.
After that it stopped working, but neither Barca or Spain (or Lopetegui lol) moved too much from 2010's era.
Anyway, I personally don't like when people say: Pep's football is Barca's classical football, because it is NOT.
That is the most successful version of our football, but not a type of football which we played for 110 years.
For example, Rijkaard's Barca from 2004-05, look at the actions and goals: no parked buses (since we played faster and not allowing the opponents to park buses), lots of counters, lots of crosses and headers, lots of long balls to wingers or Etoo, lots of long range attempts:
Quite different football to the one which we are watching after Pep, right?
To some extent, how we played back then is closer to how Real Madrid won 4 CLs in the last 5 years: technical possession based football with lots of counters, crosses and long balls.
And not relying ONLY on slow and predictable shortpasses.
Also, Van Gaal's Barca from 20 years ago. Quite similar: possession, 1-2s, solo actions, lots of crosses, lots of longballs.
Not playing possession for the sake of possession, like current Spain, Arsenal and Barca:
** Anyway, this reply is not about Arthur.
I am just strongly disagreeing that Barca has ALWAYS played like under Pep and like in post-Pep's era.
Pep brought a lot of good things, obviously, but also ruined some other things like crosses, long balls, headers, counters due to his possession style, due to our players getting used to that philosophy and now we are struggling to turn the page.
Also, comparing Arthur to Xavi/Iniesta/even Modric are equally or more boring. Xavi/Iniesta/Modric/ are world cup, euro, champions league winners. Xavi/Iniesta were fighting against Messi to win best player in the world, Modric just won the best player and is probably the best CM in the last 3/4 years. Arthur is a very good player, a promising one, won libertadores and copa do brasil, 22 years old, NT squad, but he's not Xavi, Iniesta. He has a set of skills that are similar to Xavi/Iniesta, he has a similar style, but the comparison stops there. It's stupid as comparing Messi to Mbappe, Halilovic, Dembele or anyone. Players can have similar styles, but that doesn't say anything about their qualities/skills.[/QUOTE]
Matheus Henrique whom is 20 years old. He is still a sub, but has talent.
