That's why I laugh on here when people say tiki-taka is dead, the German's are taking tiki-taka and running with it, almost both figuratively and literally.
The key to playing that brand of football is that all 11 players have to be tactically perfect at all times or else the system starts to crumble. More so than our legs or our personnel, our tactical sharpness is whats lacking the most and clearly that's because of Pep. His innovation and pragmatism is what allows him to develop highly technical and tactical teams that constantly out think their opponent because they are constantly thinking of the next move. All of that comes from tight organization in all areas of the pitch that squeezes the space in between the lines, so to make such an offense style work, all 11 must be on the same wavelength and working as one.
What I am curious to see from Lucho is what can he bring tactically to the table because now more than earlier is the time where his tactical nous will be truly tested. He has proven to be an excellent training coach, our team looks physically stronger than usual and we are playing with more pace and more tenacity which is why we started off so hot this season. But now is when we will start playing tougher games and with a tight race for La Liga now, any slip up will cost us. We have a solid foundation to build from and while our transition game still isn't as great as Pep's, it has improved.
We aren't light years behind Madrid like they were a few years ago, as Modric proved, even as Champions League holders they still have a slight psychological fear of us because they know what we are capable of. Madrid are simply more familiar with each other and right now have better chemistry while we are working out ours. Madrid will drop points away this season because their defense is still susceptible and they currently have a lot of space in between their MF and defensive lines that teams will exploit. So I'm not worried about Madrid, they will cool off eventually and they are extremely fortunate that Ronaldo has been virtually injury free his entire time at Madrid. A lengthy spell on the bench for Cristiano will cause Madrid a host of more problems than Messi would for us right now.
Lucho's style seems to be similar to Pep with its high-tempo energy and pressing but it seems both focus on different aspects of the game, Pep with more of the offensive side of the game while Lucho wants a solid defensive foundation that expresses itself from there. However, we continue to emulate certain offensive characteristics of Pep in 2010 that Pep of 2014 doesn't do anymore. One of the biggest things for me with this team that really grinds my gears is our insistence with using our fullbacks to provide width in attack. Its why you constantly see our attacking moves ending with a turnover cross from out wide and when that does happen, it leaves us woefully exposed on the counter attack. It was at times a 4 on 2 against Madrid and how they didn't score more on us is hard to believe. Pep learned this in his trashing last season which is why he is working with three at the back now. With how high our fullbacks play, we virtually play a 2-5-3 with a 4-3-3 defensive base. This is why I am suggesting we start playing Bartra in that RB role. I'm not saying he should start every game in that role because especially against La Liga teams, we can still play a 2-5-3 and get away with it because of our quality. But against better teams with offensive weapons, we need that extra defensive protection and by doing so, it will allow our attack to be more cohesive. We never won anything with Pep when we had two attacking fullbacks, it was always Abidal-Pique-Puyol-Dani at the back. Instead of a 2-5-3 with a 4-3-3 defensive base, its a 3-4-3 with a 4-3-3 defensive base, much easier to execute tactically on the field without headache. Look at it like this:
Use this11.com for drawing your football tactics
So to say if we split our team in half, our left side is our pace and direction while our right side is where we overload and play tiki-taka. By not having to continually cover for Dani's runs and with defensive support on the right side, Rakitic can focus on winning the ball in the midfield and sparking an attack from there. Then, since Messi naturally drifts to the right and Suarez dropping deep or shifting inside once Messi comes wide, it will drag their team in on the right to overcompensate which should open up more space for Neymar to create 1 on 1 opportunities with a defender. Like I said in the last post, the freedom it would allow Xavi as well would be immense for him. He could strictly focus on keeping the ball and creating scoring chances for a front three begging for service.
Bartra needs to be in the starting 11 now because we can't use Mascherano in the back anymore, Pique still seems to be lost in lala land, and Verm is still injured. Him rotating between the RCB role and RB role would offer this team a lot. Believe it or not I think Pique would welcome this as well because it would give him a defensive partner to shut down the right side and make his job much easier than trying to cover the space Dani leaves in behind.
Cheers by the way! Always glad to get positive feedback!
That's why I laugh on here when people say tiki-taka is dead, the German's are taking tiki-taka and running with it, almost both figuratively and literally.
The key to playing that brand of football is that all 11 players have to be tactically perfect at all times or else the system starts to crumble. More so than our legs or our personnel, our tactical sharpness is whats lacking the most and clearly that's because of Pep. His innovation and pragmatism is what allows him to develop highly technical and tactical teams that constantly out think their opponent because they are constantly thinking of the next move. All of that comes from tight organization in all areas of the pitch that squeezes the space in between the lines, so to make such an offense style work, all 11 must be on the same wavelength and working as one.
What I am curious to see from Lucho is what can he bring tactically to the table because now more than earlier is the time where his tactical nous will be truly tested. He has proven to be an excellent training coach, our team looks physically stronger than usual and we are playing with more pace and more tenacity which is why we started off so hot this season. But now is when we will start playing tougher games and with a tight race for La Liga now, any slip up will cost us. We have a solid foundation to build from and while our transition game still isn't as great as Pep's, it has improved.
We aren't light years behind Madrid like they were a few years ago, as Modric proved, even as Champions League holders they still have a slight psychological fear of us because they know what we are capable of. Madrid are simply more familiar with each other and right now have better chemistry while we are working out ours. Madrid will drop points away this season because their defense is still susceptible and they currently have a lot of space in between their MF and defensive lines that teams will exploit. So I'm not worried about Madrid, they will cool off eventually and they are extremely fortunate that Ronaldo has been virtually injury free his entire time at Madrid. A lengthy spell on the bench for Cristiano will cause Madrid a host of more problems than Messi would for us right now.
Lucho's style seems to be similar to Pep with its high-tempo energy and pressing but it seems both focus on different aspects of the game, Pep with more of the offensive side of the game while Lucho wants a solid defensive foundation that expresses itself from there. However, we continue to emulate certain offensive characteristics of Pep in 2010 that Pep of 2014 doesn't do anymore. One of the biggest things for me with this team that really grinds my gears is our insistence with using our fullbacks to provide width in attack. Its why you constantly see our attacking moves ending with a turnover cross from out wide and when that does happen, it leaves us woefully exposed on the counter attack. It was at times a 4 on 2 against Madrid and how they didn't score more on us is hard to believe. Pep learned this in his trashing last season which is why he is working with three at the back now. With how high our fullbacks play, we virtually play a 2-5-3 with a 4-3-3 defensive base. This is why I am suggesting we start playing Bartra in that RB role. I'm not saying he should start every game in that role because especially against La Liga teams, we can still play a 2-5-3 and get away with it because of our quality. But against better teams with offensive weapons, we need that extra defensive protection and by doing so, it will allow our attack to be more cohesive. We never won anything with Pep when we had two attacking fullbacks, it was always Abidal-Pique-Puyol-Dani at the back. Instead of a 2-5-3 with a 4-3-3 defensive base, its a 3-4-3 with a 4-3-3 defensive base, much easier to execute tactically on the field without headache. Look at it like this:
Use this11.com for drawing your football tactics
So to say if we split our team in half, our left side is our pace and direction while our right side is where we overload and play tiki-taka. By not having to continually cover for Dani's runs and with defensive support on the right side, Rakitic can focus on winning the ball in the midfield and sparking an attack from there. Then, since Messi naturally drifts to the right and Suarez dropping deep or shifting inside once Messi comes wide, it will drag their team in on the right to overcompensate which should open up more space for Neymar to create 1 on 1 opportunities with a defender. Like I said in the last post, the freedom it would allow Xavi as well would be immense for him. He could strictly focus on keeping the ball and creating scoring chances for a front three begging for service.
Bartra needs to be in the starting 11 now because we can't use Mascherano in the back anymore, Pique still seems to be lost in lala land, and Verm is still injured. Him rotating between the RCB role and RB role would offer this team a lot. Believe it or not I think Pique would welcome this as well because it would give him a defensive partner to shut down the right side and make his job much easier than trying to cover the space Dani leaves in behind.
Cheers by the way! Always glad to get positive feedback!
