Okay, so I just finished watching Barca thrash Santos 4-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup. I'm so impressed that the first thing I think about doing is to write something down, something about their greatness.
What more can I say.This team is the kind of team that plays so well to render insignificant,the quality of their opposition.They are just that good.They beat the best,convincingly.Their movement,flair and finesse,the grace,the flow,the ease,the sheer class.Simple:Class Act.Pep Guardiola has truely created one of the best teams to ever grace the game.One thing i wld like to really really really know is how they did it.
I mean lets travel back 5 yrs ago ; May 2006, Paris. Barca vs Arsenal: Final of the European Cup.Where the hell were Messi,Xavi and Iniesta? You know, when people start arguing that Guardiola is not really the one pulling the strings, I just don't know where they are coming from.
He got rid of Ronaldinho and Deco because they were grossly egotistical and posed a threat to squad unity and the execution of a squad approach vis a vis tactics. Messi,Xavi and Iniesta are the three best players on the planet at the moment because Pep built his team around them during the re-building period in the 08-09 pre-season. He re-instituted and slightly modified the Totaal Voetbal(Total Football) tactic originating from Rinus Michels, through it's most succesful proponent Johan Cruyff (during the early 90s/Dream Team era).
The modification was the incorporation of the Traditional Spanish Tiki taka style into the total football system. Tiki taka had been practiced and mastered by Luis Aragones's Spanish side that dazzled and won the Euros that summer. Pep placed emphasis ball possession, skill, ground play and short passing.The importance of positioning and discipline was also synchronized into it. Now Barca play the kind of football that illustrates the saying ''If u have the ball ur opponents can't score''.
90% of the time they are in possession of the ball, so it is virtually impossible to see their defensive frailties and vulnerabilities.They know each other so well that any pass they make finds it's way onto the right/intended player or space.
Their finishing? Superb.
They hardly miss a chance when it matters most.An interesting observation is how they recruit players within their ranks.They are very conservative and meticulous during transfer windows.They just don't buy because they have money or the intended target is a superstar. They buy players that fit the philosophy, players that want to play the Barcelona way.Their policy has helped facilitate a resilient and resplendent team outlook that has star players of non-catalonia origin mixing perfectly with the existing core stock of fine, home grown players.
What more can I say.The team is now club football's unprecedented Masters. I am just waiting for that time when a team dethrones them.That is if it will even ever happen anytime soon.
Fiifi Anaman (@fiifianaman )
December 11, 2011.
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