Filling the Holes – Part 1
Barcelona’s success this past season stemmed largely from their ability to create holes in their opponent’s defense and midfield. Then, no matter how small that hole was, Barca’s players had the technical ability to capitalize and score. Thus was a new generation of football born – the Era of the Holes. That age is now dying.
As quickly as Barca stamped their mark on world football with their elegant simplicity, they look to abolish forever the tattered shapes they have left on the field. For this, I applaud them. The new Barca has a new philosophy: not to create holes, but to fill them in.
In their tour of the US, FCB brings the dawn of a new era of young players and new tactics. Whether this is Pep Guardiola’s explicit aim or just compensation for the lack of Iniesta remains to be seen, but it is my sincere hope that the tactics adopted for matches in Los Angeles and Seattle see their way into Spain this fall.
Tactic: Messi a
s a Playmaker
Messi has always had an enormous creative impact on Barcelona’s play, but this has traditionally been only from very wide, advanced positions. This has warped opposing defenses, forcing them to stretch across the field and leave space inside to cut and pass into. Spectacular as this often was, it rested so much on Messi having immediate and plentiful support up in front. A packed midfield meant death to these attacks, and the game became a war of 
attrition.
Now, Messi has adopted a role best resembled by Ricardo Kaka for the Brazilian national team – dropping into the hole in the space between one centerback and the corresponding fullback. This gives Messi so much space to turn, dribble, and pass that it immediately forces all three players near him (fullback, holding mid, and centerback) to turn and face him, leaving easy passing lanes all around the defense. Messi on longer needs to choose between cut or cross. Now, it’s shoot or set up a shot.
Furthermore, because Barca plays a central striker, Messi will almost always have a through-ball or one-two option upon challenging the centerback.
The Counter
Shutting down Messi-as-a-playmaker is extremely difficult for any defense. The obvious option – keeping the fullback tight – falls apart because it leaves space for Dani Alves to attack. Advancing a centerback just accelerates the one-two and forces them to foul Messi to prevent a goal. It seems the only way to keep Messi from filling the hole is to fill it yourself, and that means two holding midfielders – one to hold the middle and the other to deny Messi any space. With Messi simply drifting wide again, another hole is revealed to allow Iniesta and Xavi to work their magic. Thus, the only way to shut down the play is to not only have to holders, but also to have fullbacks willing and able to check back at pace.
The Conclusion
This is, of course the ultimate genius of Barcelona’s strategy. Bringing Messi infield creates a unique tactical dynamic that forces the opponent to play Barcelona’s system. Of course, very few teams practice a similar setup to Barcelona, and, of those who do, Barca simply does it better. There is no way to beat this team without imposing your own game on the match. The few who accomplish such a task, I applaud with the vigor of Barcelona as they send Messi to fill the holes.
Check at the end of Barca’s US tour for Competing Perspectives: Filling the Holes – Part 2, where I’ll discuss Barca’s defensive end and anything relevent from their game against Chivas USA.
And a Little Extra
I had the pleasure of watching this game in person at Qwest Field in Seattle. From behind the Barca goal the first half I saw mostly their defenders’ backs, and I’m ashamed to say I haven’t memorized the numbers of all 25 players on the tour. As a result, I was under the impression that Pique was playing the entire first half. Imagine my surprise when I watched the match on TV and found that it was Fontas next to Puyol! This boy has serious potential as a first-teamer, and Muniesa and Henrique show promise as well. I can only think that Pep is so eager on Chryg as a replacement for Puyol as he ages or is sold. None of the youngsters seem to possess the same physical presence and – dare I say? – dog-like nature in the back.
Great article, Ferguson totally screwed the pooch when ignoring the tactical possibility of Messi drifting to the middle of the pitch. Not sure how he wasn’t prepared for it, or maybe he just didn’t understand the significance but el Clasico at the Bernabeu should have taught him a valuable lesson.
Fontas, Muniesa, Jeffren and especially Pedro and Jonathan are coming along excellently.
Muniesa is the youngest, so you would think he’d be at the bottom of the pecking order for 1st team chances – even though he is very very good already. Fontas I really like too, so calm and smart with a touch as soft as butter at room temperature.
Jeffren doesn’t beat players like I thought he was capable of doing, but hes really showing his true nature… the kid is a finisher.
Pedro is just excellent and should be used as 1st or 2nd sub in the attack throughout the year, hes most definitely ready.
Jonathan though is my gem of the preseason. Why buy a midfielder when we have him? Hes the brown Xavi
Nice article. I agree with it..i’ve noticed it with other players too, like jeffrén. Same with pedro. They are moving into spaces rather than stretching opponents with their passes.
-Brilliant article! You’ve nailed it!
-Recently in an interview with Laporta in California, the journalist asked, who’s the next big thing and Laporta promptly replied naming Muniesa and Fontas!
-Jeffren is having an excellent pre season, along with the other youngsters, Pedro and Jonathan!
-This Barca side is a joy to watch, whether its the first team, or future stars!
Good article. Isn’t it strange that when Cruyff told Messi to play a more central role after the first classico everyone berated him, saying he should mind his own business. And now look what happened in the second classico and what we are talking about today.
Genius is never appreciated in its time.
Posted a screen of the article here as well: http://www.barcaforum.com/showthread.php?p=105931#post105931
Agreed with all.felt bad when U thought dat my Captain Fantastic might be sold.HE WILL RETIRE IN BARÇA.Nice article though.
Great observations, Grif.
Like you said, the big question is what will happen with Iniesta back. Will we see a more rigid midfield structure or will he resume the libero role that paid such dividends last season? How well can we play with not one or two but three playmakers? Is it even possible? Considering Hleb’s exit and the fact that Dos Santos is still raw, we have no other player other than Xavi and Iniesta to play the 4. Maybe we will see more of Xavi OR Iniesta playing the four, platooning to keep fit, and Messi filling in as more of a traditional playmaker than he was last year.
Regarding your possible counters to this tactic, forcing the opposing team to play a double pivot plays right into our hands. You should do an article on the False 9 look we frequently gave against double pivot teams. Its basically the anti-double pivot when Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi are all healthy. Its the same look that dismantled the likes of Sevilla (first leg), Real Madrid (second leg), and Man U.
The front three trident is essentially inverted with Messi switching to the 9 but dropping deep while the regular 9 goes to the right wing. It’s primary goal is to outnumber an opponent in the midfield and take control of the middle. This look is the anti-double pivot. A triangle of Messi, Iniesta, and Xavi formed around the two pivots and passing them to death. Typically CB’s are not comfortable coming out and challenging in space so they can do this with relative ease most of the time. Meanwhile the strikers on the wing are part decoy to keep the fullbacks away from the center (and also defensively, unable to bomb forward as the traditional 4-4-2 double pivot requires) so Messi can run at the bigger, slower CB’s in space, but also are meant to get one on one looks against the FB’s (see Henry frequently getting looks one on one on Ramos and frequently skinning him against RM). This is something in which Ibra can help a lot because he can play both the False 9 (very similar to his role at Inter) and on the wing where he is a much bigger threat than Samu. While this happens, the opposing wingers are kept honest by our FB’s while their forwards are isolated.
I’ve tried finding ways that a double pivot can feasibly outfox it but I haven’t been able to come up with one. See if you can come up with something. It made the Carrick and Anderson combo and the Lass and Gago combo look like amateurs. If this type of tactic makes team play us with a double pivot, it will benefit us as long as our three midgets are healthy.
Cheers.
Good insight, Hector. Isn’t the traditional 4 position centerback, though?
I certainly should do an article on the “false 9,” as you call it. Lone strikers checking into the hole is one of the tactics that destroys conventional defensive systems and will lead the evolution of the game. Expect that after Ibra starts playing while I wait to see how often he fills that role.
Defending the deeper Messi is rather simple – Chelsea showed that in the Champions League semi-final. However, such a dedicated defensive strategy leaves the attack practically nonexistent. At some point it becomes less an issue of formation and more an issue of athleticism. To win the game on paper is simply a matter of playing 5-4-1. You need four good tacklers, a centerback whose read of the game is impeccable, and extremely athletic fullbacks and outside mids. Oh yeah, and the talent to finish in front of goal with about 90% efficiency to capitalize on the three chances you have the entire game. Good luck with that.
Three playmakers is easy to accommodate – as Messi drifts inward from the right, Iniesta drifts out to the left, making almost a 4-4-2 diamond in which one outside mid attacks while the other tucks in to support the play. That was done several times last season.
Grif,
The 4 in Barca was the number worn by Guardiola and is typically referred to as the center-mid playmaker or tempo setter position. It has constantly evolved from Guardiola (who was more of a deep lying playmaker a la Pirlo). Yaya is probably more similar to Guardiola than the current version of Xavi but Xavi still sets the tempo and keys the movements. When you say 4 you refer to the maestro of the orchestra in Barca. Its the role usually played by Xavi and the only other player really capable of playing it is Iniesta. Ideally one of the two should always play. Hence why I referred that platooning may be a viable option given the compressed schedule this season.
Re: defending the false 9. EXACTLY. It is a specific counter to the double pivot, otherwise its offensive effectiveness diminishes. A 5-4-1 or even a compressed 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 will make it hard to work although you will be essentially negating the other team’s attack. If this tactic that you so well observed makes teams more keen to play a double pivot (two holding midfieders and two wingers in a 4-4-2) against us then we have something up our sleeve to counter it.
However, I think we may end up seeing more teams emulating Chelsea than Man United against us next season. Ibra being a heading threat and forward pivot will go along way towards opening spaces against packed 5-4-1’s or 4-3-2-1’s. What we saw against Seattle, with the ball moving through the wings when passing midifeld and a more aggressive left back seems like it has the makings of a counter to “parked buses” a la Chelsea. Ibra will go a long way to solving that problem but like you, I am waiting to see him in action before playing what-if first.
For a False 9 article, just watch the 2nd RM game and the Man U game. Those are the perfect example of why double pivot against us with Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi healthy is not a good idea. This is particularly relevant in that Pellegrini’s favorite formation is precisely a 4-4-2 double pivot.
The purchases of Kaka and Ronaldo lead me to believe that Pellegrini will run a 4-4-2 diamond this season. Of course, with lightweight fullbacks like Ramos, we’ll have no trouble against that.
You’re absolutely right that Ibra will help break through compact formations, which is why his purchase looks good on paper. The Seattle game is a poor model for defenders’ movement because after the first 20 minutes Barca was just toying with us. You know you’re screwed when Alves is parked at your corner flag.
I’m waiting on Ibra because he *should* change the dynamic of the “false 9″ tactic from how it was played last season – particularly because of his size and the potential to switch places with Messi. I’m curious how that will be utilized and, afterward, if last season’s experiences will even seem relevant.
The good teams will try to beat us by controlling imposing their game, not by reacting to ours. It is the reactive mentality that loses matches, and top coaches with top players know this. I’ll be shocked if any major team this year adopts a flat double pivot against us. I expect to see a lot of open, attacking formations and some which play three men in a triangle in central midfield.
Good article Grif D. I Agree on many things you mentioned here, more than the previous one
And I can see Hector is here and there and every where!
Well, one particular point to add to the mix is the Zonal Marking. This is the new method to avoid creating any holes in your team for the opponent to get advantage of. Man-Marking is history for me. Some coaches realized that, others still struggling. But nowadays, we mark territories, not players. And thats how you limit the damage Barcelona cause, using the supernatural skillfull players they have.
Defensively, you need a 4-3-2-1 Structure to lock Barcelona. the two mid (on counter) take advantage of the space Barcelona leave in the midle-third of the pitch, where only Yaya camp to cover (thats where I dont agree on the 4-2-3-1 you mentioned in the previous article). when the team lose the ball, one of the two MUST mark YAYA. yes I am serious about it. His role inbarcelona transition from pressing status, to earning-back-possession-then-attack is underrated. The other midfielder slide toward the flank where the action is taking place (say the right flank). While thier LB mark his torritory (not the player Alves or Messi), one of the three holding Mids position himself facing the Messi-cut-in Path, with a CB creating the diagonal cover for the two players (the LB and the 3rd HM). The flanked midfilder mentioned before complete the triangle upfront, preventing back passing which is crucial for Barcelona ball circulation from one flank to another. The other two holding mids guard the edge of the box putting pressure on Xavi and closing spaces. While the whole backline stay deep regardless of the striker movement outside the box as an attempt to pull defense out of position. You already have three HM to deal with this. your striker press Barcelona defender who has the ball (Specially if he is Pique or Marquez). Valencia tried something similar, and it clicked. Chelsea (though used man marking) but it was man marking with positional sense.
It looks easy on paper. But it need lot of training to create the right syncronize defensively to match the quality of barcelona players syncronize offensively. Yet, if you are not planning to play a “burned bridge” game, opening the game and putting pressure IN barcelona Half , then this is your only way.
Messi cutting in was a must, he need to open the path for alves, or else it will be too crowded for both of them to operate. Personally, I have been demanding this since long time ago, glad it happened last season. with Ibra added, we will see lot of positions exchanging next season. No doubt about that. And hopefully with iniesta playing more on the left with Yaya/Keita playing as an outlet for Xavi instead the team will only get better (unlike the common belief). So man marking will never be an option for a smart opponent, nor it will work to close any holes.
For the record, I generally assume positional defense except in cases where a single player (or pair of players) carries the other team. With that in mind, we’re pretty much on the same page for how to shut down Messi. “Thus, the only way to shut down the play is to not only have to holders, but also to have fullbacks willing and able to check back at pace” simply means ensuring one holder always suffocates space in the middle and passing Messi off to the fullback when he drifts too wide.
The reason I rather dislike the idea of three holders is because it forces most of your creative runs to come from deep positions. A center mid sitting in front of the two holders can just track any runs from midfield to preserve a numerical advantage – and the defensive shape – while keeping Toure out of the slow buildup play.
Regarding my previous article, 4-2-3-1 is an attempt to characterize the depth of the Barca midfield while recognizing that it often rotates to leave only one holder. If some other symbol for that same idea makes you happy, you’re welcome to it.