Tiki-taka no more? Luis Enrique's new direction to Barcelona's style of play
The 2013/14 season was not an unforgettable campaign for the Barcelona fans when compared to their standards and the recent successes they have put together. They suffered a Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of domestic foes Atletico Madrid and lost the Copa Del Rey trophy to arch-rivals Real Madrid. While their best chance to redeem a good season was to win the La Liga title, an enthralling last day encounter against Atletico saw them emerge second best yet again as they had a rare trophyless season.
New signings indicate fresh tactics
With Xavi past his prime and Fabregas proving to be ineffective, it was high time for the board officials to take the initiative to revamp and rebuild Barcelona from scratch. And that process started by hiring former player Luis Enrique as the new manager to replace Tata Martino. A character known for his tenacity and hard work, his hiring made it clear that the club were looking for someone who would instill that same intensity and tenacity into the club’s playing style which had been missing in the last couple of seasons.
Enrique himself was a player who was the epitome of versatility when he wore the Catalan colors. His past coaching record at both Roma and specifically Celta Vigo last season indicate that he likes to alternate between different styles of play.
Barcelona have been very active in the transfer season as Cesc Fabregas was off-loaded to Chelsea while Ivan Rakitic got recruited from Sevilla, installing a fresh look to the ever familiar Blaugrana midfield. With Victor Valdes having left and Pinto not offered a new contract, Germany’s Marc Andre ter Stegen and Chile’s World Cup hero Claudio Bravo were signed to replace them in goal. Gerard Delofeu and Rafinha returned from their loan spells.
With Camp Nou legend Xavi’s future still in the zone of uncertainty and Alexis Sanchez having left for Arsenal, Barcelona made their big move of the season and brought in Luis Suarez from Liverpool, signing him for a huge transfer fee of £75 million. That recruitment helped shape up, on paper, one of the most devastating attacking trios in the world. With Lionel Messi and Neymar already in the squad, Suarez joining them brings nothing but bad news for the opposition.
But how will their new signings turn out in the next season? Will Luis Enrique change the style of play and experiment with new systems? Or will his new acquisitions adapt to Barcelona’s unique brand of football and try the similar approach to win trophies?
Here, we take a detailed look at all their probable formations and tactics for the 2014/15 season.
Formation and Tactics
4-3-3
The foundation of the Blaugrana’s success has been built on the 4-3-3 system. They have thrived on the exceptional quality of home-grown talents who were trained to fit into the team’s tactics. The trio of Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets in midfield has been one of the best combinations in the modern era but sadly as every great thing fades way with time, the trio are now reaching that stage. Teams have learned to counter their style of play and recent results have proved that a modification needs to be implemented into the system.
Now with Rakitic in midfield, they have the option of a midfielder who has the versatile attributes of providing incisive passes as well as acting like a holding midfielder. So placing him in Xavi’s role gives them a box-to-box player who can be a playmaker and retreat to defend when the opposition is looking for spaces to attack. Iniesta on the left can have the freedom to play his natural game and support in attack while Rakitic can act as the link between defence and attack.
Up front, Neymar will be taking on his usual role on the left wing while Messi can cut in from the right flank. That gives Suarez the position of a no.9 where he can operate as a target man or either way as an attacking forward combining with his attackers, because we know how good he is even when he is creating opportunities for others. It is a formation that retains Barcelona’s style of play with modified strategies and additionally another world class player in their forward line.
4-2-3-1
Barcelona can also adapt to a 4-2-3-1 formation where they can use two defensive midfielders, an attacking midfielder, two wide players and a lone striker. Here, Enrique can go in with Busquets and Mascherano in the starting line up in the centre of the park with Messi, Neymar, Suarez and Iniesta or Rakitic ahead of them. Playing two defensive minded players will give their two full-backs the freedom to push forward on the flanks without leaving spaces for the opposition to counter, which has been one of the major ways that Barcelona have been hurt time and time again.
The defensive midfielders can cover for the full-backs thus lending balance to the squad. The only problem with this system is the fact that one of Iniesta or Rakitic will be sacrificed from the starting line-up if they do play Mascherano and Busquets in the middle. But Rakitic can also play in the central role and partner Busquets, which offers the manager the luxury of pushing Mascherano to the centre-back role (Marc Bartra will then have to sit out).
This formation also gives the likes of substitute Deulofeu and Rafinha the opportunity to utilise their pace and movement while breaking on the counter. As Enrique himself was a player who was great on the counter attack, he will likely use the strengths of his two reserve players to obtain the best results out of them.
It can be a well balanced team which can retain possession, create more from the flanks instead of restricting themselves to the middle, play direct football and counter without the threat of leaving any gaps for the opposition to capitalise on.
4-3-1-2
In this formation, the current Barcelona squad can be most productive as it can help them utilise the best out of their players. The three-man midfield will be the same as the one in 4-3-3. The forward line is where things get interesting. With Suarez and Neymar as two strikers, Messi can play just behind them as an attacking playmaker and a goal scorer. While this reduces Messi’s chances of piling up more incredible individual stats, it does make the team a better unit. With Messi getting a free role to drop deep and build up play, Suarez and Neymar with their intelligent movement and exceptional abilities can finish the created chances.
Both Neymar and Suarez, as stated earlier, are also known for their creative instincts along with their finishing. So while they can drift wide to provide options or cut in to score, they can complement each other in attack and provide support to Messi. All in all, this trio can combine to make opposition teams suffer tremendously.
What we can expect
So with the new season just around the corner, it will be interesting to see which of the above formations and tactics Enrique applies. We can surely expect this Barcelona side to have a ‘Plan B’ which has been suggested by many for quite some time now. While their attack has the best players thrown in together, the defence still remains a concern. Fans expect that the board officials will be investing to get a quality defender so as to secure the back line and make them a formidable force that can be an all-round team and compete for every trophy out there.