Barcelona are club that have a rich heritage. Winning is in their blood, and they are one of the worlds best known football teams. They have signed and produced some of the greatest players we have ever seen in the game, so it is only fitting to look at how they managed to complete this in recent years.
Financial Power and Corporate Strategy
Firstly, lets start off with analysing what has turned FC Barcelona into the brand they are today. 2016 saw the club generate more than €590 million in revenues. They are one of the richest clubs in the world and they are growing their brand. Their annual reports lists growing their brand across the globe through marketing activities and friendly competitions as one of their main drivers for future growth. With the financial power they have, it then falls on the senior team to ensure interest remains high.
MSN
Fans delight with MSN
Messi, Suarez and Neymar are arguably the most frightening attacking trio in the game. In2016, MSN scored more goals than the entire Bayern Munich team. They are a frightening prospect that not only scores goals, but they play some scintillating football. Suarez’s intelligent centre forward play coupled with his uncanny ability to create something special from a position that defenders would traditionally be comfortable in have made him a fans favourite since signing from Liverpool. A controversial character at times, who has been known to bite, would appeared to have mellowed in Spain. There have been no major incidents since joining the Spanish giants and he has lit up the league since joining. He has scored 116 goals in 138 appearances to date for Barcelona. 116 goals in just over 2 and a half seasons is an incredible record.
Neymar is a player who came for a huge transfer fee. He had been widely touted as the next big thing to come from Brazil during his days at Santos, but there were concerns as to how he would fit in at a big club. There have been plenty examples of Brazilian players moving to larger clubs and not succeeding, but that was not to be the case for Neymar. He is a different type of player to Suarez. Neymar prefers the wings and running at defenders, often dazzling them with his skills and Brazilian flair. He does have an eye for goal, scoring 100 goals to date in 4 seasons. Maybe not as good as the record Suarez holds, but Suarez primarily plays in the centre and has had the majority of his career to adapt to European football. From a personal point of view, one of the most surprising traits I have witnessed when watching Barca play is Neymar’s unselfishness. He always looks to set up a team mate when ever he can.
Now lets talk about Messi. Probably the greatest player we have ever seen. As an attacker, he has it all. He is deceptively quick and posses a phenomenal dribbling ability. he can score from distance, tap ins, free kicks, penalties or with his head. He is one of the most well rounded attackers I have ever seen. But what sets him apart from the others is pitch presence. Even before Barca step on the field, they are winning the mental battle by having Messi in the side. He gives defenders a headache and will draw three or four defenders to try and stope him (this doesn’t usually work). He has the intelligence to drop into the pockets in between the defensive and midfield lines to pick up the ball, turn and run at the defence. Once he is in this space, he causes problems, and more often than not, it leads to a goal scoring opportunity. he has spent his entire career at Barca, and has scored 496 goals in all competitions. He is Barca’s all time leading goalscorer and there is no sign of him stopping anytime soon.
All three players, with their brilliant individual ability, would more than likely be hampered if it wasn’t for the style of play that the Barca fans demand. Barca have been built in their ability to play attacking football and retain the ball in the past, but were not consistently successful. Many managers tried and failed, despite having brilliant players in the team, consistency and the competitive rivalry with Real Madrid meant that they were often prevented from outshining the “Galacticos”.
2008- In step Pep
Pep Guardiola was a club legend. He had played in the Barca first team for 17 years, winning 16 major trophies. He took over the first time in 2008 and he quickly made his presence felt. He offloaded some of the players who had been magnificent for the club. Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto’o were transferred out, and this raised many eyebrows. Ronaldinho had an ability to dribble by players similar to that of Messi. Eto’o was a goal machine and Deco was a wonderfully talented creative midfielder. But they didn’t fit in with what Pep wanted to achieve. During his own playing days, he recognised that the game was changing and opposition players were getting stronger and fitter. This meant that controlling the ball would no longer wear a team down like it did in the past.
Philosophical Change
Passing the ball from side to side and backwards was no longer working. In the past, the better teams could do this and tire their opponents out, and even today, that can still happen. The difference is that in the 1990’s that tiredness would set in after an hour, nowadays, it may set in after 80 mins. That’s a risky game to play for a team that wants to win things and not needlessly drop points against inferior opposition. it also didn’t fit in with how Barcelona wanted and needed to play for their fans. Guardiola changed this. The phrase “Tiki-Taka” football was coined. Essentially this was working in tight triangles using one touch passing to get out of awkward situations or create an opportunity in a congested area. It also meant winning the ball back quickly when the team lost it. Pep introduced the famous “5 second rule’ whereby the team had 5 seconds to desperately attempt to win the ball back. This often forced players without the necessary technical ability into mistakes, and Barca would regain possession and start again. This was a joy to watch but this required every player on the pitch to participate. Traditionally, teams attempting this style of play would leave this to creative midfielders and attackers, but it was different at Barca. Pep demanded that every player, even the goalkeeper was able to do it, and they worked on it religiously.
But he needed a certain type of player to implement this approach. That’s why Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto’o were sold. They had the ability when Barca had the ball, but not when they lost it. Pep built his team around quality players like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Messi. These players had the ability on the ball and had the desire to win it back when they lost it. It was a perfect combination that resulted in some of the best football we have ever witnessed. Quick passing in tight pockets of the pitch created space, and runners off the ball nourished the brilliant football brains of Xavi and Iniesta to feed defence splitting passes. It was a joy to watch and the Barca players played a key role in Spain winning the World Cup in 2010.
Since then, other teams have tried to adopt the same approach. The high pressing without the ball and the swift movements with it was an approach every team felt they could do. But only the every best teams could do this well, and in my opinion, none could do it better than Barca.
Post Guardiola
Tito Vilanova stepped in 2012 and led Barca to winning the league, where they remained top all season and finished with 100 points. The style didn’t change, but Vilanova was forced to resign due to illness.
Tata Martino then took over, and Barca were still playing some wonderful football, just not as consistently as they did under Pep or Tito. Needless points were dropped to inferior teams, and there were some lacklustre performances. The inconsistency and the deviation from the style that fans craved meant that Martino was replaced by Luis Enrique at the end of the 2014 season.
Luis Enrique was a similar appointment to Guardiola. He had been a club legend throughout the years and had coached at the club and managed abroad. He was a fierce competitor on the pitch and he was a classy footballer who believed that the club should be playing attractive football. Luis Enrique went on to guide Barca to a treble in his first season, and won La Liga in 2015-2016 season. But things aren’t looking so good this season. Real Madrid, Atletico and Barca have all been dropping points. As I write this, Barca are losing 1-0 to Malaga. But it is not the points that concern me, its the way they are playing. They are working hard to win the ball back, but the Tiki-Taka football is only used now in very short bursts.
Fans Frustration
Recent history at Barcelona has hardly been disappointing as far as winning trophies goes. They have remained extremely competitive on all fronts, but the performances since Pep left have not been the same. The way Barca played under Pep was a joy to watch and the fans loved it. They craved it in every game, and the style was noticed all around the world. Every team wanted to play like them. Now the fans are getting frustrated because they don’t see this every week. I can understand this because they have the best players in the world, who all work hard and they all have the ability to play beautiful football, and Barca do play this way at times. But Pep changed the game and the fans expectations, not just at Barca, but at other clubs. It was a blueprint of how to win in an attractive way, and it is something we are starting to miss as fans.
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