Breaking The Bus or Defensive Strategy

The assumed underdogs AC Milan defeated Barcelona, in what appears to be the Best performance by Milan this year and on the contrary the worst performance by Barca this season. Though Milan defended effectively using BUS on most occasions when Barca tried to attack, full credit has to given to El Sharawy & Co for their goals and emerging as deserved winners.

And even more humiliation was waiting for the Catalans in the form of Los Blancos' 3-1 victory at Camp Nou.

Its been years, parking BUS strategy has affected Barca (Jose's Inter, Chelsea last season, Barca matches in Anoeta, Sevilla, Osasuna, and some other Liga teams - even Celtic in group stages this season).

“When the Bus is used, Messi becomes ineffective” - the usual buzz that goes on, whenever there isn’t a favorable result for Barca. Well its true to an extent coz, Messi can easily go past 2 or 3 players, but if he is fully surrounded by top class 4-5 defenders, he has to pass the ball and without a proper striker at the other end the attacking option becomes narrowed down to Pedro or Sanchez and occasional long range shots from Don and Xavi. Now that most clubs have come to know of this weakness in Barca’s formidable team they tend to park Bus and attack on counters. Some other teams have started using Defensive strategy, not exactly BUS but similar to that, ie, disrupt the Tiki-Taka passing, Defend together as a team, Utilise flanks when Alba or Alves are up forward and strike through counter. This second approach has been followed by more aggressive and faster teams like Milan and Real Madrid. After not being able to break the BUS, whenever Barca faces a bunch of players trying to defend together, the mind gets pre-occupied to attack more, thus leaving the CBs to defend all alone.

The usual formation of Barca

When BUS is Used

Here we can see that (though a bit congested) the tight defense doesn’t allow any space to crack through.

Messi’s position:

If there is one or two markers for Messi most of the time, there is a probability that he can get himself free with his typical moves. But in a total defensive situation he will always end up meeting a defender, hence in order to keep possession he has to pass back, else he is most likely to lose the ball.



Wings Nullified:

And since the defence covers whole of the Penalty area, passing from wings (and some rare crosses that Alves or Pedro try) are also most likely to be cleared out. Iniesta or Alba try to make ground passes by beating the full backs, but the extra defender in that area keeps the passes in check.






The Counters:

Barca’s basic approach to the game is tiki-taka attacking. As depicted in the picture (Bus formation), its in the nature of barca, including the full backs to go and attack, instead of waiting for space to open up. In this instance, if any long ball or clearance lands up with any of the attackers, only the Centre backs will have the total responsibility of defending and if its any decent player, then it will become a two on two or a three on two situation, with busquets (not so pacey) trying to track back. That’s how Barca has actually let in some goals. If one can remember the second goal by Chelsea last season at Camp Nou, then you might know there was not even one CB to defend (though it was almost full time and Barca needed to score) which resulted in Torres rounding off the lonely Valdes and tapping in for a goal.

What can actually be done to break the BUS?

Short term Solutions:

MESSI'S POSITION:
Whenever he starts at the centre, too much crowd around him forces the World's best player to drop back and tries to make a long pass or through ball to the wingers. Moving Messi to RW might hep Barca. As depicted in the picture below, the yello w lines shows the options that Messi will have if he moves to the RW. The basic strategy here is Messi being the focus for the defenders will attract them, which will leave either of CF or LW free to have space to work on attack. Whenever he finds a small gap, he can surprise everyone with his dribbling, or trade position with CF occasionally and aim for a shot.

Messi's Options at RW

Selecting other two attacking duo will be a bit tough. Iniesta has been doing brilliant as LW for sometime now. But the need for stability in midfield and the crowded Box should be considered. Villa, despite playing for limited time has scored more goals than other starters this season. If he is fit he should play his usual role at Barca, ie, LW. His striking ability is still the best at Barca. Cutting in from left and taking a shot, while the defenders are busy at the other flank (marking Messi) will reap goals.

The CF position is left to be chosen between Sanchez, Pedro and Cesc. Cesc would be the better option since he has been used at the false 9 position by Vicente Del Bosque.  His trading of passes between Messi and Midfield is second to none. If he can utilise the space and lay the ball to Villa or taking shot by himself, the chances of getting a goal is higher rather than him playing at midfield alongside Xavi.

Experimental Formation 3-2-2-3

DEFENSE:

Playing Alves and Alba as full backs has been a consistent starting line up. With both of them often racing forward, if at all there is any counter attack then it often becomes a 3 on 2 situation and with the huge space available, its more than easy to have a good shot on goal.

HENCE TRACKING BACK. 

Sanchez is the only forward who has been good in tracking back during counters. Not even The Maestro Xavi or Illusionista or even Busquets have been decent in tracking back. Alves has been doing pretty well with this respect for sometime now. On the other hand Alba has been concentrating more on connecting with Messi and Iniesta, instead of helping out Puyol and Pique. (Chk out Puyi in the Pics below that resulted in goals, Age is catching up with The Legend). Thus helping out by tracking back is even more important for Full backs than linking with attack. If you had checked out Milan's second goal, which started with Barca's throw-in error (the pic below again), it was not by accident but was a plan framed all long by Milan. Even at 3 Minutes, when Alba was about to throw in, KPB called up the Milanese to mark the receiver and tried to take away the ball and start a counter.

DEFENDING IN SET PIECES:

This is where Song will be of more use than Many others. Pique maybe the only other player who can clear out the aerial balls properly. Thus Marking during set pieces, especially against great headers like CR, Hummels, KPB, now even Varane has become an essential element of Barca's defense.

UTILISING THE FLANKS:

Huge criticism on Barca's defending offlate has been immense and unavoidable. Hence the problem of under-utilisation of wings have been overlooked. Pedro, especially, has been out of form for a long time now. And Barca must take a bold action by benching him and starting Tello and Villa. Just because he has been a great La Masia Winger shouldnt warranty a place by itself. 

LONG RANGE SHOOTING:

Also playing Guaje and Tello will see Barca making long range strikes thats been lacking for months now. Rarely we get to see Messi and Xavi trying their luck from outside the box. Powerful shooting is something this great men lack, which Tello and Villa can provide. This might help them overcome the BUS barrier, or can open up the defense by players trying to mark Villa or Tello, which will allow DOn and Messi do conjure their Magic.

START EXPERIMENTING ALREADY:

Now that Liga is secured enough, Barca must start giving more opportunities to youngsters and reserves like Mascherano. Adriano, Song, Tello, Sergi Roberto, Bartra, JDS and even Oier. Before the season end, the management must be in a position to decide the player's future, ie Hold, Loan or Sell with buyback clauses depending on the requirements. And not just with players, different formations like, 3-4-3, 4-2-4, 4-4-2, should also be experimented against lowly opponents in Liga.

Long Term Solutions:

1. Buy a Proper CB like Hummels, Subotic or Sakho as a replacement for Puyol. The CB must be strong physically and should be one who takes charge during set pieces.
2. Buy a GK like Ter Stegen, who has been heavily linked with Barca. Someone who could blast the defenders if they are being complacent.
3. There has been wide speculation about exit of Villa or Sanchez or both. It would be better to hold Villa by guaranteeing a starting position for him. If Sanchez is back to form, well and good, else going for a CF or a great shooter who will fit in like Neymar or Aguero is a must.

Conclusion - Now that Every team has come to know of Barca's style, and the way to tackle it, the predictability should be turned back and more attacks and strikes than passing around is required. Full backs should help out the defense first, before concentrating on linking with Wingers. Blaming the interim manager Roura will not help, but the management must see to that He does what is required than whats safer on paper. Barca has always come up from below. Its this attitude of getting back whenever they get tackled down has defined them, not the trophies.

PS - We, in this blog, will try to come up with more formations that maybe tried in the forthcoming weeks.

Post Match Review - El Clasico - CDR 2nd Leg

                                  Barcelona suffered defeat against Madrid yet again at Camp Nou now in CDR Semifinals , after playing a good first leg at Santiago Bernabeu which ended in a stalemate 1-1 . Barcelona

started with the same XI which started against Milan except Pinto who usually starts in CDR games.

RM Staring XI

FCB Starting XI

Barca, started the first few mins with         

good possession, while madrid were happy to sit back but maintain a high defensive line unlike in other Clasicos where they used to press even higher up the pitch into Barca's half. First chance fell to Barca when

pedro ran behind coentrao and opened it up for Messi who just dragged it wide. Barca faced the same problem which they did against Milan, Cesc and Iniesta often came in each others way couldn't make those vertical runs behind the fullback , Di Maria did a fine job staying back pressing hard and Khedira was marking Cesc/Iniesta while they tried to run behind Arbeloa.

First goal , Messi's pass to Xavi got intercepted and was played to Ronaldo as usual we had the problems of quick transitioning from attack to defense , the ball was played to Ronaldo where Puyol went in with a challenge but Ronaldo with his swift movements ran past him with the only defender left was Pique who had to make a challenge but he caught his leg instead clear penalty and Ronaldo puts one past Pinto (0-1)

Credit must be given to Alonso for pressing hard at Xavi who was completely nullified who couldn't make those forward passes to Messi/Pedro,Barca tried to attack they had one more good chance when Messi got free tried to play through to Cesc who was free on the left but the pass was cut out by Varane. 

Everybody were expecting some changes in the second half but it didn't happen. Roura continued with the same lineup and early in the half Busquets had a shot on goal which was saved by Lopez once again before we knew it, Messi's pass once again to Xavi was cutout and was lobbed to find Di Maria who was free , Puyol quickly tried to pressurize but then he slipped inside the box which made Di Maria take the shot which was saved by Pinto just to fall for Ronaldo who powered one more past Pinto.(0-2) A change was imminent Villa had to come on for Cesc around the 60' before anything could happen , Varane just put one past Pinto from a setpiece (0-3) and it was over ! 

Tello was brought in for Pedro and Thiago for Xavi. Mou brought in Callejon for Higuain who had a quiet game and Pepe for Ozil just to calm the nerves. A consolation goal came from Alba who was picked by Iniesta in one of his forward runs. (1-3).

Dejected side, expressions says it all !

Where do we go from here , what could be done?

1. Try to be more direct in attack , and must try to make use of the width .
2. A classic #9 must play ahead of Pulga on all occasions just to keep tab on CBs 
3. Alba must restrict his forward runs and provide assist in the defense.
4. Try and give youngsters more chances in home league games.

A Barca side coping without the coach during the important phase of the season is very unfortunate, but taking nothing away from Madrid who were brilliant on the counter and also defensively. Looking forward for yet another Clasico over the weekend then the big game against Milan. Keep faith ! Visca Barca ! 

El Clasico Tactical Preview (CDR 2013 SF - 2nd Leg)

Barcelona will face off against their arch rivals in the Copa Del Rey Semi finals - Second Leg tomorrow. After goals from Cesc Fabregas and Varane cancelled out each other, the tie is now evenly poised.
The aim of both the teams will be to take lead at the earliest and see that they dont allow anymore goals, as simple as that, but easily said than done.

The build up for this Clasico, for that matter any Clasico cannot be measured. Hence, instead of just the build-ups as to how much Morale boosting the win would be, How the defeat will affect their UCL performances, etc would have been already analysed by every football fan. The importance of this Clasico can only be felt by the respective club fans. Lets go straight to the tactical part of the Clasico.

The return of Casillas (though its not clear whether he will start) and Pepe will boost the Madrid's defense with youngster Varane is most expected to share the CB position with the Portuguese. In Barca squad, return of El Guaje would have increased the morale, even more after his wonderful goal against Sevilla.

EXPECTED LINE UP :

Barcelona's lineup, now under the charge of Jordi Roura is quite straight forward to predict. But the Special one's Mind cant be read unless and otherwise there are way too many injuries in the squad. Being a Cule, its even more difficult for me as to what to expect (with respect to the Lineups). But thanks to Ashish Singh, a Real Madrid FRIEND (believe it Cules and Madristas can be friends :P ) I was able to come up with a squad and tactics for Los Blancos as well.

Expected Lineup - Barcelona

Expected Lineup - Real Madrid

What Barcelona Must DO:

Barca approach for first 15 Mins

Pique and Alves Must Contain CR

Madrid has always been the better team for the first 10-15 mins, the time which the Catalans require to settle down with their Tiki-Taka. Whether a CUle can accept the fact or not, Madrid has been the better team in most of the recent clasico for the first 15 Mins. In the first leg CR had 2 great shots and a free kick, which were brilliantly saved by Pinto. (And every Cule will be sincerely hoping for Pinto to keep up what he has done in the first leg).

So a defensive approach for the first 10 minutes, ie the full backs staying in the defensive half and Busquets helping out the CBs would be preferable with Alves and Pique trying to keep off CR from advancing. Xavi would take the centre of the pitch and tick the passes with Don,  Messi and Pedro. Once they get settled down, its hard to break the passes. Against AC Milan this element of getting settled down was absent, which caused an upset for the Catalans.

Experimental Lineup - Barca

Villa's Participation is crucial

Up in the front, Villa must start ahead of Cesc (who has been a bit inconsistent) with Don playing in the midfield.

Messi should take RW position, where he played at time during the first leg and against Milan. This shifting also worked out well against Sevilla which enabled both Clinical Guaje and La  Pulga get on the score sheets. Besides Messi can trick or treat the LBs more easily than when he plays at the centre which is expected to be crowded with Varane, Pepe and Xabi - who will trying either to get the ball or get him down.

Sanchez, though not having a brilliant season, was good with his off the movements and runs and will be a better bet to get past Varane and have a shot. Pedro has not been consistent and is finding the passes and positioning a bit difficult offlate as well.

With Busquets, Xavi and Don to move the threads from Midfield there is more hope for Villa and Messi to have a good shot and possibly take lead, which will force Madrid to go on all-attack strategy, since they will be required to score 2 goals to stay in (or win) the tie. Now that Messi also went on to praise Villa's presence in the team, it shouldnt be considered a risky move. After an hour or so, the speedsters Pedro or Tello - Cesc and Mascherano or Song (for defensive approach, if leading) can be brought in to see the tie off.

Summary - Ensure that Madrid doesnot take the lead by fending off CR, Benzema and Ozil, especially in the first few minutes - Get settled with passing in Midfield within 15 Mins - Play Messi on right and Villa - Sanchez trading positions.

What Real Madrid Must DO:

Experimental Lineup - RM

Rejuvenated Kaka

"Play Kaka, instead of DiMaria." - This came from someone (Ashish ofcourse) who has always been saying 'Kaka has got past his prime, he is not worth starting, etc'. This shows the recent performances Kaka has put up. Besides its been long time that Barcelona last faced the Kaka magic, whereas they would have got used to the DiMaria way. Hence this ignorance might help the Blancos to go ahead.

Playing Pepe in midfield, Essien as RB and Ramos as CB would not be a good move. Though it has reaped favorably for Mourinho whenever he played Pepe in mid, it will be wise not to do so against Barca. Pepe, though it hurts to admit as a Cule, is a great defender, especially in pressure situations. He doesn't need a second thought to tackle down players (even if its Arbeloa :P). Hence Pepe as CB would be the best choice. (Getting a straight red for fouling Messi is always on the cards though).

Madrid will be desperately try to go ahead, coz of the away goal lead Barca has. If Alves and Pique are gonna fend off CR, then the LB, either Coentrao or Marcelo must plunge forward while on attack and help him out. And whenever Ramos or Coentrao go forward, Xabi and Sami must drop deep and cover their positions.

Set pieces are the best possible way to score. Hence utlising them to the fullest possible extent would be the key to Madrid's success.

Summary - Attack through set pieces and crosses from flanks - Fend off Messi - Defend as a group and Most Importantly - don't make Barca setlle down with their Tiki-Taka.


Key Battles - obviously, Messi vs Pepe and CR vs Alves 



















DID YOU KNOW (Courtesy - Goal.com) :

• Barcelona are on a 22-match unbeaten run at Camp Nou in all competitions (W18, D4).
• The Catalan giants have won just one of their last six encounters against Real Madrid (W1, D3, L2).
• Lionel Messi (pictured, right) has scored a club-record 17 goals in 23 Clasico appearances.
• Real Madrid are facing Barcelona for the 224th time in all competitions. The capital club have 88 wins to Barca's 87.
• Los Blancos have only won three of their last 10 away matches across all competitions (W3, D3, L4).
• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored seven goals in his last seven matches against Barcelona.

DRAMAs - Nowadays, it has become very hard to see a clasico without any drama. Now that Pepe has come in, it must only add more spice to this brilliant encounter.

Match Prediction - Would be a close encounter once again, though more goals can be expected compared to the first leg. But it looks like Barca might beat the Blancos 3-2 (Saying this not because am a Cule). And they are expected to win for the ailing Tito. There is also a slight probability of Abidal returning to pitch in the dying minutes. 

All set for a Spicy Clasico Thriller.

Post Match Review - FC Barcelona Vs Sevilla FC

After the mid-week Champions league loss at the Estadio Guiseppe Meazza Barca returned to league action at the Camp Nou against a newly revamped Sevilla side coached by Unai Emery.Will Barcelona put the defeat away and run a rampant show against Sevilla proving why Barca are considered to be the greatest team of all times ?

Barca starting XI

Jordi Roura rested key players and gave starts to Thiago, Song , Montoya,Alexis , Villa and Mascherano. Meanwhile Dani Alves , Pique , Iniesta ,Valdes and Messi retained their spots. Sevilla came out with their probably best 11 except for leaving Alvaro Negredo in the bench for Baba Diawara as the front man in what appeared to be a 4-3-3 with Manu and the wonderful Jesus Navas providing the pace in the wings.

We all expected Barcelona to run away as easy winners but that did not happen. Atleast not until the half-time break. Sevilla sat deep but still they were not actually playing a parked bus like Milan did and there were still spaces for Barca to exploit. The games first chance came through Lionel Messi as he played Iniesta for a wonderful ball and Iniesta was guilty of taking too much time and eventually his shot was blocked. Meanwhile Alexis looked vibrant with his dribbles early on running at the defense and combining well with Dani alves who was starting to spray in crosses. David Villa left his marker a couple of times but Barca were still rusty and lacked the final touch . Messi soon fired one through his right foot                        

forcing a save from the goal keeper.I might sound blatant but Messi was sloppy with his plays losing possessions and Iniesta was invisible for some time in the first half. Thiago still managed to run and make himself available for passes but he definitely was not running strings like Xavi .And soon Barcelona conceded a goal from free kick and it was a La masia grad Alberto Botia who headed past Victor Valdes after a badly timed jump from Dani alves. Adding to all this Messi wasted 3 good scoring chances from free-kicks at dangerous positions. Barca went into the break a goal down.

El Guaje Back in Action

Jordi Roura made one change in the half time as Alexis was replaced by Christian Tello. David Villa moved further in and Messi started in the right wing. The game's equaliser came through El Gauje as he headed past the goal keeper from an inch perfect Dani alves cross. David Villa did everything right and just showed everyone why he is a different player and why he is Spain's all time top scorer. Tello was causing all types of problems for Koke by teasing him with his pace and dribble. Messi was indeed playing a bad game but one moment of magic as he combined with Tello and scored in his 15 th consecutive league game and 38th goal for the season

Barca XI in the second half

. Unai Emery soon brought in Alvaro Negredo for Baba  and Jordi Roura brought in Xavi and things were coming to the control of Barcelona with the presence of the orchestrator. Alvaro Negredo still fancied a chance with a counter attack which he in an other day would have put inside the net.Busquets came in for Villa as the Camp Nou faithful gave a standing avation . With Busquets and Xavi pullin the strings it was just enough to run the rest of the time safe as Barca inched one step closer to the league title.It was a victory yet unconvincing and if Barca needs to be victorious for the next 20 days Barca need to figure out the missing cog in thier machine.

Man of the match - Introduction of Tello has made the difference in the Second half
Flop of the match - Too harsh but Thiago had a really bad game , lost possession far
                               too easily and didnt make runs into the box was very static. 

Barcelona Vs Sevilla Tactical Preview

February 23, 2013 

9:00 PM UTC [ IST 2 30 am 24-2-2013]
Camp Nou — Barcelona 
League Round 25 
Referee: Velasco Carballo

Barca, after being stunned by AC Milan faces Sevilla, who under the guidance of their new coach Unai Emery bounced back strongly against Deportivo after a huge defeat against Real Madrid.

The mid week clasico forces Barca to rotate the squad and rest its key players, such as Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Busquets and Alba. The 12 point lead gives them the cushion to experiment new formation, players and  approach. Yougsters Tello, Sergi Roberto, Montoya and Thiago are more likely to get some playing time with Villa and Sanchez expected to start alongside La Pulga. Sevilla faces Atletico in the other Semi Finals of CDR, but an extra day advantage maynot affect fatigue of the players, hence they are likely to start with full strength.

The last clash between the two teams saw Sevilla almost steal away a point before Villa came up with the winner in extra time. Even now, it is expected to be a close encounter as Unai Emery will once more try his luck in defeating Barcelona.

Sevilla's Negredo, Navas and Rakitic are the main threats for the Shaky Barca defense. With Puyol rested, Mascherano is expected to chip in.

Barca's Expected Line up

Sevilla's expected Line up

With the conservative Roura as incharge, one cannot expect a very experimental line up or formation. Cesc and Thiago as CMs with Villa and Sanchez on the flanks and Messi as the False 9 is the expected line up.

Experimental Line up

With the 12 point advantage, risking 3 points will not prove very costly, especially with tough weeks ahead with clasicos and UCL second leg. Yet this fixture cannot be taken lightly because only by winning this Barca's morale will boost up high for the clasicos and other upcoming important matches.

Sevilla will undoubtedly go for a defensive approach and try to utilise counters for scoring through Negredo, Navas and Rakitic. Hence using 3 CBs might resolve the counter attacking threats, and if Adriano goes forward, Song can drop back, hence 3 CBs always. The risk in this formation is the wide space availability for the Sevilla wingers to work on. Thats why the usage of LM and RM through Sergi and Thiago, who are good in tracking back. With the sale of Diego Lopez and Palop injured, Beto will guard the goal for Sevilla.

Up front, Messi should take the winger's role in order to get himself warmed up for the upcoming BUSSES, especially against Milan and league match against Madrid at Bernabeu. The CF role when BUS is used has made him look less effective. Hence if he moves on to RW and attract the defender, it will allow Cesc to slip through or Sanchez and Villa to have space for shooting.

Anyways let me stop my over enthusiasm with experiments here and look at how Roura might approach. Messi as usual is likely to play as false 9 and hopefully he gets back to his scoring form after a significantly poor performance against Milan. With VIlla on left and Sanchez on right the front 3 appears good on paper. Cesc and Thiago as CM are expected to give the necessary passes and Song is likely to fill in Busquet's position. Alba and Alves are also likely to be rested for Clasico, hence Adriano (if fit) and Montoya will take the full back roles.

And a very happy news for Cules - ERIC ABIDAL HAS BEEN DECLARED FIT TO PLAY. It will be a sentimental return for the Frenchman and his fans.

" Following training this morning, Éric Abidal received the wonderful news that he is in good enough condition to play for the first team in what remains of the current season. The French defender underwent a liver transplant on April 10, 2012. It has been a long road to recovery for Abidal ever since. In early October, he went with club physio Emili Ricart to spend several days in the Catalan mountains at Vall d’Aran, where he started following a specific training programme. Two months later, on December 19, he was able to train with the rest of the squad. Abidal has not played for the first team since February 26, 2012 away to Atlético Madrid, when FCB won 2-1." -    reads the official website of Barcelona.


Key Battle - Mascherano vs Negredo - Major responsibilty in defense has to be taken care by Mascherano for Barca, since Pique has played the Mid week Milan clash and is also expected to start for Clasico. The prolific striker should be kept in check in order to keep a clean sheet, which will be the primary focus for Catalans.

Prediction - Should be a close victory for Barcelona, where Barca are unlikely to keep a clean sheet. 2-1 in favor of Barca seems to be a good bet.