The Story of Tiki Taka : 2. The Evolution of Total Football via Rinus Michels

Rinus Michels - The Greatest Coach ever

Jack Reynolds - The Pioneer

End of World War 2 - The Timeline that is known more for several things bad, several freedom struggle movements. But there was a blessing in disguise  John "Jack" Reynolds was re-appointed as the Manager of AFC Ajax.

This time a new face, a young sensation, 18 year old Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels aka Rinus Michels also joined the Club as a player.

"Pass the ball, Pass the ball, Keep Moving, Pass the ball, Change Positions, Keep Moving" - the pioneer of a beautiful idea started implementing it and who would have guessed the teenage forward would one day revolutionize football and take it to the next level.

The teenager would go onto become the Leader of this concept and everyone still refer him as "The Father of Total Football". Rinus Michels understood the concept, the value, the charisma contained in the this strategy and revolutionized football. Football would never remain the same again. (It should also be noted that The Austrians' Wunderteam, Italians and even Hungarians are linked with the places of origin of Total football).


Though his playing career was short lived (Scored 122 goals in 264 apps for Ajax), he immediately took up managerial position at an amateur side of JOS between 1960 - 65. He returned to Ajax as the head coach in 1965.

In this gap, Victor Frederick Buckingham, a forward thinker and an early advocate of Total Football,  coached Ajax and also promoted talents.

He spotted the Teenage sensation Johan Cruyff possessing every quality to implement his ideas. He coached Ajax until 1965 and was replaced by Rinus Michels.

(Vic also coached FC Barcelona in 1970).

Rinus and Young Cruyff

Once Rinus Michels took over from Vic, it was evident for him that his philosophy will be implemented around the young Cruyff.

He laid the foundation rules for his philosophy which mainly required all the players to be equally good and comfortable in every position.

He concentrated on individual training to make the players more skillful and equipped. He even introduced 'fine pots', wherein if the player dint do as expected or as ordered, they will have to pay for that.

The Club also made Cruyff buy a dog in order to make him learn what it is to be responsible. Rinus din't just want to let go of the talent in Cruyff coz of some attitude problem. He groomed him and made him the centre man around whom his vision would become complete.

Rinus'  Ajax was tactically brilliant, usually using a 1-3-3-3 formation. This was mainly a attack oriented team mainly relying on speed, passing, precision and intelligence rather than make defense their priority. It should also be noted that every player had to constantly change his position and move the ball the ball rapidly. If at all the possession is lost, the defense will be pinged and they will press the attackers and reduce the space for attacking. This high pressing level requires more training than just skills, for the defender will have to be equally adept to attacking as well.

The Typical Ajax Starting xi in 1971

They will keep up their passing around until the 'right moment' arrived, something similar to the current group of Barcelona players.

But the reason many pundits still rate this Ajax team as the Best of All Time is that they found the 'right moment' pretty often and used the 'wings - cross - header' as much as possible, probably because of increased usage of crosses and attack on goal.

Whenever Krol moves to the LW position, Cruyff would be found at the far post. Similarly if Cruyff was at the wings, his cross would be found by Keizer's head, Keizer's cross to Swaart, etc.

And the sweeper role is something noteworthy, as he not only had the defensive duties, but also on the offensive line, something for which  Beckenbauer was famous for.

The 1966 Ajax Team

It was not just Cruyff that Michels developed, but every single player in that Ajax squad from Neeskens, Swaart, Keizer owes so much to him.

Michels' Ajax

Cruyff signs for Barca

After his first tenure at Ajax moved to FC Barcelona in 1971, where his Golden boy would join in a couple of years. This can be stated as the start of the Catalan's Beautiful way of playing what we see today. The seeds were sowed here. Rinus also had a second tenure both at Ajax and Barcelona (where he once again joined hands with Cruyff).

Once Cruyff became more responsible and started getting used to Michels' model he became an instant hit. By 1969, he already became a National hero. 

Golden duo

After Michels' demise Cruyff quoted, "Both as a player and as a trainer there is nobody who taught me as much as him. I will miss Rinus Michels.. I  always greatly admired his leadership. There is no one I learnt from more than him. I often tried to imitate him, and that's the greatest compliment one could give"

Barca of 70s

After the Hesperia Mutiny, then President Nunez appointed Cruyff where he will go on to form the dream team of FC Barcelona that will go on to win all the titles put on their way. The rest is History, which I would try to write soon.

Anyways it is no wonder that Cruyff was destined for greatness not only as a player, but also as a manager, mainly due to his association with Michels. No wonder Michels won the "Coach of the Century" awarded by FIFA in 1999. No wonder he was the greatest coach ever lived.

PS - The next chapter will be about the tactical difference in the Models between Michels, Cruyff, Van Gaal and Pep Guardiola.

Azzurri

                                                               

                                                                   AZZURRI  v.1

      This will be first of the many blogs , which i will be writing on the Italian National Team . Starting with the biggest clash in the International stage - Brasil vs Italy . For decades it has been the clash of two ideologies .


Azzurri vs Oranje  ( feb 7 , 2013 )

    The azzurri were coming from a very mediocre performance against the Netherlands in Amsterdam just a month ago , an injury time goal from marco verratti saved the day . Cesare Prandelli played a 4-3-3 in the first half against the Dutch , with Stephan El Shaarawy and Candreva - either side of Balotelli . Even with a midfield of  Andrea Pirlo - Daniele de rossi - Montolivo , they couldn't control the game against a very young dutch side with kevin strootsman dictating terms in the midfield . Prandelli changed the formation back to     4-3-1-2  after 75 mins , which is the usual way we are used to seeing the azzurri . They looked a lot better after the change in tactic . Created a lot of chances in the last 15 minutes of the game , eventually Verratti scoring the equalizer .

What didn't work ? 

Italy vs Nederland 

    Italy traditionally are not a side famous for wingers , they have always played a very narrow formations like 4-3-1-2 and even in the 80's 3-5-2 was played in a very narrow way . Italy has always been a nation obsessed with No.10 ( triquatrista ) . The likes of Roberto Baggio , Alessandro Del Piero , Francesco Totti have occupied that space between the lines . Under Cesare Prandelli the azzurri have looked a lot adventurous - not only with their intention to play attacking football but also with variation in formations . 4-3-3 is a formations which needs good winger/strikers to make it work - as i pointed out earlier which is not an area of strength for the Azzurri . Prandelli had a 20 year old Stephan el Shaarawy and Antonio candreva in those key positions . I'm not a big fan of candreva ( not because he is a Laziale ) - he just isn't good enough at that level . Which never allowed azzurri to get a grip of the game , looked very mediocre for the first 75 minutes - and a lot brighter when the change in tactic was made .

Italy after 75 mins vs Nederland

Highlights - Holland vs Italy 

Italy vs Brasil ( March 21st , 2013 ) 

    Brasil were coming into this friendly after a thumping defeat to England , big Phil still in his early days with his second stint with the samba boys . Cesare Prandelli started with a 4-3-1-2 with giacherini as triquatrista in this game ( much to the surprise of everyone ) .

Italy vs Brasil

    The pattern of play for the first 30 mins was very simple , utilise the space behind Dani Alves . Whenever Italy had the ball either giacherrini or balotelli made the run into the space left behind by Dani Alves , which made David Luiz come out of position ( which Centre-backs don't usually like ) . Most of the times it was balotelli facing David Luiz 1 on 1  - for me David Luiz is  a top class defensive midfielder NOT A CENTRE BACK . On the ball brasil didn't have the cutting edge required at the final third , which is very unusual considering the quality of players that are in that side . It was overall a really good first half performance by the azzurri , put they found themselves trailing behind with two counter-attack goals . Which is again very unusual because brasil used to be the side which always creates chances and italians are well known for their ruthlessness in scoring from few chances . 

Italy vs Brasil ( 2nd half )

   

    In the 2nd Half Cesare Prandelli made two changes bringing on Alessio Cerci for Osvaldo and Stephan El Shaarawy for Andrea Pirlo . One of the first thing to notice was how easily de rossi fitted into Pirlo's role , like as if it was NO BIG DEAL . And i believe Prandelli himself wanted to test how much this side is relying on Pirlo - if that was the case then he must be a happy guy because the absence of pirlo didn't make too much of a difference ( there is verratti to who can fill that role - he was injured for this tie ) . The second half performance was even better than the first half from the azzurri . 

Alessio Cerci - Italy's answer to 4 3 3 ? 

     He was only 15 when Fabio Cappello ( at that time manager of Roma ) asked his assistant to bring cerci to train with the first team - next day - Cerci was not in the training ground - Reason - cerci thought it was some kind of a prank and stayed home . And welcome to the enigma of Alessio cerci . I don't want to go too much into his antics and theatrics because this blog is not about him . One day Alessio Cerci will look like Lionel messi dancing with ball on his feet , beating defenders with ease - the very next day he will be exactly the opposite of how i described him .He has always been that " guy with potential " but never really excelled - maybe because of is attitude . This season he is working really hard and has finally got the reward by getting his first call up to the nazionale . An inform Cerci might be the answer to Italy's quest for a 4-3-3 . He is a natural winger - he provides that width which is nowhere to been seen in a narrow 4-3-1-2 . The answer lies in the question - we are talking about cerci ( an enigma that has no answer ) . Only time will tell what lies ahead for this talented lad . 

     Coming back to the 2nd half of the game , Cerci wasn't involved a great deal at first but gradually made his presence felt . Brasil made few changes of their own , all those changes made their attack more narrow . Another interesting point to note was italy dominating the midfield even though they were outnumbered with brasil's narrow formation . Giacherini was replaced by another budding star Andrea Poli ( i thought this change must have been made a little earlier ) , an injured de rossi was replaced by Alessandro Diamanti - which was again a brave move by Prandelli ( of all the previous coaches he is the bravest , only next to sacchi ) . Cerci made some couple of good runs past Felipe luis who then was replaced by Marcelo .

                                     

Highlights - Italy vs Brasil 

    Overall azzurri were the better side , looked sharper and created a lot of chances . But friendly's aren't played to be won - they are played to figure out whether the current path is good enough for glory . At the moment the path prandelli is going looks alright ( i cant say the same for brasil - Big Phil needs time ) . 

Whats next ?

    The final destination for both these team is Brasil 2014 which  is not very far . This is still not a full strength azzurri team , with Giorgio Cheillini arguably one of the best defenders in Europe is still out with injury - so are Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti . Its very obvious that Prandelli want a very flexible squad - with which he can play both a 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2 . He is still not sure which is the best for his team yet , but considering  the talents available to him it will finally be a 4-3-1-2 in brasil . The left back position is still up for grabs - de sciglio has a very calm debut against Brasil ( so did santon against Dutch - who is now with U 21 squad ) . My best bet would be Domenico Criscito - who is currently having a poor season with Zenit St Petersburg , majorly due to injury . Prandelli will have a look at him before going to brasil , Luca Antonelli is another player who is currently having a good season  ( there is pasqual too but at 31 i dont think Prandelli will prefer him ) . 

   I still believe there is a place for Cassano in the Italian squad for brasil 2014  , like Antonio di natale was in Euro 2012 . Cassano is too bigger a talent to not be in that squad - and with his current form he should have been in the process for World cup Qualifiers . 

Possible starting Line-up in 2014

    There is still time for changes but this is my version of what prandelli is trying to build , with Marco Verratti , De sciglio , Rannochia , Bonnucci , Stepahn El shaarawy , Alessio cerci , giacherrini all in the squad ( Prandelli hasn't closed the door for a totti return ) . 

-sv

The Rise of AC Milan

With the sales of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva definitely the two best Milan players last year and with the departure of experience and champions, this Milan side was the epitome of criticism before the start of season along with manager Massimiliano Allegri. Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport predicted Milan will not finish this season in top 3 in Serie A. Galliani had always stated right out in the media that Milan will now focus on a Youth Project but Cassano-Pazzini swap raised every Milanista's eyebrows reguarding Galliani's Youth Project.

Serie A kicked off and Milan faced Sampdoria at home. One of those games which was just an indication of Milan's tough "Zeroth Year". Milan went on to lose against Sampdoria and Atalanta at San Siro and an away defeat to Udinese at Stadio Friuli in first five games grabbing just 6 points out of a possible 15. This was the worst start to Milan's season after so many decades and match after match, Allegri was blamed for poor formations and tactics. Increasing amount of frustation amongst the fans and poor performance by the squad led to a reaction which changed the Milan's fortunes and their season as well. A reaction which probably no one would've thought of at that point of time, a reaction which led to squad's better performances thereby and a reaction which let Allegri earn rave reviews about his strategies and formations. Which Game actually changed Milan's season? It was that Serie A fixture against Napoli in Naples Stadium. Gokhan Inler and Lorenzo Insigne's strikes seemed to have dashed Milan's hope of gaining something out of this fixture but it was Stephan El Shaarawy (Il Faraone) who came to Milan's rescue and scored two goals to earn a vital draw. Logically, Milan seemed to have earned a point out of this fixture but practically, Milan had earned more than just a point. The entire squad's morale went sky high and confidence was oozing out in the form of decent performances on the field later on. This was the formation against Napoli which led to Milan's sudden and unexpected rise in Serie A.

Why is 4-3-3 a suitable formation for Max Allegri's Milan? Clasically, the three midfielders normally play closely together to protect the defence, and move laterally across the field as a co-ordinated unit. This formation spreads the attack across the field and that extra defensive midfielder adds more to defence.  De Jong here is that defensive midfielder which intercepts and halts opposition's attack. This allows Montolivo to freely join in attack with De Sciglio taking a run across the right flank. El Shaarawy is always supported by either Nocerino or Constant while he runs down the left side. Bojan and Boateng constantly switch to add variety to Milan's attack. Defensively, Milan's two Centre Backs namely Mexes and Acerbi are not that fast and their recovery pace is not Good. So, De Jong and Montolivo start pushing back whenever the opposition's attack resumes and their vital interceptions along with defensive pressing. The support of Montolivo and De Jong to the defence is significant. This was breakdown of Milan's defensive strategies against Napoli.

Since Milan have switched to this formation they defeated Juventus at San Siro and from then till now, they have lost just once in Serie A which is an achievement with a normal Milan squad. If the points table was considered from Napoli's fixture, AC Milan would be at the top of Serie A with 41 points and Juventus will be trailing Milan by 7 points being in second place. Roma would've been third with 30 points with Napoli and Catania sharing the fourth spot with 29 points. That's a surprising fact there, isn't it? The consistency with which Milan have been playing after that fixture is absolutely incredible! The credit goes to the manager for change in the tactics when results were not quite turning out in his favour. After this fixture, Milan have brought some changes in this same formation with Pazzini playing instead of Bojan to enhance aerial threat and Zapata replacing Acerbi because of his brilliant performances. Nigel de Jong snapped his Achilles Tendon in his left leg and his responsibility has been passed onto Montolivo with Flamini back to midfield.

With the purchases of Mario Balotelli and M'Baye Niang in attack, the attacking tridente of Niang-Balotelli-El Shaarawy has been used a lot by Allegri since then. The average age of this tridente is 20 years! This is probably the youngest Milan attacking unit ever. This unit can actually be Milan's permanent attack for more than 10 years. El Shaarawy is gifted with maturity, Niang with pace and Balotelli with the presence that a striker needs inside the box. Balotelli has scored 7 Goals in 6 appearances for Milan, arguably one of the best bargain buys this season along with Michu, Robin van Persie and Marco Reus. Balotelli is what Milan needed and certainly Milan can rely on his services. With Balotelli coming in, El Shaarawy has been relieved off his duties to a bit extent which will help him grow more naturally. El Shaarawy has been Milan's savior this season scoring 16 goals, 4 short of Edinson Cavani. Giampaolo Pazzini has been in brilliant form recently and his healthy competition with Super Mario for place in starting XI only means more depth to this Milan side. As much as El Shaarawy is credited, the Milan Youth academy Product De Sciglio should be credited for his performances as well. One of the most consistent Milan player this season, De Sciglio has the versatility to play either as Left Back or Right Back. Milan's CEO stated that De Sciglio needs to develop physical abilities and then he can match Paolo Maldini. That's a huge compliment to be compared to Maldini, isn't it? The formation quite looks like this after January Transfer Window.

With these updates, what's the advantage? The enhanced pace in Counter Attack, assurance of more than one Goal per match in Milan's favour and much better defence. Boateng shifting to midfield means a better backup pace and physical advantage which Milan needs. In this formation, two players play a crucial role namely Riccardo Montolivo and Mario Balotelli. What Montolivo does? Montolivo is gifted as a midfielder. His passing accuracy and long balls are highly accurate. Along with this, his defensive pressing and interceptions are something on which Milan rely a lot. He composes the gameplay, probably as calm as Milan's former and Juventus's current heart-throb Andrea Pirlo. Milanisti refer Montolivo as "Montopirlo" quite a lot these days because of his resemblence with some of Pirlo's qualities. One of the best matches of Montolivo this year was against Barcelona in first leg of UEFA Champions League at San Siro when his interceptions nullified Barcelona's attack. Montolivo and Abate marked Iniesta and Iniesta played very dull that night. Montolivo's involvement in Milan's second goal against Barcelona clearly indicates about his attacking qualities. Why Balotelli is crucial? He is that player who has the heart of taking away possession back from someone who took possession from him. Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini always described Balotelli as one of the best players in his squad but unfortunately, Mancini never used him as the Target Man. Allegri uses Balotelli as the Target Man upfront which adds up to his responsibilities and with more responsibilities, Balotelli never fails to disappoint. Infact, he comes back to midfield if his team needs him there. This is what has taken out the best out of Balotelli at Milan which never happened at Manchester City.

AC Milan were probably criticised quite a lot for their mediocre performance against Barcelona in return leg of Champions League but, this is a very young side. Milan will take away quite a lot of positives from this and winning at San Siro against them is a incredible feat with this side. Positives outweigh the negatives and that's what this young side should take from that fixture against Barcelona. With the purchases of Bartosz Salamon and Riccardo Saponara, this Milan squad is on the right path and a growth on this rate would ensure trophies in Milan cabinet pretty soon.

The Grand Comeback - Barcelona vs AC Milan UCL

Most of the fotball fans across the world, before the match was almost sure that AC Milan will do the unthinkable- of knocking out the Catalan giants from Champions League. One goal and barca would be out. But what followed, over the next 90 minutes was a display of football at its highest, worlds best midfield at its  best, and the world's greatest player at his usual best.

Knowing the importance of the game, Barcelona, from the very first minute were better side and it remined till the whistle was blown. After a few close chances, at 5th minute of the game, Lionel Messi, scored an amazing goal that left entire stadium, Milan team, Abbiati and the world agape. A one touch control and and shot taken from almost no space whatsoever reached to the back of the net even before Abbiati could react and all the people watching across the globe, and specially Barca fans sensed that they were in tonight, for something very special.


Barcelona coninued their Tiki-Taka at its purest form with quick movements, change of positions and marvelous one touch passing. Xavi, back from injury in perfect time, ahead of the game, captaining the side in the absence of Capita Carles Puyol showed again exactly why he is arguably the best midfielder of his generation. With Sergio Busquets, playing one of his best games in barca shirt, Xavi completely controlled the game from start to end.



Milan had their chances with Niang coming close in the first half when a defensive error from Mascherano gave him opportunity. With Victor Valdes closing him down, Niang could only hit the post and from there after, it was only Barcelona in the game. the fortune had Favorited the brave.

At the 40th minute, Iniesta retrieved the ball from Ambrossini and passed it to Messi. Withing next few seconds  Messi had moved couple yards towards his left, took the shot and scored another cracker to give Barcelona the second crucial goal that canceled out the result of first leg. Barca headed into the half time with a 2-0 lead

Second half began and it was nothing different than  thefirst half.  10 minutes into the second half, Xavi displayed yet another moment of sheer mastery when he placed a perfect ball for Villa in the penalty box. and we all know what happens when David Villa has the ball at his feet inside the box. with a beautiful left footed curler, he blasted Barcelona's third goal past Milan giving the superiority on aggregate.

Yet Milan had the chance to advance with one goal which never came. Once Robinho was brought on, Milan again came close to scoring but a last ditch tackle by Jordi Alba ensured he couldnt score it.  Last 10 minutes proved to be too much for Barcelona fans as the tension kept rising and when milan, in the 91st minute gave away the ball in Barcelona's half, the lightening fast counter killed the match and tie. Jordi Alba, who made forward runs very few times throughout the game as barca continued to build up through an ever working Dani Alves,  seized the opportunity and made that final run. messi latched alexis sanchez and and an excellent cross from Sanchez saw Alba finishing 4th goal and the comeback for Barcelona on a historic night

MOTM - Don Andres Iniesta 

Key Points to be taken forward by Barca

• Barcelona became the first team ever to overturn the 2-0 defeat in the first leg of an European cup fixture.
• A tactical acuteness by Roura ensured only Alves made the overlapping runs and Alba stayed behind to stabilize the defense
• Lionel Messi, broke the jinx and scored two marvelous goals from open play against an Italian team
• The holy trinity of Messi-Xavi-Iniesta, just like champions league final at Wembley a couple of years back, proved decisive.
• The 6 second rule which was highly advocated by Guardiola that had been missing for sometime now was put to use perfectly that helped Barcelona in keeping a clean sheet.

The Story of Tiki Taka : 1. Johan Cruyff - The Beginning

Cruyff - The Greatest Player & Manager of All Time

30th November, 1980. De Meer Stadium.

FC Twente  vs AFC Ajax


Leo Beenhakker, the Coach of Ajax was sweating already. Cruyff (also spelled Cruijff), the technical adviser to the coach was in the stands, looking frustrated.

This Ajax team, after all those glorious years, had to bow down for a longtime. Beenhakker, the youth coach at Feyenoord was lured in, to coach the young Ajax team. But by November, Ajax were already down by 11 points to the runaway leaders AZ Alkmaar.
This is when the Chairman Tom harmsen brought back Cruyff , who was returning after a successful 8 years spell in Spain and USA, as technical adviser in Ajax with whom Beenhakker has to place his trust upon in the technical aspects of the game.

"GOOOAAALLLLLL TWENTE" exclaimed the commentators. Ajax were 3-1 down now within 30 minutes. Many pundits had already decided that the match was over.

Cruyff taking charge of the proceedings

"Total Football" was declining badly. And there came the man, down from the stands to the dug out and asked Beenhakker to bring in the young talent Frank Rijkaard. Seeing the intent of Cruyff, the Head Coach gave him charge of that match considering the fact that nothing more can be lost if at all anything goes wrong.
The teenager who learnt the trade of Total Football from the Mastermind of Rinus Michels was now ready to  put it into action, not as a player like he used to do, but from the sidelines. He made some tactical changes, changed position of few and kept on giving order after order and within some moments of magic, Ajax had already equalised. It was 3-3 now.

Cruyff giving orders to his players

Happy Days Returned via this Happy face

Still Cruyff wasn't done yet. He asked for more crosses into the centre and pacey runs down the flanks. And within minutes, "GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL AAAJJJAAAXXXXXXXXXXXX 4-3, Ajax takes lead, what a drama here at De Meer stadium" shouted, exclaimed, cried the commentator, the fans, everyone watching the match, but the Prodigal Son of Ajax was calm. He gave further instructions and once again it was "GGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL AJJJAAXXXX" phrase and applause from every side. He knew what he had done that day. Ajax possessed young and huge talents in Van Basten, Rijkaard, Blind and Wouters, who needed guidance to rule the world, guidance from one who knew how to do it; from one who has already done it in a BEAUTIFUL way. Total Football was not lost after his Ajax playing days. He was still there to its aid. He would chip in when required and make it the way of playing, the world will watch in awe once again.

 THIS WAS THE SIGN THAT SHOWED WHAT CRUYFF WOULD BECOME AFTER HE RETIRES AS A PLAYER. THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF CRUYFF - THE MANAGER.

The Dream Team

"This is how you do it"

He will not become Coach yet. The Legend, in need of more money after his losses in busines, went back to Spain, this time to play for Levante. But his return to Ajax was inevitable.

In 1985, Johan Cruyff gets appointed as the Manager of AFC Ajax. Between 1985 and 1987 he brought back the Beautiful way of playing, Beautiful way of winning back to Ajax and in the process won two Dutch Cups and the 1987 European Cup Winners’ Cup.  He left (again in acrimony after Van Basten was sold to  AC Milan despite his protests) for FC Barcelona, where he will assemble The Dream Team consisting of Brilliant Spanish players like Pep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero and Txiki Begiristain while signing international stars such as Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and Hristo Stoichkov.

Cruyff advising Pep Guardiola

Barcelona and Nunez gave him the authority and freedom that Ajax failed to give him, ie to retain players he wanted instead of selling them and getting a ransom.
At Barcelona, he will go on to become the Biggest Legend in Catalunya, a Benchmark for any aspiring Manager. He would make his Dream Team play football like how he played with Ajax in the early 1970s. This team will go on to win whatever was thrown on its way under the Mastermind of Johan Cruyff.

The Twente vs Ajax match highlights can be viewed down.

Ps - Next Chapter will be "The Evolution of Total Football by Rinus Michels". Wait for it.

Tactical Preview Barcelona vs AC MIlan

Barcelona has an uphill task to go past AC Milan to reach the Quarter Finals of UCL. AC Milan are comfortably positioned after the 2-0 home win in the first leg. Winning this tie will be more important, because Barcelona has already included the money received from UEFA for the clubs that reach QF in their Balance Sheet. Failing this would mean a loss of nearly 4 Million Euros for the Azulgranas.

EXPECTED LINE UP :-

Barcelona will boosted by the return of Xavi. As they have been mentioning, they will go out with 4 attackers, with 4th one being Alves, who is expected to track back when required. Niang is expected to start in for Pazzini. Milan , known for their squandering of first leg leads in the past, will not want to repeat the same. They will go for the 'Defensive Strategy' and wait for Counter through KPB, Sharawy and Niang.

BARCELONA STRATEGY:-

Experimental Lineup

Now that Xavi is available, Barca should play him at the centre alongside Iniesta. Both Busquets and Song must start to avoid conceding any goal and making the progress even more complicated for the catalans. Whenever Alves goes forward, which will be for most of the time, Song should drop back and hold KPB. This lack od defending, gave much for Milan to attack (see pic on left). Besides this, Set pieces are another danger for Barca, hence having Song over Alba helps in this situation.


Utilising the flanks will be all the more important. The more the defense is stretched, more space will be created. Pedro isnt having a great time for long now. Just resting him the weekend shows the trust Barca has on him. Last time, he made a mess of it, causing the defense to crowd the likes of Messi and Iniesta (See  pics below).

Barca must try to get the 2 goals and cover up the deficit at the earliest. Blocking the Milan's attack shouldnt be overlooked while attacking. One more goal conceded would almost end the tie before the whistle.

KEY BATTLES - Messi Vs Mexes, Iniesta vs Ambrosini, Sharawy vs Pique


DID YOU KNOW - (Courtesy - Goal.com)

• Barcelona are on a 19-match unbeaten run at Camp Nou in the Champions League, winning 15, since a 2-1 loss to Rubin Kazan in October 2009.
• The Blaugrana have won 11 of 24 ties in European competition in which they have lost the first leg away from home. However, no team in Champions League history has overturned a 2-0 first-leg defeat.
• Lionel Messi (pictured, right) needs one more strike to overtake Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of 56 goals and become the second-highest scorer in Champions League history.
• AC Milan are unbeaten in Serie A in 2013, winning seven and drawing three.
• The seven-time European champions have already lost on Spanish soil this season - a 1-0 reverse at Malaga in the group stage. Their overall away record against Spanish opposition is W4, D6, L13.
• Milan hold the unwanted record for the biggest first-leg lead squandered in the Champions League era, when their 4-1 advantage in the 2003-04 quarter-finals against Deportivo La Coruna was overturned by a 4-0 defeat in the return leg.

Prediction - Milan might look to secure a draw. But Barca has been doing brilliant enough all these to throw away any match just like that. I would go for 2-0 win for Barca and the match to be decided in the extra time.

Barcelona- Deportivo Match Preview

With Milan knocking at the door of Camp Nou. Barca will hope to raise their confidence with a convincing victory over relegation threatened Deportivo la Coruna. While Deportivo will look to make more of the opportunity given by Barca because they will look to rest most of their regular starters.

Playing 11 
        With Pique and Valdes suspended, Pinto will command the goal with Mascherano in defense for Pique. Hamstring strain will keep Bartra out of the squad. Unfortunate for him to be out when when golden opportunity to start knocked on his door. Busquets, Alves, Alba and Iniesta likely to be rested for the all important Milan game. Song likely to be summoned off the bench to play as holding midfielder. Thiago will start in place of injured Xavi and Cesc Fabregas will complete the midfield trio. Montoya can be handed a start for Alves with, the man who impressed everyone in the first half of the season with his gritty displays Adriano on the opposite flank. Puyol will be leading the defense. Now comes the most interesting part, the attacking three. With Pedro returning after overcoming a flu, he will likely to be rested too. Sanchez will start on right flank. The man who hates to be rested, Messi might start too unless Roura thinks otherwise. Left flank can be filled in by Villa or Tello. Both high on confidence, whoever starts should grab the oppurtunity ahead of vital Champions league clash.

         While Barca have their problems with some players injured, suspended and rested, Deportivo are facing suspensions and injuries too. Ze Castro, Kaka and Riki are all out injured for Deportivo, while Carlos Marchena is suspended.Youngster Pablo Insua is expected to partner Aythami in the centre of defence.

Barcelona Tactics
         This is actually a vital match for the Catalan giants after two successive defeats at the hands their biggest rivals Real Madrid and havingwon only one of their last four matches, Roura has put on his thinking cap on and try something different. He has to hit two birds with one stone with resting key players as well as grinding out a win to get necessary momentum going into the all important UCL tie for them. Also players who dont get much minutes like Song, Montoya, Adriano and most importantly Sanchez needs to be come good in this match after probably starting  Messi, scoring in 16 consecutive liga games, should not play full 90 mins but back himself with a goal or two just to be on song and high on confidence for Milan game.

   Did you know (Courtesy- goal.com)

• Barcelona have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions.
• The Catalan giants have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches across all competitions.
• Lionel Messi  has scored in a record 16 consecutive Liga appearances.
• Deportivo La Coruna ended a six-match losing run with a goalless draw at home to Rayo Vallecano last weekend.
• The Galician outfit have lost four of their last five meetings with Barcelona.
• Deportivo's last win over Barca at Camp Nou was a 2-0 success in October 2003.

Expectation from the match
         We could be in for another goalfest and a thriller like their previous 4-5 meeting with barca winning by a  goal. though Barca have 3 points to take and continue their excellent run in liga, Deportivo will be looking get all 3 points as well to rescue themselves from relegation.


Players to watch out for
          Barcelona- Montoya, Sanchez, Tello and Thiago
          Deportivo - Pizzi, A. Aguilar, Valeron and Insua

Prediction
          Barcelona will feel like wounded tigers and will want to comeback in style but Deportivo will create chances and score them too. Barcelona to edge this one though.

LaLiga Real Madrid vs Barcelona Match report

RealMadrid starting line-up : Diego Lopez - Ramos Varane Pepe Coentrao - Modric Kaka Essien - Callejon Morata Benzema

FC Barcelona starting line-up: Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Alba; Sergio, Thiago, Iniesta; Villa, Messi and Pedro

First Half - First half began with lot of excitement as Madrid took an early lead through benzema. Once again, Dani Alves was found guilty of bad defending, not pressing Morata which resulted into a good cross in the box and benzema making no mistake, giving Madrid a lead in 7th minute
Barcelona, not looking as sharp as fans and the players would have wanted to, slowly came into the game with their passing, passive for most of time before settling down. Iniesta pulling the strings from midfield with Thiago in the absence of Xavi was at the heart of everything. Just when it looked like messi was still not in the game, a brilliant through ball from alves saw messi sprinting toward diego alves's goal, scoring through the legs of sergio ramos to give Barcelona the all important equalizer.

Lionle messi,with this goal, became joint top scorer in the history of classicos with legendary di stefano with 18 goals each.

As half time was approaching , both teams were looking good, creating couple of chances but unable to score, and there was nothing to separate the two at half time whistle.

Second Half- second half was very evenly poised for first few minutes with both the sides coming very close of scoring. Madrid made double changes as benzema was subbed off for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka was taken off for Khedira. Second half saw some close chances, specially both the free kicks of Cristiano. one saved by valdes other by post.

Barca looked lost for some time, without energy and dull. Real Madrid captain Sergio ramos with an excellent header, scored the second and match winning goal off corner for Real Madrid  After that, barca never looked like threatening. The most controversial decision came when adriano was challenged in the box and referee decided not to award a penalty in dying minutes of the game that could have seen barca getting one point. Valdes lost his cool and had a fierce go at referee that saw him getting booked and sent off

FT: Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona

What we learned form the game
1. Real Madrid are in top form and Manchester united should probably be little bit worried
2. Barcelona playing the possibly lowest level  football in last 4 years as compared to tejir own standards.  Not tactically sound, lethargic, and hunger of winning seems to be lost somewhere. Tito vilanova is being missed more than anyone.
3. Lionel Messi, whether he likes or not, should be rested once in a while. Fatigue has got him finally.
4.Barcelona still sit at the top of league table comfortably but they need to ensure it stays so.