Boab 73 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Guardiola's side on Monday had no strikers but they still put five past Villarreal. Are they better than last year?By Pete Jenson in BarcelonaWednesday, 31 August 2011It's football, but not as we know it. Barcelona's dismantling of Villarreal on Monday night was more than just another Nou Camp annihilation. It was proof that as a new season starts in Spain Pep Guardiola's side will not be content rewriting football's record books, they want to rewrite the game's textbooks too.It is easy to scoff at the theory that we have never seen anything like this before. But when was the last time you saw a team win 5-0 playing without a centre-forward and fielding only one out-and-out defender?You can also write off their weekly pummelling of all opponents as a consequence of their unfair economic advantage, but they finished Monday night's rout with nine homegrown players on the pitch. And as for the idea they are dominating weak opposition – they beat Manchester United, Real Madrid and Porto in their three previous victories.That win over Sir Alex Ferguson's team at Wembley last May might have seemed like a summit. Johan Cruyff even mischievously suggested it could be Guardiola's last game. But for the Barça coach, the climb continues.He told his players they could forget about parading the recently won European Super Cup before the game on Monday and rejected Villarreal's offer of a guard of honour for winning the league last season. The focus was on the first game of this campaign and he marked it by picking his most attack-oriented team to date."Football is played, first and foremost, by midfielders. We have lots of them and they are very good," he said, picking a team composed almost entirely of midfield players.The philosophy is: why pick a player just because he can defend when the best form of defence is possession? The opposition can't score if they don't have the ball, so fill the team with players who never give it away.Barcelona's ability not to lose the ball has only increased with the acquisition of Cesc Fabregas – during the first 15 minutes against Villarreal they had 85 per cent of possession.With Seydou Keita playing just in front of a back three composed of midfielders Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets alongside defender Eric Abidal, Barcelona restricted Villarreal to one shot on goal – in the 85th minute.Wingers Pedro and Alexis Sanchez stretched the opposition and moving in and out of the spaces created were Andres Iniesta, Thiago Alcantara, Fabregas and Lionel Messi – with the latter two alternating as the furthest player forward.Misty-eyed Barcelona supporters said it was a return to the 3-4-3 dream-team formation that Guardiola played in under Cruyff, but it often seemed more anarchic than that. And at its heart – a symbol of how it's an upgrade on last season – was that Fabregas-Messi combination that has now produced three goals in three games."I played alongside many of these players for five years," said Fabregas. "I have been away for eight years but of 2,000 Barcelona games, I have seen 1,998. I know exactly how they play."Nice article and if you seen the game, it was beautiful Football as usual. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/one-defender-nine-midfielders-bar231as-thrilling-formation-2346397.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulRFC1 115 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Messi, Pedro and Sanchez are all forwards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulRFC1 115 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 They aren't strikers though.I wouldn't call them midfielders either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser1041 9,107 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 and when walter played a cm at cb he was mad.barcelona are fantastic but the nut hugging towards them is shocking Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Jela 21,712 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Fuck Barca! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waste 8 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 and when walter played a cm at cb he was mad.barcelona are fantastic but the nut hugging towards them is shockingBit of a difference there buddy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieD 20,059 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 and when walter played a cm at cb he was mad.barcelona are fantastic but the nut hugging towards them is shockingEh, the point is that with key players out and only one defender on the pitch Barcelona won FIVE-NIL. Why is the "nut-hugging" shocking rather than totally reasonable? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConorRFC51 38 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I would say their formation that day was a bit Levein-esque. They honestly, realistically, lined up as a 3-7-0. I watched the trio of Messi, Pedro and Sanchez and they were occupying the positions of attacking midfielders. They played with no natural strikers, but even better they played a formation with no player "acting" as a striker.Villareal are no push-overs either. Madrid the night before, had basically a full squad including about 100M of quality on the bench and they only beat a far, far worse side than Villareal, 6-0.Barcelona are absurdly good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearethemighty 186 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 It doesnt matter who they play and what position they play in, Barca have a system ingrained in their club from the kids all the way up to the first team- same system. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
esquire8 45,399 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Just a unreal team. Wondered why they wanted Fabregas so badly now I know. Seems to fit in like he's been there for years already. So much understanding and knowing of each other. Probably the best team I have ever seen in my lifetime. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amac9 2,060 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 We would take Barcelona to pieces! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieD 20,059 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I've yet to see this Fabregas-Messi interplay that everyone's raving about- looking forward to it!They were both essentially playing as false 9s against Villarreal. And it worked a treat. It seems that at this point Guardiola can do pretty much whatever the fuck he wants. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Jela 21,712 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 They were both essentially playing as false 9s against Villarreal. And it worked a treat. It seems that at this point Guardiola can do pretty much whatever the fuck he wants.That was the impression I got. We're Barcelona, we can do we want - inspired by Real Madrid's raping the night before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaguy51 941 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Just a unreal team. Wondered why they wanted Fabregas so badly now I know. Seems to fit in like he's been there for years already. So much understanding and knowing of each other. Probably the best team I have ever seen in my lifetime.Given the style of football they play, I guess that Pep just didn't think he was getting enough goals from the middle of the park.Not that he needed any more goals, but when you can afford to fix it then why not? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillete 1,338 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Xavi is the engine Xavi is the heart of the barca bodyXavi is the cog in the wheel Xavi is the jelly in your dohnutXavi is the bark on the treeXavi is the salt in your ocean Xavi is the pen for your bookie slipXavi is the man keeping the football off you in a phonebox End of Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulRFC1 115 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Xavi is the engine Xavi is the heart of the barca bodyXavi is the cog in the wheel Xavi is the jelly in your dohnutXavi is the bark on the treeXavi is the salt in your ocean Xavi is the pen for your bookie slipXavi is the man keeping the football off you in a phonebox End oftoo far Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jelle1880 651 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I saw a video of that, their formation looked normal but when they kicked the game off it all became crystal clear:These guys know each other inside out, they knew exactly where the passes would go, always kept in formation,... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orangeclement 619 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I wouldn't call them midfielders either.no they call them wingers Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfcfraserrfc 262 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Xavi is the engine Xavi is the heart of the barca bodyXavi is the cog in the wheel Xavi is the jelly in your donutXavi is the bark on the treeXavi is the salt in your ocean Xavi is the pen for your bookie slipXavi is the man keeping the football off you in a phonebox End ofOverrated Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConorRFC51 38 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Xavi is far from over-rated. And I would agree that he's the engine in Barcelona.There's a reason he's the most capped player in Barca history. Xavi is easily the third best footballer in the world, IMO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConorRFC51 38 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Xavi is far from over-rated. And I would agree that he's the engine in Barcelona.There's a reason he's the most capped player in Barca history. Xavi is easily the third best footballer in the world, IMO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillete 1,338 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Xavi is far from over-rated. And I would agree that he's the engine in Barcelona.There's a reason he's the most capped player in Barca history. Xavi is easily the third best footballer in the world, IMO.I'd say 2nd tbh MessiXaviIniestaRonaldo Schneider Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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