How Pep Guardiola's Tactic changed Football FOREVER!

Imagine you're in a time machine and traveling back to 2010, the year where you witness one of the greatest football that the world has ever seen, where each pass was like an art and each move was like a dance. This was a time when Barcelona didn't just play football, they turned it into a cinematic masterpiece, in which each actors were world-class and generated open spaces like true magicians. And in that magical year, Pep also introduced several interesting concepts that are still being replicated by present managers. And using these, they didn't just win, they utterly annihilated every other opponent on their path to the treble. So what are these formulas that made this team the GOAT? And why was 2010 stand out as Pep's greatest season in his career? Let's find out in this video. If you look at Barcelona under Pep, the 2010-11 season was often highlighted as the best year for them, even though the preceding seasons were also marked by extraordinary success. The reason was the evolution of Pep's tiki-taka from an innovative approach to a more matured machine, and his key players like Xavi, Iniesta and Messi were also on their prime, who were showcasing some of the best football of their career. And unlike previous seasons where they had moments of vulnerability, this season they used to dominate almost every game and had an average of 65% possession throughout the season, which was surprisingly 10% more than the second best side. And looking at their formations, they play a normal 4-3-3, but in possession, the formation often shifted to an asymmetric structure, where the striker and the right center mid dropping deep, while the right back playing as a winger. And along with this, every players were trained to position in such a way, that they could always find passing options. This was achieved through a variety of concepts, and these concept was explained beautifully by Christophe in his Medium article, which you can check out from the description. But firstly, starting with Barcelona's build-up. When they moved the ball from back, most opponents typically avoided from pressing the first line, as Barcelona were excellent in identifying freemans in every given scenarios. For instance, when the opponents tried to press the center backs, Pep would position them wide near the half spaces, and simultaneously allowed his keeper to step up as the freeman. This effectively creates a 3v2 overload right from the start. And if the opposition introduced an additional marker, then they would respond by having the pivot dropping even deeper, and effectively create a deep diamond shape of 4v3. This helped them to easily pass around the ball in a circular manner, with an extra man always being available. And after successfully navigating through the diamond, Barcelona was also famous for its ability to create central overloads in the midfield. With Messi being the false 9, he would often drop back into the midfield, which eventually create a 4-man diamond. And the purpose of this, was not only to move the ball fluently, but also move the opposition markers along with it. This can be achieved by the combination of positional rotations and repeat passings. For instance, when the ball is with Busquets, due to Messi's free movements, he directly passes it to Messi who drops deep, and due to his dribbling skills, it attracts more markers around the midfield towards him. So his best option is to make a repeat pass to the CDM. And as soon as the ball is played back, it creates an open space for Iniesta to receive the final pass, and directly face the backline. And when the oppositions are more in numbers, Barcelona employed their popular pass and move strategy. Let's say, if the ball is with Iniesta, and he passes it to Messi who is nearby. Immediately after passing, Iniesta swiftly moves himself closer to the marker on the CDM. Messi then quickly pass it back to the number 8, and at the same time he drifts towards the right, effectively drawing 2 markers with him. And due to Iniesta's left run, it also attracts markers around CDM towards him. Which then opens up a clear path for the number 6 to receive the pass, and exploit the space created by these positional movements. But speaking about positionings, when they finally get to the attacking half, Barcelona like to use positional superiority, in which the constant change of players positions makes the markers confused, and limited with options. For instance, due to complete freedom given to Barca's front 3, you would often see the right winger making a inverted runs near the center back to receive the ball, while Messi takes on his position on right half space. And after the right winger plays the ball back to the number 8, a clear wide space emerges for the right back to make an aggressive forward run. This puts the wide markers in a dilemma, whether to stay with Messi or to track the right back. If they press Messi, the right back will be free to receive a through ball, and finds the right winger for the final touch. On the other hand, if they tracks the right back, then Messi finds himself free in the half space to create even more dangerous trouble. So both the options leaves the oppositions at disadvantage, and creates a superiority of positioning. And to trick the opposition even further, they use an interesting v-shaped passing angle. For instance, if the right winger carries the ball from flank, but finds himself marked by the wide and half space markers. He then passes it to the right back, who makes an inverted run into the half space. This action prompts the entire defense to advance and close down the right back. So to take advantage of this, Messi who has usually stayed deep, initiates a diagonal run towards the opposite side to receive the final pass. And this movement is so quick that it gives no time for the markers to turn back and track him. But if the opposition tries to overload on one side, then it may be difficult to play this pattern. So to tackle this, Barcelona position their players in such a way that they're placed on all sides of the pitch, and are also close enough to stay connected with each other. And if they encountered resistance on one side, they could play a back pass, and easily get the ball towards the opposite side like a relay manner. This allows them to constantly circulate the ball from all corners, which eventually exhausts the opposition and cause them to lose focus. And using this they master to patiently build up, until they find better opportunity while not losing the ball. And speaking about losing the ball, you would rarely see Pep's Barcelona without possession, as their main aim was to always keep the ball moving within themselves. Even Pep himself have said, Without the ball we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball. So as soon as they lose the ball, they immediately implement Pep's 6 second rule. Under which the players nearest to the ball, would intensely press the ball carrier from all angles in order to win the ball within 6 seconds. So this gives a very less time for the ball carrier to find a perfect pass. But what if the opposition able to pass through the 6 second press? For that Barcelona already had a well prepared contingency plan. Where they divide their players to counter press, into 3 specific zones. And these zones are categorized as the zone of intervention, zone of mutual help, and zone of cooperation. For instance, the area where the nearby players apply their 6 second press on the ball carrier, is known as the zone of intervention. This area can also be referred to as the first shield of defense. Then there is the zone of mutual help, where typically 3 or 4 players are positioned just behind the first shield. And as their name suggests, these players provides mutual help by covering the available options to the ball carrier. This creates an additional pressing shield against the opposition. And if they win the ball within the first shield, this zone also prevents opposition's counter press, as it helps the team to immediately get out of the congested area, and move the ball to the safer side. And finally, the zone of cooperation refers to players who are positioned even further away, maintaining the width. The aim of these players is to cover all the further away players, if the opponent breaks through the first and second zones. So like this, these zones are designed to handle any scenario, and create a clear path to win the ball within minutes. But the real question is, what were the roles given to these legendary players that made this team so special? So looking at the goalie, Valdez was more of a sweeper, who played a crucial role in creating their deep diamond formation during the build-up phases. At defense, Pique and Mascherano excelled as ball-playing centerbacks, who were pivotal in playing out from the back and smoothly transitioning the ball upfield. Besides them, the fullbacks somewhat positioned themselves asymmetrically, in which the right back Alves usually acts as a wingback, who's known for his overlapping runs and crossing ability. Whereas Abidal played a more traditional role, who often acted as a third centerback. This creates an ideal balance in the backline, allowing right back to be more offensive, knowing there's an additional support for the centerbacks. In midfield, Xavi and Iniesta also positioned themselves asymmetrically to each other, where Xavi on the right played a bit deeper. While Iniesta adopted a more of a number 10 role, he was the primary playmaker for Barcelona, who can creates potential space out of nowhere. Looking at Xavi, his main job was to act as a bridge between Busquets and Iniesta, to ensure a smooth transition takes place centrally. At wing, both wingers were assigned different roles, in which Pedro mostly moved into the right half-space, to open up the wide space for Alves, while Villa usually stayed wide, which opened the left half-space for Iniesta. This movements helped Barcelona to have at least one player operating every sides of the pitch, and effectively stretch the opposition's rigid structure. Finally up front, Messi used to be a false 9. He was the heart of the system who not only awakened the team's fluidity, but also added a new dimension of dribbling trend. Also he constantly interchanged positions with wingers and midfields, in order to support Pep's creative plans like the positional superiority, and the midfield overloads. And these concepts can only be possible with Pep's instructions, so looking at team mentality, Barcelona under Pep were famously known for their proactive style of play, and they favored more width, in order to easily switch the play on other side. Also they were expressive in terms of creating breakthroughs, as he encouraged his star players to use their individual skills, to make a difference in the game. At defense, they used a high line and closed down the opposition within their half, which allowed them to apply Pep's 6 second rule when they counter-press. Speaking about final third, Barcelona often utilized overlapping runs on the flanks, to take advantage of Alwey's aggressive runs, and looking at passing, they obviously kept it short. So overall, Pep's Barcelona was not just about his tiki-taka, but the way they used positions, and created space on every movements was truly mesmerizing to witness. Each one of those players had exceptional skills and intelligence, which not only made them the strongest Barcelona since Cruyffs, but also labeled them the best team we ever seen till present. So hope you enjoyed this breakdown, and if you did, please support the channel by giving a like, and also suggest me more classic tactics that you want me to recreate. Thanks for watching guys!