FC Barcelona Tactics

[Flavia]

So, in games like today against Mallorca, what do we need? A Llorente, maybe? And about conceding too many goals, especially in counters, what should Pep do? Most teams don't get too many chances with us, but when they do, they score

[Richard.H]

So, in games like today against Mallorca, what do we need? A Llorente, maybe? And about conceding too many goals, especially in counters, what should Pep do? Most teams don't get too many chances with us, but when they do, they score

The problem is not in terms of squad, it's in terms of managing in my opinion. It's clear that Pep struggles to make a clear cut plan when a team plays heavily defensive and only relies on counter attacks. There should be more runs to the box and there should be more shooting outside the box. I remember when Masch hit a shot outside the box, the keeper dropped it but yet nobody made an effort to run in and try to get a poke at the ball.

It's really a general mentality of Barca. Barca players and managers are most accustomed to the type of play that they have always played in their lives (lots of passing and keeping possession). Sometimes this doesn't always cut it. Sure, you can beat La Liga teams when they choose to defend, but when you face the likes of Chelsea and Inter who are very physical and will choose to park the bus, 9 times out of 10 barca will struggle to even make a hint at a goal.

I think it's best if Pep could develop some plan which would require lots of running to the box by our players. Everytime I see Dani making a cross, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ONE IN THE BOX. This goes back to my previous paragraph that Barca always sticks to their way of play since that's what they are most accustomed to.

[10Messi10]

what i see lack in barca
1. Long shot..we r so afraid to lose ball possession
2. Fast counter attack like chelsea..from what i saw is our counter attack is fucking slow..when we arrive at the box, all defenders is there already..maybe it shouldn't be called a "counter attack"..
3. Good crosses like manchester united do & no player that really good at heading & not enough height
4. Bad in set pieces..when barca have corner or free kick, we know we can't hope too much for any goal..

[xaviniesta]

1. Thats true, we need to shoot more in distance - alves, xavi, keita, pedro, bojan even pique and macherano have a decent shooting skills.

2. we need more of this:

3. we have scored A LOT of goals with crosses. we won el classico and clubs world cup with dani's crosses, the only thing is that left flank is not that good.

4. Pique(a.madrid) and Villa (panathinaioks) have scored this season in set pieces. that makes 2/16(12%)goals this season have we scored in set pieces, but i still think that we are not very good in this area.

I personally would love to see much more counter attacks. this could be out "plan b". it is pretty damn hard to brake up the bus all the time

[el tren]

Counter attacks when the score is even (or even worse)? ... no opponent with any clue lets that happen anymore ...

[IrvDizzle]

as far as I am concerned, Pep does not need to change anything in terms of attack. the "Park the Bus" routine works against us for two reasons:

1. We try to pass the ball so that someone can walk it in to the net via 'the perfect goal'
2. We are toothless via the set piece

Both can be addressed by Pep in terms of imploring the guys on the pitch to shoot from distance, for players to crash the net when a long shot is taken, and to rehearse set piece formations/attacks so that we can get the ball on target. With respect to those three areas, I find Pep needs to implement/improve the team's approach. For the attacking balance, I saw a lot more attack on the left than any game I've watched before. Abidal was involved a lot more and even had a great chance 1 on 1 w/ the keeper. Towards the end of the match, as the team began to really press, the left flank was ignored. These were problems that existed last year and I think the purchase of Adriano was meant to address that. This team is still a work in progress. I hope Pep is working on set pieces this week.

[Hamzah]

we don't have headers of the ball.

[IrvDizzle]

Pique, Puyol, Busquets, Abidal can occupy the opposition's defence while Iniesta/Leo/Villa/Pedro make late runs in to the box. Obviously we don't have players who can head efficiently, so you compensate by having players make late runs to distract the defense ... or even just play it short and work it around for a long range shot. either way, just get the ball on target.

[yusuf]

i think we need to grab a striker who can use his head as we are extremely weak in this area. also for depth and give us the potential to add an extra dimension to the team

[Richard.H]

The thing is you guys speak as though there is a perfect header of the ball out there. 9 times out of 10, the ball won't even arrive at the head of this supposedly master header of the ball that you guys want. What I'm trying to say is it's easier said than done. It's very difficult to get a cross to arrive to you with all the pressure from the defense.

[10Messi10]

The thing is you guys speak as though there is a perfect header of the ball out there. 9 times out of 10, the ball won't even arrive at the head of this supposedly master header of the ball that you guys want. What I'm trying to say is it's easier said than done. It's very difficult to get a cross to arrive to you with all the pressure from the defense.

chamakh is an example of a good header..but of course we don't really need him..llorente is good

[IrvDizzle]

set pieces are about timing and execution. if you have both, you don't need a Llorente or a Drogba to score from there. any one can score. and with all of the weapons we have, using them creatively in the box will result in legit chances.

[Catalonian Devil]

I don't know if its just me but I think Keita is a very decent header of the ball...

Like the poster above me said, I don't think getting another player is the solution, Pep doesn't seem to use SPs as weapon at all, how many times have we seen a dead ball played as a short pass? Countless times... We have a few lads that can out jump a lot players, such as Pique, Puyol, Milito, and Keita, we just need to utilize them in dead ball situations, perhaps late runs in the box, such as the one that scored the equalizer against us...

[yusuf]

set pieces are about timing and execution. if you have both, you don't need a Llorente or a Drogba to score from there. any one can score. and with all of the weapons we have, using them creatively in the box will result in legit chances.

well in our first season we did tons of creative stuff on free kicks and corners but it seems like we have run out of ideas

[10Messi10]

xavi is better than alves in free kick..alves is good b4 & scored some nice goal but not in last 2 years..sometimes i wish xavi will take it all