Behold: FC Barcelona has revolutionized the game, and how I wish the powers that be in our football would learn from such successes.They (Barcelona)have brought to the game a new understanding and thinking. One journalist, from Europe remarked that “they have made the whole field a midfield affair. They pass and move in every square meter as if they were in the midfield.” Like them or not, they play the best football in Europe, and the world over. It is good that there are many big clubs in the world with very strong traditions and remarkable achievements. Some of these achievements are in domestic competitions, some in continental competitions, and some (very few) at the world stage. FC Barcelona fits in all these categories.
In all this, one team, and one team only, is responsible for changes in the approach of most opponents, if not all, whenever they have to meet it … FC Barcelona. Different teams have played among themselves in many competitions and played to their full potential. Some teams (not many) have won matches against FC Barcelona. Many have adopted completely new formations. This I saw in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League first in 2010 (where Inter Milan adopted an unusual formation both at home and away against FC Barcelona).
This year again, I saw Chelsea for 180 minutes playing a kind of 1-9-0-1 formation.Both teams won and went to the finals. However, this kind of an approach cannot be classified as revolutionary as it is not sustainable. When I watched the 2ndLeg on Tuesday, 17 April 2012, I was reminded of many PSL games where one team will congest its own half with 8/9 players + goalkeeper and hope that the opponent will make a mistake and concede a goal. When one considers the class of players in both these teams (Inter Milan then and Chelsea now), one cannot help but admire the level that FC Barcelona has moved the Game to.
Indeed it is true what Xavi said, “…we are not about results but a Legacy”. Who can argue with that! They have already created it and are still going on
When teams with the best and most expensive talent bravely and proudly adopt such negative approaches against what many may see as not so expensive a team, then you must admit that something of a high level has been achieved. When any two big teams are playing in the UEFA Champions League, you see two teams trying to outplay each other and win the game Like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on Wednesday, 18 April 2012. Interestingly, when one of them is FC Barcelona, the whole equation changes. Defending in numbers in front of own penalty area and sacrificing playing the game, becomes an option. The other team tries very hard throughout the game to stop FC Barcelona from playing, as a result failing to play their own game at all.
While some people have made statements that FC Barcelona gets favours from the referees, ironically the opposite is true. They have been let down many times probably by referees trying to prove that they are not doing them any favours. Their players have been kicked more than any other (on and off the ball) and many times without those culprits getting what they deserve. FC Barcelona has even changed the approach of the FIFA Club of the Century, their arch-rivals Real Madrid. Never in the history of the Madristas have they played a counter-attack game as an approach. What makes it remarkable is the value of the players in that Real Madrid team. Like it or not, even when they have played that way, they have managed some positive results against FC Barcelona. This FC Barcelona has even changed the traditions of some very big clubs.
Indeed it is true what Xavi said, “…we are not about results but a Legacy”. Who can argue with that! They have already created it and are still going on.
It is this (FC Barcelona) Legacy that influenced the Spanish team to the Euro 2008 Championship, the 2010 World Cup victory and who knows, and Euro 2012. The Spanish team that won these Cups is FC Barcelona, with a sprinkle of players from other clubs.
In December 2011, FC Barcelona had more than 7 players who had two FIFA Gold and one UEFA Gold medals in their team. These were FIFA 2010 World Cup, FIFA 2011 Club Championship and the UEFA 2008, respectively.
Between July 2008 and July 2009, the bulk of FC Barcelona players won the Euro 2008, the LA Liga, Kings Cup and Super Cups. Between July 2010 and December 2011 (18 months), the bulk of FC Barcelona players had won the LA Liga, the UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, Spanish Super Cup, The EUFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club Championship Cup. They only missed out on the Kings Cup (Cup de la Rey). Which other team (except for the FIFA World Cup) can claim to have done the same? All this was done with a very attractive and creative approach to the game. Not even one of the Cups was won through BULK defending.
I am not a historian, however, I doubt if at any time any team in the World has had the same experience. This team is special and those who are not impressed by its achievements have many bad moments in their lives.
The Legacy of the current Barcelona team will leave long after all those involved have left the club, and even this world. As said earlier, those who love football cannot help but appreciate the proficiency with which this team plays their game. Whether they win all the time or not, they play football in a very creative way, with a full arsenal of ball skills and movement. They play like artists will do when on stage and the audience is awaiting the next scene.
They have probably lost the Championship for this season. They have also been eliminated from the UEFA Champions League whose final will be played by two non-champion teams (Bayern Munich and Chelsea). The pedigree has not been lost nor has it been eliminated. Form may change, but class remains – The Legacy. This FC Barcelona Team has started a Football Revolution. Congratulations to them. We need others who can lead rather than STOP football progress. Up to far I have said nothing about the local game, for there’s isn’t much to talk about. I have instead said so much about Barcelona’s football revolution for I believe there’s so much the local game can learn from such successes. We need to stop thinking we are the best in Africa just because we are the richest. That is the only way we can approach an African Cup of Nations with confidence that we can win this tournament. At the moment, the less said the better.
By Zipho Dlangalala is a member of the Mamelodi Sundowns Technical Team.
– By Analysis: Zipho Dlangalala
