No way Jose

NO WAY JOSÉ

Like Cinderella, who broke out of the shadows of evil stepsisters, Barcelona FC have been a welcoming breathe of fresh air to the football world over the last decade. (If you don not regard Barcelona as a Cinderella club, consider the fact that before 1990 they had never won the European Cup before) Breaking out of the shadow of the evil stepsister and fellow La Liga giants Real Madrid, Barcelona have shown the wealthy European clubs that true footballing beauty and talent can be found from within.

Also, like the fairytale Cinderella, Barcelona arrived in Italy last night by coach (albeit it not by their own choosing). The reason for their venture to Italy was a not to attend a ball. Barcelona were attending a celebration of football. A semi-final vs Inter Milan, the winner of which seems destined to be crowned as the new royalty of Europe.

Awaiting Barcelona in Italy was the ultimate Prince Charming, José Mourinho, who has charmed the footballing world since the day he dragged his F.C. Porto side to the summit of Europe. A fairytale match-up it seemed. A night that had been eagerly anticipated. A game filled with character. But this was to be no fairy-tale for Barcelona. The coach turned into a pumpkin long before the clock struck midnight. This Prince Charming did not chase after Cinderella and search for her after he found a glass slipper. Rather, he ripped the glass slipper off of Cinderella, put it on his mantelpiece and threw Cinderella out town. This is the footballing world. There are no happy ever after stories.

Barcelona were beaten 3-1 last night in Milan. A scoreline that will resonate around Europe and the World. The reigning UEFA Champions League Champions. The darling Cinderella’s of world football. A side that the world thought was unbeatable having only lost a single meaningless league game this season vs Athletico Madrid. A side with the very best players in the footballing world who play the game the way it was meant to be played. This Barcelona side are now on the brink of being tossed off their European throne.

Anyways, enough of this silly fairy-tale parallels and catchy phrases. Let’s review the tactics in the Barca v Inter game last night. For the fanatical football fans (like myself) last night was not about Barcelona being soundly beaten. The game was all about the tactics. We had all waited for this night. The pitting of two of the young tactical football minds against each other. Mourinho v Guardiola. We wanted to know the answer to the ultimate sporting question. Who is the best?

As the sides lined up and the game kicked off, the differing formations and styles of the two sides became apparent. Barcelona began the match with Guardiola’s expected approach. We saw Barca in their 4-5-1 formation with four midfielders playing off the target man Ibrahimovic. Xavi quarterbacking the sides attacks. Busquetes covering the back four. Possesion of the ball would be typically handled like gold by Barca (they would eventually finish the game with 67% of possession. In defence Barca would institute their most underrated tactical weapon. Barca would press in defence, with a hybrid 3/4-trap system and high back four press up the field. (Quick note: The 3/4-trap is a system of defence used in NBA Basketball. It involves the defending side allowing the other side to advance ¾ of the way up the playing field and then sending two defenders to attack the man with the ball. One will try to tackle the ball carrying player, while the other will be on the lookout for interceptions. Barcelona play a hybrid 3/4 –half trap system where one defender attacks the ball carrying player while two additional players stand off and wait for an intercept) This tactic allows Barca to secure the ball high up in the opposing side of the field and catch the opposing defence out of position. Sure enough, Barca’s first goal arrived via this defensive system. The ball was intercepted in Inter territory. Maxwell drove to the Inter goal as the Inter defence was in disarray. He squared the ball to Pedro, who drove the ball into the back of the Inter goal. 1-0 Barca.

What about Inter’s tactics? Mourinho is often referred to as a tactical genius and has the stats to back up such a lofty reference. Tutored under tactical legends Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal, Mourinho has combined the man management of Robson with the tactical brilliance and overflowing self-confidence of van Gaal. That combination has seen Mourinho conquer Portugal, England and Spain over the last decade. The Special One is truly special. Last night was no exception.

Inter fielded the now popular hydrid 4-5-1 formation. (The hybrid 4-5-1 formation features a target man to spearhead the attack, two defensive midfielders and two attacking players playing in the wing position. It is hybrid because on defence it remains 4-5-1, but in attack it morphs into a 4-3-3, with the attacking wingers often interchanging positions with the target man)

So what was different about Inter’s tactics last night. Back to basketball and it’s tactical contribution to the football world. Inter unlike Barca do not man mark on defence. While Barca aim to trap a ball carrying opponent in position, Inter employ the now standard Italian zonal marking defence. The Inter players marked space. What was new was the full court press and attacking wingers coming back to defend. We had seen a hint of these tactics when Inter brushed Chelsea aside earlier in the knockout phase. Inter would press the Barca ball carrying player deep in Barca territory. As soon as the ball crossed the halfway line, Inter then reverted into their ¼ press. These tactical explanations may seem silly. All I’ll say is watch the game... It’s there.

When two tactical masterminds meet in the footballing world, the tactics and gamesmanship is often loosely referred to as “a game of chess”. Last night was no different. Mourinho and Guardiola had stacked the board and Inter’s victory owed much to simple chess tactics. A basic chess strategy is to balance your pieces around the board. All pieces should be able to be defend and ready to spring into attack. A chessmaster will neutralise the strengths of the opponent and then attack the opponents weak side.

The strength of this Barcelona side is it’s dynamic centre midfield (with Xavi quarterbacking the side’s attacks) and lethal right-side attack featuring Messi and Daniel Alves. To neutralise the centre midfield, Mourinho employed the full court press, which forced the defence and goalkeeper to play long balls thus bypassing the centre midfield. This tactic cannot be understated. Barcelona do not kick long balls out of defence. The usual Barca tactic is to have Xavi or Busquetes collect the ball from a defender and then dazzle the opposition with a myriad of passes. By forcing the Barca defence to play long balls 50% of the time, Mourinho had achieved one goal – the Barca centre midfield was neutralised for 50% of their attacks.

Moving onto the lethal right side pairing of Alves and Messi. Here similiarly Mourinho kept the tactics simple. He had the experienced Argentinian mark his countryman Messi. The fact that Messi did not register a single shot on goal in open play speaks volumes for the often underrated brilliance of Zanetti. Also, by constantly playing deep diagonal balls into the right side of Barca’s defence, Mourinho ensured that Alves could not expose the right side of Barca’s defence by joining attacks with his usual wild abandon.

With the Barca strengths adequately contained, Mourinho moved his pieces to the weak left side of the Barca team. Now, the Barca goal came from their left-side, so the argument could be made that it is not weak, but what needs to be remembered is that root cause of the goal was an Inter mistake. The left side of the Barca side features Maxwell and Pedro. Their opposition for the night would be Pandev and Maicon. In a man of the match performance, Pandev (who later left the field with cramp) attacked Barca’s left side and assisted Maicon in defence. Whenever Maicon joined in Inter attacks, it was Pandev that would have to opt out of the attack and cover the vacant right side of Inter’s defence. All three of Inter’s goals came from the Barca’s weak left side. It is no coincidence that when Pandev was replaced by the lazy Boletelli and Maicon was forced off by injury that Barca began to take control of the game in the final 10 minutes. If Wesley Sneijder had not scored a goal and had an unintended assist, the man of the match performance surely should have gone to the little noticed Pandev.

The injury to Maicon looked serious and may be crucial in Mourinho’s tactics for the return leg at the Nou Camp. Zanetti is an able cover for Maicon at right-back, but that leaves Messi to be marked by the Romanian captain Christian Chivu, who is more a centre half than a fullback. The whole balance of Mourinho’s tactics will be upset. The tie is still in the balance. The tactical masterminds will meet again at the Nou Camp. The board will be stacked once more. The question now is whether Mourinho, with the loss of Maicon, can balance his side while neutralising Barca again. For now though, take a bow José... Once more you’ve proven yourself to be special.