Luis Enrique made several surprising calls regarding the Spain squad for EURO 2020, with Sergio Ramos' omission leading the way. It was quite notable that among all the discussion around who should and shouldn't have made the squad, it was hardly any surprise that Pedri of Barcelona had been included. This is perhaps...
Despite turning just 18 years old less than two months ago, Ansu Fati has been one of the most spoken about names in football in 2020. Despite his inexperience and his innocent look, Fati became one of Barcelona’s best players last season and was one of the few good news...
Besides Lionel Messi, Memphis Depay was the most exciting transfer rumour regarding the Spanish top club FC Barcelona. Depay will continue to play Olympique Lyon at least until the next transfer window, as the transfer could no longer be realized at the end of the summer window. The three parties...
Barcelona have managed to beat Bayern Munich to the signing of America's next big thing, Sergino Dest. The 19-year-old full-back joins the Catalans after the departure of Nélson Semedo, who switched to the Premier League. The right-back position has been a huge area of concern for the Blaugrana. This signing should...
The 4-4-2 appears to be the most common defensive shape for teams that form a mid-block, as it offers a more balanced vertical and horizontal compactness in contrast to other common formations. Even teams such as Barcelona, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Juventus, who are renowned for playing in a 4-3-3 formation, are not...
After an eye-opening night for Barcelona last week against Bayern Munich, in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, the club is now looking to make a complete change to the squad. This wake-up call has forced them to make a lot of changes to the team which includes putting...
In this Hansi Flick tactical analysis, we will take a closer look at Bayern’s win over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. Our video will explain how Flick’s tactics enabled Bayern Munich to beat Quique Setien’s Barcelona with 8-2. Therefore, we will examine Bayern Munich's pressing structure and attacking tactics...
For the first time in many years, 4-4-2 has returned as La Liga's formation of choice in 2019/20. After years of domination from 4-3-3, which is still the case in the big teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, only two La Liga sides did not use 4-4-2 as one of...
If you have read Jonathan Wilson’s extraordinary book Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics, you are well aware of football’s historic march from attack-centred formations and subsequent footnotes. As the book portrays, football tactics started with attack-minded systems, then became more defensive in pursuing results. Tactical trends and formations followed...
The use of half-spaces is not new, but they gained more prominence in the football vernacular during Pep Guardiola’s time as Barcelona’s head coach, where he frequently referred to using them. In this tactical analysis, I will provide a brief overview of the tactical theory on how half-spaces can be manipulated to advance the ball. We...
Now two of the most exciting managers in England, Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola have admired and influenced each other for a long time. When the Argentinian arrived in England, Guardiola said Leeds United had the best coach in the world. Bielsa has often spoken very highly of the Catalan...
Every year Barcelona are linked with a plethora of superstars, those already well established and also those in making, and in recent times, the La Liga giants were not afraid to pull the trigger and seal mega-deals along the way. But their search for a Luis Suárez replacement in the...
Even though we won't see him in Barcelona colours until at least the summer, Francisco Trincao is already an official Blaugrana player. However, the young Portuguese forward will stay at SC Braga for the time being, back in his home country, on loan to ply his trade a bit more...
Fresh off the heels of Francisco Trincão’s 31 million euro transfer from Braga to Barcelona, the press quickly flashed the “New Ronaldo” headlines. They couldn’t be more wrong. Wrong in the sense that the player-type isn’t the right fit. As you’ll recall, Cristiano Ronaldo started as a proper winger, transitioned...
As football data continues to evolve, we’re seeing that most goal-scoring actions are produced with limited time in possession and few passes. With the emerging trend of quick, direct actions towards a goal, top coaches are seeking ways to minimise losses against the opposition. At this point, most are aware...
Barcelona hosted Mallorca at the Camp Nou on Saturday night, and the Catalans put five past their struggling guests, snatching all three points in La Liga after a rather dominant display, led, of course, by a Lionel Messi hat-trick. This tactical analysis will use statistics and analysis to present both teams’ tactics and explain...
Barcelona's academy, La Masia, is well-known to the footballing world. After all, it is the same academy that produced players like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández, and Andres Iniesta, among many others, who went on to become among the best on the planet. But despite that, their younger crop of players...
At 16 years of age, Barcelona player Nicolás González was caught in a tug of war-between the world-famous club's Manchester United and Manchester City. Barcelona were fortunate enough that he stayed at La Masia despite the Catalans not being able to match the British clubs' financial offers. Here, through studying statistics and through analysis, we see what...
Barcelona have always been proud of their one-of-a-kind style of play. It doesn’t take long to recognise that all of their players follow specific patterns or that they must be of a particular player profile before joining the club, even as youngsters. This is true for all squad roles: the...
Barcelona travelled across town to the home of Catalan rivals RCD Espanyol for the latest edition of the Catalan derby. Barcelona have been dominant in this fixture in the past, as Espanyol have not won against their more illustrious neighbours since 2009. However, with the team's strides under new coach...
