Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
Once again, great observations. You should post more here.
I agree, Barca plays one way and one way only. It's not that they can't adapt to another style, it's that they don't even try because of the success they have had with tiki-taka for years now. Other clubs are trying to play the way Barca does because of how dominating it can be.
Chelsea went through because Messi missed a PK, Barca as a team missed several easy chances to score a goal, and Chelsea defended with 11 guys and converted on the 2 chances they got. In other words, they were extremely lucky. Chelsea had nothing to lose, so they employ that strategy. I doubt Bayern will take that chance.
Barca should move Dani Alves next to Pique and play Montoya at Dani's spot to counter speed. I like Adrianno as the first man off the bench if any of the back 4 need to be substituted. Another option is to move Iniesta to the wing and play with two defensive mid-fielders (Busquets and Song). Iniesta has been very very effective as a wing and I can totally see Barca doing that.
IMO, Bayern has to win the 1st leg without conceding a goal. Barca is too good at home. The game against PSG changed completely as soon as Messi stepped on the field. The crowd started believing that they got this. It's really tough to win there. Of course, Bayern is good enough to still win it...but if you can't win at home - a win at Camp Nou will be very unlikely.
Thanks, just started posting again after a little break, so hope to post here more often.
I agree that teams are starting to adopt it and when done right it is incredibly effective. However, I would argue that a well drilled team (ala a Mourinho team) with top quality players can have a reasonable chance of stopping it. They want to draw people out of position, so if you are fit enough and dedicated enough to track runners etc you can limit it.
The Chelsea example wasn't a great example I'll give you that, they were incredibly lucky at times. However, some of the recent El Classicos have shown a blueprint of how to beat Barca on a "consistent" basis (I use the term consistent very loosely, mainly to mean having a good chance before any match)
If you mean move Dani Alves into a CB spot I would disagree. I always find he gets pulled out of position and leaves space in behind him when he plays RB (typical Brazilian wing back lol) so I think it would be even more of a problem if he played CB. I also don't think he has the height or strength to match up against a centre forward. Whilst you could argue the DMs would help protect him, I think they would end up compensating for him too much and dropping too far back undermining the DM role.
Iniesta could be effective, but I would argue that Ribery and Robben can be physical when they want to and I don't think Iniesta would be able to provide the defensive cover when they are on the attack. I know you could say if he can't cope physically on the wing he wouldn't be able to at CM, but I think as a CM you get a bit more lee way when positioning yourself and more licence to roam so he can pick and choose where he has to "get physical".
Not conceding is key. If Barca go to the Nou camp ahead, or with the away goal there is a lot less pressure and they will beat Bayern as they can play their own game. Bayern will want to win the first leg, or draw it (0-0) and grab an away goal. If that happens and Barca have to chase the game I could see Bayern winning at the Nou Camp, swift counter-attacking. But for that to happen they will need to set themselves up i.e. A long-winded way to say I agree with you about the away goal haha
I will say that Messi changed the game, as only he can, but PSG aren't quite the same team as Bayern, either way it should be interesting.