The 4-3-3 has been made synonymous to the Catalan side ever since Johan Cruyff transcended on the club. He gave Barcelona an identity, a philosophy to continue for years to come. Frank Rijkaard and Louis Van Gaal tried to adapt the formation on the pitch to meet modern football but Guardiola has stuck to the ideal’s of Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ of the early 90′s.
The thinking was to make the pitch as big as possible; the 4-3-3 allows natural interchange, greater angles in the pass and creates high pressure in order to win the ball back early. It means energy is not wasted in needless tracking back.
Johan Cruyff gave Barcelona more than success on the pitch; he gave them an identity that runs through the club till this day. The 4-3-3 he adapted from Rinus Michels’ Total Football Holland side has been brought back by Guardiola. The idea was that it offered more angles allowing for triangle passes (i.e. more options in the pass) and the changing of positions.
The formation is not a glorified 4-5-1; the wide men of Henry/Iniesta and Messi are detailed not to engage in pointless tracking back unless forced to, instead looking to pressure the opponents high up the field and rob the defenders of the ball.
The central midfielders are the heartbeat of the side and their ball retention, intelligence and creativity unparalleled. Eric Abidal is unadventurous and almost acts as a left sided central defender hence why Henry says he ‘runs more’ on the left wing as opposed to in attack at Arsenal. On the other side Alves is more disciplined now and a very tough competitor. He will provide the complementary threat, linking up with Messi with such pace, stamina and intelligence. The defence have an equal role in the build up to attackstoo. No team have defenders who are required to pass the ball as much as the centre backs do.
Support and Movement
It’s all about quick and constant movement, short, one-touch passing, intelligent positioning and making the correct runs at the right time. As mentioned getting beyond the striker, providing options and interchangeability are examples of this. The three words drummed into every kid in the academy of La Masia best typify the approach; “receive, pass, offer”.
pieced together from 5 different sources.
Cryuff started it all. Guardiola himself blossomed under Cryuff. Cruyff created the 'Dream Team' and had influence over all of Barcelona's youth teams. He was able to layout a blue print for success at youth level. Now we are seeing the fruit of that. Particularly in terms of midfielders, Barcelona seems to be cloning the Guardiola type midfielder year after year.
