Barcelona Against Inter and all odds! A.K.A. Dancing in a minefield!

By: Ramzi | November 23rd, 2009

: Can we exchange our shirts after the game?

“Inter Milan will park the bus against Barcelona. It won’t be a surprise tomorrow at the Camp Nou, after they played a passive defensive game at home, in Italy. Mourinho is seeking a draw, and he may get it considering the injury crises and lack of form Barcelona squad showed so far.”

My friend murmured these words as being facts that you only repeat as a sign of confirmation, more than being an opinion that anyone may doubt. But isn’t that “the word on the street” these days?

Unfortunately, I do not share this opinion. I think it’s a mix between the inaccurate specification of the so called “Parked bus” added to the fact that we need to analyze the group situation to figure out how far gaining one point in Catalonia will get Inter closer to qualify.

That’s why, it’s important to re-read the first game, played in Milan, before predicting how Inter will play this week. And here, allow me as I usually do, to ramble a bit around the point (The match preview), in a quest to clarify my points.

Inter didn’t park the bus in Milan. There I said it. Parking the Bus happens when a team plays a passive defensive game with no interest to score but only to avoid conceding. The most radical version is the bus that will not avoid conceding but hope to avoid conceding lot of goals. Now of course even in Bus parking, the team may end up scoring from a counter, but I call it “Scoring without intention”, as it’s not the primary objective. Were Inter parking the Bus with no interest to go forward? Or is it only a matter of interpreting football concepts based on subjective believes? In fact, the same argument can prove that Barcelona were actually more defensive than Inter in that game. I will get into that, no worries. But let me start by saying that comparing our game in Milan to that game against Chelsea at the camp Nou is as close as saying oranges are tennis balls, just because both are round.

Trying to reinvent the wheel, I need to note that football tactical structure consists of three phases: Defense, Build Up and Offense. While defense is the stage where you –obviously- work to avoid getting conceded, and offense is the process where you generate scoring opportunities, the buildup stage is still a bit vague.

The buildup phase is the catalyst that enhances the defense solidity and act as an engine for the offense firework. Defense wise, both teams succeeded to finish the game without getting conceded. Offense wise, the two teams created almost the same level of threat, but failed to score.

Barcelona through possession oriented build up succeeded to keep the ball for the longest period possible, and that’s how they prevented Inter from scoring goals. An approach that’s still underrated by many football fans around the globe while claiming that Barcelona defense is weak. When Barcelona increases their ball possession, that’s defense, and it’s not bad at all.

Inter build up serves the defense by implementing a fast transition to their own half when they lose the ball, closing all the wholes Barcelona players can use to penetrate.

Offense wise, and being a play making team, Barcelona possession oriented build up is based on continuous movement to create spaces in the opponent half to penetrate and score. It’s a sexy approach that’s only applied by a bunch of clubs mainly in Netherland beside some daring clubs here and there in Portugal and Spain.

In the other hand, Inter like the majority of football teams is a counter attacking team. When they do the transition to their own half, they don’t only serve a defensive purpose, but also an offense need by inviting the opponent to their own half and creating a space behind, for their counter attacks to be more lethal. No doubt against Barcelona, Inter were putting lot of players behind the ball. They were playing against Barcelona after all. But the question is whether the ball was squeezing the players behind it in their own box, or the players behind the ball were driving it to Barcelona box.

Inter offense approach in that game was as underrated as the excellent defensive game Barcelona played against Kazan in Russia. There, Pep led an underperforming exhausted team to hunt a very important point in a freezing difficult game, only by selecting the right players who can defend through possession. If you watch Inter against Kazan and Barcelona against Kazan (both in Russia), you will notice that Barcelona showed more defensive quality decreasing Kazan offense threat than Inter did. Not by stacking defenders, but throughout the method of play A.K.A Possession.

So what’s the deal behind this entire ramble? Am I suggesting that Inter will play offense in Catalonia? I will never make an effort to predict what’s in a coach’s mind. But I will be surprised if Inter plays solely for a point. Because most of the group scenarios show that losing or drawing against Barcelona will have the same impact on Inter obligations in their game against Kazan. And because Mourinho Experience against Barcelona tells him that you can’t come to the Camp Nou seeking a point. The situation may get Chelsea-tized and you get a draw, but most often it doesn’t happen.

The reason I bother thinking about how Inter will play, is the memories of Barcelona second leg game against Bayern last season (test how strong your memory is). The team went there with the players’ minds set on breaking the Bavarian bus. To our surprise, they parked neither a bus nor a vespa. They started the game attacking us like pissed off psychos which caught us by surprise. We were running around with no sense and it took us half an hour to realize what was happening.

Against Inter, We must NOT let that happen! Before the continuous discussions about how to organize our offense to break buses and crush cups, we need to set a strategy to contain Inter offense. They know that even to earn a draw, they need to score a goal, especially after the goalless draw in Milan. If we succeeded in containing their offense dynamics, then no worries, we will score once, twice, live your lovely fantasies dreaming of more. If they scored first and dictated their tempo, then … Let’s change the subject…

Inter

Obviously, the team and the fans are starting to recover from The Eve of Eva syndrome. In the league, the team is creating a one team show. The collective work is developing in a decent manner and the moral is high (Putting aside Ballotelli moral of course, the boy is a pissed off freak, I do not know what we –the rest of the world- did wrong!). They come into this game full of hopes. They are in a good form while Barcelona isn’t. Yet, Serie A proved being misleading sometimes.

Mourinho tactical kit

Selection:

Julio Cesar
Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu.
Stankovic, Motta, Cambiasso, Muntari
Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito.

It’s also possible that Mourinho may decide to play Javier Zanetti in Stankovic position to check the flank defensively. This will give more possibilities for Maicon to contribute offense wise. If so, Stankovic may either 1) act as a fifth midfielder behind Eto’o , moving Milito to the bench for the first half. This option may prove vital also if Messi played. It means Muntari has to work defensively with Chivu to shut off Barcelona right flank operated by Messi and Alves. In this case, Stankovic will be needed to contribute in the center to close wholes. Or 2) Play instead of Motta incase Sneijder is fit to start this game as an attacking midfielder.

Defense set up:

Eto’o and Milito dance between Barcelona defenders and the holding midfielder trying to damage the offense build up. Muntari and Motta may put early pressure on Alves and Xavi respectively to prevent them from getting involved in the play making process while the rest of Inter players apply a zone defense. In fact, Muntari performance in the first game was one of the reasons why Mourinho game plan didn’t work as he expected.

Offense set up:

The keys of Inter counter attacks are Maicon contribution from the right flank, Muntari from the left, Stankovic movement into the center and the strikers’ horizontal and vertical moves creating links and spaces. There is a possibility that Chivu contribution in this game will end up being pure defensive. He may act as a third center back beside Lucio and Samuel when his team moves forward. That will give more security for Maicon to do his runs, and more stability for the defense department.

Barcelona

What makes me a bit relaxed is Pep performance in the first game. I can say that, beside the game against Kazan in Russia, that match against Inter was one of Pep’s best. He was completely aware of Inter threat and he worked to contain it. Keita for example, was the unsung hero for Barcelona in that game. Pep selected him over Iniesta for that game- even though Iniesta was in a good form then- to make sure he leaves no spaces in the midfield for Inter counters. He did his job to a great extend.

Guardiolla tactical kit

Selection:

With all the injury crises in the team, I am not sure who will actually be fit enough for this game. Some last minute decisions will be made. But I will hail this selection:

Valdes
Alves, Puyol, Pique, Maxwell
Xavi, Yaya, Keita
Iniesta, Ibra, Henry

(If Yaya can’t start, Busquets will be there. You can blow a panic scream if that makes you feel better).

Yes, you read it right. I hope we don’t start Messi. First because his history tells he needs time to recover from injuries. We do not need to risk. And secondly because I see more advantages in starting Iniesta –as I will point out below- and saving Messi for the second half if needed. When the opponent energy declines they will allow more space for the Argentinean. But here is the news: If he can walk, unfortunately he will start… Anyways …

Offense wise:

The two main changes –due to injuries- are Abidal and Messi. We can talk a lot about how bad it is to miss the two players. Let’s instead try to see the good things about it:

Maxwell: Maxwell may offer us two advantages over Abidal in this game: 1) he is better contributing in the play making process. This may prove vital if Inter succeeded to put pressure as an attempt to damage the offense flow. Maxwell is one of the players who can contribute moving the ball forward. 2) Defensively, Maxwell as an offense oriented full back will be able to check Maicon the moment we lose the ball in the opponent half, rather than waiting him in our half. Yet, we need to treat the defense fragility in our own half in return, where Abidal usually contributes beside the two Center Backs.

Messi: I believe with Alves and Maxwell opening the field on the flanks, Henry will be lethal in the box beside Ibra. Iniesta in return will act more as a fourth midfielder to make sure the offense flow keep on running smoothly even if Inter man marked Xavi tightly. With 1) Iniesta and Xavi in the center and 2)Maxwell plus Alves on the flanks backed by 3) Keita and Yaya (occasionally), the midfield is in safe hands to orchestrate offense and contain possession and close the spaces Inter will be looking for to generate counters from. Ibra and Henry movement in and around the box will guarantee more directness in our game so we avoid playing passive fruitless possession.

Defense set up:

1) Defense to offense: With both Maxwell and Alves moving forward, Yaya must act as a third Center back with Puyol and Pique. Keita end up being our holding midfielder behind Xavi and Iniesta. One of the most bothering facts about Inter offense- and Eto’o in specific- is the ability to slide into the midfield to create the link with the midfielders. If it Happens, that will leave Milito alone as a forward, allowing Yaya to follow Eto’o into the midfield either to mark him or to hand him to Keita while he –Yaya- in return regain his position as a holding midfielder.

2) Offense to defense: The moment we lose the ball, it’s important to contain Inter Counter attacks by checking the key players who perform it. Henry and Ibra need to put loads of pressure on Inter defense. If we can force Inter to move the ball to Samuel, then we can say that we already terminated 25 % of the counter threat. He is not on the same level as Lucio, Chivu or Maicon moving the ball forward in a systematic manner. Lucio runs forward must be checked by Henry. Maxwell needs to –initially- check Maicon to delay his offense contribution. That will close a very important outlet for Inter.

Iniesta and Xavi must put the pressure on Cambiasso and Motta while Keita plays as a midfield libero vacuum cleaning spaces, creating defensive depth and checking Stankovic when he approach the edge of our box. Read this banner:”Watch out long shots”! Puyol, Pique and Yaya need to contain the two strikers as mentioned above.

We must not be over obsessed by Eto’o determination to score. Or else he will drag us around creating spaces for his teammates. It’s a must to stick to our systematic plan.

Finally, while we are setting offense, exchanging passes, frustrating Inter players, guarding possession and dominating the game in a way that makes Inter players look like armatures, I will only have one little advice for our dear players.

No doubt, the team is not in its most relaxing days. We were suffering from injuries since the beginning of the season. But it was all containable. Recently the injuries crises increased dramatically. A team like Barcelona, where you can’t really have clear cuts between the lines (offense-midfield-defense), is usually more fragile toward injuries than a more direct team. Barcelona players perform a collective job in all departments which requires quality in every position and understanding on every level. Injuries create a domino impact on the general performance. All what we can do now is to hope we get out of this tunnel. If we did, I can see a good U-turn after Xmass. During the current harsh period, the team succeeded to stay in a gung ho status in all competitions. So you can imagine how the comeback will be.

But no worries, after playing Athletic Bilbao, Sat 21 Nov, we can feel more relaxed now. As we only have the following games to play before the X-mass break:

Tue 24 Nov FC Barcelona – Inter M.
Sun 29 Nov FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
Wed 02 Dec Xerez C.D. – FC Barcelona
Sun 06 Dec Deportivo – FC Barcelona
Wed 09 Dec Dynamo K. – FC Barcelona
Sun 13 Dec FC Barcelona – RCD Espanyol
Thu 16 Dec: FIFA Club world Cup UEFA 2009-Semi Final
Sat 19 Dec: FIFA Club world Cup UEFA 2009- Final (If qualified).
Mon 21 Dec Kazma Sporting Club – FC Barcelona (There is a rumor that there are contract obligations to play the key players).
Tuesday, Dec 22: Catalonia Vs Argentina (Six Barcelona starters are selected so far: Five for Catalonia and one for Argentina), Cruyff had already made an interesting comment about it:

The fact is that Barça are due to play a friendly in Kuwait on 21st December, the day before Catalonia may also have a match. According to Cruyff: “It’s one of those complications. The players are professionals and are proud to play with the national team”.

I dipped the words of wisdom in gold /Sarcasm. Thirty two days, eleven games. A game every 2days and 22 hours. If we use the tricky –.99 price tag. It all starts now!

Finally (for real this time!), I hope Eto’o gets a standing obviation. For all what he achieved with this club, we must only remember the good things he delivered, which is obviously much more than the bad little things that pop up here and there. He is a legend for this club, and he must be treated per se.