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Barcelona : Ernesto Valverde needs to return to tiki-taka

By Chiranjib Ghosh

(FromL, up) Barcelona's German goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, Barcelona's Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, Barcelona's Spanish defender Gerard Pique and Barcelona's Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, (down) Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi, Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Sergi Roberto, Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta, Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez and Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba pose before the Spanish League 'Clasico' football match Real Madrid CF vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on December 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / CURTO DE LA TORRE (Photo credit should read CURTO DE LA TORRE/AFP/Getty Images)
(FromL, up) Barcelona's German goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, Barcelona's Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, Barcelona's Spanish defender Gerard Pique and Barcelona's Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, (down) Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi, Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Sergi Roberto, Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta, Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez and Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba pose before the Spanish League 'Clasico' football match Real Madrid CF vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on December 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / CURTO DE LA TORRE (Photo credit should read CURTO DE LA TORRE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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The tiki-taka philosophy is almost lost in the Barcelona tactical setup

BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 17: Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona (L) celebrates his goal with teammates during the La Liga 2017-18 match between FC Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruna at Camp Nou Stadium on 17 December 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 17: Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona (L) celebrates his goal with teammates during the La Liga 2017-18 match between FC Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruna at Camp Nou Stadium on 17 December 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images) /

Barcelona dominated world football with tiki-taka for almost 5 years. Pep Guardiola reinvented Johan Cruyff’s famed football philosophy, and added his own twist to it. He won 14 trophies in 4 seasons with the club, and his successor Tito Vilanova also led the club to a La Liga victory.

Vilanova’s successor Gerardo Martino couldn’t implement tiki-taka properly and hence, he led the side to a trophyless season after a long time. But Luis Enrique brought back tiki-taka to the club, and won the treble in his very first season in charge.

But as he drew away from tiki-taka and started to implement a direct style of football, he lost out on the Champions League the next season and eventually left the club after another season. In his last season, he could only secure the Copa del Rey.

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History proves that tiki-taka has always been more successful than any other philosophy. Even brilliant coaches like Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard failed to complete leave their mark on the club.

Ernesto Valverde has had success with his direct style of football. But he hasn’t got the best out of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez. These players are used to the tiki-taka style of football, and in order to get the best out of them, tiki-taka needs to be implemented.

Another factor is that Barça have been playing unexciting football. The team have become too professional and grind through instead of playing enjoyable football. The pragmatism and the charisma about the side is gone.

If Ernesto Valverde wants to win titles in the long-term, he needs to revert to tiki-taka. And the first step towards that is to return to the trusted 4-3-3, and structure the team. Lionel Messi sticks to the right, Luis Suárez sticks to the middle and Gerard Deulofeu returns to the left.

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If this works out, Valverde needs to integrate youth players into the first-team squad to get the best out of them. If Valverde doesn’t think he’s better than Louis van Gaal, this is the way to go for him.