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Ex-Culé Thiago Motta gearing up to be future Barcelona manager

By Chiranjib Ghosh

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 25: Thiago Motta of Paris Saint-Germain reacts as he seats in the bench during the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint Germain and Olympique Marseille February 25, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 25: Thiago Motta of Paris Saint-Germain reacts as he seats in the bench during the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint Germain and Olympique Marseille February 25, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) /
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Thiago Motta’s coaching style is huge influenced by the Barcelona philosophy

The philosophy associated with Barcelona has largely defined 21st century football. Johan Cruyff’s tactics have inspired some of the greatest coaches of all-time, most notably Pep Guardiola, who captained the Dutch legend’s ‘Dream Team’.

Arsène Wenger and Jürgen Klinsmann have cited Cruyff as an influence, while Eusebio Sacristán, Rubi and current Barça head coach Ernesto Valverde have also recognised the late Dutchman’s influence on the modern game.

The influence of tiki-taka on Barça has been the greatest, with the club making it a policy to look for disciples of Cruyff as managers. Pep Guardiola was the first such coach, and he is the most successful manager in club history.

Ernesto Valverde also belongs to the same school of thought, and so did his predecessor Luis Enrique. But now, Barça also have to think about the first-team’s long-term future and another name should crop up as a potential successor to Valverde.

The Basque won the domestic double in his first season in charge, and Barça are well on the way to complete the treble this season. Valverde also signed a new deal recently. But the club needs to think beyond his tenure, when club icons like Lionel Messi and Gerard Piqué leave.

In that regard, La Masia graduate Thiago Motta is a very good option. The Brazil-born Italian defensive midfielder made 147 appearances in all competitions in 6 years in the first-team squad. Unfortunately, his Barça career was blighted by regular knee injuries.

Later, he would go on to feature for Atlético Madrid, Genoa and Inter Milan before joining Paris Saint-Germain after the takeover of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. Motta eventually became deputy to Thiago Silva, captaining PSG in his compatriot’s absence.

He retired at the end of last season, after spending almost 3 months on the treatment table and making 27 appearances in all competitions. Then, Motta took over from Hervé Guégan as head coach of the PSG U-19 side and has been revolutionary.

It is a undoubted fact that PSG attract the best youngsters in the world due to their unlimited financial resources and excellent infrastructure. This is exemplified by the fact that they finished as runners-up in the 2015/16 UEFA Youth League.

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Since then, they have stopped short of reaching the final of the prestigious tournament for a variety of reasons. They have also failed to win the Championnat National for 3 years. But this season, Thiago Motta has changed their fortunes in the league.

PSG U-19 lie in 1st place, although they are fighting with Caen U-19 neck and neck for the top spot. Regardless, Motta’s innovative tactics have played a big part in the good performances this season. They lend heavily from Pep Guardiola’s revision of Cruyff’s philosophy.

It is a 2-7-2 formation, which is essentially the horizontal version of a 4-3-3. Motta has implemented tiki-taka with panache, flooding the midfield with players and using a sweeper keeper. Obviously, it has yielded results with the emergence of huge talents.

If Motta can win the Championnat National this season with his tactics, Barça will seriously need to look into the prospect of appointing him as the replacement for Valverde when the Basque coach leaves at the end of his contract.

It would be preferable if he takes up a job as head coach of the first-team squad of a club at the end of the season, but Barça reaped the benefits after promoting Pep Guardiola to first-team coach directly from Barcelona B.

The same could be the case with Thiago Motta. He has made certain revisions to Guardiola’s tactics, including a goalkeeper who plays much higher up and marauding full-backs. But he has an eye for talent, is a product of La Masia and has knowledge of the club.

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Although it would be odd to choose Motta over Xavi or Iniesta, he is the first to take up a coaching job and could do wonders at Barça if he clicks with the team.