Chelsea and Bayern Munich lost their respective Champions League semi-finals. They did not just lose, but rather both teams were comprehensively out-played and beaten comfortably. On the tactical spectrum, Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are extremes. One will do everything including parking the bus to win, while the other will never divert from the purity of principle. Both the losses showed crucial flaws in the respective tactics (Parking the bus vs Tiki Taka). As we build up to the final, I decided to re-watch the 2 semi-finals. While the problem with parking the bus is for another time, I really feel the urge to defend Tiki Taka. As a Real Madrid fan I never thought that a day would come where I would go and defend something as Barca as Tiki Taka.
So first up, Tiki Taka is not an offensive tactic.
While I exaggerate a bit, it is not in essence an offensive tactic. The philosophy of Tiki Taka is simple: If you have the ball, you control the game. The opposition get exhausted simply chasing shadows and you simply play short passes to keep possession. Tiki Taka is a tactic to control the game.
The offensive nature of it comes via 3 main reasons. First, it is key for the players to be able to use their movement to drag the opposition’s defense out of position and create openings for runners to rush into. The 2009 Barcelona team did it brilliantly. The moment any defender looked on the verge of making a mistake, Messi, Eto’o or Henry were rushing into that space often accompanied by Iniesta. When it was initially introduced, teams were left clueless on how to cope with it. Often running around chasing the ball and ending up too exhausted halfway through the second half.
Another crucial component of using Tiki Taka offensively is speed. As a Real Madrid fan there are few things as glorious as Xabi Alonso looking up, seeing someone making a run and delivering an inch perfect diagonal cross field ball. Barcelona used to do this with just 2-3 ground passes incredibly quickly! Abidal zipped it to Busquets who would pick Xavi out who would slip in Messi. In a matter of seconds the ball had gone from the left back across the pitch to the right winger. (Yes, Messi played on the right in 2009). The purpose remained the same; the defense had been sucked in towards one side of the pitch and quickly switching the direction created space for a free attacker.