Former right-hand man of Josep Guardiola (Pep), Tito Vilanova, who also took charge of FC Barcelona's first team after Pep's departure, listed the following two points as the principles of Barça style:
One is to "keep possession of the ball and continue attacking in the opponent's territory", and the other is to "regain possession immediately after losing the ball".
No matter what the system is like - rather, the system is secondary - it is most important to put these two principles into practice. He, who passed away at the young age of 45 in April 2014, used to say this during his lifetime.
The idea is really simple. Roughly speaking, theoretically, any club in the world can become Barcelona just by doing this. However, putting this into practice on a daily basis is as difficult as drawing a perfect circle without any distortion in one stroke, and it is much harder than it looks.
From the late 2000s, Pep Barca was able to establish an era of dominance through their overwhelming possession football, thanks to the solid philosophy that formed the foundation.
"If you have to win ugly, then lose beautifully."
"Football is always aggressive and must be spectacular. If you dominate the ball, you will not be attacked by the opponent."
"There is no need to run. Just let the ball run."
The philosophy of Barca, advocated and instilled by Johan Cruyff, Pep's mentor, continues to be passed down to this day.
In 1988, Cruyff, who spent his active days at Barça, returned as a coach and first worked on instilling his philosophy into the team. The first thing he focused on was the "consistent education" from the Cantera (youth academy) to the top team. From young boys to top team stars, Cruyff had all his players play with the same philosophy of valuing the ball and in the same style.
In this way, Pep, Xavi, Andres INIESTA, and Lionel Messi naturally acquired the Barça style, just like young children learn a new language by listening with their ears.
The unique advantage that only Barca can imitate is here. Of course, there have been managers like Louis van Gaal who have entrusted a lot to Dutch players in the past, but it was Pep who took advantage of that advantage to the fullest and achieved great success in football history as the manager of the top team for four seasons from the 08-09 season.
"The reason why newly promoted CANTERANO (players from the youth academy) can easily fit into the top team is because they have been exposed to the exact same style of football at the academy."
Pep once said that the players understand how to fight, so there was no need to build tactics from scratch to match the characteristics of the players. In extreme terms, even if left alone, a high level of automatism was drawn on the pitch.
Therefore, I personally believe that Pep has become a stronger tactician since leaving Barca and taking charge of Bayern Munich and current Manchester City, where he does not have such an advantage.
Of course, even during his time as Barcelona's manager, he was so dedicated to studying that he would spend all day in the video room analyzing opponents. He also came up with many "inventions" such as using Messi as a "false 9" and converting defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano into a center back. However, as former assistant coach Vilanova testified, there were still many "inventions" that Pep created at the time.
"Pep had completely read the countermeasures of the opposing team, Barca. In order to prevent us from freely passing, the enemy will set a high line and come to steal the ball from the front. However, that doesn't mean that Pep had prepared a special training menu or given specific strategies. He just instructed us to attack the space behind the final line, and the players with high quality executed it perfectly."
In the modern football world, where the liberalization and internationalization of the transfer market have advanced, Pep Barca, who has reached the top of the world with homegrown talents, can be said to be an extremely exceptional existence.
This season, the Spanish coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA, who took over as the manager of FC Tokyo, aims to play positional football based on his ideal Pep Barca style possession football.
However, as a devoted follower of Cruyff and Pep, and having previously served as a coach and academy director in Barca's youth system, he surely understands how difficult it is. Even during his two-year tenure at J2's Albirex Niigata, where he provided spectacle with his possession-based football, he was unable to secure promotion to J1.
FC Tokyo currently does not have a Barcelona-like attacking philosophy ingrained, nor do players who have been educated in a style that prioritizes ball possession from the academy play a central role in the team.
"We need time."
What coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA repeatedly says is not creating an escape route, but rather an honest and genuine feeling. Like cells dividing, it takes time to achieve a high level of synchronized football that relentlessly approaches the opponent's goal by creating triangles one after another on the pitch, or a high-pressing football that starts attacking the moment the ball is lost.
In order for FC Tokyo to achieve the soccer that coach Albert Pobor is aiming for, it is important for the club and the fans and supporters to not rush into that realm all at once. Therefore, the first thing that coach Albert Pobor should focus on is building upon the foundation of Cruyff's role. In other words, creating a "Tokyoism" instead of a Barca-style.
"I want to build a foundation in my first year and have a good start in my second year. However, I cannot guarantee a title."
From coach Albert's comments, and from the fact that 18-year-old rookie Kuryu Matsuki was used as a starter in the opening match against Kawasaki Frontale, we can see the team's long-term strengthening policy. However, if we want to shorten the time for building a solid foundation, we should also incorporate talented players from outside who fit the playing concept while nurturing excellent talent in the academy. Even at Pep Barca, players like Dani Alves, Pedro Rodriguez, and David Villa, who were not from the academy, became valuable assets in filling the gaps that could not be filled by academy players alone.
In terms of reinforcement, Pep at the time also drew a lot of bad luck. Examples of this include Ukrainian center back Dmytro Chygrynskiy (now at AEK Athens), who was acquired for his footwork but did not fit in with the team. There was also a conflict with Zlatan Ibrahimovic (now at AC Milan) over his usage, showing that Pep's management skills were not as strong as they are now when he was still inexperienced as a coach.
That is why the importance of philosophy and the excellence of Canterano stand out even more.
Of course, it has been about 10 years since the era of Pep Barca, and modern football now demands stronger physical and athletic abilities. Both Barca and Pep, who left Barca, have been constantly updating their tactics to adjust to these changes. The trend of positional play, such as the "false full-back", which focuses on the advantage in positioning, can be said to have been pioneered by Pep. However, in recent years, Barca's impression is more of trial and error rather than updates. Nevertheless, their underlying philosophy remains unshaken, and having a foundation to return to when in doubt is crucial.
In the past, there was a left back named Francesco Coco in the 01-02 season of Barça. He was the first Italian player in the club's history and was raised in AC Milan's youth system. He was also known as "Paolo Maldini's successor", but he was always booed at Camp Nou. Barça's style is to fearlessly connect and break from the back line. However, the supporters (Cules) could not forgive him for playing it safe and easily kicking the ball out of bounds.
How long will it take for such a culture to take root in FC Tokyo, and for Albert Tokyo to find his way back to his roots?
It goes without saying that the reform by coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA has just begun, and it is not something that can be achieved overnight to instill the mentality of "love the ball like a lover" in the players. However, it is important to patiently wait. Surely, after 10 years, or even half a century, the unchanging style of FC Tokyo will be established.
Text by Yoshida Haruyoshi
