We have drawn 75 offsides across all competitions; the most amongst any team in the world.
Make it 100.
Don’t know what has changed, but it is not new this year.
Xavi implemented this with “BACK”. But next year everything went south. I don’t know if we stopped training hard enough or something.
That being said, What Flick is doing, is just simply cockblocking. Every other attack from the opponent is turning out to be offside. Even with this injury haunting team. Tactical, practiced, and precise.
I can’t help but smile when I think about Vini getting mad about being called offside. You know he’s going to be salty…
Predictable defense
To me, a successful offside trap is equivalent to last-man tackles or interceptions, plus it offers the added advantage of enhancing in-possession play and attacking through a high line.
When you play a high line, you compress the playing area, and with effective pressing, you can quickly win the ball back.
The main reason we struggled in Europe for so many years is that we allowed elite teams too much time on the ball, which the high line neutralizes.
With players like Kounde, Balde, and our center-backs, it would be foolish not to adopt a high line given its advantages.
Yes, you might concede one or two goals, but you’ll likely score three or four in return. We were never a conservative team.
The very concept of possession-based football, introduced by Rinus Michels, was considered high-risk, even suicidal at the time. That’s Barca’s DNA—playing a high-risk, high-reward game.
I’ve also checked that our average high line can range from 45-70, depending on the opposition, proving that Flick isn’t foolish.
But then again, just like not every set of players can play possession style of football. Not everyone can play this type of highline, you need right ingredients for it. And thankfully we have one.
When CBs will be back, Araujo will improve it more and we can rotate more; so that we can keep the backline sharp all the time. With midfielders coming back, we can play proper midfielders who will lose less balls, give more control, etc.
6 comments
We have drawn 75 offsides across all competitions; the most amongst any team in the world.
Make it 100.
Don’t know what has changed, but it is not new this year.
Xavi implemented this with “BACK”. But next year everything went south. I don’t know if we stopped training hard enough or something.
That being said, What Flick is doing, is just simply cockblocking. Every other attack from the opponent is turning out to be offside. Even with this injury haunting team. Tactical, practiced, and precise.
I can’t help but smile when I think about Vini getting mad about being called offside. You know he’s going to be salty…
Predictable defense
To me, a successful offside trap is equivalent to last-man tackles or interceptions, plus it offers the added advantage of enhancing in-possession play and attacking through a high line.
When you play a high line, you compress the playing area, and with effective pressing, you can quickly win the ball back.
The main reason we struggled in Europe for so many years is that we allowed elite teams too much time on the ball, which the high line neutralizes.
With players like Kounde, Balde, and our center-backs, it would be foolish not to adopt a high line given its advantages.
Yes, you might concede one or two goals, but you’ll likely score three or four in return. We were never a conservative team.
The very concept of possession-based football, introduced by Rinus Michels, was considered high-risk, even suicidal at the time. That’s Barca’s DNA—playing a high-risk, high-reward game.
I’ve also checked that our average high line can range from 45-70, depending on the opposition, proving that Flick isn’t foolish.
But then again, just like not every set of players can play possession style of football. Not everyone can play this type of highline, you need right ingredients for it. And thankfully we have one.
When CBs will be back, Araujo will improve it more and we can rotate more; so that we can keep the backline sharp all the time. With midfielders coming back, we can play proper midfielders who will lose less balls, give more control, etc.