FC Barcelona: What Makes Lionel Messi, Xavi and Co. Greatest Team of All Time

If one team has been at the forefront of European competition for close to a decade now, it is surely Catalan giants FC Barcelona. Ably marshaled by the lion-hearted Carles Puyol, driven by the vision of Xavi Hernandez and rounded out by the absolute genius of part-time footballer but full-time midget-sorcerer Leo Messi, this Barcelona side have swept all before them in recent times.

But what makes them tick?

Other sides have players who are just as able, visionary and brimming with genius.

Real Madrid have the twinkle-toed Cristiano Ronaldo, who, in a purely one-on-one cage match such as this one, would take Messi to the cleaners. But unfortunately for the Portuguese princess, football is not a video-airbrushed Nike commercial.

Inter Milan have Wesley Sneijder, who, pound for pound, is just as dynamic and versatile a player as Chelsea-killer (oh my, that was a good day!) Andres Iniesta.

And Manchester United had Paul Scholes, who remains the only midfielder of our generation who could consistently operate at the same level as Xavi.

So what is it that causes Barcelona to transcend reality and inscribe their tale on the walls of the sacred hall of timeless footballing greats? Surely it cannot be the sum of their parts, because Real Madrid and Manchester City (however regrettably) would be neck-and-neck with them in that race. Nor can it be the presence of individual genius a la Sneijder, for Inter Milan (post-Mourinho) have sadly debunked that myth.

Instead, the clue lies in the famed corridors of La Masia. So join us on a tour of the La Masia video archives, in search of pearls of wisdom that academy talents sew deep within every fiber of their psyches...

Warning: The following pages may contain scenes of heavy praise towards FC Barcelona that may provoke allergic reactions in Real Madrid fans. All readers are advised to peruse with caution, and if you still believe that Andy Carroll was worth the £35 million Liverpool paid for him, then parental supervision is strongly advised (along with a frontal lobotomy).

5. Close Control

One of these elements is close control. Even rising stars like Thiago Alcantara display the composure and tender finesse on the ball that is lacking even in top professionals with the credentials of Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Xabi Alonso.

Sure, the latter group can pick a few brilliant passes per game, but not one of them is guaranteed to emerge with the ball every time in a two-on-one situation. Meanwhile, Iniesta and Xavi routinely waltz out of difficult situations with a deft flick of the boot or a divine shimmy like this one.

Contrary to popular perception, this close control is not any sort of God-given talent. Just as Paul Scholes perfected that deadly volley from the edge of the box by practicing for hours, just as David Beckham perfected those delicious crosses by toiling day after day for years, the Catalans perfect their close-control game by shedding blood, sweat and tears (usually of laughter) on the training ground.

This video of the Barcelona training session before the 2011 Champions League Final is just one example of the hoops Pep Guardiola requires his players to jump through. And it probably explains why waltzing through the Real Madrid defense is no problem for them.

Which brings us to...

4. One-Touch Passing... Often for No Reason at All!

The second major concept is that behind the continuous passing (tiki taka) game that Barcelona sometimes play (both on the field and in training) for no reason.

Watch a top defender like Gary Cahill. Watch Thomas Vermaelen. Watch Ricardo Carvalho, and watch John Terry. Watch how their "composure" on the ball is defined by receiving it, dawdling on it for a few seconds while they look around, and then making a pass.

While this allows them the time to scan their footballing radar, the more crucial point is that it allows the opposition to adjust their positions to cope with the position of the ball. Xavi describes how it is all about the rondo (monkey in the middle), where you pass the ball off before the 'monkey' can adjust his position and close you down.

Meanwhile, watch what happens when Puyol (and to a lesser extent, Gerard Pique) receives a pass: he takes a maximum of one touch and immediately moves it on. This allows the opposition no time to adjust their shape and in effect, Barcelona live by the motto that "a moving ball is your best friend."

And while I may have created that motto out of thin air because it sounds catchy and illustrates a point, there is no doubt that some form of it exists in the Catalan capital and that men like Xavi and Iniesta kneel down in front of a giant poster of Johan Cruyff and chant it first thing every morning.

3. Passing to Feet... and Then Some

Another element is their slick, convenient passing (because the term "passing to feet" is not quite adequate).

What is convenient passing? Good question: quite simply, when Lionel Messi is on the move, Xavi plays the through ball not just with the aim of reaching the little magician, but with the pinpoint weight and height for Messi's receiving convenience.

Call it a ball-delivery service, if you will. When a Barcelona foot makes the pass, the ball always reaches exactly the right place.

At exactly the right time.

For another Barcelona foot to take it perfectly in stride.

The concept of convenient passing is so well drilled into the Catalan mindset that Xavi probably does not even consciously register it any more. And neither does Iniesta, nor Messi, nor Pedro, nor... uhh, this could be a long list, so let us skip ahead, eh?

2. Movement Off the Ball

How many times have we heard commentators speaking about Messi, Pedro, Villa and Iniesta "running into those channels"? The cliché may have been exhausted into a coma, but it remains an undeniable truth.

To play at the Nou Camp, one has to understand the concept of playing in and out of spaces rather than playing from pass to pass. With the forwards perennially making runs that wreak havoc within an opposition defense, it is up to the full-backs to get around the back four and give Xavi and Iniesta five attacking options instead of three.

The reason Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan had so much success against Barcelona was because of their deep defensive line and the close quarters within which the back four operated (with wingers covering the flanks). This left no space behind the defense for the runners to exploit, effectively choking off the favourite attacking channel of the Catalan giants.

In this regard, the other principle is to play the small-pitch/big-pitch game, summarized beautifully in the linked video. Essentially, the idea is to crowd the opposition in tight when they have the ball and immediately spread out when you gain possession.

1. Play Hard with the Ball, Play Harder Without It: The Pressing Game

But for all the brilliance of the other tactics, this is the big one: the definitive element that has shaped this Barcelona side into what they are today. And that is what makes their dominant position in world football all the more incredulous: it is a concept that can be taught to any disciplined player.

I recently came across (and was so shocked that I promptly double- and triple-checked) this statistic: in the 200 matches Barcelona have now played under Pep Guardiola, they have never once had less than 50 percent of ball possession. Not once have they slipped below that magical threshold of supremacy.

Why? Quite simply, because for all their movement off the ball, it is only when they lose possession that we see the true Barcelona. The entire team works in a frenzied, yet miraculously coordinated, rush to flood the opposition into a weak touch, desperate clearance or inaccurate through ball.

Former Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen spoke about the "6 second rule," whereby the team is challenged to regain possession within six seconds of losing it. No opposition can play more than three passes in that time, which makes it highly unlikely for them to score. And the result is that more often than not, Barca regain possession within the attacking third.

There are a couple of ways to look at this scenario: the first is the Pep Guardiola point of view, which states that defending from the front means you win the ball 30 yards away from goal rather than 80 yards away. The second, and I humbly beg your indulgence here, is the game theory view of probability.

Even the best passers of the ball have an 85-percent success rate. Put them under the sort of intense pressure that Barcelona do and that rate drops closer to 55 percent... at most. As a result, the probability of accomplished midfielders like Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart playing three successful passes between them under intense pressure is an astonishingly low 17 percent!

If that last part flew miles over your head like a John Terry penalty, here is the abridged version: under intense pressure, even the slickest passing team can string together three passes only once in six tries! No wonder Barcelona never need a Plan B.

In Conclusion

In July 2011, FIFA Führer of the Reich President Sepp Blatter shattered all known measuring scales of hypocrisy by visiting Zimbabwe for showdown talks with dictator Robert Mugabe, presumably to meet the one man standing in the way of his coronation as the most despicably evil, corrupt old vulture to darken the doorstep of football.

More recently, Chelsea fans presumably tried to take the spotlight off their allegedly racist captain by traveling miles upon miles to KRC Genk for a Champions League clash, only to sing racist tunes about Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand.

In the midst of all this, it is reassuring to know that regardless of the racism and corruption in the sport, we can always rely on teams like Arsenal and Barcelona to transport us to a plane beyond the hurtful words and the corrupt turds: a plane of footballing beauty that transcends race, religion and money.

And in that regard, we thank the footballing gods for combining the raw ingredients of close control, one-touch passing, vision, movement and pressing into such an effervescent potpourri of tricks, flicks and wonderful goals. Any team can instill each and every one of these tactics and skills in their players as early as youth academy stage: that is what makes it incredible that only Barcelona have succeeded in combining all these tactics into a flawless, focused attacking machine.

Defending from the front is the root of Barcelona's success, because it gives them staggering amounts of possession. Because no opposition can survive their high-octane pressing game. And most importantly, because when an opponent cannot keep hold of the ball for even six seconds, they lose the will to make life difficult for Barcelona, effectively handing them game, set and match.

And it is this pressing that lies at the heart of the Barcelona way, that makes them European champions and that makes them "Mes que un club."

Edit: The Barcelona 2-2 Athletic Bilbao match only serves to highlight the importance of the high-octane pressing tactics Barcelona use and the fact that even they themselves are not immune to it. A hefty slice of credit must go out to Bilbao manager Marcelo Bielsa and his tireless side, which gave Barca a taste of their own medicine by pressing them into mistakes and, as a result, gave as good as they got for almost the entire match!

Disclaimer: Bleacher Report knows nothing about Sepp Blatter winning the title of most evil, despicable... etc. to darken the doorstep of football. We would also like to stress that our Cruyff turn of attitude has nothing to do with the $50 million that accidentally found its way into our bank account this morning.

If you know of any other tactics favoured by Barcelona or if your Sunday league side has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, feel free to leave a comment below. If you work anywhere in or around FIFA, on the other hand, you can |error 404 - severe profanity not registered|