BARCELONA HAVE TACTICAL PROBLEM TO SOLVE Neymar was undoubtedly the star of the Confederations Cup and got his reward with the player of the tournament trophy. Neymar also made another impact this summer, by signing for FC Barcelona. With Neymar’s quality it will be a mouth-watering attacking prospect for manager Tito Vilanova with Neymar, Leo Messi, Alexis Sanchez and Andres Iniesta to call upon. But how does he get the best out of Neymar and the other attacking options? Looking at the formation Vilanova likes to play, it is an attacking 4-3-3. The back four becomes a back two as the full backs push on to create the width as the false wingers move inside. The defensive midfielder holds a deeper position to protect the centre-backs when the full backs have gone. The midfield is made up of a 1-2 system in which the creative passers play right across the midfield, trying to find the little gaps to pass the ball to a forward in space and are supported by a defensive midfielder sitting deeper. The forwards are in a 2-1 formation and have a main forward in poacher role and two wider players, who cut inside, allowing the full backs to become the support out wide. By cutting inside, they look for the killer pass or space to dribble and go alone. Neymar is one of the wide players, who will cut inside. But to make this work Barcelona may have to sacrifice a midfield passer for a defensive midfielder. Neymar and Messi in the team is a luxury. They will do all the entertaining upfront to devastating effect but the tracking back and covering the full backs is something which will need to be addressed. If Messi and Neymar are in the team together it will fall to the midfield to help out more. Pedro and Sanchez have been great in the forward pressing role for Barcelona and have allowed Messi to do what he does best. If it takes two players to cover Messi then it may need four to cover Neymar and Messi. Xavi and Iniesta have been the two creative players in midfield and at times one might have to be sacrificed to accommodate Messi and Neymar. A box-to-box player in Thiago or Cesc Fabregas will need to be deployed to help cover at the back. Sergio Busquets has been a solid defensive midfielder for Barcelona but has had help from Pedro and Sanchez tracking back and waiting for the full backs to recover. Having two free-role players will cause the full backs to halt their run and supply crosses form deep instead of overlapping. If this is the case then a defensive midfielder will still need help in the middle. Vilanova has the squad to adapt to a new system to fit all his attacking options but he will have to make some tough choices when it comes to selection. Pedro, Sanchez, Ibrahim Afellay, Alex Song and Christian Tello may have to be content with supporting roles next season.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 11:54:03 +0000
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