Delicious Irony

It would be delicious irony should RMA take the 2011-12 league title despite losing both the league Classico games. FCB and RMA would have both lost, and both won. Pep and troupes would take heart from the fact that they could go to the Bernabéu and do just as well as they are expected to at the new camp. Jose, and his manner thus far this season goes to add credence to this view, would relegate the Classico battles to being side plots. He would much rather focus on the RMA achievement in the season – taking apart good teams. Some of the games have been laid to rest thirty minutes in, and some games with only ten RMA players left on the park.

Does the irony have a footballing explanation though? Maybe it does.

Particularly since Jose’s arrival in Spain his two views on countering FCB have dominated tactics. He began with conceding possession, packing the last third, and looking to hit on the break. His current, and definitely more appealing and doing justice to the talent at his disposal, tactic is to play a high line, deny FCB the space and time for their tiki-taka. The first approach went with plenty of bad blood – between coaches, between players, etc. The second approach appears to coincide with more cordial relationship. Jose’s brilliance is underscored by the fact that these are the lines along which any discussion of playing FCB goes – these two ideas anchor the tactical discussions, with many teams going with one or the other approach.

FCB response to the first approach was mostly built on patience. They probably played thousands of ‘sterile’ passes. Xavi’s pass completion rate went from the 90% stratosphere to the heavens, above 96%. He didn’t try getting one touch passes back from the corner flags and goal posts – all else was fair game. The challenge for FCB was on one hand how to break the packed last third, and on the other how not to lose patience. It is no surprise that in this competition, there was acrimony waiting to happen every instant. When faced with the high line, Pep had to ensure that his men’s faith in their way didn’t dilute. In the recent Classico, over the first 30 minutes, RMA competed on possession, shots on target, sitters, etc. It was only when they began to tire in the second half that FCB could take the game statistics (including the goals, of course), to where they usually stand.

Just as much as Jose’s anchoring philosophies dominate tactics against FCB, the FCB seems very well prepared to compete these anchoring philosophies – ‘packed last third’ and ‘high line’. But they don’t seem quite as good against “non-anchor” playing styles – opponents whose own game is not one of these two extremes. FCB appears to struggle against opponents who don’t take FCB method, style, record, and percentages too seriously!

They may have struck this Holy Grail out of sheer genius, like Bielsa and Bilbao; or they may have simply stumbled on it because they never had the resources to even begin contemplation of stopping FCB from what they do. It is quite possible also that the FCB preoccupation with their football philosophy and its two major tactical threats has stopped it from thinking about other ways teams may line up against them. There could be ways in which possession stats arent given too much importance, a way where the focus is not so much on Xavi’s pass completion rate but on what influence the triumvirate has around the centre circle, a way that doesn't contest Pique’s assured passing but doesn't respect Valdes' footwork either. These could be the ways leading to FCB games not ending either 3-0 or 0-1, but a 2-2 once in a while. Maybe there is enough tactical acumen and talent in the Spanish league to break free of Jose’s anchors – and therein lies the delicious irony.

And maybe it is time for Jose to have a discussion with Daniel Kahneman too.