Vidal in: Tiki Taka is dead, PTF is alive

Ernesto Valverde is here to write his own script. He isn’t a Tiki Taka General and clearly he isn’t signing Tiki Taka Sergeants either.

It’s the end of an era. The curtains of the days Barca played Tiki Taka has fallen. The door of pragmatic Total Football is open. And this is marked by the major handwritings on the wall.

Vidal in, Vidal out

When Paulinho was signed last season it was the strangest shock that greeted the Barca fans. They weren’t use to buying this kind of midfielder. It was a change of the status quo and it so hit the fans that the club felt the consequence in the financial books.

The commerce around Paulinho’s jersey wasn’t anything to write about. A Musa Ahmed jersey sold more in Leicester City than a Paulinho’s in Barcelona.

Now an Aleix Vidal, a Tiki Taka kind of player is sold out to Sevilla, and an Arturo Vidal is bought from Bayern Munich. And this would appear to be a mark of the new things to come. But no, this transformation started with the decision to have Ernesto Valverde as coach.

Those who knew Valverde’s Atletico Bilbao will relate that it was a team built around the philosophy of strength and pragmatic football.

Tiki Taka is Pep’s property, Total Football is Cruyff’s property

Many of you may not know this, Tiki Taka was a variation of Total Football as preached by Johan Cruyff. Tiki Taka was a gospel of Pep Guardiola as a lecturer in Barca’s school La Masia and a Barca B coach.

When he was handed the first team, Pep was already prepared to bombard the team with the Tiki Taka system. To do this he had to go into the black books of senior talents like Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto and Yaya Toure.

As good as these guys were, they weren’t good enough for Tiki Taka. They were masters of Total Football. To be able to do Tiki Taka you needed to be all of these:

— Young and agile,
— Feather weight and fast,
— Unphysical and brainy,
— Accurate passer and receiver of the ball
— Untiring, fit and long lasting,
— The team must have two conductors (one from behind, another in the front: Xavi and Busquet)

These are what the Total Football doesn’t have. Other things that Cruyff’s Total Football didn’t provide for were:

— a false 9,
— Gegen pressing and
— false full backs.

Total Football brought about Tiki Taka. As Pep improved on the concept of Total Football. The direct transliteration of the Spanish word Tiki Taka is actually what the Total Football is all about. That is why Pep never wanted his invention to be called Tiki Taka but the public were just fine with the name.

Total Football is about passing and receiving the ball in patterns and sequences that allows for space creation and ball progression towards the opponents goal post.

With Total Football, positions are more flexible.

Why am I giving this lecture?
I am trying to prepare our minds for the little adjustments that’s about to take over the Camp Nou.

Why is Barca adjusting?

— Barca no longer have the players that can play the way Pep’s Barca played.

— It takes time and resources to acquire them. Barca is a level A club, it is a taboo to have a trophy drought like we saw of Liverpool, Milan, Arsenal and others. We can’t wait for the acquired players to bond.

— This time will serve as a bridge that will gradually ease in the Pep’s kind of player gradually as the Busquets and Piques mentor upcoming stars from within. The process is gradual. This is football. Its is developmental, scientific and a process.

— Solidifying the squad with strong physical plays allows Barca to play like Wenger’s Arsenal and José’s Chelsea at the same time.

So welcome to the era of Pragmatic Total Football.

And when you start seeing Barca play like Madrid and Madrid play like Barca just understand that Ediale already warned you ahead.

In Isco, Asensio, Modric and others it could be possible to try the Pep’s Tiki Taka. But it’s one thing to have the players, it’s another thing to have someone who can manage the team to its potential.

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