adinoosmI was reading the Tactical Terrier's piece on how he would go about stopping the False 9, and he had a great idea that i haven't thought of!
If you remember, Messi had his toughest games when he was being man-marked by Pepe, like in the Copa Del Rey final that Madrid won 1-0 vs Barcelona!
The problem with playing Pepe in the middle was that you were sacrificing creativity so you could stop the other teams play maker. Madrid stopped Messi but often found it hard to make any good passes out of the back.
Right here Alonso would be doing something similar to what Busquets does when he drops into the defense when in possession, he allows the team to be creative from the back.
So playing a defender in midfield to man mark Messi (Pepe as a holder) and playing a creative deep lying play maker in defense would neutralize the other teams play maker while still keeping creativity from the back and still being dangerous with long balls for the counters. I think this is a great idea.
This might be the new changes teams will start evolving towards to stop the "False 9' role. It's a great idea to harden the midfield while still keeping creativity from the back to be able to counter effectively!
08.09.2012
JimmyGuitaristThere's no definite way of stopping any, very fluid, movement without leaving space for others to exploit.
I always think Barcelona struggle most against teams who match them in midfield, or even outnumber them in midfield if you consider Messi a striker. By doing that, you're essentially leaving little space the roaming movement of Messi.
ZonalMarking thought that Barcelona's own 3-4-3 could be the best way to somewhat make it harder for the false-9 to thrive;
Knowing Barca though, they'll just go to the extremes & respond with this.
08.09.2012
adinoosmYes i also read that piece by ZonalMarking, and i agree.
When Bilbao tied Barca 2-2 last season it was due to a system similar to what you are showing, with man-marking and intense pressing. I think Barca should have taken advantage of the Man-Marking system more though in that game.
you are right though, Barca go to extreme lengths to deal with problems in the midfield, i wouldn't put playing 7 midfielders passed them haha!
08.09.2012
adinoosmIf i had to choose a starting 11 with the formation i chose with Alonso in the defense and Pepe in the midfield, i would make my team look like this vs. Barcelona, with the new signing that came in. It looks similar to Mourinho's Chelsea.
It would be nice to see this idea tried out.
08.09.2012
JimmyGuitaristWell, right now, Madrid's method to stop Barca is something closer to karate than football. I'm not sure if they'll ever use a system of actually trying to out-play them in football terms. Pepe shouldn't be allowed to play football after his antics over the years.
They play so cynically against Barca, and I don't know how they get away with it. It's just little things which go completely unnoticed from the clueless TV commentators, & referees; the quick kicking of a shin, a short quick tugging of a shirt to stop a player (Messi) accelerating; it's just small, disguised fouls, which get overlooked.
Bilbao were one of my favourite teams last season to watch. I've liked all of Marcelo Bielsa's teams. He's one of those innovative managers, takes a risk even if it might be suicide. When Pep left, I initially wanted Bielsa to take over but I was just as glad when they got Tito.
08.09.2012
nvrTeams that play with false 9 = Teams that have C Ronaldo or Messi. The question really is how to stop C Ronaldo/Messi. Parking the bus seems to be the only answer.
19.09.2012
Lualua49I disagree, i strongly believe that using alonso as a defender increased defense's creative but you lose the most important player in your midfilder. And sorry but Pepe is a great defender but as a midfilder is horrible. So think twice before doing that change.
27.09.2012
