When Johann Cruyff last conjured the philosophy of Total Football, Ajax won three consecutive European titles from 1971 to 1973 and the Dutch team reached the 1974 World Cup finals. Yesterday Cruyff, a former Barcelona man himself would have felt proud. Barca's game though similar, does not exactly match with the philosophy. But what they do is elevate the game to an art form through exemplary passing and in a way breaking football to its simplest form. As Cruyff himself said, "Simple football is the most beautiful. But playing simple football is the hardest thing".
Total Football is all about creating ample space. Cruyff's team did it by moving around with no player occupying a fixed position. What Barca do is not far away. They create that space through passing, passing and passing. Its a lot of first touches and by trying to win the ball they send the opponents in circles. And the orchestrators of this spectacle, pulling the strings in the midfield are two of Spain's best. Xavi and his padawan learner Iniesta are the deadliest combination in world football today, for both club and country.
Talking of space and Total Football, this Barca team has a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). This needs neither space nor assists. It seems to work on its own and when it explodes its wrath appears terrible. It's diminutive, but still can muscle past five bulky defenders, and runs faster with the ball than players running without the ball. The WMD's exhibition of football is more than an art form, it is divine to say the least. And it plays in the no. 10 jersey.
With such assets it is not surprising that Barca embarrasses even the best of opponents. But the team's main weakness is endurance as it displayed in the first leg against Arsenal recently. A 2-2 scoreline technically qualifies for even honours. But those who saw what transpired know that Arsenal were outplayed beyond anyone's imagination. Real Madrid await them for El Clasico. A second consecutive Champions League title beckons. If anyone can stop them it is gonna be The Special One. Inter have their task cut out.
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