Speaking about how football has changed over the last decade, Barcelona director Jordi Cruyff said: “Football has changed, and not because of the World Cup but as a general trend, it was that ten years ago if you won the battle in midfield you won the war.
“That was always said. Today that facet is not so important. Today it is often said that the result depends on the areas, your forcefulness in defence and your efficiency in attack. Which means that football is faster, which doesn’t mean more physical, but faster.”
When asked if Barcelona are stuck in the past with their playing style and if they need to change their approach, he added: “Obsolete and anchored [in the past], no. I think that nowadays if you have to play against a transition rival, if you can’t follow them you’re going to suffer every time you lose a ball, that’s true but that’s football in general
“If you analyse the Barça midfield of 15 years ago, when you had the top three of 15 years ago, the needs of the midfield were different. You had to have the ball and choose the right moment to give it between the lines to those up front and they had that individual quality that decided the games.
“The Barça defender did not have as a priority not to concede goals, but it was to get the ball out, to give it to the midfield so that the midfielder could do the same to the attacking line.
“I think today’s needs are changing but the midfield always depends on what you have behind and in front of you. There are squads where the midfield has to provide cover for the central defenders, and there are others where they have to have to get into the box and score goals.
“It all depends on the template you have and how it is built. It’s not fair to pull out a defensive line and do an analysis. Depending on the staff you have, the demands and needs of your midfield are different.
“Comparing the function of the average now with that of ten years ago is unfair because there was also a different attack than there was today and a different defence.
“It is somewhat more complicated than simply saying that there are the three midfielders that there are and that it is obsolete, it does not work like that because they are three great players,” he added.
Xavi has gotten Barca to play their iconic possession-based football, which has brought missed results so far. It remains to be seen if he brings any changes or tweaks to it to help combat some of the teams that are able to nullify their possession-based style.
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