In fact, for the current Barcelona, ​​they really have some significant differences from the Barcelona under Guardiola a few years ago.

Although the overall structure of the two teams is not very different, for example, the midfielder still has Habaib as the core, but due to Xavi's aging, Rakitic is now used more as the main force.
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But Enrique has some tactics that subvert "tradition".

This so-called "tradition" is the passing control that Barcelona has continued in recent years, or the "tiki-taka" style of play that is more widely spread among fans.

A very clear fact is that although Guardiola himself denies the term "tiki-taka", it is appropriate to use the term to describe the passing style of the team under his rule. In fact, this is also the most praised Barcelona style.

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The frequent and fast short passes that could only be seen in training in the past were copied by Guardiola in the top competitions, and he used this to achieve the ideal situation of "I play the ball and you defend".

The problem is that if this is regarded as a "tradition", then in fact, this tradition has been partially changed since Martino; after Enrique took over, it went even further than Martino:
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Because at this time, he has three big killers, MSN.

And when you have MSN in your hand, why is there any need to adhere to the "tradition"?

"I like to use the concept of 'time of possession per minute' to calculate almost all offensive technical statistics twice. This can also illustrate the biggest difference between Gua's Barcelona and Enrique's Barcelona."

Ancelotti said, opening the laptop he brought with him, and Pan Yi also hurried over.

Of course Pan Yi understands what An Pang said about "ball possession time per minute".

In fact, this is the most basic method of football data analysis, and many data analyst analysis teams will also use this concept, including Chelsea.

But many teams don't care about this and think it is meaningless. But Barcelona's situation can exactly illustrate the significance of doing so.

A line chart is displayed on the laptop, which represents Barcelona's possession time per minute in the past few seasons.

It reached its peak in the 12-13 season when Guardiola finally left office, which was about 13 times per minute, and then fell off a cliff until it was close to the 11 times mark in the season after Enrique took office.

In fact, just looking at ball possession rate and number of passes, Barcelona ranks first every season. However, if the two are combined to calculate the frequency of passes, Barcelona has declined significantly.

This is actually a bit weird.

Because since Guardiola was born, the significance of passing and controlling football matches has actually been popularized throughout Europe. Although not all teams are pursuing ball possession, "more and faster passes"

"But it is a common pursuit.

If pass-and-control football is a big river, then as all teams are riding the wind and waves along the river, Barcelona, ​​as the front boat, quietly plays a "sail against the current".

This season, Barcelona's number of passes per minute of possession is lower than its old rival Real Madrid, and sometimes even lower than Atletico Madrid! (Of course, Atletico Madrid's passing success rate is a bit eye-catching...)

This is the ruthlessness of data analysis: many illusions about the "cultural" level will appear very fragile here - if you use the banner of "traditional passing and controlling football", but your results are lower than Atletico Madrid How can you say you are adhering to "tradition" when the passing frequency is high?

However, it is undeniable that Enrique's overall results during his coaching period are still quite remarkable - at least he has now won the Copa del Rey and La Liga championships.

Moreover, with a firepower output of more than 100 goals on the offensive end, it is absolutely not the turn of the so-called "traditional defenders" to point fingers.

This also raises a new issue: How can Barcelona, ​​which deviates from the "tradition", guarantee its offense?

"The answer is very simple. When you have MSN, if you pursue a passing and controlling system too much, it will only promote the rhythm and compress the frontcourt activity space, causing MSN's abnormal ball-holding offensive ability to be restricted."

Ancelotti opened another table, which said "Barcelona's time of possession and shot ratio".

This is another way of statistics.

Any offense on the football field can be roughly divided into two steps: the first is to convert possession of the ball into a shot; the second is to convert the shot into a goal.

The former focuses more on efficiency, while the latter focuses more on quality. So how to quantify the efficiency of "converting ball control into shots"?

It's very simple. It depends on how much possession time a team needs to make a shot. Therefore, the concept of "possession time to shot ratio" is born. The lower the number, the more frequent the shots.

How is the situation at Barcelona?

From Guardiola to Martino to Enrique, Barcelona spends less and less time on the ball every time they shoot.

The change in this data can be understood as the more Barcelona plays, the more "impatient" it becomes, and the more they play, the more emphasis is placed on "quickly forming a shot."

Generally speaking, the result of forcibly increasing the number of shots is nothing more than "low quality, more attempts". As the accumulation of shots increases, the threat of shots will inevitably decrease.

However, Barcelona in the Enrique era has managed to do both - this season, Barcelona maintains the number one expected goals per shot in La Liga, specifically 0.158 expected goals per shot, which is ahead of all other teams. The team must be at least one level.

With a high number of shots combined with a high shot threat, the accumulated expected goals must be frighteningly high.

The total expected goals number of 95.4 really beats all the teams in La Liga. Barcelona's "real shot conversion rate" ranks first, and the number of goals scored has exceeded 110.

There are such data, of course, first of all, thanks to msn's awesome shooting efficiency.

Among all goals, msn accounted for 82.57% of them; msn accounted for 69.49% of 603 shots.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!

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Unlike the BBC next door, where Real Madrid scores goals most of the time like chopping melons and vegetables, the BBC almost exclusively focuses on off-ball play. The MSN combination in Enrique's hands is responsible for holding the ball in the frontcourt.

Not only did the three of them attack, but their shots accounted for a terrifyingly high proportion of the team's total. The data reflecting dribbling and passing of threatening balls also accounted for a very high proportion.

The sum of msn's "dribbling and one-on-one" accounts for 61.07% of the total number of teams - these high proportions are unimaginable in Real Madrid, where the task of holding the ball is evenly distributed and it seems that everyone is a soldier.

If we really want to say that "Total Attack, Total Defense" is Barcelona's tradition, then judging from the data, we really can't see that Enrique has any other traditions besides his formation and ball possession rate...

"Of course, the theory that just three people can conquer the world does not exist." Ancelotti began to open some video files.

"Enrique's normal practice is to hand the ball to msn in the midfield and backcourt as soon as possible. msn prioritizes personal explosions on the spot, using a minimalist way to advance the offense, and then casually fills in one person from the middle and backcourt after reaching the frontcourt.

Achieve "3 x" offensive investment."

"Look at this attack..."

Ancelotti has clicked on a video, which is a clip from Barcelona's game this season.

This is not a fast break, but it is very concise. The whole process is actually two penetrating passes from Neymar and Messi, plus another person besides msn actively moving forward.

But it reveals Enrique's thinking very clearly:

Neymar could have given the ball to Iniesta first when he started, but he did not do so at all. Instead, he directly dribbled the ball between the two people.

That is to say, Enrique gave the three great players in the frontcourt enough space to play freely. Even between individual work and so-called "team football", he chose the former.

"Don't think this is just an example. Such situations can be found everywhere in Barcelona games this season."

Ancelotti opened another video.

In almost the same position, Neymar still held the ball and successfully passed the ball. Finally, he separated the ball and created a shooting threat.

"Enrique's offensive system that combines 'msn alone' and '3 x' is honestly quite difficult to defend."

"Look at this, when Neymar holds the ball on the wing, he can completely control it and then pass it back, or directly pass it across. Both of these things are not difficult for him to do."

"However, he actually took the ball out of the four-man double team... It can only be said that the talented person is brave and the tactical board cannot fit in it."

"Then Neymar dribbled the ball forward, with Messi next to him and Suarez on the left. So who will take advantage of the huge space on the right? The answer is: Whoever is here will come."

"Usually Rakitic is on the right in the three midfielders, so Rakitic comes in very frequently. The reason why Rakitic is so useful and can replace Xavi is largely due to his outstanding performance.

His running ability is too important for this minimalist offensive system. Of course Alves also does this very often."

"Look at this goal again..."

In the next video, although Rakitic did not touch the ball, his movement is still worthy of attention.

This is a typical Barcelona-style counterattack, with not many troops invested. Messi holds the ball and directly equalizes the opponent's defensive troops. In the end, Suarez scored the goal.

But at this time, it was Rakitic who joined msn and appeared in front of the goal. He even ran up from the back.

"Barcelona's midfielder often plays the role of a sheep when attacking, but when they really have a chance, they can still shoot and score instead of completely relying on msn."

"Of course, msn should be mentioned here, especially the powerful passing abilities of Messi and Neymar."

"They occupy the top two positions in the short passing rankings this season, so in positional battles, Barcelona often plays some offenses that people don't know how to summarize no matter how they watch the video."

"Look at this goal, Atletico Madrid's defense has no problems, but Messi has really found space to penetrate, and Neymar can really be surrounded like that and still pass the ball accurately..."

Having said this, Ancelotti couldn't help but smile bitterly.

In fact, Real Madrid's performance this season is not bad. BBC has even scored more goals than Barcelona with full firepower.

But Barcelona relied on this seemingly simple routine to score goals one after another into the opponent's net, then gain points and finally win the championship.

"So you are right. It is difficult to completely defend against msn. The most important thing is to cut off the connection between the midfielder and them."

Pan Yi, who had been quietly listening to Anshuai's explanation, suddenly said: "But what if the midfielder can't guard it? After all, there is also Iniesta or Xavi here."

"Haha, I have seen your defensive ability, I believe you will find a way." Ancelotti smiled, "If you can't even guard them, then there really is no one in the world who can guard them.

The team is here."

Pan Yi also smiled and said: "I have another idea. If we really can't prevent it, then we can just try to score a few more of them, right?"

"I appreciate your idea." Ancelotti laughed, and then pointed to the laptop, "I just happened to talk about their defense."

Of course Pan Yi has also studied Enrique Barcelona's defensive system.

Barcelona this season seems to still emphasize pressing, but the core idea has been changed to parallel positions.

In fact, Enrique has placed great emphasis on the overall formation on the defensive end compared to Guardiola.
To be continued...