SUMMARY
- Manchester City have been England's most dominant side lately.
- FC Barcelona's tiki-taka is one of the most exciting ways to play soccer.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team has been one of the most dominant sides in Premier League history. It is one of only two teams to win the PL title three times in a row, along with Manchester United.
The team from the blue side of Manchester has instilled fear in its opponents’ minds with their superior brand of soccer. A serial winner, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City completed a historic treble in the 2022/23 season.
TREBLE WINNERS! 🏆🏆🏆#ManCity | #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/wW693HFoH6
— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 10, 2023
However, Manchester City’s success is often overshadowed by one of Pep Guardiola’s former teams, FC Barcelona. Soccer fans often establish the supremacy of the Spanish team over ‘The Cityzens.’ And after a lot of digging, we have come to the conclusion that they might be right.
Manchester City can’t play the FC Barcelona-style tiki-taka
Pep Guardiola popularized a famous brand of soccer during his time at the club in 2008-2012. This was called the tiki-taka which included forming triangles on the pitch, which gave extra passing options to Barca’s players. In that way, the Catalan club was able to keep a hold of the ball for longer periods of time and, in the meantime, also progress the ball upfield quicker.
Many teams have tried to copy FC Barcelona’s style but have failed miserably. This is due to the fact that tiki-taka has always been Barcelona’s preferred way of playing soccer. Legendary coach Johan Cruyff brought a very possession-heavy approach to Barca’s playing style, which was known as ‘total soccer.’
Guardiola had just molded it into tiki-taka as we know it today. FC Barcelona was able to pull off the tactic because it had taught a similar brand of soccer to its academy graduates. These graduates would then slot right into the first team and have no problems understanding soccer.
On the other hand, Manchester City have fewer academy graduates in their star-studded lineup than Manchester City. Most of the players haven’t played together for most of their lives, and therefore do not have the chemistry required to play 90 minutes of tiki-taka soccer.
Manchester City’s style of play is quite different from FC Barcelona’s, which involves adapting to the game situation. It is more fluid with its soccer, with the team employing tactics like a false-9, inverted full-backs, etc. at different times of a single game.
Yet, even after their tactical complexity, FC Barcelona’s tiki-taka is still far superior to Manchester City’s soccer. It is one of the most simple yet beautiful ways of playing ever. However, it was very successful, as FC Barcelona lifted two trebles in just four years under Pep Guardiola, something the manager hasn’t done at Manchester City.
The stars on the Barca side were far superior to the ones Pep has at Man City
The title is self-explanatory once we look at the players that Pep Guardiola had at his disposal during his tenure at FC Barcelona. His most-priced possession was the young and lethal Lionel Messi, who was unplayable at that time. His midfield included perhaps the greatest trio of all time-Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi.
At the back was the trustable duo of captain Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique, while Victor Valdes guarded FC Barcelona’s goal. Certainly, no team with an infinite money hack can beat such a team.
Some of the stats of Barcelona’s players from this generation were so ridiculous that even some Manchester City stars could not beat them. While many City fans are angry over the fact that Erling Haaland did not receive the Ballon d’Or in 2023, despite scoring 52 goals the season prior, it is also worth mentioning that Messi alone scored 73 goals in 2011/12.
Remember when three Barcelona players finished in the top three voting for the 2010 Ballon d’Or
🥇 Lionel Messi
🥈 Andres Iniesta
🥉 XaviNo team will ever be able to beat that! 🥶 pic.twitter.com/R6RjSLPxzI
— Leo Messi 🔟 Fan Club (@WeAreMessi) October 25, 2023
Rodri might be a good CDM in his own right, but it is highly doubtful that he could anchor the midfield like Busquets. Not a single Manchester City midfielder can glide through defenses like Iniesta, and while Kevin De Bruyne is a great playmaker for City, his best season in terms of assists (23 in 19/20) is still lower than Xavi’s 31 assists in the 08/09 season.
Defensively, too, FC Barcelona is a different beast compared to Manchester City. All in all, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City might be one of the best English teams of all time, but it is outright disrespectful to compare it to FC Barcelona. The Catalan club is ahead of City in terms of the quality of players and the brand of soccer played.