One of the best things about football is that there is an almost infinite number of ways to play it. Some of the game’s greatest minds have come up with their own ways to get the best of their opponents. Here are the top 5 most iconic footballing styles every football fan should watch.
Tiki Taka
Made famous by Pep Guardiola and his incredible Barcelona side, anyone who’s paid attention to European football over the past 10-15 years will be very familiar with Tiki Taka. Not only has it taken club football by storm, but the Spanish national side have also used it to great effect in recent years.
Defined by using triangles and short, patient passing in order to wear out their opponents, the key to this systems success relies on the technical ability of the players. Forwards must have phenomenal movement; midfielders need to progress the ball up the pitch through dribbling and passing and defenders should be calm and decisive with their passing and tackling.
The late great Johan Cruyff once said, “If the opponent doesn’t have the ball, they can’t score” and Pep Guardiola took that to heart. His Barcelona side was famous for their dominance in possession, averaging 60%-70% during his reign.
The team that Guardiola inherited from Frank Rijkaard in 2009 was perfect for this style of play. Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and of course Lionel Messi all came up through Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy. They went on to win multiple La Liga and Champions League titles playing Tiki Taka.
Pep is no longer at Barcelona, but Tiki Taka lives on with him in Manchester. This current Manchester City side is arguably the coach’s most complete side. He’s been given a vast amount of money, and the investment has been repaid in silverware. A football trip to Man City will show you the power of Tiki Taka
Total football
This one goes back a long way. From Burnley in the 1950s to Santos in the 1960s before finally getting the recognition it deserves due to the dutch and Ajax teams of the 1970s. Total football is the predecessor to Tiki Taka.
In total football no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role, each player can do every other player’s job, meaning there is a constant cycle of players replacing one another for the team to keep its shape.
Englishman Jimmy Hogan is credited with the invention of total Football but it’s Johan Cruyff who is its most famous user. Both as a player and a coach, Cruyff was a huge believer in attacking football, ensuring that every team he managed played in this manner.
The Ajax side of the 70s managed to win 3 Champions Leagues and 8 Dutch titles, killing the famous ‘catenaccio’ style that Inter Milan used to great effect in the 60s. It was football that no one had ever seen before.
In the modern era, Ajax still play this brand of fluid attacking football, but it can be found all over the continent. Napoli, Barcelona and Manchester City all play using Cruyff’s fundamentals of beautiful attacking football.
Defensive masterminds
The first two styles we’ve listed have been based on fluid, attacking football, but there is more than one way to win a game. The best offence is a good defense and coaches like Diego Simione and Jose Mourinho have mastered it.
Italian football is perhaps most associated with defensive football, and for good reason. Argentinian coach Helenio Herrera brought his famous catenaccio, Italian for ‘door-bolt’ to Inter Milan in 1960, leading them to back-to-back Champions Leagues in 1964 and 1965.
Jose Mourinho is the most successful defensive minded coach of this latest generation. His first spell at Chelsea was not as defensive as many might think, but his success did come from a very solid defense, conceding just 15 goals in the league in his 2004/05 title winning season.
Mourinho’s greatest moments came while he was managing Inter Milan. Just like Herrera he brought the Champions League to Milan playing defensively, beating Pep Guardiola and his Barcelona team along the way.
Inter won the treble that season with a defensive base of Lucio, Walter Samuel, Maicon and Javier Zanetti, with Esteban Cambiaso sat just ahead of them. Samuel Eto’o, Diego Militao and Wesley Sneijder provided the magic up top.
Nowadays Diego Simione and his Atletico Madrid side are at the forefront of defensive football. Widely regarded as masters of the dark arts, the side from the Spanish capital are well worth a watch if you’re interested in tactics.
Gegenpressing
Originating in Germany, Gegenpressing was made famous by Jurgen Klopp and his mentor Ralf Rangnick. This style demands complete dedication and incredible fitness levels, it’s been successful at all levels of German football and now it’s been deployed in England.
The term Gegenpressing comes from the German for “counter-pressing”. It essentially means winning the ball back from your opponent as soon as possible after losing, preferably high up the pitch.
Applying intense amounts of pressure on the opposition in their defensive third with the hope of forcing a mistake. A team playing this style must be on the front foot, never letting the team they’re playing have a moments rest.
Klopp deployed these tactics to great effect during his time at Dortmund, ending the Bayern Munich monopoly on the league for a short period of time with Bundesliga wins in 2010 and 2011. They also made it to the 2013 Champions League final, narrowly losing out to their bitter rivals.
Most clubs in Germany now play with this style, but it’s Liverpool that do it best. Klopp moved from Dortmund to Merseyside and he brough Gegenpressing with him. Liverpool won their first league title in 30 years and their sixth Champions League under the jolly German.
Tactical Genius
Some coaches are able adapt their style in order to get the best of their opponent, Antonio Conte is one of those coaches. Although quite stubborn in his choice of formation, Conte is a football obsessive with the mentality of a winner.
His Spurs side have had a great start to the season after an impressive end to the last one. Conte won’t settle for top four, he wants a trophy and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was the man to break Spurs’ streak.
Thomas Tuchel is another coach who can adapt as he sees fit. When he took over at Chelsea, he reaslised that they were lacking defensively so he switched to a back three, ensuring they would be hard to break down.