Network Science Reveals the Secrets Behind The World's Best Football Team - Article Analysis

It is argued that Pep Guardiola’s 2009/10 FC Barcelona team were the best to ever play. With domestic and international successes culminating in 6 more pieces of silverware added to their trophy cabinet, it’s hard to argue with this statement. 

But what was it that gave them the extreme edge? Some key factors highlighted in this analysis demonstrate Guardiola’s use of tiki-taka or total football style play (made famous by the Dutch in the 1974 World Cup), with Barcelona playing the great majority of their passes horizontally, rather than forward and backwards. This strategy worked as the team managed to play, as a whole, in much more attacking positions than other teams apart from Real Madrid, who were found to become more pressing in later periods of games. 

On top of this, Xavi, who is often regarded as one of the greatest ever midfielders, recorded the highest centrality of any player, further unlocking the teams attacking potential. Despite these strengths, Barcelona, who play in a very tight knit formation, tend to concede more when this structure breakdowns, whereas Valencia have the opposite result, suggesting that the style of football isn’t bullet proof.

Barcelona are clear outliers when it comes to their style of play.

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