Barcelona's irresistible attack excels in the one area Bayern Munich's fails miserably

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Looking back over the course of history, the development of football tactics isn’t really about formations or pressing, but about precisely what you do with the ball. In the early years, the major debate was about passing versus dribbling – and, in a very different way, that contrast was evident in Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich last week. The passing game was, in itself, a huge innovation. Early football teams based their game around dribbling aggressively towards goal, with team-mates often ‘backing up’ to collect the ball if the player in possession was dispossessed, perhaps comparable to Rugby League. It was Queen’s Park, in the 1870s, who became the fathers of the modern ‘passing game’, which prioritised combination play over individualism. The modern Barcelona and Bayern Munich sides, of course, are primarily passers. They completed more than 1,000 between them in last week’s game, and one point of interest was the fact Bayern dominated possession, registering 55% – almost unheard of for an away side at the Camp Nou. But far more interesting were the dribbling statistics – and there, the difference was stark. Barcelona completed 26 of their 45 attempted dribbles, while Bayern’s figure was a somewhat pathetic 3 from 12. This, more than the passing, was arguably where the game was lost.

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