FanPost

Will The Proposed 4-3-1-2 Formation Work For Barcelona?

With the signing of Luis Suárez from Liverpool, Barcelona have, potentially, one of the most explosive forward lines in the history of football. Manager Luis Enrique is in the enviable position of having three of the world's best forwards at his disposal ahead of the new season. And he believes switching Messi from his false number 9 position will get the best out of Neymar and Suárez.

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Various Spanish media outlets, including Sport and El Mundo Deportivo have reported that Barcelona will change to a 4-3-1-2 formation next season. The question is, will it work?

Not everyone thinks having all three is a sure-fire recipe for success, though.

Former Barcelona player and manager of the Dream Team era, Johan Cruyff (who you will remember also had doubts about Messi and Neymar clicking about this time last year), has his doubts about all three functioning in Luis Enrique's side.

"I do not understand how the club will play a joined-up game with Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez all in the team," he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

"All three are individuals. Clearly then, this is a club that prefers individuals rather than a team that plays good football." A too many cooks spoil the broth theory, according to him then. Yet many believe that the trio will go on to create history.

The hypothetical 4-3-1-2 formation sees new signing Luis Suárez alongside Neymar as the two up the top with Lionel Messi sitting deeper. Andrés Iniesta plays behind the Barça number 10, while Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets play as part of a double pivot in favour of more defensive stability.

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Formation created using www.footyformation.com.

The idea has been planned and toyed with on the Barcelona bench for at least a couple of seasons. Indeed, Tito Vilanova shared with some of his assistants the debate on the need for some tactical changes based on physical changes experienced by Leo Messi in recent years. Now, with the arrival of Luis Enrique, everything has been prepared for a tactical adjustment affecting the best player in the world. The idea behind this groundbreaking Barcelona tactic is so that Messi is less isolated and has more creative freedom on the pitch.

The reason behind the double pivot of Busquets and Mascherano is twofold. The first is rather obviously, to provide more defensive stability. The two should in theory complement each other nicely, and thereby allowing for the potential signing of the Colombian Juan Cuadrado, to ideally, play and bomb forward in a winger-turned-right-back position. The second is to lessen Messi’s physical exertions.

With Messi having a free role, the 4-3-3 will be maintained while incorporating theoretical nuances that at times can blur the traditional system of Barcelona. Messi playing in a deeper position should certainly promote the virtues of Neymar and Suárez, who will play in their favoured positions. El Mundo Deportivo described the tactical shift as us seeing a "New Messi". It will be more like the Messi who played for Argentina in the World Cup but with Neymar and Suárez playing in front of him instead of an unfit and out-of-sorts Aguero and Higuain duo, as well as a better midfield playing behind him. In the last six La Liga seasons, Messi has contributed 79 assists, more than any other player.

Credit must be given to manager Luis Enrique, who is willing to work simultaneously with multiple systems that can adapt to all types of opponents and situations in any given game. Luis Enrique said in his latest press conference: "To be unpredictable we can use different strategies, but we always remain true to our style."

According to Thomas Andreu of Sport.es: "The coaches will seek to avoid the classic Leo rides starting in midfield or him being glued to the left to face endless slaloms alone 30 or 40 meters way from goal. There is a need to take less unnecessary physical risk which has increased in recent months and have proven unproductive. The best player in the world must learn to be measured, fully optimizing his resources and contributing increasingly to the collective game." Luis Enrique's project will start with this premise, and Messi has already been made aware weeks ago.

The 4-3-1-2 formation, even more than the 4-3-3 formation, has a heavy emphasis on the likes of Jordi Alba and Cuadrado/ Montoya/ Alves to provide width by bombing up and down their respective flanks. The lack of width is the weakness of the formation. It is therefore imperative that the full-backs and the likes of Neymar, Suarez and Iniesta attempt to provide some width. It is likely that either the formation or personnel may be tinkered in the second half against teams who park the bus. A more direct Pedro or Deulofeu may be introduced. In return, and looking for more defensive punch, a double pivot will most certainly be deployed. This could be a genius piece of tinkering. The return of Javier Mascherano in midfield and the presence of Rakitic, a player who can cover every inch of grass during the course of a 90-minute game, provide alternatives to a balance that has been missed in recent seasons in which Sergio Busquets has been too unassisted and left too exposed.

Barcelona’s coach Enrique has maintained that "Messi is still the best player in the world", but he clearly knows that there is a need to tinker with his tactics, and that another season in which Messi scores a record 60 goals is an almost impossible challenge. His aim is therefore to lessen the team’s dependency on Messi. Again, looking back at Barcelona in recent years, and most pertinently Argentina in this year’s World Cup, it was almost a one-man attack, and such tactics are just not sustainable in the long run. Messi’s mazy runs will be less frequent but more effective. He will provide more assists. His career will be prolonged. The attacking burden will be shared, Messi will become more decisive and his physical exertions will be less. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

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Above are Luis Enrique’s plans for Lionel Messi.

TalkSPORT journalist Lee Roden made a very good point in a recent article when he compared Barca's new attack to their old one, the one which first earned Pep Guardiola so much success. Back then it was Thierry Henry on the left, Samuel Eto'o through the middle and Messi on the right. It is now likely to be Neymar and Suarez up top, with Messi just behind them.

Lee Roden wrote: "All three bought into Pep Guardiola’s new ethos of defending from the front and ran tirelessly to regain possession. They were rewarded in front of goal. Lionel Messi scored 38, Samuel Eto’o 36, and Thierry Henry 26. All scored big goals in big games." This was of course then repeated in what is probably the best club team ever witnessed, with David Villa, Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodriguez spearheading the attack.

The 4-3-1-2 formation should work by providing Barcelona with a better balance and utilising the skills of each player in the team. A new rebuilt and refined Barcelona, if you will. On paper, Barca's new version should be able to do the same as the old one, although they need to make sure no individuals become bigger than the team, which is, admittedly, easier said than done. And with both Suárez and Neymar out for the beginning of the season it may be a while before we actually see it implemented.

We will let Luis Enrique have the last word: "I want a team that scores goals, defends well, is loyal to its style and wins games playing attractive football."

<em>This does not represent the views of Barca Blaugranes or SBNation</em>

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