Quotes About Strategy

We have to be able to dominate the game, and make sure that we aren't dominated ourselves.

the attacking players would need to become the best defenders; and the defenders would have to become the first line of attack, moving the ball forward from the back.

He said that if you pass the ball well, you receive it well and have good control; then you have far more possibilities.

Superiority in midfield, as predicted by Pep, was the key to the game.

My role was to move the ball around the pitch for my team-mates to finish off the move,' he says. The

If each person does their job, and they know what it is because I make sure they know, then we are a team that is difficult to beat.

When we have the ball, we can't lose it. And when that happens, run and get it back. That is it, basically.' The squad, the group, was seduced. Not for the last time; far from it. Upon leaving the room, Xavi commented to a team-mate that everything that they had needed to know was there in that talk. A breath of fresh air, order and discipline. A reminder of the style he wanted to reinforce. All that was established from day one.

There is not a single trainer, nor player, that can guarantee success at the start of a season,' Guardiola wrote a decade ago. 'Nor are there magic formulae. If there were, this game of football would be as easy as going to the "solutions shop" and buying them all.

Football was his passion, his obsession, the thing he knew best, and Serie A was considered the league that practised the most advanced defensive tactics since Sacchi. His Milan of the eighties were regarded as having set the benchmark in terms of work rate and defensive strategy over the previous two decades – and Pep was determined to learn as much as he could from his time in Italy.

some key principles were quickly instilled in him: 'Don't stamp on anybody but don't let anybody stamp on you; keep your head high; two-touch football; keep the ball on the ground.

In the end, Pep won most of the doubters over with a clever ploy, a few well-chosen words and a single bold decision.

Ronaldo also dropped deep to receive the ball, turn round and run towards goal – and he always found space as the centre backs didn't follow him closely.

Pep and Bielsa have much in common: they love teams that dominate, that want to be protagonists on the pitch, to seek out the opposition goal as the main priority.

Ingla and Txiki set out a plan for the rest of the season which saw them working and consulting simultaneously with both Rijkaard and Pep, talking about players, injuries and recoveries and principally how to shake up the working model of the club. The primary goal was to professionalise the first team.

The ball runs faster than any human, so it's the ball that has to do the running!' which, in seventeen words, just about encapsulates his philosophy.

Look at him! Him, that one there! He's hiding! Your team-mates need to know that you are always available!' he'll shout, pointing a finger at the culprit. 'Before passing the ball, you need to know where you're passing it to; if you don't know, it's better to keep it; give it to your goalie, but don't give it to your opponent

he explained that elements of his behaviour in front of the media were a necessary evil: a vital cog in the psychological machinery that he used to win football matches.

During this period, Pep perfected other weapons that were going to be used during the rest of the season – and from then on. A high defensive line, quick pressure after losing possession and allocation of space for each player was the order of the day.

The pre-match talks are in the hotel if it is an away game, or, if it is a home game, in the Pictures room. First of all he shows footage of the opponents, explaining their strong points and how we can hurt them. The strategy is explained, both ours and the opponents'.

a passer of the ball positioned in front of the defence who could provide the platform from which every Barcelona attack would begin.

On one occasion Guardiola explained that there are two types of coaches: those who think problems solve themselves and those who solve problems. Guardiola belongs to the group that seeks solutions. That is his real passion.

For Guardiola, tactical concepts are taken in if the players have the right attitude and understand what they are doing.

He gave a different edge to the defensive side of the game and that is where Barça became strong and attractive: losing the ball but then, within five seconds, trying to win it back. The principle is simple and comes from as far back as van Gaal: after losing the ball there are five seconds of pressure to win it back; if it isn't recovered, the defensive phase would begin and players should quickly drop back.

Believe, believe with all of your hearts that we can score, because then we will definitely score.' There was also the tactical instruction: they should play fast balls down the wings, because Chelsea allowed them to start moves from the back and neither Anelka nor Malouda closed down that area particularly well.