Barca, PSG out, Bayern and Spain trashed, Is possession football in decline?

both fell to naturally enemies, hard working, counter attatcking teams.

Is this the turn of an era?

well thank goodness if it is

possession football is soooo boring

Omg what to do with bus parker fans .

Bayern are still in though.

Yohan Modric wrote:Bayern are still in though.

just wait

sree999 wrote:Omg what to do with bus parker fans .

Does anyone else find this guy's posts hilarious?

Also Real Madrid will dominate possession if we play Chelsea/Atletico.

Pippo wrote:

sree999 wrote:Omg what to do with bus parker fans .

Does anyone else find this guy's posts hilarious?

its like its a religion to him

Teams are lacking quality and decent coaches. That's all.

Yohan Modric wrote:Bayern are still in though.

buyern wont be in it for long. mark my words. they are nowhere near what they were last season. i will be quite surprised if they can even get into final.

Pippo wrote:

sree999 wrote:Omg what to do with bus parker fans .

Does anyone else find this guy's posts hilarious?

His every post is. He's my personal favourite in GoalLegacy.

Lumiere_Blanche wrote:

Yohan Modric wrote:Bayern are still in though.

buyern wont be in it for long. mark my words. they are nowhere near what they were last season. i will be quite surprised if they can even get into final.

Be prepared to be surprised then.

Possession football is not in decline. Barcelona and Paris simply faced two teams who are their antithesis in thwarting them and I knew they would suffer as result of this face-off.

Possession is still the eminent way to control the game.

Arquitescu wrote:Possession football is not in decline. Barcelona and Paris simply faced two teams who are their antithesis in thwarting them and I knew they would suffer as result of this face-off.

Possession is still the eminent way to control the game.  

controlling doesnt mean winning, and thats the whole point of footy

If anything, you can argue that both Chelsea and Atletico controlled the pace of both games. When they decided to accelerate the tempo, they did. When they decided to back off, they did. Neither barca or psg could do anything to move Atletico out of their gameplan, which is actually what matters.

possession football will have one hell of a test if we see chelsea and atletico vs bayern and real (even if real arent exactly possession based)

Didn't Bayern and Dortmund prove that last season?

I know Bayern were the second best possession team last season, but they never really emphasized possession.

Actually the question is when was pure possession football ever effective? Prime Barca were the only team who played that way and won the CL twice.

Yohan Modric wrote:Actually the question is when was pure possession football ever effective? Prime Barca were the only team who played that way and won the CL twice.

They won 2 CLs because of Messi

Bayern are still in, and Ancelotti has 'promised' possession football according to MT.

Personally i think the toughest style to beat in europe is the EPL style. They just 'park the bus' as you say and try and sneak a goal. Works against possession sides more often than not. Boring as hell though.

Yohan Modric wrote:Actually the question is when was pure possession football ever effective? Prime Barca were the only team who played that way and won the CL twice.

UHHHHHHH, the Spanish National Team and there youth system who win almost every tournament they enter.

Valkyrja wrote:

Yohan Modric wrote:Actually the question is when was pure possession football ever effective? Prime Barca were the only team who played that way and won the CL twice.

They won 2 CLs because of Messi

Oh wow, I didn't know Messi now plays for Spain too. He must be the reason they have dominated football for almost the last decade.

Lumiere_Blanche wrote:

Yohan Modric wrote:Bayern are still in though.

buyern wont be in it for long. mark my words. they are nowhere near what they were last season. i will be quite surprised if they can even get into final.

Bayern are actually better than they were last season. My bet is on them to win the whole thing.

Q: Barca, PSG out. Is possession football in decline?
A: The short answer is no.

Here is the fundamental tactical aspect that every football fan needs to understand about possession football before discussing the game: The measure that separates a good possession-based team and a bad possession-based team, above all else, is the quality and frequency of the chances on goal.

If a possession-based team's eventual attack results in:
1. a clear-cut shooting chance;
2. a free kick near goal;
3. the awarding of a penalty; or
4. the awarding of a corner
the team will ultimately be successful. This is basic.

However, if none of the above happen, the possession-based team will get countered. And against a good counter-attacking side, the possession-based team will probably be unable to adjust in time.

The reason I am discussing this is because there seems to be a general lack of understanding embodied in the OP question. How can a style be in decline when there has not been any innovation to successfully counter it? We're not talking about sweepers getting outdone by pacy wingers - this is the same possession style and the same counter-attacking style that we have seen for the best part of the last 10 years.

So what's the difference now?

I am of the opinion that the possession-based teams, PSG and Barca, did not execute their game plans correctly in the most recent games. Neither Chelsea or Atletico significantly restricted Barca or PSG to less than their usual possession.

The real difference is what Barca and PSG did with the ball, or rather, their failure to be effective with the ball. When you play possession, you have a certain level of control that can't be taken away from you. There will, undoubtedly, be times when crucial decisions have to be made as to where to pass, especially in the final third.

Now, I ask why is it that Barca, a team substantially comprised of midgets, are putting in cross after cross in the air instead of passing through Atletico's defence as they would have done under Pep? Poor coaching and poor decision-making. Tata has forgotten that basic rule I mentioned above and, as a result, most of Barca's attacks were wasted and resulted in the initiation of counter-attacks.

The same goes for Blanc and PSG, although Blanc made the crucial mistake of setting his possession-based team out defensively. That just doesn't work, because if you don't have the intent or capability to attack, you can and will get frequently caught in possession, often deep in your own half.

In summary, possession football is not in decline, but the recent execution of the possession football strategy by these 2 teams has been poor.