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Tiki-taka (spelled tiqui-taca in Spanish) is a philosophy of football,taken from the Total Football philosophy which is playing a short passing and quick movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession during the game. The style is primarily associated with La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team under managers Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque.Tiki-taka has been variously described as a style of play based on creating chances and goals through short passing and movement. With this style, the ball is worked carefully through various channels.
"short passing, patience and possession above all else"-The Tiki-Taka-
Midfielder is one of the keys of tiki-taka style of plays.
The tiki-taka style of play originates with Johan Cruyff's tenure as manager of Barcelona from 1988 to 1996. It continued under Barcelona's Dutch coaches Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard and was adopted by other La Liga teams such as Villarreal CF under coaches Manuel Pellegrini and Juan Carlos Garrido.
Raphael Honigstein describes the tiki-taka played by the Spanish national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup as "a radical style that only evolved over the course of four years", arising from Spain's decision in 2006 that "they weren't physical and tough enough to outmuscle opponents, so instead wanted to concentrate on monopolising the ball."
Tactical overview
We have the same idea as each other as a footballer. Keep the ball, create movement around and off the ball, get in the spaces to cause danger.—Xabi Alonso (Spanish midfielder)
The style involves roaming movement and positional interchange amongst midfielders, moving the ball in unpredictable patterns, and sharp, one or two-touch passing and waiting for a an opportunity to score goals with patience. Tiki-taka is "both defensive and offensive in equal measure"– the team is always in possession, so everytime the opponent gets the ball, the whole team are ready to get the ball back (high- pressing). Football pundits have contrasted tiki-taka with "route one physicality" and with the higher-tempo passing of Arsène Wenger's 2008 Arsenal side, which employed Cesc Fàbregas as the only channel between defence and attack.Tiki-taka is associated with flair, creativity, and touch, but can also be taken to a "slow, directionless extreme" that sacrifices effectiveness for aesthetics but prove to be so effective in winning games.
Notable successes
Spanish national team
UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup
FC Barcelona
win all titles they competed in 2009, making them the only team in the world ever to have achieved The Sextuple.
Barcelona's tiki-taka tradition has been credited with producing a generation of technically talented, often physically small players such as Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Cesc Fàbregas and Lionel Messi. This conclude that players with excellent touch, vision and passing, who excel at maintaining possession and have a good stability will be suited most with this style of play.
Sid Lowe identifies Luis Aragonés's tempering of tiki-taka with pragmatism as a key factor in Spain's success in Euro 2008. Aragonés used tiki-taka to "protect a defense that appeared suspect, maintain possession and dominate games" without taking the style to "evangelical extremes". None of Spain's first six goals in the tournament came from tiki-taka, five came from direct breaks and one from a set play.For Lowe, Spain's success in the 2010 World Cup was evidence of the meeting of two traditions in Spanish football, the "powerful, aggressive, direct" style that earned the silver medal-winning 1920 Antwerp Olympics team the nickname La Furia Roja ("The Red Fury"), and the tiki-taka style of the contemporary Spanish team, which focussed on a collective, short-passing, technical and possession-based game.
Analyzing Spain's semi-final victory over Germany at the 2010 World Cup, Spanish team's tiki-taka style appeared as "the most difficult version of football tactics, an uncompromising passing game, coupled with intense and high pressing.The Tiki-taka is the version of Total Football philosophy that does not require players to switch position too often and this helps in retaining energy throughout the game. Tiki-taka allowed Spain to "control both the ball and the opponent.
"Let the ball do the work and control the opponent"-Johan Cyruff
reference: Lowe, Sid (9 July 2010). "Spain's "Tiki-taka" style dominates" "World Cup final: Johan Cruyff sowed seeds for revolution in Spain's fortunes".Telegraph.co.uk
