What is beautiful football?

I am continuing where I left off. Since I talk about 'beautiful football' all the time, it seems only right that I convey exactly what that means to me.

You may have already noticed that I have an image of Suarez, Messi and Neymar and to be perfectly honest. They are exactly what I am talking about. For most of last season and the second half of the season before, Barcelona were playing absolutely mesmeric football.

It came from a break from tiki-taka football. Teams started to figure out how to beat it and Barcelona realised this half way through the 2014/2015 season. So they changed their style and they had the perfect players to do it. Messi, Suarez and Neymar (MSN) formed a deadly trio.

It involved them utilising those three players more efficiently. While much work was still needed to be done in midfield and defence, and shouldn't be under appreciated. It was the desire for these three to go forward, beat players and attack quickly that took them to another level. While playing tiki-taka Barcelona were undoubtedly outstanding and once a team was broken down the football could be inspired. However, often a game could be 0-0 after 70 mins with Barcelona having 70% possession. This is not so great to watch. 

With the new Barcelona this doesn't happen, at least not as often. The essence of tiki-taka still remains at the club and is a huge part of why they are so successful but the need to improve and adapt turned them into a more exciting prospect to watch (in my opinion). Right now Barcelona are the only team I really feel will win the game if they play their best. Sure, they can lose but if they are on it, I don't think any team can actually stop them.

Now, it's important to note that they aren't my favourite team. My favourite team was the Bayern Munich of Jupp Heynecks. The treble winning side. They were, in fact, the side that arguably destroyed tiki-taka and is what caused Barcelona to change (that and the fact that Guadiola moved to Bayern). They played with a funnel style, coined by myself, in which the wingers cut in, the full backs bombed on and the team constantly pressed themselves into an arrow that pointed away from the goal which penned the opposition in. 

This need to push forward every time they got the ball was a joy to watch and they were the best team in the world at the time. It was great football, it actually didn't have the very best players in the world but most of them were awesome and the playing style was even more awesome. That is was I think beautiful football is. 

When you play, the idea is to be the best team. The best team can't spend all it's time defending, and if it does, it needs to turn it's attacks into goals, if they can do this then they probably would be exciting to watch. It also means you should create the most chances. You don't necessarily need the most possession, although more often than not you should, but I think the chances are very important. Teams can get by on defensive displays but ultimately you have to showcase the intent in attack. The team that can attack better will always be favoured both by fans and in relation to which team people think is better.

An example I can use is Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea against Mourinho's Chelsea. When Mourinho took over for the first time at Stamfoprd Bridge he built a spectacular team, no doubt about it. Then again he built a very strong squad second time round. However, for me, he never hit the heights of Ancelotti's team. Not for the entire season but towards the end of a title winning season and into the next, Chelsea won games by 6,7 and 8 goal margins. They were rampant. They played attacking football and were relentless in their need to get forward. Mourinho's team cantered to the title with solid defensive performances and it ultimately came undone. 

What it boils down to is that, when you create chances, you peg the opposition back. If your defending but counter really well consistently, then the opposition will have to start thinking about keeping some players back in order to kwell that danger. This will give your team more possession and so you will become the dominant team. So it stands to reason that, ultimately, the better team will always be the one who dominate the game. 

This for me is what teams should be aiming for. They don't always have to achieve it. They can recognise when teams are better and tactically set themselves up. However, once you reach a certain level, i.e you charge very high ticket prices and compete in the Champions league consistently, then you have to be aiming to be that team that dominates everyone else. Not just on the pitch, but in the transfer market. So one season you may know you are not as good as another team but then you look to rectify that. You need to be the best of all teams, not just a few. That is beautiful football.