BARCELONA'S INFLUENCE ON THE MODERN GAME

For those that are statistically inclined, there's been a new focus on completed passes in Major League Soccer this season. Part of that is the influence of FC Barcelona, felt from the top clubs in Europe, to national teams, to rec sides that like what they see from Pep Guardiola's Barca style.

J Hutcherson writes of the continued influence of Barcelona - both on the world, and specifically on Major League Soccer.

Even when it doesn't lead to multiple goals, Barcelona puts on a show. They move the ball in all directions, highlight the team as well as the individual, and make the most out of their composite parts. It doesn't hurt that a couple of those parts are on the short list for best players in the World, along with a guy named Lionel Messi who already is.

Yet even Barcelona, mighty as they are, have shown that the passing game can let a team down. It's not an end in itself. It's a production mechanism that is practically worthless without goals. Even against an overmatched team - say a lower division club - showing you can out-pass the opposition counts for very little if you don't score enough goals to win.

A case in point. On Wednesday, mighty Rangers exited the Scottish Cup against a first division club. Rangers manager Ally McCoist wasn't shy in highlighting what he saw as the problem:

"The overriding feeling is we weren't good enough," McCoist told his club's official site. "We've been doing well in the league but we lost our discipline completely and went chasing the game far too early. We were passing the ball about and taking too many touches without going forward at a far higher tempo. We were miles short of what is expected at this club."

Whether or not it provides any solace the day after getting bounced out of a competition they won last season, McCoist's Rangers aren't the only ones "passing the ball around and taking too many touches." We've seen the same thing from Barcelona, the style leaders in making sure the ball does significant work over 90 minutes.

Earlier in the 2011 season, I watched DC United connect on 17 passes without the ball crossing the halfway line or the other team contesting. It was like a training drill, including a couple of players knocking the ball three yards to the left or right only to run onto it. Whether that counts as a completed pass is an open question, but there was no tactical benefit to what DC was doing that night. They were just knocking the ball around in their own in before doing exactly as expected and trying to lace it forward to catch an attacking player. No surprise, after their version of the Harlem Globetrotters's magic circle, there wasn't a soccer version of a successful alley-oop.

Again, DC is hardly the only ones. More than a few MLS teams have done the same thing, working the ball around uncontested or at the most lightly contested and ultimately costing themselves any real look at goal. Some teams have adjusted. Pass all you want, but it's not happening in the final third. We've seen that in the US Open Cup, MLS, and CONCACAF Champions League level, not to mention in competitive and friendly internationals. And just like with Rangers, it's one team trying to pass themselves to goals while the other team plays a harder nosed style of soccer.

True clash of styles is what makes Barcelona so lethal. They put out a team and a game that is close to unique in the way they're able to perform. When it works, even a 2-0 win can look resounding. When it doesn't, pundits and fans begin to wonder what all that passing and ball movement really accomplishes. If it hasn't already, that's going to become the standard criticism for pass happy clubs when they don't win.

In fairness to DC, they won the game I'm describing. 2-1 over Seattle on May 4th. The first goal was a through ball and the second from a cross. By halftime, the pass around game had been set aside for their usual set of tactics. They responded to what the other team showed them on the night. Even for Barcelona - not to mention all the teams in between - that's the best kind of tactical acumen. There always needs to be the ability to adjust accordingly. Without it, even good teams can pass themselves into trouble.