Tiki-taka

Spain's players celebrating their Euro 2012 victory. Barcelona and Spain dominated the world of football in the same period (2008–2012).[1]

Tiki-taka (Spanish: [ˈtikiˈtaka]) is a style of play in football characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession. The style is primarily associated with the Spain national team since 2006 by the managers Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque.[2][3][4][5] Tiki-taka methods were eventually embraced by the La Liga club Barcelona from 2009, especially during the era of manager Pep Guardiola; however, Guardiola distanced himself and the club from the style: "I loathe all that passing for the sake of it", stating, "Barça didn't do tiki-taka!", adding, "You have to pass the ball with a clear intention, with the aim of making it into the opposition's goal."[6] Its development and influence goes back to Johan Cruyff's tenure as manager in the early 1990s all the way to the present. The first goal using this system is considered to be the Sergio Ramos goal in the qualifying match for UEFA Euro 2008, played in Aarhus (Denmark) on October 13, 2007.[7] The play involved 9 players making 28 passes with 65 touches over 75 seconds. Spain went on to win the competition.

  1. ^ Hayward, Ben (28 June 2016). "It's official: Spain's golden era is over". Goal.com. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  2. ^ Lavric, Eva (2008). The linguistics of football. Gunter Narr Verlag. p. 354. ISBN 9783823363989.
  3. ^ Davies, Jed C. (25 July 2012). "The tiki taka handbook". Liverpool. Liverpool. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  4. ^ Davies, Jed C. (3 June 2012). "The tiki taka handbook". Liverpool. Liverpool. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  5. ^ Davies, Jed C. (3 June 2012). "The tiki taka handbook". Liverpool. Liverpool. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  6. ^ Perarnau, Marti (16 October 2014). "Pep Guardiola: I hate tiki-taka - it's rubbish and completely pointless". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  7. ^ J. I. Pérez, M. Á. Lara, M. Á. Morán y M. C. Torres (13 October 2017). "Thus was born the TIKITAKA". Marca.com. Retrieved 13 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)