Total Football Philosophy

Lore & Background

The team featured three of the top players in the world—Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta—all products of Barcelona's La Masia youth system. In the 5–0 Clásico victory over Real Madrid on 29 November, Barcelona showcased their Total Football approach, with eight players from Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad participating.

In Their Own Story

The rain slicked the Camp Nou turf, but for Barcelona's 2010–11 squad, conditions were irrelevant. On 29 November, against their eternal rival Real Madrid, the philosophy of Total Football reached its peak. The match, scheduled on a Monday due to elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, featured an emphatic 5–0 trashing. The team's fluidity was absolute: defenders pushed forward, midfielders controlled tempo, and forwards dropped deep to receive passes. As Guardiola later reflected, "Games like that happen very rarely indeed." The victory showcased the superb team-work of whom many consider the top three players in the world: Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. The international press questioned whether Real Madrid was "ready" for the magnitude of this match, as Barcelona took over first place in La Liga's table, ahead of Madrid by two points.

Reader's Guide

The squad's style combined tiki-taka possession with Total Football principles, as seen in the 5–0 win. The match featured 8 Barcelona players from Spain's 2010 World Cup squad, not 13 as sometimes claimed.

Did You Know?

• The 5–0 Clásico featured 8 Barcelona players from Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad, not 13.
• Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or voting.
• Barcelona earned a record €445.5 million in revenue during the 2009–10 season.