No club thinks about playing style more than Barcelona.
That was laid bare as they sacked coach Ernesto Valverde with the team top of La Liga, in a remarkable move earlier in January, replacing him with Quique Setien. The veteran coach finished 10th with Real Betis last season and has never won a trophy in his life. He does, however, play in the exact fashion which is so revered on the Camp Nou terraces.
Possession, control, verve, winning through the Cruyffian way is the Catalan dream. Ever since Pep Guardiola left in 2012, Barcelona haven’t been able to wake up from it.
Even though many of their legendary players are gone, including pass-masters Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, fans still expect Barcelona to play the same way. When more pragmatic coaches like Luis Enrique and Valverde take over, criticism quickly comes their way even if they prove successful; a treble for Lucho and two league titles for each says they were.
But whatever the difference in coaching, one constant over the past decade has been the sublime performances of Lionel Messi.
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The Argentine made his La Liga debut in 2004 under Frank Rijkaard and between 2005 and 2008 became increasingly important for Barcelona. The Blaugrana were on a downward trajectory but Messi was on an upwards one and by 2007 was already on the Ballon d’Or podium, finishing third behind Kaka.
It was under Guardiola, who took over in 2008, that Messi became the true world-class star we know and love today. For many, this electric, darting iteration of Messi is the one which will be remembered.
The years since have seen him evolve, change position, shapeshift. From a winger he became a false nine under Guardiola, until Luis Enrique used him on the right wing, and he’s drifted back inside since. Under Valverde and Setien he more often than not starts on the right, nominally, but with licence to roam wild and free.
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Messi boasts similar goal records under all his coaches, close to one goal for every game - 622 strikes in 710 appearances. That includes his bedding-in period under Rijkaard, with 42 goals in 110 games, which brings down his average. It was 211 goals in 219 for Pep, 54 in 43 for Tito Vilanova, 35 in 38 under Tata Martino, 133 in 134 for Luis Enrique and 103 in 109 for Valverde. For Setien, so far, it is three in three, although the small sample size means we can’t read much into it yet.
Setien is determined to bring Barcelona back to the Guardiola and Cruyff style. He spoke of the ‘resultadistas’ - those who only care about the final score and not the performance or process - but he thinks another way. Barcelona want the ball again, they want to dominate matches and drive opponents back, and from there they will find victory.
What does that mean for Messi?
The Argentine will face jam-packed defences, closed in and determined not to let the reigning league champions score. That’s how Granada played on Setien’s bow and only one excellent team move unpicked the Andalusians' defence. Messi, predictably, put the finishing touch on it, but the forward might worry that his team-mates don’t have the quality to find him when he carves out half-a-yard of space in the box.
Gone are the likes of Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi and Iniesta. Instead he has to make do with teenager Ansu Fati and the perennially troubled Ousmane Dembele. Arturo Vidal works well with Messi but has limited passing range. Only Frenkie de Jong can be relied upon to consistently feed him with tempting passes.
Messi hit 91 goals in 2012 with Barcelona playing this type of football, but he can’t seriously be expected to come up with the same numbers again. Not just because those around him aren’t as good, but because his game has changed too. He saves his energy for bursts here and there, no longer relentlessly making clever runs. Now Messi likes to drop deep and control the ball in the middle, playing passes for others.
"I think less and less about scoring goals. I'm starting to step back more and more to be the creator rather than the one who finishes,” said the legendary forward.
"Obviously I like scoring, and if have a chance I'll take it, but every time I go on to the pitch I'm less focused on scoring goals and more focused on the game. I've never been obsessed with goals.
"I understand that people will talk about it when I stop scoring so many, but that's part of the game, part of growing as a player and adapting to the times, to be the best player both for yourself and for the team."
This philosophy could help Setien’s Barcelona because Messi is the one man who can do what Xavi did, what Iniesta did, playing the killer balls. The pity for Barcelona’s new coach is that Luis Suarez is injured, because he’s the coldest-blooded killer Barcelona have. Antoine Griezmann is expected to play the No.9 role in his absence and started off well, with a brace against UD Ibiza and one against Leganes, in the Copa del Rey.
There may be times Messi becomes frustrated with a lack of space; he might not have the physical ability to beat countless men anymore. His mind-bending, blood-twisting dribbles are spaced far apart now.
Despite the complaints about Luis Enrique and Valverde, their set-ups respected the squad Barcelona had, playing to its strengths. That made for end-to-end matches and more space for Messi, who became increasingly important as time went on. Setien’s system should, in theory, make the 32-year-old less crucial, because like for Guardiola's team, Barcelona should now create a lot of close-range chances which any decent finisher can put away.
There were signs of that against Leganes on Thursday, with Griezmann tapping home after Nelson Semedo’s cut-back. The full-back played the Dani Alves role, Griezmann took Messi’s position as the finisher and the No.10 played the typical Xavi pass to get Semedo in behind. That was classical Barcelona, and a hint of what may be to come. That said, he went on to grab two of his own later.
Messi can do it all, whoever the coach, whatever the system.