Is Barca’s tiki-taka style under threat?

While away on my annual leave, which in all honesty, I happened to get pleasure from more than any I have probably ever had, for ‘top secret’ personal reasons, little did I imagine that my first Eye on La Liga upon return would be on a topic that defies simple logic to even think about. It was demoralising enough to absorb the unsurprising yet saddening news of the resignation of Tito Vilanova last week, but for Barcelona to appoint an ‘unknown’ Gerardo Martino as the replacement, made the least meaning to this rather rushed deal.The Spanish champions are usually one of the most settled clubs in a managerial sense when compared to other European top sides, but this time their hands have been forced to a decision they could yet regret—but that is not for today.Ideally, the Catalan giants would have the pick of the best of the managerial crop, but being so late in the off-season, the majority of top managers (would-be candidates) have already been on the move, leading to limited options.It’s just over a month before the new season starts, so time wasn’t Barca’s best ally, and their cause wasn’t helped by the fact that their sworn enemies, Real Madrid have signed Carlo Ancelotti to replace Jose Mourinho. Something had to be done and done right albeit in a rush. Not many predicted Martino to be the man to take up one of the highly demanding and most scrutinised coaching jobs in top class professional football—but this is Barca, they do things that defy common logic at times, and surprisingly they more often than not tend to be the right decisions.Martino, 50, is coming from Lionel Messi’s former Argentine side Newell’s Old Boys and is reported have signed a two-year contract at the Nou Camp that allows him to bring his backroom staff with him—we probably saw the last of the inept Jordi Roura, who stood in for Vilanova last season.After that humiliating defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and the predictable resurgence of Real Madrid under Ancelotti, the reigning La Liga champions have a huge season ahead of them. Amidst talk of the downfall of their tiki-taka style, this rather hasty decision to go for a man, who has never managed in Europe, could see them play catch-up to Europe’s heavyweights in the coming campaign—but again, Barcelona don’t usually get it wrong.Reading about him after his appointment this week, Martino has managed Paraguay in the past and is well regarded at Newell’s Old Boys where he won the State championship title last season, but the pressure and media attention that comes as part of the Barca job will still be strange to him. History tells us that the Catalans have previously preferred to promote from within or at the very least employ someone that shares their ideals and it appears the Argentine fits well in the later category.But Barca need more than that this season, first to answer some of the questions that were asked of the team last season and secondly to remind their doubters that they’re not finished yet. Under Martino, Barca need to develop their tiki-taka style further, which in the normal world is almost impossible, or twist it a little through a change of tactics.The new manager, Martino will have his hands full, and will have to be very brave to succeed since Barca need to compete on all fronts if they are to avoid falling behind Madrid and Ancelotti.Madrid and Ancelotti are spending big in order to mount a serious La Liga challenge, while the Champions League will be as competitive as ever with Mourinho’s Chelsea, Man City’s Manuel Pellegrini, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern as well as Laurent Blanc’s PSG all in with a big shout at the title.