By Jack Johnson /
It may well be something of a cliché, but in this case the old adage rings true. Football moves in cycles. Following Bayern Munich's terrifying dismantling of a Barcelona side often vaunted as the world's best ever club side in the Champions League semi-final and subsequent victory in the final against domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund every man and his dog have been falling over themselves in an effort to become the first to proclaim the demise of Barca and announce the dawning of a new age, the Bayern age. Bayern's soon to be departed coach Jupp Heynckes seems to have struck upon the notion that, yes, often diminutive playmakers are experts at implementing a tiki-taka passing style to great effect, but in many cases bigger, more powerful players can be just as, if not more effective playing a passing game complete with a physical advantage. For years Barca have been indisputably the best side around. Players like Xavi, Andreas Iniesta and Lionel Messi have been the bedrock of their extraordinary success on both a European and domestic level, wonderfully technically gifted players who were able to pass they way through opponent after opponent with consummate ease. Until they met this Bayern side that is. Against the Bavarians Iniesta and co. looked weak, overpowered - and for the first time in some years - thoroughly outplayed. Teams have attempted to bully the Catalan side in the past, kicking Messi at every opportunity, lumping the ball up to an all-elbows target man and just generally attempting to stop them playing, but more often than not Barca are able to find a way through. Not this time. The difference was that Bayern weren't just stronger and more physically dominant than Barca. They are also a brilliantly technical set of players who can knock it about with the best of them and will rarely be found wanting in a aerial battle or 50/50 challenge. Their style is perfectly epitomised by the excellent midfield pairing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez - himself
a Barcelona target this summer, but one deemed too expensive for Tito Villanova's side - whose raw energy and all action style is coupled with pass completion rates of 88% for the season. Their role as deep lying playmakers are very different to the ones which Sergio Busquets and Xavi take on for Barcelona. Schweinsteiger and Martinez are much more direct in their passing and know they have frightening pace and energy ahead of them in Ribery, Robben, Mandzukic etc. who will chase down their passes all day in order to spring a lightning counter-attack. The dominance of the pair is just one of the reasons why Heynkes side have managed to cruise to the Bundesliga title with a 25 point margin over rivals Dortmund in second. The German side also use very different styles of forward to Barca's preferred system of a 'false nine' backed up by two wide attackers. They employ a much more traditional centre-forward, either Mario Gomez or Mario Mandzukic, and even with the arrival of Pep Guardiola, seem unlikely to opt for a 'strikerless' formation any time in the near future with Robert Lewandowski heavily linked with a move to the Bundesliga champions. This is not to say this season has been a defeat for tiki-taka. Indeed there are two reasons two suggest it is important as ever. Firstly the simple fact that Barca did cruise to the La Liga title - 15 points ahead of rivals Real Madrid - without breaking from their tried and trusted methods. Villanova did not deviate massively from Guardiola's blueprint and has reaped the rewards on a domestic level at least. Secondly, it would be wrong to hail Bayern Munich's triumph as the downfall of tiki-taka as many of the elements of their game are similar. Bayern have been pressing high up the pitch this season, evidenced by Heynckes remarkable achievement in actually persuading Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery to actually fulfil their defensive duties. Also the German's have been second only to Barca for possession and pass completion statistics over the past two seasons in Europe's top five leagues. It is clear that Heynckes has taught his side to value possession of the ball just as highly as Barca, and is now reaping the rewards. So, are Bayern now set to become the new darlings of world football, dominating their domestic competitions and entering every Champions League campaign as overwhelming favourites? We can only wait and see. Time will tell whether Guardiola will be able to implement his own style of play at Bayern and follow the pattern of Barcelona, or if indeed he sees the German's style as the future of European club football.
After all, there may be more than one way to skin a cat, but Bayern's 'skinning' of the Catalans in the Champions League semi-finals was certainly one of the more effective 'skinnings' we have seen in recent seasons.