UEFA Youth League final technical analysis: Keys to Barcelona's success

Barcelona won the UEFA Youth League for the third time on Monday thanks to a 4-1 final victory over Trabzonspor at the Centre Sportif de Colovray. It was a triumph which, in the words of UEFA Technical Observer Steve Cooper, showcased "a brilliant balance of excellent individual players who play as a team".

As the following analysis shows, Juliano Belletti's Barcelona side excelled both in and out of possession – their variety of passing impressing Cooper just as did the intensity of their pressing.

Barcelona's passing variety exploits space 

To begin with their work on the ball, Cooper cited their "short passing and combinations", particularly in the final third, often enabling the wide players to dribble inside and make things happen.

The video above offers two examples of Barcelona's superb combination play, showing the above-mentioned passing variety as we see them move the ball in tight spaces so as to create space elsewhere.

In clip one, No8 Quim Junyent drops to support his No6 Brian Fariñas, yet then moves higher and draws Trabzonspor midfielder Salih Malkoçoğlu with him. Thanks to this movement there is now room in the middle to exploit, and Fariñas and Junyent take advantage with the wall pass, working the ball around the corner and enabling Fariñas to make the switch of play.

This ability to play in narrow confines is evident too in the second clip featuring a three-player connection that starts with right-back Xavi Espart finding winger Arnau Pradas. Pradas' pass inside finds Fariñas supporting behind the ball and thanks to their skill at shepherding the ball out of tight areas, they can then make the diagonal pass which allows winger Juan Hernández to run at the defender.

"Technically, their general passing and receiving skills were excellent throughout the team," said Cooper. "I liked the variety of passes they used in attack. They showed excellence in short combination play, short passing, ball speed, and excellence in the longer passes as well."

Central combinations and penetration

To shift the focus higher up the pitch, and Barcelona's penetration in the final third, the first clip below shows them working again in a tight space and creating an opening for Ibrahim Diarra.

One detail to note is the run by right-back Espart, who carries the ball infield. It is also worth highlighting Junyent: watch how he opens his body to receive, giving him the option of going both ways as the ball comes inside from Espart. There is the possibility of a return pass to the full-back but instead Junyent feeds Diarra, running in behind. As Cooper observed: "We saw players coming inside and dribbling and then looking for Diarra who was playing a lot higher and made some runs in behind and scored two goals."

Diarra's opening strike is the focus of clip two and here Barcelona's positional play warrants a mention. With Junyent and Hugo Alba staying high, there is space for centre-back Andres Cuenca to carry the ball forward. The opposite movements of Junyent and Alba are significant too – one goes short, the other long, and as Trabzonspor centre-back Taha Emre İnce goes with Alba, this leaves room for Junyent to advance into. If the No8's close control is impressive, so too is the first touch of Diarrra, moving the ball into a shooting position.

Barcelona's intensity in the counter-press

As for their efforts off the ball, Barcelona impressed Cooper with the pressure they exerted. "Out of possession they counter-pressed really well," he said. "They never allowed Trabzonspor to get any rhythm in the first half."

The first clip above shows the intensity of the Barcelona pressing. After they lose the ball, Junyent recognises that Diarra is down and comes across to close down Salih Malkoçoğlu. As Cooper observed – and will elaborate on in the education section below – Barcelona's team structure "makes it easier for them to counter-press because they are close together for their combination play so when the ball is given away, they have enough bodies around the box to counter-press."

One particular detail to consider is the way Junyent adjusts his movement to stop the ball inside before he commits to the tackle. Another is the number of Barcelona bodies around the ball – a five versus four overload – before centre-back Eman Kospo steps in and intercepts. And this proves the cue for another quick exchange of passes as Barcelona work the ball out of a tight area once more.

As Cooper said, Barcelona gave Trabzonspor little space to breathe and clip two illustrates this again with left-back Landry Farré flying forward to apply pressure the moment the ball is lost. By winning it back immediately, he then puts his team straight back on the attack.

Coaching reflections, by UEFA Technical Observer Steve Cooper

On Barcelona's passing variety and team structure

"Technically their general passing and receiving skills were excellent throughout the team. Barcelona were good at achieving control with possession of ball, waiting for the moment to arrive and then attacking.

"Barcelona's passing ability is down to constant practice and repetition of technique, enabling them to select the right type of pass at the right moment. Thanks to that skill acquisition, they're so comfortable doing it and the positioning of the team is another key factor. Everything comes from the team shape and structure – that familiar 4-3-3 formation with a deep midfield player and two attacking midfield players and wide wingers.

"And so, for example, when Junyent went off, Hernández went from left wing to an advanced midfield position, and the way he did it showed that they are so well trained in understanding how the team functions and how each position functions in the overall team structure.

"From a development perspective, this entails positioning exercises on the training pitch as well as trusting your team-mates and understanding the structure of your team."

On counter-pressing

"To counter-press as Barcelona did requires concentration. It also requires decision-making. Mentality is important as it is about positive action. In Barcelona’s case, as mentioned already, their structure helps too. Often when a team play a positional game, transition can be smoother as players are already close to the position they occupy both in and out of possession. Therefore, it means they get good pressure on the ball quickly as a player is already nearby, and they can often do this in numbers as well.

"As the video shows, the rewards for doing it well are that your opponents don't have the ball as you've got it back; you gain territory and have the opportunity to go and attack again.

"If you're looking at working on this in training, I'd suggest opposed practices. You could have the team who win the ball do something quickly – such as a through pass or finding a certain area – and then get a goal for that. The team working on the counter-press, meanwhile, has to stop them doing that, and you set conditions and constraints. Training within an opposed environment and constant practice in small-sided games is a great way of working on this."

Click here for coach and player reaction from the final.