In hindsight, should Guus Hiddink's tactics against Barcelona in 2009 receive more acclaim due to how he contained such an amazing team?

[matbezlima]

In hindsight, should Guus Hiddink's tactics against Barcelona in 2009 receive more acclaim due to how he contained such an amazing team? At the Camp Nou, he parked the bus and played for the 0-0, not even trying to counter-attack. Barcelona was good in the first half, I think, but frustration and nervousness due to not scoring eventually made their performance poor, Chelsea defended like a rock and with a energy and closing of spaces that Barcelona was probably experiencing for the first time in the season.

In the second leg, Barcelona started playing well, but Chelsea's early goal really gave Chelsea reason to play defensive and Barcelona suddenly became nervous, frustrated and unable to break through Chelsea and create even a single clear goal chance, reduced to hopeful shots from outside the box. While Chelsea could and should have tried to hold the ball more and score another goal to finish the tie (they were giving the ball away too much with long balls), Chelsea still created a few clear goal chances in counter-attacks and were far more dangerous. Barcelona's first and only shot on target in the match was Iniesta's goal. After Abidal was sent off, Chelsea should really have gone to score the second goal instead of defending even more their 1-0 lead, this was Chelsea's only big mistake in the tie. Even then, if it was not for terrible refereeing, Guus Hiddink's Chelsea probably would have eliminated Barcelona.

I guess that the reason why he didn't receive much praise neither at the time or now is because it was a Barcelona team that still had to prove how good they were, unlike when Mourinho's Inter faced them next year. We all know now what Guardiola's Barcelona became, but in 2009 many people, specially in England, really doubted if Barcelona was truly that great and believed that Barcelona would be exposed as a "farce" if they played against a top PL team that "knows how to defend unlike spanish teams". The games against Chelsea really reinforced this belief in England and the reason why much of english press was betting on United to defeat Barcelona easily. Even the 6-2 against Real Madrid was dismissed by some as Real Madrid being too poor, since Real lost to Liverpool 4-0 in the same season.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I mean, like, they lost and went out of the competition. Nobody gives acclaim to a team crashing out of the competition despite being one of the biggest clubs around d at the time.

 

[matbezlima]

I mean, like, they lost and went out of the competition. Nobody gives acclaim to a team crashing out of the competition despite being one of the biggest clubs around d at the time.

Terrible refereeing was Chelsea's undoing, and I say this as a huge fan of that Barcelona team. Did you really read all that I wrote?

 

[freeurmind]

The non-called Pique handball in that second leg... At least we got Ballack chasing the referee and "it's a disgrace". Drogba was out of control after that game.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Terrible refereeing was Chelsea's undoing, and I say this as a huge fan of that Barcelona team. Did you really read all that I wrote?

And the fact that Chelsea couldn't score more goals or compete in midfield. Parking the bus is such an overrated tactic. It's impressive no doubt to keep an all time great team quiet but they went out and Chelsea themsleves were one of the superpowers /top teams in football at the time so it's hardly going to be an 'acclaimed' effort. This was no Leicester story.

 

[adexkola]

In hindsight, should Guus Hiddink's tactics against Barcelona in 2009 receive more acclaim due to how he contained such an amazing team? At the Camp Nou, he parked the bus and played for the 0-0, not even trying to counter-attack. Barcelona was good in the first half, I think, but frustration and nervousness due to not scoring eventually made their performance poor, Chelsea defended like a rock and with a energy and closing of spaces that Barcelona was probably experiencing for the first time in the season.

In the second leg, Barcelona started playing well, but Chelsea's early goal really gave Chelsea reason to play defensive and Barcelona suddenly became nervous, frustrated and unable to break through Chelsea and create even a single clear goal chance, reduced to hopeful shots from outside the box. While Chelsea could and should have tried to hold the ball more and score another goal to finish the tie (they were giving the ball away too much with long balls), Chelsea still created a few clear goal chances in counter-attacks and were far more dangerous. Barcelona's first and only shot on target in the match was Iniesta's goal. After Abidal was sent off, Chelsea should really have gone to score the second goal instead of defending even more their 1-0 lead, this was Chelsea's only big mistake in the tie. Even then, if it was not for terrible refereeing, Guus Hiddink's Chelsea probably would have eliminated Barcelona.

I guess that the reason why he didn't receive much praise neither at the time or now is because it was a Barcelona team that still had to prove how good they were, unlike when Mourinho's Inter faced them next year. We all know now what Guardiola's Barcelona became, but in 2009 many people, specially in England, really doubted if Barcelona was truly that great and believed that Barcelona would be exposed as a "farce" if they played against a top PL team that "knows how to defend unlike spanish teams". The games against Chelsea really reinforced this belief in England and the reason why much of english press was betting on United to defeat Barcelona easily. Even the 6-2 against Real Madrid was dismissed by some as Real Madrid being too poor, since Real lost to Liverpool 4-0 in the same season.

Dummies.

I was one of those dummies.

 

[cyberman]

It was more of a modern style thats stamping out midfield creativity. Having runners in midfield and allowing the opposition to have to ball up to a point then springing on them with the team press.
It wasnt press everywhere for 90 minutes, it allowed them to keep their defensive shape and stop the passing between the lines.
Its why Barca were, and are, a more ordinary side than they are at Camp Nou.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Half of that group of players with Di Matteo at the helm beat Barca 3 years later. Should we give him the credits?

I think that Chelsea team in general was just chocked full of matured, defensive savvy players that when they decided to hunker down they are a bitch to deal with for any team, regardless of managers.

 

[Relevated]

That team seemed like such a clash of old school vs new school but that was the worst refereeing performance ive ever seen and I'll never forget ballack swatting the flies around the ref

 

[Pav1878]

What is the point of this thread? More respect for going out of a two leg tie? Huh?

 

[Black Adder]

His tactics should definitely receive more praise, they've played Barcelona off the park in a manner not many teams ever did.

But because of bad refereeing (can't recall similar match on the highest level with so many one sided decisions) all that was left was Drogbas going bat shit crazy, Ballack and Cole memes and one lucky strike by Iniesta, not many talks about tactis and gametime.

Barcelona really looked lost that evening while Chelsea were flying, and with at least one penalty given game would've been put to bed long before 90th minute strike.

Oh and also it's hard not to ask ourselves "what if" there was another finale against Chelsea, should we win or would they get their revenge for Moscow?

 

[Tel074]

Terrible refereeing was Chelsea's undoing, and I say this as a huge fan of that Barcelona team. Did you really read all that I wrote?

I read all of what you wrote and completely agree with amolbhatia. Why would he receive more acclaim for defending for 2 legs only to get knocked out ? Referees will make bad decisions that's part of the game so again why should anyone credit Hiddink for playing in that way only to get knocked out ?
Jose did it with Inter and had 10 men for a large portion of the game due to Barcelona cheating yet the history books remember Jose and Inter as being boring and being a disgrace for how they played .

I do agree at that time this was the only way to beat Barca over 2 legs but Chelsea lost the tie

 

[GuybrushThreepwood]

Chelsea only lost 1 match in 23 (with 17 wins and 5 draws) in all competitions that season after Hiddink was appointed.

As weird an accolade as this might be, has there even been a stronger team finishing in 3rd place during the Premier League era? The Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea 1-2-3 podium that season was incredibly strong, and even 4th placed Arsenal had a 21 match unbeaten run in the league (admittedly with quite a few draws) at one stage, and reach the semi-finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup losing to Man Utd and Chelsea respectively.

 

[Champagne Football]

That Barca team were very beatable with the right system.

In 2009 they got their ass handed to them by Chelsea, in one of the greatest referee swindlers in football history.

In 2010 they got their ass handed to them by an average Inter Milan side managed by Jose.

In 2012 that same Barca team got their ass handed to them in the CL semi final, by a Chelsea team managed by none other than Roberto Di Mateo.

You can argue Fergie got the tactics wrong in the finals in 2009 and 2011 because Mourinho, Hiddink and Di Mateo showed that that Barca team were very beatable with the right tactics.

 

[Dancfc]

Prime Hiddink was a very clever tactician. Worth noting the previous year in the Euro's he halted a Holland team that smashed Italy and France to bits and looked certain to win the thing, not to mention the previous round to this he totally outfoxed Benitez who at the time had a big reputation for pulling the rabbit out of the hat in CL nights.

He was up there with Jose mark one in terms of the confidence and assurance he gave the fan base.

 

[Lay]

They had a man advantage and had great players. Should have gone for the kill

 

[Demyanenko_square_jaw]

Kurban Berdyev deeply frustrated Barca 3 times with Rubin Kazan getting a draw and a win in barcelona during 09/10 and another draw in the next campaign.

If we have to give a manager a shout out for effective defensive performances against Pep's Barca then i'd rather to him, not to managers that had squads full of international and world class players.

 

[Lay]

I read all of what you wrote and completely agree with amolbhatia. Why would he receive more acclaim for defending for 2 legs only to get knocked out ? Referees will make bad decisions that's part of the game so again why should anyone credit Hiddink for playing in that way only to get knocked out ?
Jose did it with Inter and had 10 men for a large portion of the game due to Barcelona cheating yet the history books remember Jose and Inter as being boring and being a disgrace for how they played .

I do agree at that time this was the only way to beat Barca over 2 legs but Chelsea lost the tie

The Barca Inter tie was littered with massive referee errors for both teams though. That Bojan ‘goal’ should have counted for example

 

[Bojan11]

This Chelsea team were always a bogey side for Barcelona.

The majority of the players faced two of the best Barca teams in history. The 04-06 Barca team, Chelsea in 2005 were incredible against them. They had a even record against both those great Barca teams in knockout ties. Knocked them out in 05 and lost in 06. Lost on away goals in 2009 and beat them in 2012.

 

[MrPooni]

Chelsea were screwed royally that season and in turn so were we.

 

[Robertd0803]

His tactics should definitely receive more praise, they've played Barcelona off the park in a manner not many teams ever did.

But because of bad refereeing (can't recall similar match on the highest level with so many one sided decisions) all that was left was Drogbas going bat shit crazy, Ballack and Cole memes and one lucky strike by Iniesta, not many talks about tactis and gametime.

Barcelona really looked lost that evening while Chelsea were flying, and with at least one penalty given game would've been put to bed long before 90th minute strike.

Oh and also it's hard not to ask ourselves "what if" there was another finale against Chelsea, should we win or would they get their revenge for Moscow?

We would have battered them.

 

[matbezlima]

That Barca team were very beatable with the right system.

In 2009 they got their ass handed to them by Chelsea, in one of the greatest referee swindlers in football history.

In 2010 they got their ass handed to them by an average Inter Milan side managed by Jose.

In 2012 that same Barca team got their ass handed to them in the CL semi final, by a Chelsea team managed by none other than Roberto Di Mateo.

You can argue Fergie got the tactics wrong in the finals in 2009 and 2011 because Mourinho, Hiddink and Di Mateo showed that that Barca team were very beatable with the right tactics.

Inter Milan in 2010 was not average. And the cases of teams beating them were few and far between, even with those tactics. Though parking the bus really was the best way to stifle them.

 

[Tel074]

The Barca Inter tie was littered with massive referee errors for both teams though. That Bojan ‘goal’ should have counted for example

Yeah true but my point is that Inter got the job done while Chelsea didn't

 

[matherto]

You can argue Fergie got the tactics wrong in the finals in 2009 and 2011 because Mourinho, Hiddink and Di Mateo showed that that Barca team were very beatable with the right tactics.

I don't think there's an argument that Fergie got his tactics wrong against them in both finals (especially 2011, Giggs and Carrick in a 4-4-2 against their midfield was suicide) but I'm also in some agreement with him that morally you couldn't play that way in a final. Parking the bus is horrible to watch.

 

[matbezlima]

Terrible refereeing was Chelsea's undoing, and I say this as a huge fan of that Barcelona team. Did you really read all that I wrote?

Then why was Mourinho's effort next year so acclaimed by your logic? Inter was a world class team too.

They had a man advantage and had great players. Should have gone for the kill

As I said, this really was Chelsea's only big mistake.

That Barca team were very beatable with the right system.

You can argue Fergie got the tactics wrong in the finals in 2009 and 2011 because Mourinho, Hiddink and Di Mateo showed that that Barca team were very beatable with the right tactics.

Ferguson wrote in his auto-biography that United would have a chance if they parked the bus. But Ferguson didn't want to do again what he did in 2008, he wanted to beat Barcelona playing proactive football. In the end, Ferguson says that he does not regret his decisions.

And the fact that Chelsea couldn't score more goals or compete in midfield. Parking the bus is such an overrated tactic. It's impressive no doubt to keep an all time great team quiet but they went out and Chelsea themsleves were one of the superpowers /top teams in football at the time so it's hardly going to be an 'acclaimed' effort. This was no Leicester story.

Espanyol was also a team that constantly stifled Barcelona really badly. This only changed in Guardiola's third season. Valencia at the Mestalla were always tough and at the Camp Nou they sometines were better than Barcelona in the first half before getting destroyed in the second.

 

[FujiVice]

Never seen a game so obviously in the pocket of a referee.

 

[Tel074]

Never seen a game so obviously in the pocket of a referee.

I always thought this was a huge exaggeration by Chelsea players and their fans . The Chelsea players behaviour that night was a disgrace.
There is a arguement to be had for all decisions that night and from what I remember the one that set them all over the edge was the Ballack shot at the end that hit the Barcelona player in his armpit . Never a pen .
Chelsea had chances that night to win the game but they didn't so to blame a ref is just embarrassing

 

[Dancfc]

We would have battered them.

Not a chance.

 

[matbezlima]

I always thought this was a huge exaggeration by Chelsea players and their fans . The Chelsea players behaviour that night was a disgrace.
There is a arguement to be had for all decisions that night and from what I remember the one that set them all over the edge was the Ballack shot at the end that hit the Barcelona player in his armpit . Never a pen .
Chelsea had chances that night to win the game but they didn't so to blame a ref is just embarrassing

I have seen countless people, even Chelsea haters, recognizing that the refereeing in that game was a disaster to say the least. It's not a thing of Chelsea fans only, far from it. It is the most infamous refereeing in a UCL KO game in this century, I know plenty of neutrals who began to hate Barcelona because of that game, even though they never liked Chelsea either.

 

[FujiVice]

There is a arguement to be had for all decisions that night and from what I remember the one that set them all over the edge was the Ballack shot at the end that hit the Barcelona player in his armpit . Never a pen .

State of those three. The referee was either on the take or abysmal.

 

[2 man midfield]

Surely anyone can just decide to park the bus?

 

[Robertd0803]

Not a chance.

Have no doubt we would have beaten Chelsea again. Certainly would have faired better than vs Barcelona.

 

[Moiraine]

Fecking Norwegian referee

Lampard, Essien and Ballack
I don’t think that midfield was any inferior to Barcelona’s. They would have beaten us in the final, there was a fair chance of that.

 

[Gio]

Going against the grain here, but I never saw that tie as the travesty of justice it was portrayed to be by many. Of the major calls over the two legs, Chelsea had 3 in their favour (Eto'o wrong offside when in on goal, Henry pen appeal, Abidal red card). Meanwhile, Barcelona had 4 in their favour (Pique handball, Alves block on Malouda, Drogba's tumble against Toure, Ballack point-blank shot blocked by the arm). Lots of refereeing errors but not that unbalanced over both legs. And obviously a vastly different match dynamic if Barcelona go 1 or 2 up in the Camp Nou.

All of that said it was still a defensive masterclass from Chelsea. Anyone who watched Barcelona regularly in 2008/09 knew they were playing a brand of football that had reached unprecedented levels of territorial and possession domination. Anyone who was able to limit that as effectively as Chelsea did over the two legs deserves plenty of praise.

 

[Lay]

I have seen countless people, even Chelsea haters, recognizing that the refereeing in that game was a disaster to say the least. It's not a thing of Chelsea fans only, far from it. It is the most infamous refereeing in a UCL KO game in this century, I know plenty of neutrals who began to hate Barcelona because of that game, even though they never liked Chelsea either.

I had the same but the same ones ignored the calls against Barcelona in the first leg and even claimed the Abidal red card meant nothing. But there's a history in my social circle of English clubs getting the benefit of the doubt. I recall Materazzi getting a red card against Liverpool and my social group claiming it didn't change the game

 

[adexkola]

Big Sam and Pulis deserve more credit in retrospect.

 

[Dancfc]

Have no doubt we would have beaten Chelsea again. Certainly would have faired better than vs Barcelona.

I disagree.

I think the combination of hunger for Moscow revenge, Hiddink's tactical acumen and the momentum we built under the Dutchman's leadership would have seen us through on the night. I felt that at the time too which made the Barca defeat worse.

Furthermore even if it didn't, you most certainly would not have battered us.

 

[Gringo]

More acclaim is needed in how Hiddink got a tune out of Malouda. He tore Alves inside out in both games, never saw Dani have two worse games.

 

[Harry190]

That Barcelona team was not infallible. I hate the fact that their dominance gave rise to a bunch of armchair football purists. Their style fit their time, but pit them against a strong, powerful and dynamic team of the 90s, the type of AC Milan in the 90s or United 99 or even Zidane's Real, and they would be in trouble.

So yes OP, you are right.

To be fair, Barcelona rose to the occasion in both finals against us though. Did not do anything wrong.

 

[tenpoless]

I didn't like Chelsea back then but even so I could see how the referee decisions fecked them. I still laughed though.

But yeah it was the correct tactic and I believe it was the only tactic that should be used.