Since the introduction of the tiki-taka style of play, developed by Pep Guardiola, FC Barcelona has dominated time of possession against almost all opponents.
Pep gave football a new, dynamic approach and it was the three anchors of the mighty Catalans who sailed the ship: Messi, Iniesta and Xavi.
One after another, Barcelona annihilated teams from Spain and Europe and won major titles without many difficulties.
Messi and his side were considered invincible until the first glimpse of a decline occurred in Italy, when Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals in 2010.
Barcelona had success next year with great performances against Real Madrid in the semi-finals and Manchester United in the Wembley final.
However, the 2012-13 season saw Chelsea do something which nobody could have imagined: they parked the bus and utilized counter-attacking opportunities.
Celtic did the same this season when they defeated Barcelona 2-1 in front of thousands of Scottish fans and just when Barcelona supporters thought that the curse was over, AC Milan delivered the final punch when they came out with a 2-0 win at San Siro.
Next, Real Madrid came to Camp Nou with immense confidence, wanting to end Barcelona's Copa Del Rey Glory. Los Blancos eliminated Barcelona from the tournament with an overwhelming score of 3-1.
The world now understands that the way to stop them is to be disciplined on defence, and that the only way to score is to rely on counter-attacks and cage Messi.
So what does Barcelona need to do? They cannot have 12 players on the field, neither can they shoot from 50 yards out. They need to rebuild.
Barcelona need to change their style of play and increase the ranks. This can be done both internally and externally.
Barcelona needs to reinvent their strategy and use the wings which they have traditionally avoided due to their style of play and lack of a formidable winger.
With high speculations surrounding the arrival of Neymar, Barcelona will be a side with the best of Messi and the best of Ronaldinho.
He can make the full use of wing and allow Messi, Villa and other forwards to find a suitable place in the box, ready to strike.
Xavi and Iniesta along with Fabregas can continue to pass the ball around the pitch and just when their options seem to exhaust, wing can be the alternative with a sensational playmaker.
Neymar can equally be as dangerous from the wing and Barcelona will be a team against which every team will need a plan B.
Barcelona has conceded almost in every match this season. With the absence of Abidal and poor form shown by Puyol and Alves, The Catalans need to be more responsible in order to get a clean sheet.
Other than Alba, nobody has looked to show some mettle and defend from their hearts. Barcelona needs to make serious change in their defensive unit.
Barcelona's senior defender such as Gerard Pique should take over the role of stopping opposition's forward and Dani Alves should restrict his forward move.
With Neymar and Alba already utilizing the flanks, Alves should look to play behind and be the man to stop the opposition's counter-attack. I would suggest Alves and Pique to restrict their movement and allow Alba alone to ship forward.
Instead of three forwards, Barcelona should give Lionel Messi full privilege to be the lone forward in the playing eleven.
Since Barcelona have greater possession than their opposition, playing a more attacking style of football cum a bit tiki-taka and having a great backing up would allow Tito Vilanova's side to be ready for a counter-attack.
Having three forwards and three midfielders will not help the Spanish unit at all as they tend to concede in every counter-attack.
They must also allow Alves and Pique to change their style of play and overall, Barcelona needs to reduce their tiki-taka because if they don't there could be more shocking losses in the future.
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