'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAGCAMAAAG6Kc9iAAAAtFBMVEVGaEB2qT5+pU5agzZimypsbFhojz6Roc2XeIdifjpOchxwpThOdEQ6PDhelSRgkx40IE5aiyKJqWZsoTJsg0J0YHhaaIVSbiJePHxojzpaZkJqZDx+dJlalyBoVHydm61mkTBejyqjjZ9eZpFUYCBUWCRelSaNl8NMWn5WfCxYjxqrwWhKSnBekSZUfiJwnzqBoVxonTRkmy65rRZebiqBkadsj0JomzRmkTKRrVR6n0ZIXlQE1WAwAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAAUElEQVQImWMwlmQwZdAXUGWwYmCQY2Rg0tCRUmDQ5hHj12MwU+Yw52Jgk9A0F2ewFLJWZ5dhZbEwYdBillcS5VUzEpFm0OXjNuAUVpRVEQQA9DkG8bWjxpwAAAAASUVORK5CYII='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Chelsea unexpectedly beat Liverpool at Anfield last season with a scoreline that suggested a comfortable victory. That performance won them the League Managers' Association (LMA) Performance of the Week award, an award given to the best performance over all four divisions of English football. What a fitting response to all those critics who questioned their style (or a lack of it)! Brendan Rodgers, in his post match interview, rather jokingly said that Chelsea parked two buses in front of goal, probably in acceptance of being beaten tactically.
Despite enjoying only 27% of possession, having fewer shots on target, and having been sat in their own half for most periods of the game, Mourinho's men won. The widely accepted notion is - they won because they "parked the bus", just as they did at Manchester City, at the Nou Camp, at the Allianz Arena and god knows where else! "They didn't play fair", "it isn't the right way" - some of the excuses.
For those who do not know, "parking the bus" is a highly defensive minded tactic. It involves lining up all but one of your team in defense, either on the edge of the box or in the box (it may even be found in two layers, or ‘banks of 4’) and inviting pressure. Let the opposition keep the ball and pass it around for fun (Xavi, anyone?).
As they pour forward, the ball is ultimately cleared to one outlet further up the pitch, and this player breaks quickly towards goal. The tactic is centered around one aim: "do not concede, do not lose", rather than "score and win". It’s all about making the most out of whatever opportunity arrives, about being clinical.
In the aftermath of Chelsea's recent successes, the way the tactic is being treated in general is quite disrespectful, because it makes for painful watching for the neutrals. In reality, it is a well drilled approach, which requires the right personnel (you cannot ask a team full of short players to do this, can you?), hours and hours of practice, an idea of the circumstances, and the nature of the opposition.
The most important factors though, are concentration and energy levels. At Anfield, Andre Schurrle looked drained; he couldn't even run as the game reached its end and had to be substituted - a clear sign of fatigue.
Generally, the bus is parked against teams who like to keep the ball and try to move it mostly along the ground, teams who strive towards finding the killer ball through the middle that splits the defense. Since that plan becomes ineffective due to the compactness and sheer numbers in defense, they are either forced to go wide and rely on crosses, or launch high hopeful balls like Sam Allardyce’s teams do.
The presence of big-frame players in the defense negates this threat too. Thus, the defense, in all probability, cannot be breached and the attacking team are forced to go back and start afresh. Ultimately, the objective is achieved. Whatever goal is scored on the break is a bonus. Thus, parking the bus is a brilliant tactic to frustrate. You only require one smash-and-grab moment and the game is won.
Pep Guardiola's tiki-taka system (at Barcelona and now at Bayern Munich) has failed against the bus. Not fair, isn't it? Losing, or only drawing the game even after making over 500 passes while the opposition couldn't even manage half! Not fair, because the team that won had fewer shots on target; not fair, because their game plan was frustrating, they wasted time, their play didn’t uphold the spirit of the game.
Why is the bus treated as an object of hate? For a Chelsea fan like me though, it is indispensable. Sure, with all the attacking talents, we'd like them to win in style and mock the opposition, but sometimes, it is better to grind out a result and use the bus when you know that you will be beaten if you take the game to the opposition.
Thus, it’s only a thumbs-up from my side whenever the manager decides on an appropriate game to bring the bus and park it on the pitch. The irony though, is even Chelsea have understood the frustration of being bus-parked against. A case in point - they couldn't score at home against West Ham, despite a barrage of shots and Guardiola-esque possession.
So, the bus was the answer to tiki-taka. So, is there an answer to the bus? How can the bus be breached? Here are a few ideas - some tactical, some outright crazy!
1. Park your own bus
Ok, so the opposition do not want to score and are only intent on leaving with a draw. Why play into their hands then? Let's do the same. Even we shall commit all our men to defense and leave the center of the pitch open. What next, you may wonder! Let cattle graze in the middle of the pitch?
Now, it becomes a question of who blinks first and abandons the approach in favor of something fresh. If the opponent does that and gets drawn towards you, the game becomes a bit more open and the roles get reversed! Objective achieved: "break their bus".
2. Distract
Involve your goalkeeper in your attack, bring him up to midfield because the opposition isn't pressing much (Manuel Neuer would agree with me here!). Naturally, a couple of their players will get distracted and excited by this. As they rush out pressing, do not lose possession. String one or two quick accurate passes together and the defense splitting pass will probably be found.
3. Pass more intelligently
Usually, the outlet man presses the back four. So, why go past him, and into midfield as you construct your attack? Keep passing the ball among the back four, so more teammates come forward to support the outlet man in pressing. This leaves spaces behind and disturbs the compactness of the defense. This way, the opposition is gradually drawn out of their box.
4. If playing at home, make a large pitch
It seems easier to defend by parking the bus at, say Stoke City, than at Camp Nou. Of course, the playing area at Stoke is too small compared to the vastness of the latter’s pitch. So, in case the home team manager realises that the away side is going to park the bus, the ground staff could be instructed to, maybe move the ad boards a bit, create more pitch to play on. Basically the idea is to make a big enough area to negate the compactness of the away team’s shape.
5. Brute force
This is the simplest, and by far, the most probable method to achieve success. Though the attacking team may get frustrated, there is the hope that somebody in defense, at some instant, will have a lapse in concentration, or an error in judgement, having faced sustained pressure for most of the game. Keep the waves of attack going and hope for ricochets, deflections, or the goalkeeper spilling it, eventually, something has to give in. No defense is ever perfect, so keep attacking!
These were some ideas I could think of, to beat what is a very dull tactic to watch. As the years have gone by, tactics have come and gone – be it ‘Total Football’, ‘Cattenacio’, or ‘tiki-taka’. Looking unbeatable at first sight, none have truly stood the test of time.
‘The bus’ is the fad at the moment. Though I salute the genius who came up with it, it is hoped that somebody finds a way to conquer it once and for all, simply because the game will lose fans if teams become successful by playing so negatively.
With the stakes so high, will big teams ‘park the bus’ for crucial games in the upcoming World Cup? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain – it will eventually be beaten sometime in the near future.
