The team talk on Monday 16th, the day before their Champions League debut, focuses

solely on this 3-4-2-1. The players are called to Sbener Strasses video room, which is
laid out like a cinema, but Guardiola gets them on their feet and tells them to go outside
to the terrace. He points to training pitch No.1, where there are four lines newly painted
to delineate the central area of the pitch, like a giant extension of the Bayern penalty
area. Later in the book well talk in greater detail about these lines.
The only important thing about our game is what happens in those four lines, Pep
tells his men. Nothing else matters.
They go back inside and Pep shows his players the video analysis of their U
movement on the pitch. The images show that again and again they re-start the play
from the back in a manner which is predictable and sterile, an innocuous movement of
the ball from side to side. From Ribry to Alaba, to Dante, on to Boateng, to Rafinha
and then, finally, to Robben. The whole shape of the ball movement draws out a capital
U. Sometimes Neuer is involved in that passing movement too, even Lahm at pivote. It
is a horizontal trajectory which takes the team nowhere. The opponent can defend
almost effortlessly because Bayern players simply dont try to break their lines.
Gentlemen, this is tiquitaca and it is shit. Were not interested in this type of
possession. Its totally meaningless. Its about passing for the sake of it. We need our
central midfielder and our defenders to move out with an offensive mentality and break
the opposition lines in order to push the whole team high up. The U needs to go.
The 3-4-2-1 is now installed, flexible and intelligent, with the positioning of the two
full-backs in line with the two attacking midfielders. These false attacking midfielders
(the full-backs) are without doubt the biggest tactical advance of his first season at
Bayern. The all-out war against tiquitaca shuffling the ball about in meaningless
possession is also established.
CSKA Moscow will be the first victim of the new strategy the next night. It has been
511 days since Pep last heard the Champions League music and his first match back is
a joy. Not only do Bayern beat the Moscow team 3-0 but they are playing fluid,
aggressive football. They go on the offensive; the U and their sterile passing are things
of the past. Lahm is in midfield again; Rafinha and Alaba do well in their new roles;
Mller enjoys playing as second striker behind Manduki and Schweinsteiger has a
few minutes game time to test out Kroos position. Whats more, their second goal
comes from a move they had practised the previous day at training: from a wide free-

kick Ribry and Robben pretend to fall out over who will take it, almost bumping into
each other as they both approach the ball but then suddenly the Dutchman whips it in
to Manduki, who heads home unmarked. Even though he looks offside, the Russian
defence has been bamboozled into dozing off.
Domnec Torrent and Hermann Gerland embrace Pep enthusiastically. His strategic
ideas have worked. It is gratifying for the technical team to see their tactics converted
into a goal and for Guardiola it is the first time in a match this year that he has felt that
the team is moving in the right direction. Nobody has needed a half-time lecture to
change the dynamic and his wingers have understood exactly what he wants. For the
first time in six years the Champions League starts with the reigning champions
winning their first match (the last time was when AC Milan beat Benfica 2-1 in 2007;
all successive champions have drawn their first match.)