How to recreate Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona in EA FC 25

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Guide to recreate Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona in EA FC 25

By recreating Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona in EA FC 25, “Total Football” fans can fulfill their aspirations and revive the classic method on the virtual field. For context, Total Football is a style of play where an outfield player is capable of playing any position depending on certain scenarios. In 1988, the Dutch legend returned to Barcelona as a manager. He took over its reins during a troublesome time and guided the Catalan club to glory.

The fans became mesmerized as he introduced a brand new “Total Football” system in the community. In an era where 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 were the prevalent formations, he started a new 3-4-3 Diamond formation to maintain some extra pressure on the forward line.

The "back three" require a feature-high work rate and stellar efficiency to fill the void caused by two inverted wingbacks playing upfront on the field. Meanwhile, the CDM isn’t allowed to move on the opponent’s half and needs to be intact in their half to fill the void of any center-backs. The forward line has to be a little wide so that the teammates don't cluster among themselves in the opponent’s final third. During Cruyff’s era, Barcelona won four back-to-back La Ligas.

To sum it up, Johan Cruyff achieved some wonders for the club, and recreating such legendary tactics in EA FC 25 won’t be easy. You must make smart investments to buy and sell some players depending upon the proper requirement.

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Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and solely reflect the author’s opinions.

Guide to recreate Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona in EA FC 25

This article will provide a detailed guide on how to recreate the legendary tactics of the “Total football” formation in EA FC 25.

Transfers required to recreate Johan Cuyff’s Barcelona

To recreate the Cruyff team without a financial takeover would require some big sales. Here’s a list of players that you must purchase and sell, to emulate “Total Football” in EA FC 25:

Players to buy:

Gregor Kobel
Josko Gvardiol
Manuel Locatelli
Reece James
Youssef En-Nesyri
Evan Ferguson
Renato Veiga
Omar El Hilali
Aleksandar Pavlovic
Alexis Mac Allister

Players to sell:

Robert Lewandoski
Pablo Torre
Inigo Martinez
Jules Kounde
Frankie De Jong
Alejandro Balde
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Dani Olmo

Best formation for recreating Johan Cuyff’s Barcelona: 4-3-3 Holding

Barcelona's 4-3-3 Holding formation without the ball (Image via EA Sports)

Since there’s no 3-4-3 Diamond formation available in the EA FC 25 title, you must stick to the 4-3-3 Holding formation initially. Once the ball is on the roll, the formation will automatically be changed to 3-4-3 Diamond where Gvardiol will be the ideal falseback in the pitch and go up front in the midfield area to provide a man advantage.

Meanwhile, the defense will maintain a very high line but Gregor Kobel must stick to the goal and Christensen and other defenders must drop back in certain scenarios to negate the opposition’s counter-attack. Manuel Locatelli will be a key player as a CDM as he must take over several different positions on the back line to fill the void of other CBs or fullbacks.

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal will stay wide in the field to pose a threat whereas Mac Allister might make some forward runs into the opponent’s penalty box to score some bangers. Pedri will be the sole playmaker and pass the ball around the field, looking for openings.

Key players and Setup:

ST: Youssef En-Nesyri
LW: Raphinha
RW: Lamine Yamal
CMs: Pedri and Alexis Mac Allister
CDM: Manuel Locatelli
LB: Josko Gvardiol
RB: Reece James
CBs: Ronald Arajuo and Andreas Christensen
GK: Gregor Kobel

Custom Tactics (without Ball)

Cruff's Barcelona custom tactics with the ball (Image via EA Sports)

As discussed, Johan Cruyff's Barcelona solely depends on a player's certain work rate, intensity, and flexibility. According to the Dutch legend's strategy, there must be a falseback who can go up in the midfield to provide additional support to the playmakers. On the other hand, you need a defensive midfielder who's flexible enough to cover for his other CBs.