Tiki-taka is a style of play in football characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession. The style is primarily associated with La Liga club Barcelona from Johan Cruyff's tenure as manager to the present, and the Spanish national team under managers Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque. It was also seen under Arsène Wenger'sArsenal that won the 2003–04 FA Premier League. Tiki-taka moves away from the traditional thinking of formations in football to a concept derived from zonal play.
Tiki-taka is, above all, a systems approach to football founded upon team unity and a comprehensive understanding in the geometry of space on a football field.
Tiki-taka has been variously described as "a style of play based on making your way to the back of the net through short passing and movement, short passing style in which the ball is worked carefully through various channels,nonsensical phrase that has come to mean short passing, patience and possession above all else. The style involves roaming movement and positional interchange among midfielders, moving the ball in intricate patterns, and sharp, one- or two-touch passing.Tiki-taka is "both defensive and offensive in equal measure" – the team is always in possession, so does not need to switch between defending and attacking. Commentators have contrasted tiki-taka with "route one physicality and with the higher-tempo passing of Arsène Wenger's 2007–08 Arsenal side, which employed Cesc Fàbregas as the only channel between defence and attack. Tiki-taka is associated with flair, creativity and touch, but can also be taken to a "slow, directionless extreme" that sacrifices effectiveness for aesthetics.