Did Guardiola's Barcelona really play tiki-taka?

Tiki-taka is one of football's most famous labels, and one of its most disputed. It describes a style of play characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and keeping possession. Spain won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with it, and Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, who won 14 titles between 2008 and 2012, are its poster team.

Where did it come from? The name is credited to commentator Andrés Montes during the 2006 World Cup, but the term was already in use and may have started as a critical, even derogatory, term from Athletic Bilbao coach Javier Clemente. The style's roots are argued over. Johan Cruyff introduced the elements as Barcelona manager from 1988 to 1996; FIFA and UEFA, in a different story, named Romanian coach Angelo Niculescu as its inventor. According to the writer Raphael Honigstein, Spain chose in 2006 to concentrate on monopolising the ball because they weren't physical and tough enough to outmuscle opponents.

Now the twist. The man most associated with it rejected the word. In 2014 Guardiola said he loathed all that passing for the sake of it, called tiki-taka so much rubbish with no purpose, and insisted that Barça didn't do tiki-taka.

Critics also had numbers. At Euro 2012 Spain averaged 58 passes per shot and only 1.8 goals per match, 25% below the tournament average. Arsène Wenger said possession had become first and foremost a way not to lose. And opponents found answers: in 2013 Bayern beat Barcelona 4–0 and 3–0.