How to beat Barcelona in the FIFA Series?

Note: This was written keeping in mind FIFA 11, but it would work pretty well in any other version as well.

As a person who loves FIFA, I have played all versions of the game since the year 2000! Back then, all teams were more or less equal, and you could beat Brazil playing with DC United in the highest difficulty level! However, this has drastically changed over the years... In the latest version of FIFA, I find that the most difficult opponent is no doubt Barcelona (after the 'invincible' Classic XI and the World XI).


Barcelona have the best defence possible with Puyol and Pique standing at the center like a brick wall! With Xavi and Iniesta in the midfield (and Javier Mascarenho in the subs), with the magical Messi as a winger and the quickest striker in FIFA 11, David Villa(Torres is not far behind though but his FIFA 10 version was better), as the lone striker, it's impossible to stop their waves after waves of attacks! Here are the ways how they can probably be stopped!

Play the formation you are most comfortable with:
This is gonna be the toughest match you have played, so you need to be very comfortable with the formation you are playing with. It doesn't matter if you played a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 in the past; just stick with it! However, if you are plying a formation similar to 3-4-3, I suggest, go back to a formation with at least 4 defenders. Remember, this is not a match where you want to experiment!

Modify your formation to fit in a lone striker:
In case the formation you are playing with doesn't have a lone striker, modify it to put one of the strikers as a lone striker and the other as a supporting striker. This helps in one of them to make supporting runs and makes it difficult for the opposition defenders to mark them!

Playing a midfelder who makes runs into the 'hole' gives an added advantage:
If you have a midfielder like Lampard or Modric, you can play him just behind the CAM position (and keep the CAM position free, of course). Now, when your team attacks, there are chances of an additional player at the centre as these creative midfielders make very good supporting runs.

A good goalkeeper is a must:
Barca has the strongest everything  in FIFA 11, so their attack is no exception. Even with your best defence, the Barca strikers are going to test your goalkeeper from both long range shots and headers. In such a situation, you need an exceptional goalkeeper. And FIFA 11 has to offer only a handful of such goalies. Casillas, Cech, Manuel Neuer, Van der Sar, Pepe Reina, Akinfeev and Sebastian Frey are some of them...

Put your players in positions they are most comfortable:
Against Barcelona, you need your players to perform the best! So, you need to put them in their natural positions. For example, Brainslav Ivanovic can play very well in the Right Winger Back for Chelsea, but he's very weak in that position in the game! So, if you wanna play him, put him in the Central Back position. Same goes for Real's Pepe who can actually play very well in the central defensive midfield but not in FIFA 11!

Take your set pieces properly: 
Against Barca, chances are rare. So it is very crucial that you utilise what little things you get! Free kicks near the box are easier to score and you must make sure your best player takes the free kicks. Corners are tougher to score but certainly not impossible!

Exploit Abidal's weakness:
Eric Abidal (no offence intended; he survived cancer and then went on play in the champions league final just two months later!), who's the Left Back of Barca by default, has a tendency to do rash tackles in FIFA 11. Even when he's on a yellow card, he'll not stop committing those tackles! You have to ensure two things: Abidal gets a Red and none of your players are injured. To avoid an injury, you may take a second choice player as the Right Winger, and make sure you lure Abidal to tackle you from the back: A STRAIGHT RED!

Now, after all these, it is actually up to you if you have the guts to defeat Barca. So, best of luck!
And yes, if you are thinking of defeating the "INVINCIBLE" Classic XI or the World XI, you may as well follow the same tricks (except the last one...)

Personally, I think the following team in FIFA 11 can make Barca BLEED...

                                                     Casillas (GK)

                          Nemanja Vidic (RCB)    John Terry (LCB)
Philip Lahm (RWB)                                                           Ashley Cole (LWB)

                                 Michael Essien (CDM)
                                                   Frank Lampard (LAM/CAM; plays in the hole)
                                                                                                 
Christiano Ronaldo (RW)               |                  |                        Franck Ribery (LW)
                                                        |  The Hole |
                                                        |                  |

                                                                               Deigo Forlan (LS/SS)
                                                 Didier Drogba(RS/ST)



Subs:
Cech (GK)
Ricardo Carvalho (CB)
Sergio Ramos (RB)
Bastain Schweinsteiger (LM/LAM/CM/CAM)
Arjen Robben (RW)
Wayne Rooney (ST)
Gonzalo Higuain (ST)


P.S. In case none of the above works, switch sides to Barcelona and give plenty of own goals and then, switch back to your original side! That is the only remaining way to win!