tiki-taka

American  

[tee-kee-tah-kuh] / ˈti kiˌtɑ kə /

noun

Soccer.

1. a strategy of maintaining possession of the ball to move it steadily upfield through a series of quick, short passes requiring technical skill and flexibility of position.

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Example Sentences

The moment to take tiki-taka to task: "If they're going to play to entertain, I will make sure nobody has any fun ever again."

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2025

It’s “not tiki-taka, no,” says Alonso, who defines the passing style once favored by Guardiola and Spain’s World Cup-winning 2010 team as “defensive possession.”

From Washington Times • Nov. 15, 2023

A few decades later, of course, tiki-taka would come to mean something else entirely.

From New York Times • May 1, 2020

Like many particularly successful teams – think tiki-taka, or the catenaccio pioneered by Milan’s Nereo Rocco – their tactics ended up with their own name: El anti-fútbol.

From The Guardian • Oct. 20, 2019

Spain, in turmoil from the start, was sent home in the round of 16, signaling the end of the tiki-taka tactics behind the country’s title run in 2010.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 15, 2018