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

See Examples For:

tiki-taka

Faced with a peak version of the pretty-passing, high-possession, tiki-taka style, the Dutch realized that they simply couldn’t out-soccer La Roja.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Gone is the close-passing, possession-obsessed "tiki-taka" play which brought Spain so much success in the past.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2024

It was arguably the peak performance of Spain’s dominant era playing the high-tempo, possession-based style known as tiki-taka.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

Twenty years ago today, Barcelona brought tiki-taka to Liverpool.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 20, 2021

Among the other players currently nursing injuries are Jordi Alba — another veteran used to the tiki-taka — and youngster Pedri González.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2021