tackles aren't the mark of good defense. gilberto was a rock defensively and he rarely made tackles.
anyway when it comes to the premier league vs other leagues i adopt the same approach that i have when it comes to the "let's laugh at X club" threads: people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. it's not all about money, the rest of la liga has proven that. a rising tide lifts all boats and barca and real being so dominant financially has forced the other la liga clubs to be committed to excellence in other areas. the premier league has a lot of money and think just spending money on players is the answer and they are basically committed to failure in every other area except the financial: shitty coaching, horrible tactics, bad player development, etc. la liga teams do well in european competition because the non-barca and madrid teams can actually play football, have great coaching and great player development. while the premier league goes out and embarasses itself in europe doing the opposite.