In the aftermath of Bayern Munich's outstanding display on Tuesday night, the talk of the end of Barcelona's 'era of dominance' surfaced. The talk is simply crazy- this team is breaking La Liga records this year and might win the title this weekend and have still reached the semifinals of the Champions League and the Coppa Del Rey. All this despite Tito Vilanova and Eric Abidal being seriously ill and Carlos Puyol suffering an injury-ravaged season. The team still possess the best player in the world, an immensely talented midfield and an academy filled with future superstars. However, you cannot overlook the fact that Barcelona have been awful throughout the knockout stages and were soundly beaten by Bayern. Change is required, though it has to be carefully carried out.
It's clear this Barcelona team are declining and need re-energizing. Their problem has been the fact that the players brought in, mainly not La Masia graduates, haven't been integrated into the Barcelona system well enough. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexis Sanchez, David Villa, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas(yes, a La Masia graduate, but still...) have all struggled since moving. Barcelona's style has been developed by the likes of Johan Cruyff and Luis van Gaal and perfected by Pep Guardiola. The fact is the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique and Busquets have been at the club since they were old enough to kick the ball. They have spent their lives being educated in the system. Barca's large quotient of academy graduates has for years helped in establishing an identity to the club and the players understanding has helped them immensely. Yet is it slowly becoming a problem ? As the likes of Puyol and Xavi age, Barca suddenly feel weaker. Andres Iniesta is a player of tremendous quality and if he were playing in a different team he would be appreciated even more. Yet slowly both him and Messi especially seem to be carrying Barca. Teams have slowly countered their Plan A, and they lack a proper Plan B. This is where the problem comes in. When an Ibrahimovic is brought in to add a different threat and a different option, the players suddenly become uncomfortable with it. It's hard for an entire team to adjust when they have been playing the same way for years. Zlatan came in as a superstar; here there was an established order. After playing together for years, Barca's players knew who was the best: Messi. The team channeled the game through him and looked to him when struggling. Psychologically having someone new like Zlatan felt like a trespasser. Many others have suffered a similar fate. Sanchez and Villa were the heroes of their clubs. At Barca they struggle to fit in. It's like trying to walk into a big family and find room.
When Thomas Muller headed in the opener on the night, a big question popped up. Why in the world was Dani Alves, a tiny full-back marking 6 ft 2 Dante ? Was their such a chronic lack of quality center-backs to face possibly Bayern's biggest set piece threat ? Many will point to the absence of Puyol, Mascherano and Adriano but Puyol is well past his prime (Angel Di Maria ended that debate in the cup semifinal last month) and the next 2 are converted center backs and neither is dominant in the air. Why Alex Song was signed will remain a mystery when the likes of Thiago Silva and Daniel Agger seemed likely to move last summer. Barcelona's defensive weakness has been covered up by their attacking might. They're pressing high up the field has dropped this season and as their defence has gotten more exposed, they've conceded more(almost every game nowadays). A new center-back is desperately needed, as might be a right back with Alves' rubbish defending. He too has had a terrible season and with Jordi Alba also being an extremely aggressive full-back, Barca have been exposed. Victor Valdes' decision to leave is more confusing from his point of view than the clubs. Let's put it simply: he's prone to shocking mistakes, isn't dominant in the air and inspires little confidence in his team. Over the Guardiola years he had little to do, but this season has been exposed. David de Gea and Michel Vorm both are clear upgrades.
Another problem is squad depth. The fact that Messi was woefully unfit and still made to play reeks of Wayne Rooney playing against Bayern in 2010 with a clear injury. Sir Alex Ferguson went and addressed United's huge reliance on Rooney and Barca need an upgrade to their bench. Bayern signings last summer gave them the depth to rotate and keep everyone fit and fresh. Sergio Busquets, one of the world's best players, played with an injury. Andres Iniesta must be exhausted after 5 heavy years of competition. Xavi is ageing. Yet you look at the reserves and besides Fabregas($45 million man yet not trusted in the big games it seems) Barca have little. Song is wasting his time and Thiago is young. Their superstar midfield must be tiring heavily. Besides Messi, the forwards too, are disappointing. Alexis Sanchez isn't consistent enough, Pedro is chosen because he fits into his role perfectly but isn't as gifted as his teammates, Villa has had injury issues and Tello is not ready. It's interesting how Gary Neville remarked PSG have the better forwards. The likes of Neymar and Isco would be welcome into the team.
Another is mentality. To put this in context- Busquets hase won 2 Champions Leagues, 4 league titles, 2 Club World Cups, 2 European Championships and a World Cup. His teammates have won even more. Keeping them all motivated will be difficult. In Munich they seemed tired and at times the drive seemed to be missing this season. Ferguson has always spoken of wanting hungry young players in his team-players who want to win more than the rest. Robin van Persie has been that this season. Perhaps a fully recovered Vilanova can bring the energy back. A long summer of self-reflecting beckons, and if the board are upto it, a summer of reinforcements. Barca need a Plan B and they need to refresh this summer.
5 Possible signings:
- David de Gea- Goalkeeper, Manchester United (20 million)
- Neymar- Forward, Santos (40 million)
- Mats Hummels- Center-Back, Borussia Dortmund (25 million)
- Christian Eriksen- Playmaker, Ajax (15 million)
- Ikay Gundogan- Holding midfielder, Borussia Dortmund(12 million)
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