Barça Continues to Neglect their Vulnerability.

For the past two seasons, there was an obvious need for Barça to sign another centre-back during the summer. Yet, the club continues to make a mess of things in their approach to address this glaring issue. Last summer, the club opted to sign defensive midfielder, Alex Song, hoping that he can also play the role of a centre-back, which did not come to fruition. This summer, they pursued players that were far too expensive with clubs not interested in selling. The league kicks off in a few days and Barça seems intent on letting history repeat itself by not doing the right thing.

George Santayana once said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Sandro Rosell and the men he has entrusted in running this club seem ignorant to such saying. Once again, FC Barcelona prepares for another season and once again, the pressing need to sign a center back seems to be failing miserably. The pursuit of Thiago Silva seemed desperate while the pursuit of David Luiz seems misguided. One player used it to get a new deal with his club while Jose Mourinho is in no hurry to assist Barça in strengthening their team without paying a heavy price. 

 Let’s not forget what many deem as Barça dropping the ball in their handling of Eric Abidal. Perhaps offering the veteran defender a year extension would not have been a bad idea. Yet, Barça opted not to retain his services and made it known before the end of last season. Well, here we are and they have yet been able to sign a center back with the league kicking off this weekend.

Much has been made of Barça’s style of play but history has shown that the club’s success did not come from its offense only. One only has to look back to their previous three successful Champions League titles and notice one common trait; their defending. This club continues to have problems scoring in the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals but at least their defending did not let them down. Back in 2005-2006, they won away 1-0 in Milan and drew the second game 0-0 to clinch a ticket to the Finals. A few years later, they played to a scoreless draw against Chelsea in the Camp Nou before drawing 1-1 away in the second leg. 2010-2011 Semi-Finals saw them grab a 2-0 away victory in Madrid before playing to a 1-1 draw at home.  Thus, Barça made it to the Champions League Final not by scoring plenty of goals, but by keeping clean sheets. 

 Their last two eliminations by Chelsea and Bayern Munich saw them concede 3 goals, and 7 goals, respectively, while they only conceded 2 goals in their previous three Semi-Finals. Even their elimination by Manchester United in 2007-2008 was by an aggregate score of 1-0. New manager Gerardo Martino needs to repair Barça’s defensive flaws by relying on his current players coupled with youth players. His mission would have been easier had the club signed a new center back.

However, all we keep hearing is the club continuing to pursue players who come with a big price tag. One hopes Rosell and Zubizarreta do not become desperate and actually pay Chelsea’s asking price. They dropped the ball and need to exercise some proper judgment and not lose track of their obligations of being fiscally responsible. As George Santayana also once said, “Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.”

Barça Continues to Neglect their Vulnerability.

For the past two seasons, there was an obvious need for Barça to sign another centre-back during the summer. Yet, the club continues to make a mess of things in their approach to address this glaring issue. Last summer, the club opted to sign defensive midfielder, Alex Song, hoping that he can also play the role of a centre-back, which did not come to fruition. This summer, they pursued players that were far too expensive with clubs not interested in selling. The league kicks off in a few days and Barça seems intent on letting history repeat itself by not doing the right thing.

George Santayana once said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Sandro Rosell and the men he has entrusted in running this club seem ignorant to such saying. Once again, FC Barcelona prepares for another season and once again, the pressing need to sign a center back seems to be failing miserably. The pursuit of Thiago Silva seemed desperate while the pursuit of David Luiz seems misguided. One player used it to get a new deal with his club while Jose Mourinho is in no hurry to assist Barça in strengthening their team without paying a heavy price.

Let’s not forget what many deem as Barça dropping the ball in their handling of Eric Abidal. Perhaps offering the veteran defender a year extension would not have been a bad idea. Yet, Barça opted not to retain his services and made it known before the end of last season. Well, here we are and they have yet been able to sign a center back with the league kicking off this weekend.

Much has been made of Barça’s style of play but history has shown that the club’s success did not come from its offense only. One only has to look back to their previous three successful Champions League titles and notice one common trait; their defending. This club continues to have problems scoring in the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals but at least their defending did not let them down. Back in 2005-2006, they won away 1-0 in Milan and drew the second game 0-0 to clinch a ticket to the Finals. A few years later, they played to a scoreless draw against Chelsea in the Camp Nou before drawing 1-1 away in the second leg. 2010-2011 Semi-Finals saw them grab a 2-0 away victory in Madrid before playing to a 1-1 draw at home.  Thus, Barça made it to the Champions League Final not by scoring plenty of goals, but by keeping clean sheets.

Their last two eliminations by Chelsea and Bayern Munich saw them concede 3 goals, and 7 goals, respectively, while they only conceded 2 goals in their previous three Semi-Finals. Even their elimination by Manchester United in 2007-2008 was by an aggregate score of 1-0. New manager Gerardo Martino needs to repair Barça’s defensive flaws by relying on his current players coupled with youth players. His mission would have been easier had the club signed a new center back.

However, all we keep hearing is the club continuing to pursue players who come with a big price tag. One hopes Rosell and Zubizarreta do not become desperate and actually pay Chelsea’s asking price. They dropped the ball and need to exercise some proper judgment and not lose track of their obligations of being fiscally responsible. As George Santayana also once said, “Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.”

Martino’s Challenging Tasks Ahead.

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino will be the man on the touchline for Barça’s upcoming season. He comes from Argentina with an impressive resume but without any European coaching experience. That is one of the many challenging tasks that Tata will face when the season kicks off this month.

Another season brings us another new face on Barça’s touchline yelling instructions to the Blaugrana players. Pep, Tito and now Tata will get to experience the hot seat of Barça manager. His experience overseas is not at all shabby. However, there was some concern about whether Tata is the man qualified to direct the side.

His first challenge will be to earn the players’ respect. It seems like he is slowly winning them over but preseason is preseason for a reason; it is not the real deal yet. Will he win them over when the going gets tough? Will he treat all the players equally or will he have his favorites? Respect is a two way street and it has to be earned. However, Tata needs to win these guys over quickly and ensure a good start to the season.

Another challenge for Tata will be strengthening Barça’s defense.  Barça’s Achilles heel these past two seasons has been their careless defending. The sloppy defending and lack of depth has hindered the team for far too long. He has to make sure Puyol is well rested. He has to make sure that Pique plays like a Barça leader, not as a Barça fan. Tata has to sort it out once and for all or else Barça will only continue to make it more difficult for themselves by conceding silly goals. He also has to make sure the club buys him a center back or two. As of this moment, that appears less likely to occur.

Furthermore, Tata will get the chance to rectify a problem that has plagued Barça for the past few seasons. Both Pep and Tito always seemed to watch their players struggle down the stretch with fatigue and injuries that caused them to come up short. Tata will have to ensure that players will be rotated in order to preserve them for that final push as they chase a potential treble. That means making sure Messi does not play every single match and giving Xavi and other key starters a game off here and there.

Additionally, Tata has to ensure the youth players are not ignored. Last season, we saw the likes of Bartra, Thiago, Montoya and Tello get ignored in big games. They were either glued to the bench or up in the stands watching their fellow teammates. Tata has to give valuable minutes to the youth players or else those with Barça B will start contemplating going elsewhere when they see they are shunned from the first team.  We cannot afford losing the likes of Thiago when they see minutes are hard to come by and have big clubs after their services.

Finally, the last challenge will be for him to win. As, Al Davis, the former owners of the NFL Oakland Raiders team, once said, “Just win, baby!” Whatever problems the club is facing, having Barça get off to a good start will beneficial to Tata. . I am always a firm believer that it is not how you start, but it’s how you finish. Last season was the perfect example of Barça starting great only to fizzle down the stretch.  Thus, Tata is tasked with this great responsibility of beginning a new chapter in the history of FC Barcelona. Hopefully his accomplishment will be worthy to fill the upcoming blank pages in Barça’s history books.

 

Spanish League in desperate need of an overhaul.

Once again, a new season is upon us and thanks to the upcoming World Cup, this can only mean that many games are on tap from now until May. However, these games will consist of regular league matches, Copa del Rey matches, and European cup matches with limited rest in between. Let’s not forget about the burdensome Spanish national team matches. At a time when players and managers are complaining about fatigue and exhaustion, maybe we need a nice remedy for this congestion. However, the Spanish League needs more than a remedy. It needs a complete overhaul.

 For many fans, the Spanish League is considered one of the best in the world. However, the way it is run and promoted ranks amongst the worst. The same criticism is unleashed by fans and critics year after year. The criticism range from poor scheduling of matches, the poor promotion of the league, the poor spread of wealth from the TV revenue, and the poor financial status of the clubs. Eventually, the league is going to have to pull its head out of the sand and get serious in fixing the league.

 One of the biggest problems of the Spanish League that has raised the ire of many is the fixtures. The league has this nasty habit of not announcing the exact date and kick off times till perhaps two weeks or a week before the actual match takes place. Obviously this deters fans of the visiting team from making the journey. The other issue is the absurd late kick off times. For example, the upcoming Supercopa matches between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will take place on Wednesday evenings at 11 PM. 11 PM on a weekday? Is the league really expecting fans to attend a match that ends at 1 AM on a Thursday? It doesn’t make sense to have matches kicking off on Sunday nights and Monday nights at 10 PM.

 Moreover, the way the league promotes itself borders on the line of farcical and laziness. Do they even try to promote themselves to the rest of the world? I am not expecting them to overdo it in a similar manner as the English Premier League does. But one cannot disregard the league’s lack of effort in bringing more attention to its league. They seem content to rest on their laurels and let the results of their clubs speak for themselves.

 The other issue is the lack of sharing the wealth from the TV deals that both Barça and Real Madrid enjoy a huge piece of the pie. Each get over €100 million annually from their TV deals while the other 18 teams get the crumbs. The league president needs to put his foot down and force the big two to reduce their share. What good would a league be if the other teams cannot compete with the big two in the long run? I am not buying the threats of either team joining another league. The league must attempt to level the playing field somehow.

 Furthermore, the other issue that we are witnessing more and more clubs facing is their battle for survival financially. The league not only needs to make sure the TV money is shared properly, but the league needs to be reduced to 16 teams. That would ensure that the other teams would get a bigger share of the TV deal. However, I am not a firm believer that more money for the clubs would solve all the problems. We have seen clubs such as Deportivo and Real Zaragoza suffer thanks to poor management and spending. Is giving them more money the answer? Sure, it could help them pay off the debts at a faster rate but there are no assurances they will spend it any wiser either. Until the inept and at times corrupt officials are tossed from managing the clubs, we will continue to see the downward spiral of many clubs.

 Thus, the league should seriously consider reducing the number of teams in the league to 16. This move would ensure that more clubs would get a better share of the proceeds from the TV deal, provide fewer fixtures for the players, and also provide for a more entertaining league. Today’s footballers are subjected to over 50 games or more which is the cost of being successful on both the domestic and European stage. We also cannot ignore the additional international matches that see the players from Real Madrid, Barcelona and others fly across the globe to represent Spain and other countries. Certainly, one cannot feel a bit concerned about the long term fitness of the players. The best solution would be to reduce the number of matches for the sake of the players.

 With 16 teams, there would also be excitement throughout the season where every game would then matter. There would still be 3 teams facing the risk of relegation while the remaining 13 teams battle it out for spots in UEFA Champion’s League and Europa League and also fight to avoid being relegated. What is the point of having a team positioned 11th in their league that knows there is no chance for qualifying into Europe or face the risk of relegation after half the season has been played? This would ensure that there would never be a dull moment for any club.

 Ultimately, we want a stronger league. Critics keep mocking the Spanish League as a two team league, but quite frankly so have most leagues in Europe over the years. The Spanish League needs to be proactive and not reactive and take the drastic steps needed to ensure the health of its league. A minor remedy is not enough. The league needs a complete overhaul.

Spanish League in desperate need of an overhaul.

Once again, a new season is upon us and thanks to the upcoming World Cup, this can only mean that many games are on tap from now until May. However, these games will consist of regular league matches, Copa del Rey matches, and European cup matches with limited rest in between. Let’s not forget about the burdensome Spanish national team matches. At a time when players and managers are complaining about fatigue and exhaustion, maybe we need a nice remedy for this congestion. However, the Spanish League needs more than a remedy. It needs a complete overhaul.

 For many fans, the Spanish League is considered one of the best in the world. However, the way it is run and promoted ranks amongst the worst. The same criticism is unleashed by fans and critics year after year. The criticism range from poor scheduling of matches, the poor promotion of the league, the poor spread of wealth from the TV revenue, and the poor financial status of the clubs. Eventually, the league is going to have to pull its head out of the sand and get serious in fixing the league.

 One of the biggest problems of the Spanish League that has raised the ire of many is the fixtures. The league has this nasty habit of not announcing the exact date and kick off times till perhaps two weeks or a week before the actual match takes place. Obviously this deters fans of the visiting team from making the journey. The other issue is the absurd late kick off times. For example, the upcoming Supercopa matches between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will take place on Wednesday evenings at 11 PM. 11 PM on a weekday? Is the league really expecting fans to attend a match that ends at 1 AM on a Thursday? It doesn’t make sense to have matches kicking off on Sunday nights and Monday nights at 10 PM.

 Moreover, the way the league promotes itself borders on the line of farcical and laziness. Do they even try to promote themselves to the rest of the world? I am not expecting them to overdo it in a similar manner as the English Premier League does. But one cannot disregard the league’s lack of effort in bringing more attention to its league. They seem content to rest on their laurels and let the results of their clubs speak for themselves.

 The other issue is the lack of sharing the wealth from the TV deals that both Barça and Real Madrid enjoy a huge piece of the pie. Each get over €100 million annually from their TV deals while the other 18 teams get the crumbs. The league president needs to put his foot down and force the big two to reduce their share. What good would a league be if the other teams cannot compete with the big two in the long run? I am not buying the threats of either team joining another league. The league must attempt to level the playing field somehow.

 Furthermore, the other issue that we are witnessing more and more clubs facing is their battle for survival financially. The league not only needs to make sure the TV money is shared properly, but the league needs to be reduced to 16 teams. That would ensure that the other teams would get a bigger share of the TV deal. However, I am not a firm believer that more money for the clubs would solve all the problems. We have seen clubs such as Deportivo and Real Zaragoza suffer thanks to poor management and spending. Is giving them more money the answer? Sure, it could help them pay off the debts at a faster rate but there are no assurances they will spend it any wiser either. Until the inept and at times corrupt officials are tossed from managing the clubs, we will continue to see the downward spiral of many clubs.

 Thus, the league should seriously consider reducing the number of teams in the league to 16. This move would ensure that more clubs would get a better share of the proceeds from the TV deal, provide fewer fixtures for the players, and also provide for a more entertaining league. Today’s footballers are subjected to over 50 games or more which is the cost of being successful on both the domestic and European stage. We also cannot ignore the additional international matches that see the players from Real Madrid, Barcelona and others fly across the globe to represent Spain and other countries. Certainly, one cannot feel a bit concerned about the long term fitness of the players. The best solution would be to reduce the number of matches for the sake of the players.

 With 16 teams, there would also be excitement throughout the season where every game would then matter. There would still be 3 teams facing the risk of relegation while the remaining 13 teams battle it out for spots in UEFA Champion’s League and Europa League and also fight to avoid being relegated. What is the point of having a team positioned 11th in their league that knows there is no chance for qualifying into Europe or face the risk of relegation after half the season has been played? This would ensure that there would never be a dull moment for any club.

 Ultimately, we want a stronger league. Critics keep mocking the Spanish League as a two team league, but quite frankly so have most leagues in Europe over the years. The Spanish League needs to be proactive and not reactive and take the drastic steps needed to ensure the health of its league. A minor remedy is not enough. The league needs a complete overhaul.