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.”
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