The Criticism of Tata Martino is Premature.

FC Barcelona’s manager Tata Martino is off to a great start after 20 matches in charge. His era kicked off by capturing the Supercopa and Barça are currently league leaders while enjoying being group leaders in the UEFA Champions League. Yet, there exists a minority of disenfranchised Barça fans who are not happy with the work done by Tata. Even though his system is different, it is still premature to criticize the manager.

There’s no need to go over the accomplishments of Pep Guardiola during his time as Barça’s manager. There’s also no need to re-examine Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ era either. Both were memorable and high successful. Thus, to say Tata Martino had some gigantic shoes to fill was an understatement. Fortunately, he has been wise enough to just merely tinker with the system and not completely overhaul it.

Nevertheless, fans and even members of the Catalan media have been voicing their displeasure over the current style of football being represented by Barça. I am a firm believer that you can never please everyone in life since no matter how good you’re doing; someone will always be around the corner to criticize. Fortunately, Tata has proven that he is thick skinned in handling this problem from the get go.

The man is in charge and until he leaves or is fired, he is going to be the guy we need to throw our support behind him. I have criticized him in the past for ignoring the younger player such as Bartra and Montoya but I refuse to criticize him for the team’s performance. He has come in and has given this team what was exactly needed; a minor tinkering.

My mother used to tell me when I was younger that “repetition teaches the donkey.” In other words, if you keep repeating something, you will figure it out. Obviously Barça excelled under Pep after a couple of early mishaps and ruled the world along with capturing the admiration of many. However, the same can be said about Barça’s opponents finally figuring out how to slow them down over the past few years. What Tata brings is a change in the system to finally catch the opponents off guard.

 The most recent Clásico presented us with a more caution but more clever Barça side. The end result was a 2-1 victory and they are currently unbeaten league leaders. Nostalgia is great but you cannot expect to obtain the same results when you keep repeating the style after so many years. You either change with the times or you find yourself playing catchup. He knows that and admitted that it’s not enough to just win when it comes to Barça but he has done a superb job thus far.

Unfortunately, Barça’s own friendly media can be very unfriendly towards its manager; just ask Louis van Gaal.  Let’s wait till the season is close to an end before we start sharpening the pitch forks and light the torches, shall we. Thus, it is premature to criticize Tata Martino when the team is doing well and to some extent playing well with respect to the injuries and congested fixtures this squad has faced.  So far, the season is going well and other players have stepped it up along with younger players finally getting some minutes. We still have a long ways to go and the least we can do is back the mister while he does what was expected of him to do in the first place; win.

Messi’s Health Must Be Barça’s Priority.

Monday’s news that Messi’s torn hamstring injury will cause him to be out of action between six to eight weeks was disappointing news for us Cules. However, this news was not a surprise either. Messi and Barça have ignored the warning signs of not giving Messi some rest and following this latest setback, it’s time that they ensured Messi is well rested and make it a priority to watch over Messi’s health and protect him from wear and tear and from himself.

Over the years, Messi has dazzled us with wonderful goals and performances in countless matches. Yet, while watching with all those goals, I couldn’t help but think that sooner or later, Messi’s dedication to play in every match would come back to haunt him. Back in December, I mentioned my concerns about Messi playing in so many games to satisfy his obsession in breaking goal-scoring records. Although it was a great achievement, Messi was putting his body at risk by not taking a proper breather here and there.

Well, fast forward a few months later and we saw a tired and hurt Messi try to suck it up and help his team when he was not 100% healthy and ultimately paid the price. This season hasn’t been any better for the legendary player who has already suffered prior three other injuries this season.  It did not help that instead of taking the summer off to recover, Messi opted to play in travel and play numerous friendlies.

Messi cannot continue playing at this pace without suffering any injuries along the way. Both Messi and Barça must understand that Messi is not getting any younger and has played in an enormous amount of matches. Watching Messi play on his tired legs is like watching a car driving on tires with low air pressure where the end result is the same; a crash. Messi now has 6-8 weeks to recover and hopefully he does not rush back nor will the club try to rush him back this time. The club needs to make sure Juanjo Brau is back to watching Messi as he did in the past and cut down on his minutes via rotations.

 

No love for El Cholo and Tito?

On October 29, 2013, FIFA released the names of the candidates for the FIFA World Coach of the Year. Upon further review however, there was a head scratcher or two when the names were released. Where was the love for Diego Simeone and Tito Vilanova? Surely they deserved to be on the shortlist over some of their counterparts.

Per FIFA’s official website, the candidates for World Coach of the Year award were Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benítez, Antonio Conte, Vicente Del Bosque, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jupp Heynckes, Jürgen Klopp, José Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, and Arsène Wenger. I was a bit disappointed not to see Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone or Barça’s former manager, Tito Vilanova on the list ahead of some of these other names on the list.

Tito Vilanova managed Barca to the Spanish league title by capturing 100 points and finished 15 points clear of Real Madrid who were managed by none other than José Mourinho. Both managers got their teams to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League before being eliminated by German clubs. Yet Mourinho ended up on the shortlist while Tito did not. Mourinho ended up leaving Real Madrid after failing to win a major trophy while Tito had to step down for health reasons. Yet Mourinho ended up on the shortlist while Tito did not.  For the sake of playing Devil’s Advocate, I’ll give Mourinho his due that his side did not lose to FC Barcelona in the league and Copa del Rey. However, was his season better than Vilanova’s?

Furthermore, how can someone like Diego Simeone be ignored from this list? He has completely turned Atlético Madrid around and made them from laughing stock “Pathetico” to a respected side that are currently second in the league and are off to an excellent start in the Champions League where they have won their first four group stage matches. Simeone continues to build from his side’s third place finish from last season which also saw them defeat Mourinho’s Real Madrid in Copa del Rey final. Since then, they have defeated Real Madrid in their first league encounter, with Ancelotti under the helm, and battled Barça to two draws in the Supercopa that saw them lose out the trophy on away goals rule.

Yet, Mourinho once again is on the shortlist while El Cholo is not. It is very disappointing and appalling that both Simeone and Vilanova did not make the shortlist. These men had a great season and won more than Mourinho. Better yet, can someone explain to me how Wenger made it to this list because I can’t recall what Arsenal won last season.

Will He Stay Or Will He Go? Casillas’s Predicament.

Casillas’s future with Madrid seems to be in doubt. With the World Cup just 7 months away, Casillas is supposedly contemplating leaving his beloved club in order. This past weekend saw Casillas observe El Clásico from the bench as his counterpart Victor Valdés put in another strong performance to perhaps gain the upper hand for the goal keeper position in Spain’s starting eleven.

Alexis’s splendid goal against Diego Lopez this past weekend had Cules celebrating with awe while at the same time, neutrals and perhaps Madridistas were wondering if Alexis would have scored that goal if Casillas was in goal. Nevertheless, that’s in the past now and the future lies ahead. However, will Casillas be part of Madrid’s future or will he pursue an exit from the only club he has ever played for in order to get more playing minutes?

As a Culé, I have no problem admitting that Casillas is one of the few players of the arch enemy that I admired. Sure, he had that momentary lapse where he drank from Mourinho’s own special blend of Kool-Aid, but he has always been a classy individual for the most part. That’s why I am puzzled by the way the club has been treating their captain and icon. If they are not pleased in his role with the fall out of Mourinho, then making his life miserable is only harming their club and their country.

Mundo Deportivo recently posted a story that some Barça players approached Casillas in the Camp Nou tunnel prior to kickoff and told him to join the Blaugrana. Obviously this was done in a lighthearted manner however it’s not that far-fetched that they perhaps some were also delivering a subtle recruiting pitch to the distraught keeper. His familiarity with the players throughout the years on international duty would make him the perfect choice to replace Valdés.

 Nevertheless, Casillas will never join FC Barcelona. I cannot see him pulling the treacherous act of switching sides like Luis Enrique and Figo did. Luis Enrique came through the Gijon academy while Figo only was loyal to himself and never had a problem signing deals with other clubs. Casillas though is a Madridista, through and through. He came through the Castilla ranks since he was a child and has dedicated over 20 years with his club. 

Unfortunately, those years of service seem not to mean much for the Real Madrid hierarchy who are satisfied by letting their icon appear sporadically in UEFA Champions League matches and upcoming Copa del Rey matches. Even his fellow Spanish teammate and another counterpart, Pepe Reina believes Casillas is getting a raw deal, if you believe the lip readers. Casillas though is handling this like a gentleman. Although his club has wronged him, the fans still love him and I believe Casillas cares too much to break their hearts and join the Blaugrana.

As much as it seems that it would be a good fit, it will never happen. Casillas needs to leave Madrid, even on loan if possible, to improve his chances of remaining Spain’s number one goalkeeper. I don’t see it happening if he plays second fiddle to Diego Lopez in the Spanish league while starting in limited number of matches in other competitions. Del Bosque will have a difficult decision to make when it comes to selecting his starting goalkeeper when Spain attempts to defend their World Cup trophy. Casillas nonetheless has to think about his short-term and long-term future with his club. Neither of which see him wearing Blaugrana colors.