Barça Should Be Run Better.

 Barça continues to enjoy success on the pitch and in financial reports but the way the club is run leaves a lot to be desired. Being run as a fiscal business entity is great if it means the club is in safe financial hands but that same treatment should not be used towards its staff and players. Messi’s outburst is a perfect example of the Barça board making themselves their own worst enemies.

There’s been a lot to cheer for as a Barça fan. Yesterday’s memorable come from behind victory is a perfect example. However, it is still difficult to forget what transpired a few days before the match. Messi’s comments a few days ago to a radio station were unexpected but not surprising. Messi came out with a scathing attacking on Barça Vice-President Javier Faus following the latter’s comments in a recent radio interview as well. It’s rare that we get to see Messi display such temperament in person, let alone on the pitch. However, the club only have themselves to blame for getting such a reaction from Messi. 

Mr. Faus’s stated that he saw no reason the club should improve Messi’s contract while also referring to Messi as “this gentleman” were idiotic and a display of lack of respect and affection by the club towards Messi. It’s not usual that the club seems to lack a bit of common sense when it comes to dealing with individuals at the club; be it managers or players or even staff members.

Even if FC Barcelona continues to grow as a business entity that reaches all across the globe, the club still seems to have a long ways to go in how to treat their own better. Everyone knows how the club’s relationship is with Johan Cruyff, one of the main reasons this club is where it is today. Furthermore, Guardiola left the club under a shroud of dark and mysterious clouds. It is a sad tale of affairs when the club seemingly has no relationship with the last 3 managers who won the club their only Champions League titles; Cruyff, Guardiola and Frank Rijkaard. 

Moreover, their treatment of those figures and current players seem to lack some common sense. It’s embarrassing when the club president, Sandro Rosell, offers to welcome Johan Cruyff to the Camp Nou without first paying the 30,000 euros owed to Cruyff’s charity organization. It’s mind boggling when the team discards one of their important medical trainers without getting some feedback from its players. It’s disturbing when, supposedly, a player suggests a candidate for the goal keeper’s coach position and is denied that choice because such candidate used to play for Real Madrid once.

There is a lack of warmth displayed by the club when it comes to handling things. The club appears to be run by businessmen and accountants who seem to neglect that they are also dealing with human beings who have feelings. The club’s decision not to renew Eric Abidal was heart breaking and somewhat revolting. One director promises that Abidal will have a new deal when he returns to action and a few months later, Abidal is being told his services are no longer needed. That surely disappointed fans but breaking your word to a player is downright disrespectful and you don’t need to be a psychologist to see that this could also bother current players who wonder if their futures lies elsewhere.

Messi’s surprising display of fury when Barcelona Vice President Javier Faus made the foolish statements that he saw no reason the club should improve Messi’s contract and referring to Messi as “un senyor (this gentleman)” were pointless and smacked a sense of out of touch. Messi replied that Faus was someone who “knows nothing about football.” Thus, the flame had been lit. 

Fortunately, Messi’s father put all of us Cules’ fears to rest by reassuring us that Messi was not going to leave the club. Sandro Rosell also replied that his door is always open to Messi. This was the last thing Messi needed following outlandish allegations that Messi and his family were connected to drug trafficking and money laundering. We have grown accustomed to such shady reporting from the Spanish capital media. It’s easier to find someone guilty in the court of public opinion than it is in actual court. I am not expecting the club to start threatening lawsuits on behalf of the player but it would also help if the club was not also adding to his distractions from afar.

Messi’s Outrage A Warning To Barça Board.

Messi’s comments a few days ago to a radio station were unexpected but not surprising. Messi personally calling out a Barça director on the air and insulting him showed us a side of Messi that we had never seen before. However, to say this was unforeseeable is a bit naïve. Barça board needs to change their way of handling things and Messi’s outburst was a warning of things to come.

Barcelona VP Javier Faus idiotic statement that he saw no reason the club should improve Messi’s contract and referring to Messi as “un senyor (this gentleman)” were unnecessary and continued the club’s pattern of alienating important Barça figures. It is no surprise that Cruyff and Guardiola are not part of the club’s current regime but they are playing with fire if they want to include Messi in this group.

Messi responded soon afterwards in a manner we had not been accustomed to seeing before. He called Mr. Faus as someone who "knows nothing about football." Of course Messi was not having a great week what with Madrid media trying to drag his family’s name into the mud with bogus stories about ties to drug trafficking. It was an attempt to find Messi guilty in the court of public opinion and Cesc came to his teammate’s rescue by indicating this was all “An Anti-Messi Agenda”. Obviously the club cannot sue the Madrid media on his behalf but the last thing they should be doing is piling on during this difficult time for the magical player.

This board seems to be run by men who treat the club as a business and not as a club. These players are not assets, but actual human beings. The club should not haggle with Iniesta over one million Euros during contract renewals nor should they be discussing in public whether Messi deserves a new contract. Messi has been a godsend for this club and should always treat him as not just the greatest player in club’s history, but also as the greatest player in the history of football.

Barça’s board need to be proactive and not reactive in the way they run this club. Thus, Messi should always get a new deal if Ronaldo or anyone else gets a new contract which pays them more than Messi. So when club president Sandro Rosell says door to his office is always open, he is missing the point. Barça should be the ones going to Messi with a new deal already on paper and not waiting for Messi to come to any office. That way of thinking is dangerous because while the board is waiting for Messi to knock on their door, another club might be knocking on Messi’s door at the same time.

 

Is Barça on the Right Path?

This season ushered in a wind of change with a new manager who has no ties to Barça’s philosophy or had any ties to the Michels-Cruyff Oranje style football. However, one has to wonder if the club is headed in the right direction in all aspects of the club. Change is always good, only for the betterment of the team.

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Barça has always been recognized for having a vision in how the team should play from the first team down to the youth level. It always made it easier for young players to make the transition from the youth setup to the Barça B team to the first team. This vision launched under Johan Cruyff and Guardiola restored it to some extent when he took over as manager too. However, that vision seems to be lost at the moment.

Barça B have struggled under manager Eusebio and quite frankly, have failed to impress as well. Barça B used to be fun to watch under the helm of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique and also won. However, ever since Eusebio was hired to take over Barça B, results and performances have been disappointing. One Barça acquaintance once told me that the most alarming thing about Barça B under Eusebio has been the lack of progress from players under his coaching. You have to really think hard as to when was the last time you saw a player actually do well under him and not regress.  With the likes of Rafinha and Deulofeu out on loan, it’s hard to fathom who else will go on loan next year?

Barça’s recent defeat to Ajax also made me wonder if the B players were better off playing for someone like Frank de Boer over at Ajax than for Eusebio. Eusebio’s style is not exactly one that is faithful to the first team style that we have been accustomed to seeing. However, that Ajax loss also made me wonder how good is it for this club to play Tata Martino’s style of football when the younger players are taught to play a different style of football. So not only do we have the youth playing an odd system under Eusebio, they are going to be exposed to yet another system if they ever get promoted to the first team to play for Tata Martino.

Barça’s vision seemed simple and plausible in the past. Everyone played the same system so they would not have a tough time adjusting when they get promoted. Now, it’s a whirlwind of exposure for the young players. They are taught one style at a very young age, and then are introduced to an uncertain and unpopular style when they make it to Barça B and exposed to yet another different style if Tata Martino is still around with the first team.

Even the basketball team seems a shadow of itself. It once went from a powerhouse in Spain and Europe to just an average side. The team dropped the ball in taking care of the basketball team who are still sponsor-less this season. There is a reason why this club has been successful for the past decade. They had a vision which applied to all levels at the club. However, that vision seems to be lost in the midst of Camp Nou renovations talk, sponsorship deals talk, bad press against the president and slow movement in resigning players.  It seems this club is more interested in the Bottom Line than it is with the direction of the team.

If Barça want to remain one of the powerhouses in Europe, let alone the world, then they need to go back to the basics. In order to do that, they need to go back to having a clear philosophy and vision of how Barça should be playing. You can change managers and players, but you should never change the vision and philosophy of what is Barça.

 

No Club For Old Men?

Barça suffer two consecutive defeats in a week and suddenly Barça are in a crisis. It’s too soon for me to scream out the sky is falling but there have been signs of fan displeasure regarding Barça’s style of play. Tata Martino has made some changes but perhaps the one change he should consider is initiating a youth movement. In other words, time to give less minutes to Puyol and Xavi.

Sport mentioned yesterday that Puyol was still not 100% fitfor their Copa match even after he hadknee drained a few days ago. Meanwhile, Barça’s new system has made Xavi a shadow of his former self. Xavi’s performance and assists have decreased the past few seasons and it’s no coincidence that is when his Achilles problems began to plague him. Clearly these guys are not the same players from a few years ago. 

Sandro Rosell’s presidency has ushered in a new era for FC Barcelona where it could be deemed as a ruthless business approach. Nevertheless, their off the pitch ruthlessness has not correlated with their on the pitch structure of the football club. They seem reluctant to get away from the past. Perfect example, last season’s epic performance against Milan featured the same lineup that won the Champions League Final at Wembley with the minor exception of Alba starting in place of Eric Abidal.

Is it time for Barça to start focusing on the younger players and put the likes of Xavi and Puyol on the bench on a permanent basis. Puyol is 35 and his body can be the Catalan version of the image of the classic game “Operation” while Xavi is 33 and seems more interested in passing the ball sideways nowadays. As much as I love those legends, perhaps Barça needs to look to the future and not be stuck in the past. 

Barça already lost one phenom, Thiago, because someone like Xavi played in 60 games last season while the young player could hardly feature. Barça has a rough in the diamond in Marc Bartra who has performed well when called upon which merited him a call up to the Spanish national team. However, he has to play second fiddle to Puyol and Mascherano, who happens to be 29. Meanwhile, his fellow colleague, Montoya, is also finding it a tough go to get minutes while he plays second fiddle to Dani Alves and Adriano. Dani Alves is 30 and Adriano is 29.

Players with determination and ambition also want minutes. So Barça have to ask themselves, can they afford to lose more younger players and lose a piece of their future? Or will they still clutch to the past by playing players who might not be up to the task anymore? Now, unlike Rosell, I’m not a heartless guy. I would love to have both players stick around till they retire when they hit 40, albeit with different roles. Perhaps Puyol can start the occasional game here and there, at center back only, whereas Xavi should also start the occasional odd game but more importantly, I can see how useful he would be in games where Barça would require his presence to protect a lead by allowing them to stay in control in the final 15-20 minutes of a match.

Other teams are getting younger and Barça need to realize that it’s just not the style of play that they have been far too deeply reliant on, but it’s their reliance on the old guard as well. Barça have to move with the times and keep the squad young and fresh and not lose their young players to other teams. It’s not an easy decision but Barça need to start looking ahead or else they might find themselves stuck in the past.

Honeymoon over for Tata Martino.

Tata Martino endured his worst week as Barça manager following disappointing away defeats to Ajax Amsterdam and Athletic Bilbao. His honeymoon period is over and Tata will now brace himself for the firestorm of criticism that awaits him from the Barcelona based media as questions will linger about the team’s style.

This was Barça’s worst week ever in quite a while. Sure, we’re accustomed to seeing the Blaugrana lose here and there over the years, but the performances against Ajax and Athletic were ones you hope you never see Barça display again. Tata Martino had enjoyed a great start to his coaching career with the Blaugrana but that’s about to change with the media ready to pounce on him.

The media have not been too impressed with Tata this season mainly because of his preference for the team to be more direct. The team was winning, so the criticism seemed petty from a bunch of spoiled fans who are members of the media. However, those knives are being sharpened following these two defeats and Tata will have to be ready to face the music.

I have always been a firm believer that Barça must always adapt and not just fall into the same routine when it comes to their style of football. Tata’s arrival seemed to do just that with their smart cautious performance in El Clásico as the perfect example. His coaching allowed Barça to get the victory at his own style. However, these most recent losses did raise some issues.

Style of play will be one hot issue with everyone this week. The team’s sudden transformation from “Tika-Taka” to “Long Ball” is not winning over the fans and one has to worry if it is also not winning over the players. Xavi already voiced his concerns with Tata following Barça’s victory over Rayo where they had less possession than their opponents. What we saw against Athletic was a rather pathetic display by a team that can do better without resorting to chasing down long balls.

Another hot issue will be the re-occurring lack of no “Plan B” argument when the going gets tough. In both matches, Barça struggled to break down their opponents with their lone goal coming from a penalty. It seemed as if we were back to reliving the final days of Tito Vilanova where substitutions should have been made earlier along with the players looking lost and lethargic. Tata’s substitutions did not pan out and Barça seemed to resemble a team in search of an identity. Overall, we expected these problems to be sorted by now, not brought back to our attention.

Furthermore, one has to wonder if the club has the right personnel or need to sign more players in the upcoming winter transfer period. Sure, the club was missing a few key players but perhaps the depth is not there. If Tata’s style is not suited for the players, then perhaps they should sign some players in the upcoming transfer window that suit this style. Of course, he can always revert to the Barça style and make slight tweaks here and there. A complete transformation is not what many had in mind when Tata was hired to coach this squad and perhaps he should just focus on keeping the same style, with minor adjustments like he did in El Clásico along with squad rotations.

Fortunately for Tata, the upcoming schedule will be friendly with an upcoming Copa del Rey match against Cartagena on Friday and then the final Champions League group stage match against Celtic at the Camp Nou the follow week. Hopefully he can give some players some rest to recharge and minutes for others in need to gain some form and confidence. There’s still a lot of football left to be played and it’s very premature to panic. However, with Atlético and Real Madrid also in the hunt for the league title, Tata needs to settle on a system that works best for his team.