Time for Barça to Take Charge.

After 18 games, FC Barcelona sit four points clear at the top of La Liga. They are La Liga’s Winter Champions, which is a nice label. But the Blaugrana faithful know that Winter Champions don’t get trophies in the trophy cabinet.

Happy New Year everybody. Barça are back in action this Saturday after enjoying a holiday break. They return to action enjoying a nice four-point cushion ahead of their archrival, Real Madrid. After a wobbly October, Barça made amends for those poor losses to Sevilla and Real Madrid that threatened to derail the season early. Although you don’t win the league early in the season, you can absolutely lose it.

Thankfully, Barça did what contenders do, and they fought back instead of hanging their heads low. An eight-game winning streak in La Liga flipped the narrative, pushed them past Madrid, and put them where they belong, as league leaders.

Right now, Barça look like a team that has found its mojo again. Although the concerns about the high press continue to linger, the team seems to have health, and momentum in their favor. Currently, the entire squad is almost healthy. Furthermore, the intensity is there, the legs are fresher, and the football seems to have a purpose.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are wobbling. Performances have lacked authority, and they seem a couple of bad results away from unraveling with their manager’s future questioned. The recent Mbappé injury only tilts the balance further in Barça’s favor. Momentum in football is fragile, and this is the moment for Barça to take advantage and take charge.

Barça open the new year away at Espanyol in the Derbi Barceloní. These games are never simple, and Espanyol have been solid this season. That’s exactly why it’s the perfect test. A chance to set the tone for the second half of the campaign.

Barça are to compete for La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Super Copa and the UEFA Champions League in the next few months.  It’s time to get the results to put more pressure on Real Madrid and other rivals. Playing back at the Camp Nou, even if at half capacity, still an advantage. However, there has to be an emphasis on rotating the players to keep them fresh, especially Lamine Yamal who has to be taken care of and not stretched thin by club and country. The 18-year-old Lamine Yamal is a rising star who finished as the runner up for the title of the best player in the world. His a phenom whose talent is undeniable but whose long-term health is non-negotiable. Brilliance means nothing if it burns out too soon. In order for Barça to have another successful season, the likes of Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha, Cubarsi and others have to be properly taken care of when it comes to minutes played. 

Thank You Messi.

10 years ago today, Messi made his debut as a substitute against Espanyol. No one imagined the little teenager from Argentina would delight us for 10 years with unforgettable performances.

On October 16, 2004, Messi made his debut when he came on for Deco in the second half of the Barcelona Derby against Espanyol at the Olympic Stadium. The rest as they say is history. There is no need to repeat all his achievements, accomplishments and titles. We all know them and today, we have sensed how time has passed. These past 10 years of watching this great number 10 feels different. To some, those ten years felt like an eternity of watching a career grow and prosper or those ten years went by too quick, much like a blur in the way Messi dribbles past players.

Messi has been on an amazing run and we have been right beside him in the passenger seat watching him take charge in the driver’s seat. We have suffered the highs and lows during his ten years and that’s why perhaps we admire him because he is playing this sport from his heart and also feels our joy and pain. He plays for the club and for the fans as equally as he does for his country and one can never question that.

So as we celebrate 10 years of Messi, we, the fans, his teammates, and the club officials, can only thank him and give him the proper love and respect that he deserves. It’s the least we can do for the man who has done basically everything for this club over the years and we hope he continues to do so for many more years to come.