Time for a Barça Overhaul!

For the second year in a row, Barça crash out of the Champions League’s Quarter-Finals. The team has a few weeks of football left to try to win a domestic double. However, an overhaul is in order for next season.

If there’s ever a line from a movie that is synonymous with FC Barcelona, it has to be the line uttered in The Dark Knight. “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This applies to both managers and players. We have seen managers such as Cruyff, Rijkaard, Guardiola, and now Luis Enrique be admired only to be turned on by the fans. The same applies with players who were once worshipped but then left the club through the back door. At this moment, Luis Enrique is becoming the villain as the club fails to impress on the pitch.

Today’s scoreless draw against Juventus was Luis Enrique’s final European match as a Barça manager and it ended with a thud. Just a few years ago, he witnessed his team score three goals against Juventus in the Champions League Final. Sadly, his side failed to score over two legs against Juventus this season. Both teams had the same two managers but the performance and results were such a contrast from back then and now.

The manager and the board assembled this team full of expensive signings and what do they have to show for it? All these new signings and only Umtiti has shined. La Masia neglected for expensive signings who have failed to deliver. The short term goal of success over a long term plan of sticking with tradition that got them success has not paid off.

Many Barça haters claim anyone can coach this team to success. Well, for the third time in four seasons, and the last two seasons, Barça are out of the Champions League at the Quarter-Finals stage. Perhaps those who did not appreciate Pep Guardiola can now respect the difficult task of making it to four straight Semi-Finals, and two finals in three years.

Luis Enrique’s baffling decision to start 33 year old smoker Jérémy Mathieu to keep pace with the speedy Juan Cuadrado in the first leg doomed Barça. Mathieu was abysmal just a few days earlier against Malaga and was taken off at halftime. Nonetheless, Lucho started Mathieu against Juventus in Turin and again had to take him off at halftime for Paco Alcácer. The damage was done and it was going to be tough to muster a comeback against this Juventus side.

Lucho’s decision to bring on Mascherano for Sergi Roberto with twelve minutes to go was deflating. The side needed three goals and instead of bringing on Denis Suarez or even the young kid Alena, Lucho brought on a defensive midfielder. At least the team kept a clean sheet. With El Clásico just a few days away, Barça have their backs against the wall in a must win game. Anything else will make their quest for another league title futile.

Juventus were the better side who were also better coached and will now face either Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid or the surprising Monaco in the Semi-Finals. Luck however is not on their side since the last four sides who eliminated Barça at this stage of the competition never went on to win the competition; Paris Saint-Germaine (1994-1995); Juventus (2002-2003); and Atlético (2013-2014 & 2015-2016).

Barça will have an interesting summer ahead of them. The team is in need of an overhaul with more players being sold along with the signing of players needed in certain positions. The idea of assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzué or current Athletic manager Ernesto Valverde are a band aid option at best that fails to generate any enthusiasm. We need a manager from the Cruyff school, such as Oscar Garcia, who will pay attention to the youth and take the club back to the “Total Football” style that has been abandoned for this predictable direct, and also dull, football approach we have witnessed the last two seasons.

Failure to hire the right manager will tarnish Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu’s legacy as the men who inherited one of the greatest football teams of all time, if not the greatest, and allowed it to regress under their watch. Under their watch, they squandered a great squad and allowed Real Madrid to become kings of Europe in football and also in basketball. The idea of success now over a viable long term plan has failed and the right decisions need to be made this summer. The basketball team is already in shambles and we cannot afford to waste the talents of Messi, Iniesta, Pique, Luis Suarez and Neymar by not surrounding them with better players and a better manager.

Redemption for Barça.

FC Barcelona got to exact revenge on Real Madrid for their loss earlier in the season and in the process, increased their lead atop of the standings to four points. The victory was a boost to the confidence of the Blaugrana and redemption for some.

When Barça lost in the Spanish capital to Real Madrid during week 9, Barça had a one point lead atop of the standings. They would soon lose the top spot to Madrid and struggle the rest of the 2014. They started 2015 off horribly when they lost away to Real Sociedad. Things changed from then on but there was still some doubt about Barça heading into this weekend’s Clásico.

This match was redemption for Luis Enrique and for some of his players. For the manager, many, including myself, criticized his unpredictable approach to coaching this team following that loss. He opted to keep his starting eleven a secret till right before kickoff and his tactics were all wrong after Real Madrid simply had their way against Barça. Fortunately, he got it right this time, now that he has settled on a starting eleven, following the urging from some of the players to stick with a consistent lineup after the fallout from that Real Sociedad loss. Since then, the team has played better than before and even a recent loss to Malaga at the Camp Nou did not create a sense of panic among the fans. Bad days happen and the Malaga loss was seen as a minor hiccup. Real Madrid sputtering at the same time probably helped keep the mood calm in Barcelona.

Credit is due to Luis Enrique and his assistant, Juan Carlos Unzué, for improving this team from last season’s team in terms of fitness and how to attack/defend set pieces. There’s no doubt that the level of intensity that Lucho brought to this team’ training sessions has been significant compared to the light training sessions under Martino last season. The opening goal from Mathieu was a set piece designed by Unzué who could not hide his happiness during the goal celebrations. It was reminiscent of the Guardiola times where the late Tito Vilanova designed set pieces and Puyol scored one of his trademark header goals against Real Madrid after Xavi recommended a minor change to Tito in the plans. The communication between manager and players have improved and the payoff has been on full display ever since.

Another player who gained some redemption from El Clásico was Jeremy Mathieu. In the first Clásico, Luis Enrique started the Frenchman as a left back in place of Jordi Alba. His performance was poor that day and he raised some eyebrows when he stated that he was surprised that the manager picked him as a left back on game day. That suggested that Luis Enrique did not train the team to play with Mathieu as the left back nor give him ample time to mentally prepare for the role. Fortunately, Mathieu got to start the second Clásico, this time as a center back, and not only did he play well on defense; he even got to score! I can’t think of a better way for someone to redeem themselves in such situation.

This match was also redemption of some sorts for Pique, Rakitic, Claudio Bravo and Luis Suarez. Pique has taken abuse over the past few years for his inconsistent form but he was bossing the back four during Barça’s win against their arch rivals. Although he did not score, Rakitic put in a superb performance to make up for that poor appearance as a substitute in the first Clásico where his awful corner kick, also his first touch in the game, resulted in a counter attack goal for Los Blancos. For Claudio Bravo, this was his first taste of victory against Real Madrid during his time in the Spanish league and made some key saves too.

Finally, the other star seeking redemption was Luis Suarez. His signing created some controversy and discontent amongst fans following his World Cup biting incident. His first competitive Barça appearance was in the first Clásico where he assisted on a Neymar goal early into the match before he was subbed off later because he lacked match fitness. It took him some time but the Uruguayan has found his scoring boots and has played a key role in the Barça transformation. After a difficult summer, scoring a game winner in a game of this magnitude goes a long way over winning over the hearts of the doubtful Blaugrana faithful.

Ultimately, we cannot conclude this without mentioning Messi. He was somewhat silent in the first half as he played wide. Yet, it was his free kick that Mathieu nodded in for the opening goal. In the second half, he playing in the center of the pitch which helped the midfield out and after Luis Suarez’s goal, he along with Neymar and Luis terrorized Madrid’s tired team with dangerous counter attacks. He has been amazing in 2015 and we hope he can keep it up down the stretch.

The fact they squandered so many golden chances in the final 20 minutes of the match will give Luis Enrique something to discuss at the next team meeting. They cannot afford to squander these types of chances, especially one such as the Neymar missed opportunity that saw Madrid score moments later. There is room for improvement and a result like this will keep the players’ egos grounded which might not be the case if the score ended 4-1. Ten games left in the league but at least Barça control their own destiny even with Madrid, Valencia and Atlético in pursuit.

Barça’s Nightmare in the Santiago Bernabéu.

Barça’s trip to Madrid under first year manager Luis Enrique was a nightmare for both team and manager. Mistakes in tactics and his reaction in the aftermath has some Blaugrana fans concerned about the team’s future. The good news is that Barça is still in first place but the question is for how long?

Luis Enrique’s first visit to the Santiago Bernabéu as a Barça manager made for great stories. However, his past was irrelevant since he managed at this venue for Celta Vigo last season. Barça came to the Spanish capital with a four point lead and were looking to expand it to seven. Luis Enrique opted to start Mathieu over Jordi Alba and the same midfield trio of Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta while giving Luis Suarez his first competitive start with Neymar and Messi.

The first El Clásico of the year started off with a bang for Barça but soon ended with a thud. It didn’t take long for Suarez’s to make his presence felt after delivering a superb pass to set up Neymar for the opening goal four minutes into the match. He also set up Messi on a great scoring chance which forced Casillas to pull off a great save to deny Messi from doubling their lead. For Blaugrana fans, there was not much left to remember from this match. Barça seemed like pedestrians out there after Madrid had a 2-1 lead that grew into a 3-1 lead.

I had expressed some reservations, or concerns if you would like, about Luis Enrique. This was his second test after that defeat to PSG and sadly, he failed this test too.  Lucho’s “Plan A” has flattered to deceive and there were doubts if there actually was a genuine “Plan B”. Well, “Plan A” sputtered to create many chances and the team seemed to fade away in the second half. “Plan B” was never presented for us to reflect on. The plan of attack was for the fullbacks to attack down the wings and have the midfielders cover for them. The only problem was Lucho had the wrong personnel to put this plan into action. Xavi and Iniesta are not the same as they were back in 2008-2009 season. Lots of games and age will do that to a player’s body. Alves was not an offensive factor and only defended well when Madrid sat back while Mathieu tried his best but was abysmal in the final third of the pitch. It was asking a lot for Busquets to cover all that exposed space seeing as he is not known as a fast player and so soon after recovering from an injury.

I also addressed my concerns about the defending of this team. The clean sheet records was one of the biggest misleading statistics coming into this match. Barça kept clean sheets but their defending left much to desire. For some seasons now, Barça have been plagued with subpar defending stemming from mistakes and lack of personnel. Lucho opted to go with Pique and Mascherano as center backs, ignoring what had transpired in the last league Clásico that was played in the same venue. I had warned that Benzema was a threat, especially after he terrorized Barça last season when he scored two goals in the first half in this stadium and could have had more in that game. So it came as no surprise that he scored yet again following a mix up between Iniesta and Mascherano that resulted in a counter attack from which Benzema scored his fifth league Clásico goal at home. Pique’s clumsiness resulted in a penalty for handling the ball while sloppy defending resulted in Pepe being left unmarked during a corner kick goal.

The 3-1 loss left a bitter taste for the Blaugrana faithful. Lucho was supposed to usher in a new era but instead, we saw flashbacks to eliminations by the hands of Bayern and Atlético. Fans weren’t happy and the media was ready to pounce on Lucho. We all thought the nightmare ended in Madrid but Lucho’s press conference yesterday just prolonged it.

When confronted by the media, Lucho went on the defensive. His answers regarding Messi allegedly taking injections, Vermaelen’s recovery, and Mathieu’s statement that he was surprised to find out he was going to start as a left back, were poorly dealt. He should have dealt with those questions with calm but instead came off annoyed. This was the last thing we needed following the defeat to Real Madrid.

Personally, I had some concerns with Mathieu’s statement that he was surprised that he going to start as a left back. Lucho had mentioned before that he would inform which goalkeeper was going to start the match two hours prior to kickoff. One can hope that Lucho did do the same in a game of this magnitude. Based on what I saw from Mathieu, where he seemed to struggle to whip in a cross, did Lucho try this out in training to see how he would perform offensively? Only time will tell if Lucho is an enigma or man with a plan.

This disappointing defeat to Real Madrid meant that Barça are still in first place with a tough schedule ahead along with teams breathing down their necks. They will be hosting Celta Vigo and Sevilla and traveling to Valencia along with traveling to Amsterdam and Cyprus to face Ajax and APOEL this month. Lucho has failed his first two big tests. This month will be his third test. Will he be able to keep his team atop of the league standings and will he ensure his team will get maximum points in those two Champions League encounters for the decisive final  match against PSG that will decide who will win the group?

I know it’s early into the season and I am a firm believer of it’s not how you start, but it’s how you finish. Lucho has time on his side but what he does not have, is the patience of fans that are waiting to be impressed on a consistent basis.

Lucho’s Honeymoon is Over.

FC Barcelona’s loss this past weekend to Real Madrid was as disappointing as they come. After securing a dream start after scoring an early goal, the tide turned after half an hour and Barça never recovered again. Luis Enrique decided to change his team’s approach and that big gamble did not pay off. After just 12 matches, his honeymoon period is over and Lucho will now have to face the criticism that awaits him following his team losing in its two big tests of the season.

For 30 minutes, Barça seemed to be doing well. Luis Suarez’s debut kicked off with a great assist to Neymar for an opening less than five minutes into the game. Messi almost doubled the lead but for an amazing save from Casillas in the 23rd minute to keep 1-0. Unfortunately, Barça were being exposed at the back prior to that scoring chance thanks to typical clumsy Barça defending. Unfortunately, clumsy defending, a few minutes after that scoring chance, would result in a penalty by a handball from Pique and the penalty king Ronaldo stepped up and scored the equalizer. From there, the rest of the match is a blur.

The second half was the Barça that we had seen against Bayern and Atletico in the past two years. The Blaugrana were being bossed around and lacked energy and creativity to find a way back. They looked beaten mentally and physically. Prior to this match, I addressed some concerns I had with the way Lucho was coaching this team.Although they had not conceded a single goal in league play, they defender flattered to deceive. His starting back four was a mystery but the bigger mystery was staring Mathieu as left back over Jordi Alba. He also went ahead with Pique and Mascherano partnership even though it had been exploited by Real Madrid in the past.

The back four seemed great on paper but was poor on the pitch. Mathieu attacked well but did not offer anything in the final third of the pitch. Mathieu even admitted he was surprised he was asked to start as a left back. Pique was his clumsy self again while Benzema once again relished playing against Barça while matched up with Mascherano. Dani Alves did not lose the ball much in the final third of the pitch but did not contribute offensively much either. His defending was nothing to write about. It only got better when Madrid decided to sit back and counter attack with fewer numbers but watching Marcelo bypass him and Xavi was a rerun of past disappointments.

Lucho’s strategy was a failure when you consider the lineup he submitted. The same midfield trio of 2008-2009 cannot be expected to perform like that team did back then and cannot be expected to perform in his direct style of constant pressure. Xavi and Iniesta are not young men anymore while Busquets has been playing hurt for a while. Many thought Mascherano and Rakitic would play in the midfield with Iniesta but alas, Lucho stuck with the old guard and the wear and tear of the old guard was too much to bear.

The big gamble of going with Luis Suarez paid off with some great scoring chances for others but I would have preferred seeing Sandro start or even Pedro due to his familiarity with the players. It was asking a lot for Luis Suarez to get out there and know where his teammates would be and gel with them. That comes with time. More bizarre was watching Barça attack Madrid down Carvajal’s side of the pitch and ignoring Marcelo, who was exposed by Germany as Brazil’s weak link. We used to see Messi and Pedro attack Marcelo often to the point that Mourinho benched him for Coentrao. Yet, Messi and Luis hardly attacked that right side of the field.

Unfortunately, Barça’s own wrongdoing caused them to be down 3-1 and when that happened, Lucho showed us that he has no Plan B; he just swapped one player with another who played in the same position. Lucho’s press conference today made him seem defensive and petty at times when questioned about what happened on Saturday, and it’s only after nine league matches. There is a long season ahead of us but Lucho has failed in his first two big tests; PSG and Real Madrid. That does not bode well for him and this loss means that Barça will now have three other teams breathing down their necks. Barça must overcome this train wreck of a performance but the honeymoon period for Lucho is over. 

Issues for Barça to address ahead of El Clásico.

Well, it’s that time again when most of the world stops to enjoy El Clásico. Barça travel to Madrid Saturday to face their arch rival Real Madrid. Barça sit atop of the standings with a four point advantage over Los Blancos. A win on Saturday would give them a beneficial seven point lead. However, this game seems to raise more concern than hope for some of the Blaugrana faithful with some issues that need to be addressed.

Luis Enrique’s era has been superb with the minor hiccup against Malaga and disappointing showing against Paris Saint-Germaine.  He heads to the Santiago Bernabéu with a four point cushion over his rival, Carlos Ancelotti. Last season, Tata Martino and the players departed the same stadium as victors following their 4-3 victory. The task at hand is for the manager and players to leave the stadium with a victory.

There’s no debating that this team is still a work in progress. The defending has been shaky at best with Pique still inconsistent, Bartra still lacking experience while Mathieu is recovering a knock. The full backs are such an important part of the offense since Lucho prefers to rely on these players than wingers but that also exposes the defense.  Who will start in the back four is everyone’s guess and unlike Tata, Lucho will not allow the media to be present for the whole training to publicize the starting lineup later on.

The other issue is what is Lucho’s Plan A? Finally, Luis Suarez will be allowed to play with the team, hence why it is a work in progress. Will we finally get to see Lucho’s Plan A come to fruition? The other concern is if Plan A is not working, what is the Plan B? The draw against Malaga showed us that Lucho’s strategy was to replace a player with another player who plays in the same role. Swapping out players is not exactly a great back up plan and his 3-4-3 Plan B against PSG did not convince many.

This is only Match Day 9 but a win goes a long way in ensuring Barça have a good grasp on the league crown with a commanding seven point lead. A loss means Barça will have Real Madrid, Atletico, Valencia and even Sevilla breathing down their necks.  Nevertheless, time has shown us to expect the unexpected when it comes to this game and I can never doubt these players in winning at the Santiago Bernabéu.  Need I remind you that ever since that embarrassing 4-1 loss in Madrid back in 2007-2008 season, Barça have only lost once in that stadium over the years with four wins and a draw in league play. Will Saturday make it a fifth for a Manita?

What Next For Barça After Transfer Ban Upheld.

Yet another appeal for Barça. Barça seems to be as busy on the pitch as they are off the pitch. Last week, FIFA rejected FC Barcelona’s transfer ban appeal regarding the transfers of youth players into La Masia. The punishment was that the team could not sign players for two transfer windows. Thus, Barça risk the chance of not signing any new players next season which makes you wonder why didn’t they plan ahead and do more this transfer window.

Last Wednesday, FIFA made the decision to maintain their original decision of banning Barça from signing new players. This stems from FIFA’s decision back in April to ban Barça, and the RFEF, after they ruled that both had “violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of non-Spanish minors with the club, as well as other relevant regulations with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in national competitions. The investigations concerned several minor players who were registered and participated in competitions with the club over various periods between 2009 and 2013.”

I won’t waste much time arguing FIFA’s position. I don’t think these kids are subjected to child slavery by being a part of La Masia. Also, it does seem silly that FIFA cares for children playing at academies but at the same time, do not seem to care for the children of those men who have died building World Cup stadiums and those children who work in awful conditions making shoes and kits that are worn by players for their football clubs and countries.

Barça dropped the ball in the way they handled this issue from the beginning till now. They probably should have hired a very good law firm to help them with the initial inquiry and followed up to see if it was adequate. Also, Barça claimed that they were expecting the appeal to be turned down. If so, then why are they putting all their eggs in one basket by relying on the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn this decision and risk being shut out from signing new players?

Court of Arbitration for Sport already heard one appeal recently when they refused to reduce Luis Suarez’s FIFA four month ban; just eliminated the ridiculous “no football activity” ban. So I don’t like Barça’s chances in getting this ban overturned; perhaps reduced to one transfer window but I don’t like Barça’s chances in getting a complete overturn. Thus, there is the risk of signing new players in the future.

Which is why I am a bit disappointed, but not surprised, at the way the club has conducted itself this transfer window. I was expecting many players to leave and so far, that has happened with Alex Song and Dani Alves the only ones that have yet to find new teams. Alex Song won’t feature in any league matches for Luis Enrique as the club tries to offload him but Dani Alves seems to be sticking around partially because of lack of interest.

Of course, the Barça board promised change and with it, came many new faces. Barça’s new additions are Marc-André ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitić, Claudio Bravo, Luis Suárez, Jérémy Mathieu, Thomas Vermaelen along with former Barça B players coming back from loan Gerard Deulofeu, Rafinha. I don’t consider players coming back from loan as new signings although the Barça board deemed them as “signings”.  Ultimately, the list of new players is a mixed bag in terms of impressing me. Only Marc-André ter Stegen and Ivan Rakitić were the ones I was hoping for.

Since he is a Barça player now, I will hope that Suárez will come through and be an important player in the attack up front with Messi and Neymar along with not losing his cool and doing something stupid. The disappointment of going from seeing the club linked with the likes of Laporte and Marquinhos and then signing Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen while being also linked to Brazilian fullback Douglas is not exactly up lifting.

If Barça do end up being hit with the transfer ban, the team will have to rely on these players to defend the club’s backline for more than one year. Pique, Bartra, Mascherano, Mathieu and Vermaelen as our centerbacks with Dani Alves, Montoya, Jordi Alba and Adriano as our fullbacks is not exactly reassuring. Then again, this is the club that thought Alex Song was going to be a good signing. The most frustrating thing about all of this is the club not signing players on sign and loan deals in case the ban is not overturned. Instead, they now have to rush to finish these sorts of deals, if they want to, with a few days left in the transfer window.

Hopefully the likes of Ié and Bagnak and others from Barça B will get to their chances to play with the first team as Munir did this past weekend. If the ban is to remain in place, then Barça will have to rely on their youth and with Luis Enrique in charge, one can hope that the former Barça B manager will rely on them a whole lot more than his predecessor, with and without the transfer ban. Barça have always relied on La Masia as the backbone of their team and now, La Masia will have to be relied on more than ever.