Time for the Lightning to Strike!

Playoffs time is upon us and for us Tampa Bay Lightning fans, expectations are high and anything but the Stanley Cup will make this season an utter disappointment. The team finished the season with the best record in the league and also tied the Detroit Red Wings record of most wins in a season. However, all of those accomplishments will amount to nothing if the Bolts fail to win the Stanley Cup. Moreover, failure to win the Stanley Cup will only further strengthen the whispers about  Lightning’s coach, Jon Cooper comparisons with another well-known coach in Tampa Bay Sport’s history, Tony Dungy, and will lead to calls for Cooper's head. 

There is a poor paraphrase of a line from one of William Shakespeare’s play that rings true today; “Expectation is the root of all heartache." Expectations are sky high for Lightning fans this season. Last year’s bitter playoffs exit to the Washington Capitals frustrated me and other Lightning fans. This was the second time in three season that the lost in the Conference Finals, the other being against the Pittsburgh Penguins, after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015. What made those eliminations so bitter was the fact that on both occasions, the Lightning lead the series 3-2 and yet failed to win one more game to advance to the Finals. Furthermore, both the Penguins and Capitals went on to hoist the Cup. 

After last year’s elimination, it was hard not to compare Jon Cooper’s shortcomings with that of another well-known coach in Tampa Bay sport’s history; former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy. Dungy had one of the best teams in the NFL but he could not get the team over the hump and guide his team to the Super Bowl. He was dismissed and his successor, Jon Gruden, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl in his first season and won the big prize that many in Tampa Bay thought would never happen. A year later, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004 under the coaching of John Tortorella.

Fast-forward to today and the Lightning are trying to reach the Finals for the first time since 2015 when they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks. Jon Cooper has been trying to return to the Finals again and after those two bitter eliminations to the Penguins and Capitals in recent history, this season felt that the promised land was within reach. Former General Manager Steve Yzerman has assembled a great team for Jon Cooper and Cooper has done a remarkable job of coaching the great talent at his disposal and made them contenders. This is one of the deepest teams that I can ever recall in Lightning history.

However, the Bolts are already down 2-0 to the Columbus Bluejackets who are coached by none other than John Tortorella. With the exception of the first period of this series, the Lightning have been outplayed and out-coached by the Bluejackets. Panic has already crept in the Lightning fan base and tonight’s game is a must-win for the Bolts if they wish to win anything this year besides the accursed President’s Trophy. It’s not uncommon to see teams rebound after being down 2-0 in a series; but it is not something that we have seen the Lightning do often in their history. Nonetheless, failure at this stage or in the Final will not erase doubts that Cooper is not the man to get this team over the hump. It’s time for the Lightning to strike or else it will be for whom the bell tolls for Jon Cooper and the Lightning.

Barça are Finally Ruthless.

Throughout this past decade, Barça have entertained us and disappointed us. Along with the highs, there have been lows that have frustrated the fan base. One of my major complaints about this team, dating from Guardiola to last season, was their lack of being ruthless. However, under Valverde, it appears that this team has figured out how to be ruthless at the perfect time.

Besides the treble season under Luis Enrique, Barça had this tendency to let up instead of be ruthless. Time and time again, we would witness Real Madrid go through a crisis while their manager is on the hot seat. A victory over their bitter rival would have sent the Blancos into turmoil. However, instead of going for the kill, Barça would allow Real Madrid to escape their clutches and grab a victory in El Clasico that would give them some momentum and avert disaster.

This year however, Barça finally discovered how to be cold blooded. Real Madrid had already fired one manager, Lopetegui, after Barça defeated them 5-1 at the Camp Nou back in October. Under Solari, Real Madrid were facing Barça in three matches while trying to clinch a spot in the Champions League Quarter-Finals, a spot in the Copa del Rey Final, and try to stave off elimination from the league chase. The final two matches were going to be played in Madrid’s stadium and any positive result was going to inspire them onwards.

Fortunately, Barça managed not to lose all three games while also subjecting Real Madrid to suffer back to back defeats to their arch enemy in front of their own fans.  The consequences of these results saw Real Madrid then crash out of the Champions League following a 4-1 crushing defeat at home to Ajax Amsterdam. As a result, Solari was fired and Zidane was brought back. However, the damage was done. Madrid’s season ended in March and they had nothing left to play for.

Barça finally showed that they knew how to go for the kill and proved it a few weeks ago when Barça also defeated Atletico Madrid to increase their lead atop of the league standings while Atletico’s league aspirations suffered a terrible blow. A loss would have reduced Barça’s league lead to just five points between them. Instead, it’s now an 11-point cushion and it would take a total collapse for the Blaugrana to not win the league title. Barça’s momentum carried on outside of Spain when they defeated Manchester United for the first time at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Champions League Quarter-Finals.

The quest for the treble still is alive and Barça need to remain sharp and focused as the season comes to an end. Hopefully they can continue to be ruthless and continue to go for the kill. This is their moment and they must seize it and never relinquish it, and they can only do that if they continue to remain ruthless.

The Coutinho Dilemma.

On January 6, 2018, Barça signed Coutinho from Liverpool for €160 million, making him the most expensive transfer in club history, and the Brazilian star signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with a buyout clause of €400 million. His arrival was welcomed by many Blaugrana faithful as part of Barça’s plan to build another great team for many years to come. Unfortunately, a year has since passed and not only has Coutinho failed to impress on the pitch, he is not even an automatic choice in the starting lineup. Should Barça consider offers and cash in on Coutinho or remain patient?

Last year, I had some concerns about the club going after Coutinho during the winter transfer window. The club had just signed Dembélé during the summer for a vast amount and a few months later, Coutinho was rumored to be the next expensive signing. I wanted to wait and see how the team would look when Dembélé returned from his injury before buying Coutinho. There were already doubts on how the team would function when Dembélé returned from his injury while at the same time, try to shoehorn Coutinho into the team with no proper preseason.

A month later, there were grumbles from the fans that Dembélé and Coutinho were not living up to their price tags. Just because their transfer fees were enormous, didn’t mean they were not going to need time to settle. History has shown us that many players need time to adapt to playing for Barça. Henry, Neymar, and Suarez took some time before they got going and both Dembélé and Coutinho should have been afforded some time, perhaps half a season, before being fairly judged on their performances.

A year later, Dembélé is now considered an automatic starter in the starting eleven up front with Suarez and Messi. Coutinho, on the other hand, has not only failed to earn a spot in the starting eleven; his spot in any lineup is still a mystery. Overall, Coutinho appears to be a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Under Valverde, we are unsure of what is Coutinho’s best position is. Many hailed his arrival as Iniesta’s successor but it has become apparent that Coutinho is not a midfielder. His few Golazos were not enough to mask his inability to play in the midfield as he either got bullied off the ball often or failed to locate teammates by usually looking down before dribbling towards the box to attempt a thunderous shot on goal.

Of course, some supporters claimed that Coutinho was being played out of position. Folks have said Coutinho plays in the same position as Messi, so when Messi went down with an injury in October, I thought it was time for Coutinho to seize his moment and shine. But alas, Coutinho struggled in Messi’s absence and was soon relegated to the bench by Valverde. Earlier this month, I questioned what to do with Coutinho. Valverde has struggled to find the right formation to include Coutinho with Messi, Suárez and Dembélé, and the Brazilians seems destined to ride the bench for now. However, the bench was not what many had in mind when the club broke their transfer record for Coutinho. Ultimately, Coutinho has failed to shine up front, in the midfield, and in Messi’s absence, so it’s not entirely Valverde’s fault.

Can Valverde find a way to get more out of Coutinho or will the board live with the fact that they spent €160 million for a substitute? I don’t see the board firing Valverde just to accommodate Coutinho, if he is still getting the results and titles. RMC Sport journalist Daniel Riolo recently claimed that PSG may trigger Coutinho’s €400 million as retaliation to Barça beating them in the €75m signing of Ajax star Frenkie de Jong. Perhaps the club should not shy away from such interest if PSG or other clubs trigger the buyout clause or come in a with a big offer, and Barça use that money to reinforce the team with other signings such as Matthijs de Ligt. Being impatient doesn’t have its rewards, but in this situation, it would be rewarding.

Barça’s worst enemy continues to be themselves.

The winter break is over and Barça will be back in action as they resume their pursuit in conquering all three competitions. Their path consists of the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla in Spain, while battling Lyon and the other remaining clubs in the Champions League. However, the Blaugrana need to come to grips with their worst enemy; themselves.

The club’s start to the 2018-2019 season has been exceptional thus far.  Barça sit atop of the league table and won their Champions League group stage. However, a few bumps in the road due to on the field and off the field issues have to be resolved as they prepare for their second half of the season.



During the first half of the season, the big issue was Ousmane Dembélé. Fortunately, it seems the matter has been resolved. Yet, I feel it won’t be last time before we read another negative story about the young Frenchman. It’s not unheard of to see someone who is 21 and immature. Messi needed Pep Guardiola to tell him to change his diet habits at 21 and make him shine on the pitch. The club knew they were signing a young player who was not a model citizen at Rennes and Dortmund. Obviously, the lack of professional people managing and advising Dembélé is not helping and he would probably benefit from having an experienced agent to advise him properly. Hopefully Éric Abidal, currently the club’s football first team technical secretary, can be that father figure and take him under his wings to teach him to become more professional athlete and steer him from squandering his opportunity.



Another issue of concern is the manager himself, Ernesto Valverde. Last season, Valverde could hang his hat upon the fact that his team almost went unbeaten in the league and defended well which saw them capture the domestic double. Last season, the Blaugrana conceded only 29 goals. This season however, they have already lost twice and have conceded 19 goals after 17 games. Fortunately, the Blaugrana have kept a clean sheet the last four games and here’s hoping the trend of not leaking goals continues.

Nonetheless, under Valverde, the team is unbalanced with the midfield failing to support the backline. Some of his decisions when it comes to the starting eleven is also baffling, such as immediately starting players who have just returned from an injury. He also benches players after a good run of games and starts players out of the blue. Last season, there were complaints that he kept playing the starters for too long and didn’t rotate enough down the stretch after amassing a big lead in the league standings. This season, Valverde was rotating often which saw the team drop points during the first half of the season.

It is clear that Valverde has not settled on 4-3-3 and often reverts to 4-4-2 which at times has been dull to watch. This is Barça, not Athletic, and with the talent at his disposal, we should not be watching dull football. However, the main concern is that Valverde still seems to make the team become more conservative when they have the lead or he fails to adjust when the team is struggling to gain control on the pitch, with the loss to Real Betis as the perfect example with the bitter taste of being eliminated by Roma in the Champions League still lingering. That Roma elimination is a dark cloud that continues to hover over Valverde to this day.



Another major issue is what to do with Coutinho. Valverde does not consider him as a starter, due in large to Dembélé’s performances lately. With Valverde unable to play 4-3-3 or any other variation, the big signing Coutinho, and other signing Arthur, seem destined to ride the bench for now. However, the bench was not what many had in mind when the club spent €160 million for Coutinho. Nonetheless, Coutinho has failed to shine up front, in the midfield, and in Messi’s absence, so it’s not entirely Valverde’s fault. With any luck, Valverde can find a way to get more out of Coutinho or the board will live with the fact that they spent €160 million for a substitute.



Finally, Valverde needs to give more minutes to La Masia players. Carles Aleñá is a recent La Masia who has made the jump to the first team and here’s to hoping he gets to feature in all three competitions. No one is demanding that Barça B players be inserted into the starting lineups and play a full 90 minutes but with Copa del Rey on the horizon, we should see more of the youth in these games. None of the key starters should feature in the Copa del Rey in order to be rested for the league and Champions League which should be the main priorities this season. Chasing a treble, as much we love to win it, can be costly if it means coming up short in Europe because of fatigue from playing in Copa del Rey, again.

The board also has to do better in terms of protecting its players and investing in the squad. It was no secret that the stories of Dembélé being late to training were being leaked to the media and its unfathomable how this was supposed to improve the situation. Additionally, the club needs to improve on re-enforcing the squad.



Ajax Amsterdam’s Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt are players the club should be signing as heir apparent to Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets, who will be 32 and 31 by the time next season starts. Yet, it seems Barça will ultimately sign Adrien Rabiot and Jean-Clair Todibo instead. It is true that signing two of these four players could impact the youth players who want to make the jump to the first team. However, since these signings are going to be made anyways, then wouldn’t it be for the best to sign the finest talent available and not make another André Gomes/ Marlon type signing? The board needs to stop with the poor signings and not waste Messi’s final years with these types of teammates. Elections are a couple of years away but it would be nice for the new board to inherit a strong, if not the greatest, team like this current one did.

The league resumes today with a tricky away fixture to Getafe. Will Barça stop being their own worst enemy? Only time will tell. Hopefully we are not wasting Messi’s talent and time at the club.

Messi still the best sans Ballon d’Or.

It’s that time of the year where the Ballon d’Or is presented to the best player in the world. Once again, Messi was not the winner. It was no surprise that someone else won the award, and this year, the winner of the Ballon d’Or was Luka Modrić. The only thing that was surprising was seeing Messi finish fifth in the voting which was an insult to a player of such magnitude.

Messi will always be the best footballer on the planet. Everyone knows what he accomplished last season. However, it was obvious that the Ballon d’Or was going to be given to a player who shined in the Champions League and the World Cup and Modrić satisfied both requirements in the eyes of the voters.

Nonetheless, is Modrić really the best player in the world? Ever since 2010, I wondered if the Ballon d’Or was an award given to the current best player in the world or was it for the best performing player of the calendar year? The criteria have never been clear but no one can truthfully say that Modrić is a better player than Messi.

History has shown us that the best players don’t always win the individual awards. Michael Jordan was the best in his sport when he won those six NBA titles, yet he was the NBA MVP in four of those seasons. while Charles Barkley and Karl Malone were the other two. Nonetheless, we do not need an award to remind us that Messi is the best and he was never one for personal accolades. His goal is team success while his performance on the pitch is enough to do the talking for him.

Time for Barça To Step Up.

Messi’s injury means that the Blaugrana will be without their leader for a few weeks. This is the time for both the manager and the players to step up. They must seize this opportunity and make the most of it.

Rarely is an injury a blessing in disguise, but perhaps Messi’s injury can be used by Valverde and the players to step up and be less dependent on Messi. Messi’s injury is a short-term injury but the Blaugrana have the talent to be good and be competitive.

For far too long, we have heard that Barça is reliant on Messi and cannot function without him. Well, he will be absent for today’s Champions League clash against Inter and for this weekend’s El Clasico. Although we would prefer he was playing in these games, his absence cannot be used as an excuse.

Although we may deem him as Immortal, Messi is still human and can suffer injuries. If he suffers another injury in the future, and hopefully not an injury that rules him out for a lengthy period, then this would be preparation for the day that we hope that never comes. It’s time for the players to stop hiding and time to shine. Dembélé can play on the right, which is his preferred side, so he has no excuse now not to play there, unless Valverde says otherwise. Folks have said Coutinho plays in the same position as Messi, then it’s time for him to show it. Midfielders cannot rely on passing the ball to Messi and watch. Defenders need to be more alert and stop leaking goals.

Valverde must adapt from being conservative whenever the team has the lead and just go for the kill. He has the weapons. It’s high time he used them and what better time than now. Messi is irreplaceable, but this team can manager without him in the short term. Hopefully they will not use Messi’s absence as a crutch, but instead, use it as a launch pad to shine in his absence.

Once Upon A Time When Barça Wore White.

What if I told you, that Barça players used to wear white kits in the past up till Cruyff’s playing days. It may be old news for Barça historians and fans from that era, but this discovery caught me, and other longtime and new fan, off guard. The Blaugrana's faithful are unaware of their club's history of wearing white.

Not too long ago, I came across a video of Johan Cruyff leading the Blaugrana onto the pitch in an away match against Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup Quarter-Final back in 1978. However, what caught my eye was seeing Cruyff and the rest of the team donning white shirts. At first, I thought that perhaps those were warm-up shirts but low and behold, Barça kicked off the game while still wearing those white shirts while I was still in a state of disbelief. That image intrigued me and caused me to look deeper into Barça’s use of white in their kits.

 

FC Barcelona began wearing white from the early 1900s when the club's founder, Joan Gamper was the club’s president. The team wore the Blaugrana shirt with white shorts and also had a white away kit. The team would go on to wear white in different variations up to the 70's. Furthermore, when Barça was founded, the club used the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona on their shirt as a badge before Joan Gamper decided to give the club its own special crest in 1910. The final time the club wore white was in 1979. Since then, that color has not been used in its entirety and even minor use of it on the shirt has been controversial among the Blaugrana faithful. In the early 90’s, there was controversy  after Barça switched from Meyba to Kappa as the kit maker because Kappa's home shirts had white collars with white stripes on the sides while also displaying their Kappa logo in white.

Now a major factor that must be taken into consideration is that it wasn’t until the 50s before the rivalry between Barça and Real Madrid became fiery following the Di Stéfano signing controversy. Therefore, displaying the white color did not carry the vitriol that it would today. It was considered an easy color choice to use against teams that wore dark colored shirts. Moreover, white shirts were also helpful for the television viewers watching a football match on their black and white television sets which helped the viewers differentiate between the two teams. Until 1913, Barça used to wear the Blaugrana shirt with white shorts. Afterwards, the club began wearing black shorts before switching to the traditional navy blue shorts in 1920 while occasionally using red shorts. Although the white shirt was designed to be the away kit, there had been occasions where Barça wore it at home. During the 1946-47 season, they wore the white shirt against Levante at home at their old ground, Les Corts, because it was customary back then for the home team to wear their away shirt if there was a clash of kits with the visiting team.

 

There were other instances of the Blaugrana sporadically wearing the white shirt.  During the summer of 1952, Barça played with a white shirt and blue shorts in the final of the second edition of the Copa Latina. That final was played against Nice, which took place in France in 1952 in which the Blaugrana won 1-0.

A few more occasions where the team wore white at home afterwards, but only in European competitions. During the first edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (before becoming the UEFA Cup and now known as the Europa League),  Barça played with the white shirt against FC Copenhagen at their home, Les Corts on Christmas Day in 1955. The reason behind Barça playing with the white shirt on that day was because it was meant to represent the city of Barcelona. Moreover, the white shirt did not have the Barça crest, but instead, displayed the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona. Barça also played in white against Birmingham City, in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1957, while also displaying the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona on their shirt.

 

The Blaugrana also donned the white shirt in the Champions League, back when it was called the European Cup. During the 1959-1960 season, Barça wore the white shirt at the San Siro against Milan, on November 4, 1959 (enjoy this brief footage) . The white shirt also made an appearance against Hannover 96 during 1965-66 season in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and again in the San Siro, but this time against Inter during the 1969-1970 season in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The white shirt also made an appearance in the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in Romania against Steaua Bucharest during the 1971-1972 season.


 

The rest of the 70’s would see the club don the white shirts in UEFA Cup matches. The white shirt were restricted to a few away matches in Hungary and England. The Blaugrana donned the white shirt away to Vasas in Hungary during the 1975-1976 season. Similarly, Barca wore white in England against Aston Villa and Ipswich Town during the 1978-179 season.  FC Barcelona’s away loss to Ipswich Town on on March 7, 1979 would mark the final time the white shirt would be worn by the Blaugrana.

 
Final appearance of the white shirt

Furthermore, the use of white on kits was not just limited to the fooball team. Wearing white was also common for Barça’s basketball team with white shorts being a part of the team kit. The 70’s, were also the last time the basketball team wore white shorts with their Blaugrana tops.



Nonetheless, that video of Cruyff leading the team onto the pitch with his captain’s armband on top of a white shirt is an image that will never be repeated in the history of this club. As rare as that sight is, the shirts themselves are also a rarity. Back in 2012, one of the white shirts worn against Aston Villa, belonging to former player Paco Fortes, was put up for auction and was expected to fetch over €18,000. However, I could not find any information on how much that shirt went for.



Times may have changed but the idea of FC Barcelona wearing white again is not likely to happen anytime soon. Backlash and ridicule will be expected if the club ever decides to use a white shirt, even if done as a tribute. That in itself, is ironic since nowadays, we see the color white on the front of the shirt for the sponsors and no one bats an eye. For now, the white shirt belongs in the past.

Special thanks to Ángel Iturriaga for his input and Míguel Ángel's blog post well detailed blog about this subject. Also visit www.webdelcule.com for their great content and photos from past and present teams.