Still in contention one week ago for the two main jewels in Barcelona’s reach – La Liga and the Champions League – today the prevailing sentiment is that Barcelona’s hegemony over European football has come to an end. Therefore, I would like to hypothesize about why Barcelona has not hit the same highs this season as in the previous 3.
To start, defensive frailties. Most culés believe that Barcelona just need to take their chances in front of goal, but if they had not given up even one of the soft goals against Chelsea, they would have advanced. The reason for the defensive frailties is simply that Puyol, Pique, and Mascherano do not constitute a back line. There is not a left back among them and Mascherano is a midfielder. Pique’s running disagreement with Guardiola, and the probable concussion he suffered last night, complicated things further.
The second structural problem is on the left wing, which seemed to be a focal point for attack but which often lost the ball. In this position, Barcelona’s youth academy has been churning out a flavor of the mouth that sparkles and then fizzles.
I have several suggestions for the critical left wing position:
1) Thiago Alcantara. He’s probably the best at running at defenders from this position and Barcelona doesn’t need him in the midfield with Cesc, Iniesta, and Xavi fit. For me, Thiago should have been deployed here lsat night and on Saturday.
2) Loans. La Masia is a factory, and the great thing about a factory is that it churns out players of a similar standard. The bad thing, in a footballing sense, is too little variation – which has enabled defenses to neutralize the young newcomers relatively quickly. It is perhaps no coincidence that two successful cantera alumni, Cesc and Pique, cut their teeth in foreign leagues before coming back to Barcelona.
3) Outside buys. Sometimes Barcelona has to look outside the cantera for a truly de-stabilizing player, given that its youth setup produces so little variation. Alexis, Villa, and Alves are examples. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good players available who fit this position. The best wingers in Europe who are likely to be available, Jesus Navas and Adam Johnson, play on the right (though Navas occasionally plays on the left). Iker Muniain is a player to watch and does play on the left, but at 19 he’s too unproven.
I think the real desperation comes from the knowledge that all dynasties inevitably fall. Barcelona experienced some lean years after the 1990’s Dream Team; Madrid went hungry after the initial success of Galácticos I; and Liverpool has not tasted Premier League title success for 20 years.
