Let’s start with the obvious things. The current FC Barcelona board is an absolute disaster. The amount of tarnish Bartomeu and his associates have managed to attach to our club in recent years is downright disheartening. Time after time, from literally hiring outside firms to disparage our players to going back on their word to the club’s greatest player of all-time, and everything in-between; this board is a disgrace.
Rarely was this more on display than this offseason when they first mismanaged the club to the point where a player who dedicated his entire life to FCB felt he had no choice but to leave. Then, if driving him to leave weren’t bad enough, they apparently reneged on a verbal agreement to allow him to leave, instead holding him hostage for another season.
This was all happening on the tail end of what might arguably be the club’s most humiliating defeat in team history and the sacking of a coach to be replaced with one carrying a mandate to clean house and prepare for the team’s next generation. With all the negativity, you might be surprised by what I will say next. In the long term, I think all this madness might actually be a good thing. Allow me to explain.
The slow motion suicide that led to us to being emasculated by Bayern Munich at the end of last season was a long time coming. As I stated, the largest driving factor had been the club’s mismanagement by Bartomeu and his cronies. However, there were worrying signs on the pitch and in the locker room as well. Specifically, a nucleus of players who had once dominated the footballing landscape were slowly but surely succumbing to the inevitable. Father time is undefeated, and not even our greats are capable of the same feats at 33 as they would have been at 23. Yet, coach after coach persisted in fielding the same veteran players year after year to the point where, when we lost to Bayern, we did so with the oldest team in Champions League history. Players are only human and thus cannot be blamed for getting older. However, the club’s inability to allow younger players sufficient enough playing time to grow into the rotation has been a fundamental flaw with the system.
This, and many other flaws, have been papered over in recent years by the simple fact that we possess the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of boots. Messi has been so remarkable over the years that the superhuman things he does on a daily basis have come to be regarded as routine. He’s broken so many records that when he hits another milestone, it is reported with the same blasé energy as news of a new right-back being signed at Stoke City.
Because he has been such a rock for the squad, the flow of the team has understandably been shaded in his direction in the game plan of coach after coach. If you’re a basketball fan, you’ve likely heard the story of how Doug Collins, the then coach of the Chicago Bulls, drew up the play that resulted in Michael Jordan hitting a game winning shot over Craig Ehlo in the NBA Playoffs, most commonly referred to as simply “The Shot.” When asked what he told his team in the huddle before the inbound pass, Collins’ response was simple. “I told them to get the ball to Michael, and get the hell out of the way.” Barcelona has cycled in recent years through the 4-3-3, the 4-4-2, and even a short lived 3-4-3, but basically their entire game plan has been to get the ball to Messi, and get the hell out of the way.
This thinking has played out not only in Messi’s positioning on the field, but also in the way his teammates approach their own role within the team. During the recent pandemic, I, like many others, have spent countless hours rewatching old Barcelona games from the Pep era and happier times. Despite Messi being at his physical peak, one thing that jumps out at you is just how good the other players are. Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Villa, Henry, Pedro. The list goes on. But, not only are these players good, but they were also confident enough to respect Messi as part of the team, but not the entirety of the team. They would pass to him when appropriate and he would do something amazing. But, there was no unwritten requirement that the ball pass through him on every play. Xavi would be more than happy to pick out an amazing through ball to Villa or flip it over to Iniesta. Pedro, one of the least heralded players in the squad was not at all shy about taking his defender on or popping a shot from outside the box. They knew Messi was the King, but they realized winning was still a team effort.
Since that heyday, many of the players acquired have been far more likely to think of Leo as the first, second, and third option. The idea that they too might contribute is only an afterthought. This type of thinking has pervaded for an entire generation and resulted in a number of talented players drastically underperforming and several promising youngsters never finding their voice within the team. None of this is Messi’s fault. His job is to be the best player in the world and he’s darn good at it. But having the best player in the world on your team casts a very large shadow.
What started at the end of last season with breakthroughs for Puig and Fati has only gone into hyperdrive so far under new coach Ronald Koeman. It’s too early to give Koeman a final grade as coach. And he’s made some strange decisions, including his assessment of the previously noted Riqui Puig. But one attribute Koeman clearly possesses which is just what this team needed is that he is not afraid to ruffle feathers. This may eventually prove to be disastrous in the locker room if he doesn’t continue to get results. But, he is not afraid to bench players who need benching and introduce new talent if he thinks it will help the team overall.
Again, we’ll see if he holds to this throughout the season, but right now it has an effect beyond the Xs and Os. Specifically, it sends the message to younger players like Fati, Trincao, and Pedri that, if you bust your hind parts, you too can get a chance to contribute. Likewise, it sends a message to veterans who might have grown complacent in their status that they need to keep up their level or risk being dropped at any time.
Of course, Koeman has also gotten lucky with two instances of good timing. For one, he has come along at the moment where players with an unnatural level of confidence beyond their years like Fati and Puig are coming into their own. They carry not only talent, but the blissful ignorance of youth. They simply haven’t been conditioned yet to think to pass first to Messi and only do something on their own as a last resort. They are willing and able to contribute on their own. They respect Messi. They will be more than happy to pass to him if he’s open. But they are also willing to take risks independently and create magic on their own.
Koeman’s second instance of good timing brings us back to the original point. He was brought in to make changes and shake things up. The first thing he did was talk about how he was going to better incorporate formerly wayward players like Coutinho and Griezmann into the system and move some of the previous veteran stalwarts out of the path of younger players. Then came the big news. At first a rumor, then a rumble, for weeks it seemed like Leo Messi, the biggest star in the sky, would no longer be on the roster.
It’s important to make clear that I am very happy that Messi ultimately decided to stay. Old or not. Messidependencia or not. He is simply the best and I’m always going to want him on my team. I suspect his teammates feel the same way.
But having indulged for several weeks on end in what seemed to be the reality that Messi would be leaving, a couple things would have happened in the minds of his teammates. Once they got past the prospect of no longer having the best player in the world on their team, their thoughts would naturally have begun to shift to their own position within the hierarchy. Most, if not all, would have had no choice but to entertain the possibility that with the G.O.A.T.’s shadow lifted, they could be the one to step forward into the spotlight at FC Barcelona. At the very least, they would have been immediately disavowed of the notion that their primary role in the team would be passing to Messi or covering for him on defense. Like it or not, with him gone, they would be forced to step up.
That type of change in responsibility has a real effect on a man’s mentality, whether they are playing for FCB or learning they are going to be a father for the first time. The prospect of a team without Messi means more responsibility is going to be passed to those left behind. As it seemed absolutely certain that Messi would, in fact, be leaving, these players would have begun to make that mental shift.
Then, just like that, Messi stayed.
Now, you not only still have the greatest player in the world in your squad, but you also have an entire team that has been mentally preparing to accept more responsibility and do it without him. The result has been a far more balanced team. A team where Messi is still the best, but the team is far more willing and able to take the burden off of The Great Man and onto their own shoulders.
Ironically, this will ultimately benefit Messi as well. The older we get, the more we need to depend on the energy of youth. Sure, when John Elway won his last couple Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos he was still the great John Elway. But the team around him won those championships as much as he did. Without Terrell Davis, he goes home empty-handed.
If we are going to win any silverware this year, and ultimately in the years to come, it will be because the new generation of players accepts their responsibilities and aren’t afraid to step into the limelight. The debacle of Messi almost leaving, through no credit to Bartomeu, has ironically ended up empowering his teammates in a way that might never have happened had they not been faced with the prospect of a Messi-less universe.
Now, I’m just hoping that they can sustain this mentality throughout the season. If they can, they, Messi, and the club could have brighter days to come.
This was a guest post by Christopher Malcolm. Give him a follow on Twitter or Instagram!
