Viva Barca
Last season Barca ended up as a runner up to the La Liga title after Real Madrid managed to get their hands on it after years of absence. On top of that, we were knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus, even though we were riding high on morale and spirit after a magnificent and yet so unbelievable “Remontada” (Spanish for comeback) against Paris Saint-Germain F.C. The season was looking as grim as it did 3 years ago, namely in the 2013/14 season when Barca only succeeded at snatching the annual Spanish Supercup at the beginning of the season, and failed to secure any of the other trophies. Luckily we were good (or fortunate) enough to win Copa del Rey this year, finishing the season on a high note, sort of, since celebrating the Copa made our rivals celebrate their victories even more as our trophy is not nearly as “important” in the eyes of the public.
There are numerous reasons as to why we “failed” or why things just did not work out for the best, and everyone seems to have their own view on it. Not to mention that we all seem to know best when it comes to making changes to the roster or the playstyle of the team. Some think the signings were bad, others claim it’s the coach’s tactics that need changing, and then there’s the third group who already relegated us completely because they think nothing is good about this team, nor the board that is leading it. Truth be told, I think that if we put all those things together, there is something to it in the end – some of the signings really did not work out, tactics were sometimes a bit shaky, and the board, well, we all know what’s wrong with them nowadays. In the end, when push comes to shove, the problems have to be pinpointed and taken care of. While it is difficult for us, “outsiders”, to do just that, we can, however, based on our own analysis (however good or bad it really is), throw in our 2 cents on the matter. With this in mind, this article will try to conclude which 5 players need to up their game in the upcoming season if we are to be back where we belong – at the very top.
We are going to start from the back and move our way up to the striker(s). By now it is general knowledge that Barca looked shaky in the first third of the pitch, namely at the right-back position that was, until now, strictly (and somewhat forcefully) reserved for our man, Sergi Roberto. The first player that we are going to be looking at next season is our freshest, 30M € signing – Nelson Semedo. The young man recently arrived from Benfica and is praised to be one of the most prolific right-backs in the modern football, whose potential is just waiting to skyrocket any minute now. There are massive expectations from him now, and with expectations, and such a high price tag (for a defender), comes pressure, lots of it. Semedo is expected to perform from the very first minute and frankly, we will need him to if we are to compete with the big boys in the Champions League, and the big names in the Spanish La Liga. We were exposed more often than not when playing teams that know what they are doing which effectively led to us conceding an unnecessary goal quite often. Nelson comes sort of as a bandage to our wound or maybe as duct-tape (because we know that if duct tape can’t fix it, nothing can) since honestly, the wound is pretty big. The young defender averages 3 tackles per game with 1.2 interceptions and 1.6 clearances. Also, when going forward he looks solid as well – 1.1 key passes, 1.6 dribbles and 0.6 times actually dribbling past someone on the way. For a defender, these are brilliant stats as he is good both defensively and offensively. On paper, everything is right here but the toughest part is translating that to the field, and that is exactly what we are expecting from Nelson Semedo.
Our number 2 on the list shares the same position as Nelson, and you’ve guessed it, it’s Aleix Vidal. One of the more controversial signings we’ve made in the recent years and definitely one that has people choosing sides depending on whether they like him or hate him, no in-between. He started out purely as a bench warmer, making one or two cameo appearances on the way, until he and Luis Enrique had a fall out of sorts, resulting in the young Spaniard rarely being called up by the boss. With so little games to his name, it was clear that he is: a) Not going to improve, and b) Not going to show what he is capable of. Luckily for us (and him), he did good on the few chances he has gotten throughout the season, managing to bang in a couple of assists and 2 goals along the way and overall bringing a fantastic performance to the table along with lifting our hopes and spirits for the future. Not long after he got some confidence, Vidal was terribly injured in the dying moments (87th minute!) of the already won game against Alaves, when Theo Hernandez decided to make a sliding tackle, hopefully aiming at the ball but recklessly getting Vidal’s ankle instead. The injury saw Aleix miss out on the rest of the season but he is expected to be fully fit for the next campaign. The fans will be looking at him since he left a spark before going on an unexpected absence, leaving us with the desire to see more of his play. It will hopefully be a healthy competition between these, undoubtedly 2 promising right-backs which will help both of them improve rapidly and will definitely make them play at a 110% every game. Still, it remains to be seen.
Let’s move away from the back-line for a bit now and focus on the midfield. Currently there are many players situated here, and none are playing extremely well or extremely poorly, but average is not Barca’s standard. It is no secret that the biggest signing of the last season, Andre Gomes (around 40M €) is “terribly underperforming”. The reason I’ve put this under inverted commas is because yes, he is not really at a level we would want him to be, but that does not necessarily mean he is a bad player. It was the lad’s first season in the biggest club in the world and everyone was eager for him to get on the pitch and immediately solve all of our problems, which were, at the time (arguably they persist even today), pretty overwhelming. Naturally, Andre fell under the weight of the immense pressure that was put on his shoulders and his performances suffered because of it. Imagine being a 22-23 years old kid, you get the opportunity to play for Barca, you accept it, of course, but you fail at becoming the next Xavi in your first couple of professional games and it leads to whistles and boos from the crowd whenever you come on/off the pitch. Extremely motivating, isn’t it? It takes time and practice to adapt to the Barca system, especially for someone coming from afar. When I say afar, I don’t necessarily mean from a different country or a different league, but also from a club that is founded on a different philosophy than that of Barcelona F.C. Sure, there are players who are just not the right profile, which by no means should make you conclude that they are bad players. Case in point, Zlatan Ibrahimović. We all know that this guy is a phenomenal striker, even though he is half way past his thirties. He left Barca because, as he’s put it himself, we were “underutilizing” him – “You bought a Ferrari, and drove it as a Fiat”. With that statement he was referring to our slower, build-up, tiki-taka playstyle as opposed to his, rush in, shoot from afar, attack, attack and attack style. That is one of the examples how a good player does not fit the profile. This, however, is not the case with Andre Gomes. The boy is a natural passer of the ball, and even though, admittedly, we could only see glimpses of his true self last season, for a moment or two, we saw the potential that he carries. Remember if the trace back 10-15 years or so, to a time when Xavi and Iniesta were making their debuts for the Blaugrana shirt, they were struggling. Yes, you read that right; they only became what we know them to be now at the age of 23-25! There is no doubt that Andre needs to step up, but let’s give him the support he needs in order for him to get there.
People are looking at Marco Verratti as our “savior” this year but aren’t we forgetting someone who is right here in our backyard, waiting to “explode”? This might create debates and mixed feelings but the man I’m talking about has already been mentioned in this article, it’s none other than Sergi Roberto himself. Why him, though? First of all, he is one of us, a La Masia “product” who understands what it means to wear this shirt, and was molded and born in the flames of our academy. So far we’ve seen him play as our RB but let’s face it, Sergi is not a defender, he is a midfielder at heart, and that is where he feels most comfortable. This man is a machine, and gives 200% each and every game. He is a true definition of defending your colors until the very end, the final whistle. Whether it is the final goal for the completion of the “Remontada” or using the last atoms of your energy in the final moments of the Clasico for one last sprint across the whole pitch to secure the winner, Sergi is right there. This year, Valverde will use him as a midfielder and believe me, everyone will have their sights set on him. He did wonders from the right-back position, and now that he has the confidence, it is time for him to shine from the very heart of the squad – the midfield. Can he do it, though? Only time will tell but we will sure need him to.
My final pick is arguably the most unexpected one. It is the youngest member of the MSN – Neymar. Dubbed the most likely Golden Ball contender after Messi-Ronaldo era and the young prodigy Barca have in their midst’s. After adjusting to our system and a pretty successful year under Luis Enrique and the treble winning team, Ney was set to have his best season yet. But he didn’t, despite him claiming that the last campaign was his best showing so far. I disagree. Don’t get me wrong, he did have outstanding performances, especially against PSG in the Champions League. He also fought valiantly against Juventus but to no avail. He has talent and he shows it, no denying that but at what cost? He failed to score in both Clasico’s when he clearly had the chances to do so, which would definitely secure both games without the extra stress. Many times he lost the ball in his dribble attempts which have gone south and the many 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper situations, as well as the tap-ins were missed by him. A player like Neymar, one of the world’s best, should never ever let himself miss so many “poacher’s chances”, not when he’s aiming to be the next Ballon d’Or winner. I feel like as much as he contributed to the team throughout the season, he was often the reason some of the games slipped through our fingers. It takes much more than a couple of successful dribbles to be the very best, like no one ever was, pun intended. With Neymar restoring his 2014/15 form and stepping his game up, the sky is the limit, both for him and Barca.
There you have it, cules, 5 players that, in my humble opinion should and could step up and carry the team in the upcoming season. Of course, the whole squad has to perform in order for us to reach new heights but the before-mentioned players left us craving for more or just simply are yet to show us the aces up their sleeves. Nonetheless, we are in for a crazy ride that is season 2017/18, so strap you seatbelts on and enjoy the Valverde show. Visca el Barca!
Domagoj Kostanjšak   |
