FC Barcelona’s Mid-Season Crisis that jeopardizes their campaigns

FC Barcelona’s Mid-Season Crisis that jeopardizes their campaigns

Barcelona are at it again. As the season heads toward the Winter break, there is an uncertainty about the squad and a wobbliness in the entire team. This was how things had been with them for the past three years.

Though it had not affected Barca’s domestic campaign till last year, this time there is a real danger of them ending this season without anything.  All the teams of La Liga have stepped it up this season and it’s a tight race. Apart from the two Madrid teams, teams like Sevilla, Alaves and Espanyol are doing extremely well. Moreover La Liga, is becoming lenient with excess physical play that works against FC Barcelona.

A brilliant Messi’s arm injury was unfortunate and the little genius needs time to get back into his usual rhythm. But there is something else that’s worrying. Players like Rakitic and Busquets are being overloaded with both club and country duties and coach Valverde have not rotated them enough.

Injuries to key players like Coutinho, Sergi Roberto and Umtiti have upset the balance of the team. Players like Alena, Vidal, Rafinha and Malcom need to be used frequently so that they are ready replacements in case of a need. The best option is to use these players as regular substitutes with atleast 20-30 minutes of playing time.

Problems:

Valverde’s persistence with Luis Suarez is baffling as he had been misfiring this whole season. The nine goals he had scored till now are great but it came in very few games. He had been off mostly and is one of the prime reasons why the goals have dried up for Barca. Messi, Coutinho and occasionally Dembele have made up for Suarez’s misses. Now that he has ended up with an injury, it’s high time for Valverde to look for effective alternatives in players like Munir.

Coming to Barcelona’s current problem child – Dembele – his feet seems to be better than his head.  Apart from his goals, which were very crucial, Dembele has not managed to be an integral part of the team game. He is unpredictable, erratic and disappointing most of the times. 

When he starts crossing, he keeps crossing. When he tries scorings, he keeps striking. There is a lack of thinking, clarity and discipline.  He is very undependable which affects the team's performances.

He is best effective as a substitute when there is the need for a bit of confusion (lol) and speed. He is a work in progress and hope he clicks. Just have this feeling that time is running out for him at Barcelona (which I sincerely hope is not true).

Semedo is kind of okay in defense, but going forward he has no imagination and his ability to cross is pathetic. He constantly fails to link with the attack and midfield. All that he does is give the ball back to the deep defense. He needs to improve immensely in the coming days, otherwise Barca badly needs an effective right back.

Busquets though brilliant, sadly starts meandering as the season progresses. The more he gives away the ball, the more the team balance slips. He needs to be rested and there should be an effective alternative who can take care of this position in his absence.

Ter Stegen is one of the major reasons why Barcelona is still among the top two La Liga teams. In the recent games his unpreparedness has cost Barcelona. He is someone who is known to be an excellent passer, but somehow all his long balls are misplaced. Hope he regains his form and confidence and gets back to his super self.

Pique is on and off.  He is brlliant in some games while he is awful in many. The guy badly needs to be rested. Umtiti and Lenglet are the future of Barcelona’s defense and needs to gel in as an effective duo.

Valverde, the coach – There is a silent adamancy to this unassuming guy that is costing the team a lot. His substitutions, except on a few occasions, are all ineffective and confusing. First of all, he waits for way too long to make the changes. Finally when he does make the changes, the wrong players are substituted leaving the ineffective ones in the field. 

His hesitancy to bring in better players like Malcom, Vidal, Lenglet and even Arthur can never be justified. He also persists with the off form players like Dembele, Suarez and Semedo.

He rarely uses the talented La Masia youngsters who are available on the bench which is extremely disappointing. He also is reluctant to change players who incur injuries during play. His insistence of letting Rafinha play when he was badly injured was one of the worst decisions ever. If the La Masia youngsters are given as much time and training like the expensive players bought from outside they would definitely turn into long term assets. 

Similarly regular players returning from injury are rushed back  into big games which could end is bigger problems. Coutinho, Messi, Umtiti – all have been brought back in a hurry against hurtful teams like Atletico. Every time they are tackled badly, there is a collective gasp. It was sad to see that Lenglet was left out the moment Umtiti was fit. Now Umtiti is back in the injury list.

It’s a case of touch and go and anything could happen. The injury list is growing with the likes of Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, Umtiti (again!), Arthur, Luis Suarez - all being sidelined.

Valverde has a huge task to fulfill and the way the team is playing, if Barca do not win the Champions League this year, this could well be the final season for Valverde at Barcelona.

The Messi effect:

To a great extent, the flaws and problems of Valverde’s Barcelona are swept under the carpet due to the inspired and consistent performances of Lionel Messi. He has been so good for so long that everything he does is taken for granted. Everyone expects magic every time he steps out. He is aging and everyone needs to understand that he is not going to be the same and he will take longer to recover.

Messi has been very patient with the likes of Luis Suarez, Dembele and Semedo but it’s not consistently reflected in the game of these players. He may be running out of patience with these players. The way the players of La Masia are connecting with him is fantastic. But Valverde seems to be bent on not giving him the luxury of playing with these youngsters.

I just hope he continues to play as long as possible not only for the sake of FC Barcelona, but for the sake of football. His recent injury forced the coach and team to rethink their strategies which is a good thing. Barcelona will have to look to build youngsters in his mold for a brighter future.

Currently it’s looking pretty stark for FC Barcelona and Valverde both in the home and European front. Winning and losing is a part of every game. But to lose it due to inaction and overconfidence like the one against Roma is extremely painful. One guy is making all the difference but the rest of the team and the coach needs to step it up, to achieve the bigger goals of the club. 

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