Opinion on FC Barcelona under Quique Setien
It’s been almost 2 months of Setien and the so called Barca philosophy of beautiful, possession football. So where does FC Barcelona stand at present – they are out of the Copa del Rey, they are inconsistent in the league, 2nd in the league table, things don’t look all that promising for them against an average opponent like Napoli in the Champions League and they lost the clasico at Bernabeu. Added to all this, is the disturbing fact that Messi, as per his own high standards, has been in poor form, since the new coach took over.
To make matters even worse, Abidal the technical director who failed to acquire any good players during the transfer window, made a stupid statement and came into direct conflict with the captain of the team - Lionel Messi, who rarely reacts. The only player they managed to buy was Brathwaite as a replacement for the injured Dembele.
Whenever any club faces a mid-season crisis and sack their coach, realistically, the person coming in, is expected to improve the current team to a certain extent and bring in some kind of consistency. But at FC Barcelona, the minimum expectation is winning the double - La Liga and the Copa del Rey, which is totally unjustified towards anyone taking over.
Barcelona missed the bus when they failed to get a competent coach instead of Valverde, at the start of the current season. They did not sign anyone notable, except De Jong. In December, the Supercopa debacle happened which was the last straw. (If anyone had watched that game, Barcelona played some of the best football of the season during that match, before their horrendous defending failed them, yet again.) As usual, Valverde was too slow to bring in the needed changes. Finally the unthinkable happened at FC Barcelona as Valverde got the axe. The supporters were happy that there was finally some action from the Board.
Much to everyone’s surprise, the new coach was Quique Setien – someone who believed in Cryuff’s possession football alright but had zero experience in coaching a top flight team. After Setien took over, there was a big change in the way Barca played. They possessed the ball for a majority of time. All the so called Barca purists went gaga over the return of the old style of play. The good times were back.
So was it the return of the Barcelona of the past decade, who were considered one of the best club teams of all times? One has to remember that the dream team featured some of the best players to ever play football and were in tune with the possession style. They had the strength, speed and skill to hold their own against the toughest of opponents. Apart from getting the ball back, it was a team that constantly attacked with purpose and agility. They were not afraid and had a crazy streak of aggression and determination. Despite all their talents, even they had their share of failures.
Setien is trying to bring in a style of play, into a team of players, that the majority of them are not used to. The current lot are not as talented and lack the courage, aggression and discipline required for this kind of play.
The ball is passed, aimlessly, between the back four for a major part of the game and the midfield is totally ineffective in creating chances consistently. Seeing them running around in circles in their own half, the team even got jeered by their home crowd.
Unfortunately for Setien, some of the key players are injured, depleting the team further. Most players preferred by Setien are also major problems. Griezmann, despite his hard work and scoring abilities has never really fit into the team. He is woefully out of position, with few exceptions. He is missing open chances, given to him in a platter by the likes of Messi.
Semedo, who is the right back, is absolutely at sea in both defense and offense. He simply moves forward and passes the ball back to the defenders. Ansu Fati is too young to be taking the main striker’s responsibilities. Vidal and Busquets are aging and are prone to mistakes as the game progresses. Pique and Umtiti lack discipline and calmness.
The talented De Jong is badly positioned and is rendered ineffective. The out of form Rakitic has no solution to the midfield problems of Barcelona. Firpo is inexperienced and is generally outrun by opponents in defense. Arthur Melo for his age, surprisingly lacks the stamina to last a whole game.
Finally, Setien, just like Valverde, is too slow to react in the case of substitutions and setbacks. There seems to be no plan B.
Now let’s look at the one major factor that cloaked every one of Barca’s problems for the past few years with individual brilliance and determination - Lionel Messi. There was only one game under Setien, where Messi appeared a bit like his own self – the recent league match against Eibar, where he scored 4 goals. But then Eibar rarely troubled Messi in tht game as he was not crowded out, which seems to be the best option to stop the Argentine, in his present form. Even in that game, it was Griezmann who should have got a hat trick instead of Messi, who was giving the misfiring Frenchman some of the most incredible passes in fantastic positions.
Messi is not the same anymore which is not a huge surprise. As age creeps in, players are bound to decline and Leo is no exception. But it’s not just his form, that’s worrying. He appears to be unfit but continues to risk playing because Barca cannot afford to rest him, especially with Luis Suarez ruled out for a long period of time. Without the likes of Suarez, Roberto and Alba, Messi is helpless up front.
One of the biggest assets of Messi is that he can anticipate his teammates’ movements with ease and provide inch-perfect passes. But with the current lot, there is nothing much to anticipate, except for their ridiculous and disastrous back passes. So he is forced to hang back and watch helplessly, as the aimless mayhem around him continues.
Even then he has managed to provide a host of assists. As for his scoring chances, despite him missing too many in recent games, it’s a rarity that he received great crosses in the D. Overall he looks unhappy, isolated and no wonder is underperforming.
For Setien, Messi’s brilliance that glossed over the shortcomings of FC Barcelona under Valverde, has not been on display for the past few months. Messi is exhausted both mentally and physically, thanks to what is happening outside and inside the field, at FC Barcelona. Ideally at this stage of his career, Messi should be rested and used diligently. But he is playing every game from start till end.
Setien should be concentrating on building a team for the future with the likes of De Jong, Arthur, Puig, Lenglet, Fati & La Masia’s youngsters, rather than depending on the super stars of the present. All the aging, key players need to be phased out in the coming year. But the coach is not given the luxury of time or good players. He is under pressure to provide immediate results and trophies, which is impossible.
Well, over a period of time, one thing is for sure, Setien is no wizard and he does not possess a magic wand to swish away the problems of Barca. Barcelona looks to be on course for a trophy less season, unless You-know-Who magically turns it around for them because the present FC Barcelona team and Setien are not competent enough.
Clearly this team is not equipped to play the possession game and combine it effectively with well-coordinated attacks. Many are lethargic, scared and unwilling to create an attacking move. Its like trying to fit a circle into a square.
Similarly Setien is unable to fulfil the lofty expectations of a big club like FC Barcelona. Looking at the present scenario, just like his game plan, Setien is only a stop gap solution for the crisis ridden Barca team and cannot be a long term option.
With the poor tactics and administration of the current Board, it may take a while for Barcelona to assemble a good team and dream of a double or treble. That’s the reality and reality bites.
BTW Setien has brought in an additional gift to FC Barcelona — Sarabia, his vociferous assistant who spews acid on his own team from the sidelines.
God, where the hell is this club heading?
Image credits - Google Images
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