While Real Madrid continue to cast their nets in search of the
biggest stars playing on the Old Continent, already landing Kaka,
Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul Albiol and Karim Benzema, Barcelona are
left with the difficult task of improving a roster that has already
won the historic ‘triplete’.
Barca were rarely lacking last season, fielding a team that could
cause opponents consternation from virtually every position on the
pitch. With a squad depth that rivalled many national teams, coach Pep Guardiola was able to
rotate his players enough in each competition to first and foremost
prevent injuries, and secondly to keep fringe men happy and
improving with ample playing time.
But even with the depth of Barcelona’s roster, there were still
times when certain players left something to be desired, doing just
enough to perform their duties, but ultimately falling short of
providing the extra dimension of play demanded of them.
The most notable example of such shortcomings was Aleksandr Hleb,
whose move to the Blaugrana from Arsenal was hailed as a major
signing and a significant reinforcement. But unfortunately, while
the Belarusian showed occasional flashes of brilliance in darting
between two defenders before slotting a purposeful ball across the
face of goal, for the most part his performances were lacklustre at
best and flat at worst.
The left-back position was also one that was in questionable hands,
as Eric Abidal failed to contribute with the same quality as Dani
Alves on the other flank. While not seen as an overt weakness in
defence, it was certainly agreed upon by a majority of
Cules, with the aging
Sylvinho on the bench, that the role could use an upgrade.
For most of the season Barcelona were able to avoid the plague of
injuries that can alter the course of a team’s campaign, but they
were still somewhat shorthanded when the injury bug finally did hit
at the end of the season.
Gabi Milito’s ongoing problems served as bad news enough, but by
the twilight of the campaign, Rafa Marquez was also forced to cut
his season short with a major knee injury. With Martin Caceres not
yet disciplined enough to be given the responsibility of a starting
role, Guardiola was forced to rely on Yaya Toure, normally a
defensive midfielder, to fill in the central defensive vacancy in
both the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals.
With long-term direction in mind, age is also a growing concern for
members of Guardiola’s side. At 31-years, both Carles Puyol and
Thierry Henry are beginning to enter their golden years; Puyol
remains the crux of the Blaugrana defence, but is beginning to
become more prone to injury and Henry’s days at the Camp Nou are
not likely to exceed one or two more seasons.
At 28 and 29, respectively, Samuel Eto’o and Xavi Hernandez are
also going to need understudies and Barca president Joan Laporta
has surely considered the need to find successors for his team’s
top scorer and the Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament.
But the biggest obstacle that Barcelona will face next season will
not be a lack of depth, ability, injuries, or age. Instead, after
winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, what
will be most tested after a season of unprecedented success will be
the squad’s motivation.
Team chemistry is relatively easy to develop when hungry players
are yearning to prove their quality. But once a season’s objectives
have been achieved and the players have established themselves as
the best, both domestically and internationally, it is difficult to
preserve the spirit of competition in a squad; players can become
complacent and the distractions of rumours, higher salaries,
inflated egos, locker room rows and players’ extracurricular
activities can put a manager’s vision in jeopardy.
Pep Guardiola is, above all, a professional — a man with an
all-business air about him and an almost pedantic approach to his
style of management. Even when Barcelona were at the height of
their form last season, Pep could be found shouting and waving at
the outer edge of the manager’s box in an attempt to tweak his
squad’s formation or remind his players to close their gaps. When
standing behind a microphone, Guardiola was an icon of humility,
even in the wake of a 6-0 win, calmly and coolly claiming that
there was still much work to be done and that his team needed to be
more consistent.
While not yet having secured a signature this summer, Barcelona
have been linked to a number of players as Guardiola schemes the
best manner in which to introduce some fresh faces into the
Barcelona line-up with the hope of keeping the squad
energised.
Deportivo left-back Filipe Luis has been heavily favoured to shore
up the that position and Guardiola has had big eyes for Liverpool
midfielder Javier Mascherano, whose adept passing would threaten to
allow the Blaugrana to further dominate possession. Cesc Fabregas
has also been linked to a return home to the Camp Nou, but it looks
as if Barca will likely have to wait a year to land their
highly-touted successor to Xavi.
But the position that has been most hotly contested in the Spanish
press is the striker role, as the drama that has habitually
surrounded Samuel Eto’o has once again stolen headlines. While
exceedingly talented — coming just a few goals short of the
Pichichi last season as well as scoring an absolute gem of a goal
in the Champions League final against Manchester United — Eto’o
also has a quality very much disliked in professional athletes: a
volatile surplus of self-importance. The Cameroonian did not
hesitate in running his mouth in the dwindling days of the
Rijkaard/Ronaldinho era and it seems as if the successes of this
past season have once again given the player free license to
publicly feud with Joan Laporta and the Barcelona organisation over
his future.
In the past, such outbursts from the player have been swept neatly
under the carpet. But this summer’s comments may just have
convinced Guardiola of the liability Eto’o presents to his team’s
stability.
The club has been reportedly entertaining the prospect of signing
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Brazilian Keirrison ‘K9’, and most recently
has reportedly made a strong push for Valencia ace David
Villa.
In Villa, Guardiola would surely find the perfect injection of
competitive spirit, technical quality, and goal-scoring instinct to
rejuvenate his squad and make a push for another historic
triplete — or
possibly four titles in the Club World Championships.
Although Barcelona have yet to make waves in the transfer market,
there is no doubt that the organisation is hard at work in an
effort to retain their hegemony and maintain a squad that improves
upon the fantastic results of last season. One thing is for
certain, even if Barca only manage to pick up a few nondescript
players that play in mostly supplementary roles, it will still be
the Blaugrana’s titles to lose — no matter how many Kakas,
Cristiano Ronaldos and Benzemas Real Madrid reel in.
Cyrus C. Malek,
Goal.com