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The post-Guardiola Barcelona have failed to convinceIf we had to analyze the performances of Barcelona of the past decade, we could divide it into three phases – pre-Guardiola, Guardiola and post-Guardiola. Before Pep Guardiola stepped up to manage the senior side, the club was on an upward trajectory, barring a few tweaks here and there.Guardiola’s tenure, as we all know, elevated the team to newer heights and led them to be considered by many to be the best club team ever. Post- Guardiola the club have been on a decline and athough, such a talented group of players may only surface once in a generation, the parallels will forever continue to be drawn.Let us take a closer look at why there has been a decline in Barcelona’s performances in the past few seasons.
#1 Transfer ban
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It is amazing how the cherished La Masia, which has produced the Messis and Iniestas, would be the root of their current problems. Their irregularities in the signing of U-18 players had led FIFA to slap Barcelona with a two window ban. Although the case is ongoing at the Court of Arbitration of Sports, it looks unlikely that it will be upturned.
The impending transfer ban especially had a major implication in their recruitment of new defenders. It was already apparent that Barcelona were in need of quality defenders and the transfer ban only added to their need to get them immediately. With all the clubs aware of their ban, they raised their asking prices and Barcelona were priced out from acquiring many of the top defenders.
It is always crucial to enter negotiations on an equal footing but due to their ongoing crisis, they had to concede the advantage and ended up bringing an over-priced Jeremy Mathieu and an injury-prone Vermaelen. Both the players have failed to have a major impact on the club with Vermaelen still a long way from recovering.
It just shows how fatal a transfer ban can be not only in the future but also in the acquiring of new players before the ban kicks in. The current defence is hardly an upgrade and has already been exposed numerous times this season. Their failure to address their defensive problems in time will continue to hinder their prospects of challenging for major titles.
#2 Managerial Changes
At the highest level in World football, patience is a luxury not many managers can afford. Guardiola’s spell at the helm of the club has led to sky-high expectations from the team. Any manager who steps in to take charge is fully aware of the demanding Camp Nou faithful and to add to the burden, the team has to play attractive football while remaining consisitent.
Tito Vilanova’s untimely retirement and departure from this world was followed by the appointment of Gerardo Martino. While he tried to synthesize his ideas with their philosophy, the results proved underwhelming and he was shortly shown the door. It is the same thing with Luis Enrique. There are rumours doing the rounds that this will be his lone season in charge of the club.
Each manager brings his own ideas and methods to the table and it has been a start-stop situation for the players with the constant changes. The expectation levels at Camp Nou are so high that a few bad games are enough for talks of a crisis to surface. No manager is being offered a prolonged spell at the helm to get their ideas across to the players and the constant change of managers is dirupting their play.
#3 The Messi dependence
Whether he holds the Ballon d’Or or not, Lionel Messi still remains the most important and decisive player for Barcelona. Ever since he inherited the iconic number 10 jersey from Ronaldinho, he has been at the centre of everything that is good about Barcelona. He has broken numerous goal scoring records along the way, but it has also led to an over-dependence on Messi to come up with a moment of magic to bail the team out.
Barcelona’s dip in form over the past seasons has coincided with Messi’s injury problems. He has had to bear the grunt of the goalscoring duties for Barcelona and it was for that exact reason that Barcelona brought in Neymar and Luis Suarez.
However, it does not end at that. The players have to concede to play a second fiddle role to the Argentine. Players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa struggled to adjust to a subdued role and subsequently left the club. Last season, Alexis Sanchez was at his prolific best when Messi was sidelined due to injury. This season too, Suarez has been struggling to adjust to his role at the club as Messi normally operates in the areas of the pitch where he thrives.
Messi remains an imposing figure at the club and their success is largely dependent on Messi and how well the other attackers complement him. Barcelona’s fortunes have been highly dependent on him and his injuries played a major part in their decline in the past two seasons.
#4 Finding plan B
One of the primary accusations levelled towards Barcelona even during their trophy laden spell was a lack of plan B. By the time Guardiola entered his final year, opposition teams had started learning how to nullify their passing game.
The need of the hour was implementing a different style without compromising on their playing philosophy. That was primarily one of the reasons why Gerardo Martino was hired. He tried to implement a more direct approach to their play but towards the end of the season it seemed like an experiment that had gone wrong as Barcelona ended the season trophyless. That is the same conundrum which their current manager Luis Enrique is facing. He has been constantly tinkering with the line-up and formations to find the perfect balance between style and substance.
Ivan Rakitic was brought in to bring a more direct and combative presence in their midfield and he is slowly growing to become an important player at Camp Nou. Unfortunately, not many others can say that. While they pursue an alternative to their default playing style, the intensity of their passing game has slowed down. They came under much criticism last season from thier fans for their style of play. This season too they have been largely dependent on their attacking trio to win games.
#5 The regime change
In football or be it in any other sports it is inevitable that the off-field issues will affect performances on the pitch. More so for a club like Barcelona, which is run by the people. Their recent excellence has been followed by a period of turmoil at the administrative level.
From the Neymar fiasco which led to the resignation of Sandro Rossell to the 2 window ban imposed by FIFA, questions have been raised about the running of the club. Excessive commercialization through sponsors too is not sitting down well with the fans. There was an air of uncertainty regarding the leadership and the Presidential elections have now been forwarded to the coming summer.
The players have had to deal with the added distraction of the administrative lapses which is bound to affect their performances on their pitch. The futures of many players will be up in the air with the new regime bringing their own agendas and methods to run the club. Every election brings with it major upheavals in the squad and though they may not be able to make radical changes due to the transfer ban, many players may feel insecure about their future in the club.
