Why do Barcelona struggle without Lionel Messi?

Lionel Messi

Barcelona’s perfect start to their La Liga campaign came to an end this week with a 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao. The Catalan’s were without Lionel Messi and the Argentine’s absence did seem to hurt them just a little bit. Even though Barca don’t lack quality in their side, they certainly don’t look the same without Messi.

But why exactly do they struggle without Messi? The answer is simple; nobody in that team can play the role he does with such perfection. That role is, of course, the False 9.

The False 9 is one of the toughest roles in modern football. In an era where most teams only play with the sole recognised striker, the False 9 system takes it to a whole new level; a formation that includes no striker. The fact that there is no recognised target-man up front may seem odd, but it is a nightmare of a system for the opposition defence because there is no one to mark; any of the attacking players can come inside the penalty area and cause damage. Seems easy enough, right? Wrong. The player deployed as a False 9 must be extremely skilled and technical. He must possess speed, dribbling ability, passing, awareness and a knack of finishing chances whenever he can. Very few players possess this entire skillset; Messi is one of them. Therefore it isn’t hard to see why Barcelona miss him so badly.

How can they cope without him?

Tata Martino will have to come up with a Plan B should they need one. Pep’s entire philosophy was built around Lionel Messi yet there have been signs of late as to what happens when Barca rely on the Argentine forward a little too much.

Cesc Fabregas can be used as a False 9 and indeed has played in that position a few times this season. His technical ability is top-notch and he can distribute the ball very well; however, he isn’t the player Messi is. The only player who can actually replace Messi in that position (in a more direct way) is Neymar.

The Brazilian was used as a striker before being deployed in his more recent role as an inverted forward. However, he possesses most of the same skills that Messi does. He is quick, agile, can dribble around players as well as link up the play and he doesn’t hesitate to have a shot on goal whenever he can. However, he isn’t used to playing in that position. He will have to be groomed into a slightly different player if he is to replace Messi whenever the latter is unavailable or is simply being rested by Martino.

Another option would be to use either Neymar or Pedro (maybe even Alexis Sanchez) as a lone out-and-out striker instead of a False 9. This option is less likely to be used, however; should the lone forward get outmarked in defence, he will have to drop deep anyway in order to maintain Barcelona’s preferred tiki-taka style.

Conclusion

Playing without Messi is certainly an option for Barcelona but the amount their system depends on his qualities means it will have to be worked on. Nevertheless, it isn’t an impossible task and given that the club won’t be able to rely on Messi forever, it wouldn’t harm Martino to come up with an alternative False 9 or a different approach altogether.