Barcelona Need New Sporting Director, Manager & Centre-Back

FC Barcelona - areas for improvement: sporting director, manager, Thiago's contract situation, tactics, new centre-back. — Whither now, for the Blaugrana?

Even though Barcelona reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, and also won the 2012-13 La Liga title, this season was anything but an out-and-out success. Under Pep Guardiola, Barcelona played some of the best football post Arrigo Sacchiai??i??s AC Milan of the late 80ai??i??s and early 90ai??i??s. The Blaugranaai??i??s former captain is indeed a fine tactician, arguably one of the best in the current era, but a team-builder he is not. He made a few additions to an already strong foundation built by his predecessor Frank Rijkaard and then-director of football Txiki Begiristain. The most notable additions of the Guardiola era: Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Dani Alves. The last however was already a Barcelona target before Guardiolaai??i??s appointment was announced.

Itai??i??s debatable whether Guardiola left Barcelona in a better shape than when he first assumed control of the team. Of course, Lionel Messi has flourished and remarkably elevated his game onto a new level, whereas Xavi and Andres Iniesta have truly established themselves as key players. Perhaps the duo wasnai??i??t as lauded as they are today, but thatai??i??s not to suggest they were not appreciated. Sergio Busquets is a world-class defensive midfielder but then again so is Yaya Toure. Maybe he wasnai??i??t quite the complete midfielder he is today but he was more than capable of anchoring Barcelonaai??i??s midfield when Guardiola was made manager.

The unprecedented success Barcelona enjoyed under Guardiola has helped the Catalan club become one of the sportai??i??s biggest entities in terms of revenue, second only to eternal rivals Real Madrid. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement. Both the team and the organization as a whole could benefit from a few tweaks here and there.

A new sporting director

As mentioned earlier, Txiki Begiristain, along with Frank Rijkaard, built a remarkable team that somewhat underachieved towards the end of the Dutchmanai??i??s tenure as Barcelona manager. Sure, the Basque executive had his fair share of misses ai??i?? Keirrison, anyone? A ai??i??14 million investment who has never played a single game for Barcelona and is currently out on his fifth (!) loan. Taking all into account though, Begiristain did a splendid job.

The same cannot be said about Andoni Zubizaretta, Barcelonaai??i??s current director of football, coincidentally also a former Barcelona player, and also Basque. The former Barcelona goalkeeper is (partly) responsible for the signings of Cesc Fabregas (ai??i??34 million), Alexis Sanchez (ai??i??26 million plus add-ons), Jordi Alba (ai??i??14 million), Alex Song (ai??i??19 million) and Neymar (ai??i??56 million) ai??i?? all the while neglecting to acquire a specialist (read: real) centre-back, which Barcelona ave been missing for years now.

Out of the aforementioned additions, only Jordi Alba can be considered a starter. Fabregas is a useful squad player albeit an expensive one who wasnai??i??t needed in the first place. Sanchez came with a huge reputation but has flattered to deceive. Song ai??i?? well, he was never worth the outlay nor has he significantly improved the squad. Excluding Neymar from the total, Barcelona under Zubizaretta have spent ai??i??93 million on four players, of whom only one is a starter. Itai??i??s safe to say Barcelonaai??i??s director of football doesnai??i??t excel in financial prudence. To add insult to injury, Barcelona are set to release one of La Masiaai??i??s most promising prospects in the centre-back position, Marc Muniesa, on a free transfer. This is something that would have been utterly unthinkable under Begiristain, who fought tooth and nail to keep the brightest prospects at the club. Now Keirrison is still with the club, but Marc Muniesa is allowed to leave?

A new manager and assistant for Barcelonaai??i??s first team

The Blaugrana aspire to be the best team in the world, one that demands excellence week in and week out. As such Barcelona not only needs to be better than the rest but the very best too. Tito Vilanova is above average at best. He neither accomplished a victory against a quality team before or after his cancer treatment (excluding Atletico Madrid). In retrospect, the words ai???qualifyingai??? and ai???Champions League semi-finalsai??? in the same sentence don’t seem right. ai???Stumblingai??? seems to be the more appropriate description, while ai???annihilationai??? is more than fitting for Barcelonaai??i??s display against Bayern Munich.

If only his somewhat limited tactical acumen was Vilanovaai??i??s only weakness; he seems to be all but oblivious to the contractual situation, or rather clauses of some of his players, most notably Thiago Alcantara. Sure, Zubizaretta must also shoulder some of the blame, but when it comes to team management, itai??i??s Titoai??i??s fault.

Should Thiago’s now decreased release clause of ai??i??18 million be activated by, say, Manchester United, it would be the biggest blunder in Blaugrana history since Luis Figo transfer to Real Madrid in 2000. Some may disagree and refer to Fabregas, but Barcelona was powerless in that particular case. Arsenal exploited a loophole that allowed them to sign the midfielder when he was still a teenager without a professional contract. Thiago’s situation is different. He has an ongoing contract and has been on the radar of Europeai??i??s top teams since his teens (Chelsea, Manchester United).

Isco, Thiagoai??i??s teammate in Spainai??i??s U21, carries a release clause of ai??i??36 million and itai??i??s more than likely he isnai??i??t going to leave Malaga for less than that, especially after his sterling displays at the U21 European Championship. Isco and Thiago are probably the two standout performers of the tournament, but the latter is available at half the price of the former.

Barcelona had a 15 point lead in La Liga in December already, so what exactly prevented Tito Vilanova from including Thiago more often? Playing 60% of all possible games ai??i?? it was more than just conceivable.

Flexible Tactics

Anyone other than Tito Vilanova who hasnai??i??t been nurtured at Barcelona should give a new impetus to the Blaugranaai??i??s tactical approach. Something has got to give, and the team is in dire need of an alternative game plan.

Barcelona Bai??i??s Eusebio has got to go

Itai??i??s quite puzzling that Eusebio still has a job. Under Guardiola and subsequently Luis Enrique, Barcelonaai??i??s B outfit has always finished in the top 5 of their respective league. Since Eusebio has taken charge, the B team has finished 8th and 9th. The regression is notable since no youngster has since made impact a la Sergio Busquets or Perdo. Cristian Tello was plucked from Barcelona B during the 2011-12 season. Something is not working, and Eusebio is at the forefront of it.

Retain Thiago Alcantara

As mentioned earlier, itai??i??s one of Barcelonaai??i??s failures that is has come this far. One of the brightest midfield prospects in world football, Thiago could leave for as little as ai??i??22 million (ai??i??18 million plus tax) when hugely inflated fees have become the norm. Quality central midfielders are a rare breed, something Manchester United can attest to, and Thiago is one of the game’s finest talents. Xaviai??i??s heir apparent, and itai??i??s entirely possible he dons the jersey of another club come the 2013-14 season.

Buy a centre-back

Carles Puyol isnai??i??t getting any younger, and Marc Muniesa has been released on a free, while the deputies arenai??i??t up to (world-class) standard. Marc Bartra has potential but for the time being heai??i??s just that ai??i?? a prospect. Barcelonaai??i??s problem at centre-back is so fundamental that literally anyone would do at this point, even if it is reported that Vilanova only wants Paris Saint-Germainai??i??s Thiago Silva. Once again, itai??i??s a problem that finds its origin at Zubizarettaai??i??s doorstep.

Most of Barcelonaai??i??s problems are homemade and could be fixed rather easily. However, with Sandro Rosell at the helm, the sporting project appears to be secondary to the greater commercialization of Barcelona. For better or worse, Rosell appears to be the better politician his predecessor Joan Laporta ever was.