FC Barcelona : Dependent On Messi, But Not A One-Man Team

By Anustup Sikdar
11 years Ago

The name in front of a shirt matters more than the one at the back ai??i?? usually. Nevertheless, when it comes to Barcelona, purists and fans (who arenai??i??t necessarily Cules) point out that itai??i??s the numbers 10, 8 and 6 that keep the team ticking and more often than not end up rescuing them. 10 ai??i?? Lionel Messi. 6 ai??i?? Xavi Hernandez. 8 ai??i?? Andres Iniesta. Well, itai??i??s beyond doubt that these three are perhaps the best players in their respective positions and any team with players as impactful as them, will struggle in their absence. If fans look at Manchester United without Wayne Rooney, Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus without Pirlo, et al, they will know that these teams too look a tad lacklustre in the absence of their biggest stars.

Against PSG, Barcelona left Messi on the bench, and quite rightly so. Vilanova and his team gauged the seriousness of his injury and also understood that any aggravation could sideline the star for a considerable period of time, during the most crucial phase of the season. They went on to start with Cesc and Pedro. However, given the performance of the team in the last few weeks, perhaps Alexis and Tello deserved their chances.

Last weekend, Cesc and Alexis played the best matches of their career in the Blaugrana shirt against Mallorca but with all due respect to the Els Barralets, they arenai??i??t certainly the yardstick to test the effectiveness of players. Juxtaposing PSG and Mallorca will give the answers as to why.

Apart from the man in question, players like David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez would fit in seamlessly in any team on the planet ai??i?? but such is the level of competition in the current Barcelona squad, that they are forced to fight amongst themselves to make the cut. Their quality is beyond doubt and the success of the Spain National Team is on the basis of the crux of the team, who ply their trade at the Camp Nou. Nevertheless, Barcelonaai??i??s main goal scoring threat is undoubtedly the little man from Argentina.

In the 2010-11 season, Lionel Messi scored 53 goals in all competitions, followed by David Villa (23) and Pedro Rodriguez (22). The following year, Leo scored 73 in 60 appearances, improving his scoring prowess by a stunning 37.7%, but the second highest score was that of Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez ai??i?? with 15 goals each; a staggering drop of 34.8%. Roughly, it can be said that the higher Leo went, the lower the others did. Thankfully statistics arenai??i??t exactly the means to measure a team, but the drop is still undeniable. This season, Leo already has 55 goals in 43 appearances and his scoring rate is higher than last season. These numbers indicate the dependence of Barcelona on Messi and perhaps the gap that this insanely talented athlete has created between himself and the rest ai??i?? within his team and beyond too. As much as it is a blessing to have Messi on your side, perhaps itai??i??s also a curse.

Barcelona areAi??dependent on Leo. A player of his calibre makes teams do that. Name a position where he wonai??i??t fit in. There perhaps isnai??i??t any. Leaving aside his goal scoring ability, his vision, passing, dribbling, defending, tracking back is as good as they get. This isnai??i??t a eulogy to Messi, but the bane that he is to the team. And the midweek match at the Camp Nou, just adds fuel to fire.

Hardly anybody seems to talk about the absolute pathetic defensive displays that Vilanovaai??i??s team dishes out week-in, week-out. Without any recognized centre-back to partner Pique in the absence of an ageing Puyol, the team has been fighting out at the top for quite some time now. Perhaps the philosophy has now gone from playing good football and winning to just outscoring oppositions. However, Vilanova and the entire Barcelona administration have realised that they just cannot outscore everybody and hence it dawned on them that they need to get a world-class defender. That is exactly whereAi??Matts Hummels comes in and not Neymar. Yes, they do need a player who can share the goal-scoring load with Messi, but why not accommodate Villa in the centre and try Leo on the right? With age, Villaai??i??s pace is going to take a beating (actually it already has) and he is much more lethal in the centre and a player as versatile as Leo shouldnai??i??t have any problem acclimatizing to a position where he has already played in the past. The onus lies on Vilanova to manage his players and not let the name at the back take precedence to the one in front. Thatai??i??s when and where a manager achieves greatness. Vilanova may have (almost) snatched back the domestic title from Real Madridai??i??s clutches but the real test still awaits ai??i?? to reduce dependence of Lionel Messi.

Yes, Barcelona are dependent on Leo ai??i?? as much as a Real Madrid would be on a Ronaldo or a Manchester United would be on a Rooney, perhaps a little more too. However, they arenai??i??t certainly a one-man team. A one-man team would ideally mean a team where, apart from the central figure, the rest just arenai??i??t upto the mark. Barcelona are certainly not that. There is hardly anybody who would trump Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alba when it comes to selecting the top players in their respective positions. A very close example can be Liverpool, who without Suarez arenai??i??t just the team that they are with him. Clearly the rest of the squad, howsoever talented they might seem to be, arenai??i??t on an equal footing with Suarez, who is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Going back a year, Arsenal too could just be tagged the same when they had Robin van Persie. And as excellently described by Mr. Nicholas, Barcelona are far from a ai???one-man team.ai???

Now that they have been drawn against the German champions, the taskai??i??s really been cut out for Vilanova, Messi and Co. Perhaps the most lethal team in this edition of Champions League, Bayern under the tutelage of Heynckes, have enough arsenal to breach any bastion and certainly one as fragile as Barcelonaai??i??s. An offense comprising Mandzukic, Muller, Ribery and Robben with more than able assistance from Schweinsteiger, Martinez and Gustavo, and with Gomez, Shaqiri and Pizzaro to choose from, can be a handful to anybody, leave alone Barca. Moreover, they will have the urge to present a pleasant parting gift to the man, who has won 6 trophies with the Bavarian giants (3 Bundesliga, 3 DFL-Supercup). However, the ray of hope is that Arsenal have shown the way to beat Bayern and that too at the Allianz Arena and Vilanova will have to chalk out his strategies on those lines. Nevertheless, it will be open contest with two of the top clubs in world football trying to eliminate the other. Thereai??i??s much to be desired from Cesc and Alexis in the bigger matches and the stage to shine doesnai??i??t get any better.

Next season, with the arrival of a centre-back (probably Hummels or Kompany), Barcelona will be more stable at the back and will not concede freak goals ai??i?? which in turn will reduce the propensity to go out all guns blazing to annihilate opposition. The desperation to outscore has become a bit too evident and thatai??i??s what makes them miss Messi, more than they actually do, whenever he isnai??i??t playing. And as for Vilanova, his primary duty would be not to let the name at the back overshadow the one in front ai??i?? and thatai??i??s where lies his greatness and the essence of Mes Que un Club!

Categories: Barcelona, Features, Spanish La Liga
Tags: FC Barcelona Messi

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