FC Barcelona ai??i?? Is David Luiz The Solution?

By Anustup Sikdar
11 years Ago

Neither Daniel Agger was signed, nor David Luiz. And only a few more days remain into the summer transfer window. The Barcelona admin has been dilly-dallying the acquisition, and so much so that they are even considering not signing one in case Puyol achieves full-fitness. It started from an insane obsession about Thiago Silva and many other names crept in ai??i?? Marquinhos, Mangala, Adil Rami, Jeremy Mathieu. However, the fact remains that more than a month into the window, Pique and Co. donai??i??t have a new partner at the back ai??i?? and going by the way things are shaping up, that elusive centre-back doesnai??i??t seem likely to arrive before the last second of the window.

After the initial hullaballoo over Thiago Silva, the focus shifted to Agger and now to Luiz. However the Brazilian seems to be a distant dream for the Catalans. The top guns of Europe have all strengthened ai??i?? perhaps with the exception of Manchester United. Bayern Munich, the European champions have spent 62 million Euros over Mario Gotze and Thiago Alcantara ai??i?? perhaps replacements for the likes of Ribery and Robben in years to come. Finalists Borussia Dortmund too have bolstered their with the addition of Henrikh Mkhitaryanm, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. These teams are making up for the existing and potential deficits in their respective squads ai??i?? whereas, Barcelona have shelled out a fortune on a player, who wasnai??i??t exactly a priority this season.

They have now focused their attention to the mercurial Chelsea defender, but it is highly unlikely that Jose Mourinho will take any step that might render Barcelona stronger than they are now ai??i?? even if that means benching Luiz in favour of a more defensive-minded player. Nevertheless, dissecting a player of Luizai??i??s calibre is always a fascinating job.

Luiz is one of the most loved characters in the Chelsea roster. The maverick Brazilian is an example of pace, physical strength and flair ai??i?? however his defensive abilities are a bit of a suspect, despite some fine showing in the recently concluded FIFA Confederations Cup. Fans remember the fateful Winter Transfer window of the 2010-11 season because of Fernando Torres, but the truth is that Chelsea unearthed one of the top defenders that season in the form of a 24-year old Luiz for a sum of about ai??i??25 million. On second thought, it is Luiz who should have been the 50-million buy and not Fernando Torres. C’est la vie!

Flawed genius ai??i?? which he is, Luiz has his share of vices, but his virtues make up for them. And on his day, he can subdue the best of offenses. Barcelona certainly will be stronger with Luiz at the back, but a certain section think that some of his freak errors might make the team prone to counter-attacks. But how should that be a matter of concern? They are already leaking goals at the back and the addition of Luiz can only ameliorate the situation. Luiz is an exceptional athlete, his ball-playing skills are comparable to the best offensive players in world football. He is a centre-back you could count on to build attacks from the deep, by quickly bring the ball out from defence and then feeding his team-mates through his exceptional short and long range passing. He is fast, reasonably good in the air and his vitally important goals against United and City in his early Chelsea days reaffirmed his offensive ability. However he is prone to dangerous tackles and rash challenges, leading to quite a few bookings and there always remains a fear of conceding a penalty with him closely marking a player in the box.

Versatility is yet another aspect which makes Luiz an even more suitable player for Barcelona. In a season that has seen John Terry miss quite a lot of action and even Gary Cahill remaining on the sidelines, Luiz has just risen to the challenge, often motivating those around him by his sheer presence. If the absence of centre-backs had seen the Brazilian feature more regularly for Chelsea in the centre of defence last season, the unavailability of Mikel (African Cup), injury to Romeu and even Rafaai??i??s grander vision for him had seen him occupy a position in the midfield pivot, a role where his performances had been above average, to say the least.

A defender first and then a make-shift midfielder ai??i?? Barcelona certainly need such players and not the ones who are the other way round. Luiz also has another card up his sleeve ai??i?? his freekicks. It wonai??i??t be exaggeration to say that he has learnt ai???thatai??i?? particular style from the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and of late has been almost as effective. At Barcelona, Lionel Messi has been one of the regular freekick takers. While the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Dani Alves are there apart from Leo and Xavi, the addition of Luiz will give them another dimension from set-pieces.

Yet another aspect of Luizai??i??s personality is that Luiz is a born-leader.

ai???Iai??i??m a leader, thatai??i??s my personality. Iai??i??m always trying to help my teammates as Iai??i??m a positive person. Iai??i??m trying to show what I can be, what I can add not only for the team but for the club. I always try to understand the mystique of a club and how I can represent it on or off the field. I talk about that a lot with Oscar and Ramires. I often say that we are the mirror of our team on and off the pitch,ai??? said Luiz.

And like a few players, itai??i??s not being pompous. Luiz has been the lynchpin of the London side last season and in the absence of many of the senior players, has kept up the spirits on and off the pitch. His constant encouragement, inspiring and supporting of his teammates also makes him a very popular figure in the dressing room ai??i?? Barcelona, unfortunately doesnai??i??t have anybody like him apart from the legendary Carles Puyol. Unfortunately, the latterai??i??s days are numbered.

While Chelsea have rejected the first bid of ai??i??25 million, last week, it seems unlikely that they will budge for what is being reported as Barcelonaai??i??s second and last bid – ai??i??35 million. In reality Luizai??i??s worth isnai??i??t more than that, but in todayai??i??s inflated market, Luiz is bound to command a commendable transfer fee. While the Economical vice president of FC Barcelona, Javier Faus has maintained that the new centre-back is more about compatibility than about finance, but in reality the Catalans seem to be a little too frugal and cognizant when it is about one of their weakest spots in their squad, than they were when they bought a young Brazilian, untested in Europe, for a sum of about 57 million Euros. C’est la vie! Again.

Categories: Barcelona, Features, Spanish La Liga
Tags: Chelsea FC David Luiz FC Barcelona

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