FC Barcelona : The Cesc Fabregas Conundrum

Over the last couple of years FC Barcelona and Spain have each established themselves as two of the most outstanding sides in football history. Both have excelled and triumphed at various international competitions and displayed some truly remarkable football along the way. At the heart of the success, and trophy-laden spell, both the Alzugrana and La Furia Roja currently enjoy are their respective midfields that boasts talent in abundance. Spain has a long and storied history of producing fine footballers but their current generation of midfield maestros is, well, exceptional.

Whereas many football sides, both on club and national level, lack a genuine midfield conductor to orchestrate their symphony, the most gifted of prodigies hail from Barcelona, Spain.

However, while Barcelonaai??i??s Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta have become synonymous with the golden era of Spanish football, another La Masia-educated player is still struggling for his identity ai??i?? Cesc Fabregas. Though he has been a mainstay of Spainai??i??s national team and part of the squads who won two European Championships and a World Cup, he has yet to cement his place in La Furia Rojaai??i??s starting XI.

Cesc Fabregas is something of an anomaly in Spanish football. He possesses all the attributes of a player that should be suited to play Barcelonaai??i??s and Spainai??i??s brand of total football perfectly. His awareness, range of passing, vision and creativity are all decidedly ai???Spanishai??i??. Yet he isnai??i??t quite well attuned to his colleagues at Barcelona and Spain.

For the second year running following his switch from Arsenal London to Barcelona Cescai??i??s performances have tailed off since the turn of the year.

It poses the question: Is Cesc Fabregas (still) world-class?

His statistics for the current season suggest as much. In 42 games (including friendlies) for club and country he has scored 11 goals and contributed 16 assists. However, the bulk of his goals and assists were recorded in 2012.Ai?? Since the start of the New Year he has just amassed 2 goals and 2 assists in 17 appearances.

While a midfielderai??i??s contribution canai??i??t be solely, or necessarily, based on goals and assists, it serves to highlight what type of player Cesc Fabregas is, or has become. Unlike, say, Xavi or Andres Iniesta, Cesc is less tactically disciplined and is usually found nearer to the opponentai??i??s box. To take advantage of his forays Cesc has been deployed further up the pitch by his various managers.

In Pep Guardiolaai??i??s last season in charge he has found himself at the tip of a 3-4-3 diamond midfield, whereas Vincent Del Bosque even installed him as a false no.9 in Spainai??i??s 4-2-1-3 system at the recent European Championship.

Under Tito Vilanova he primarily features as center-midfielder, at the expense of Andres Iniesta whoai??i??s regularly shifted to the left-wing to make room for Fabregas.

While Del Bosque and Vilanova seem to concur that Andres Iniesta remains an integral component in their respective formations, they ultimately have different motives for shifting El Illusionista to the left-wing. Whereas Spainai??i??s manager opts for a double pivot in the form of Xabi Alonso and Sergi Busquets in La Furia Rojaai??i??s 4-2-1-3 set-up to provide defensive stability behind Xavi, Tito Vilanova ai???sacrificesai??i?? Andres Iniestaai??i??s midfield role to include Fabregas in Barcelonaai??i??s 4-3-3 system. In both cases his inclusion has produced mixed results at best. For all their superior ball retention and circulating of the ball, Barcelona and Spain remain tactically disciplined, rigid even, especially in possession.

It lends credibility to the suspicion that Fabregas has played his best football with Arsenal in London where Arsene Wenger had created a free role in his side for him. For Cesc to strive and flourish he must dictate and control the play. In his best season to date (2009/10) he scored 21 goals and made 22 assists in 46 games for club and country.

Unfortunately, his ai???idealai??i?? role will not be bestowed upon him, by either Spain or Barcelona. Though Fabregas has proven to be compatible with Xavi and Iniesta, his influence is restricted by their presence.

Whereas his deployment as false no.9 for Spain was born out of necessity due to the underwhelming form of Fernando Torres and unavailability of David Villa, his inclusion in Barcelonaai??i??s starting XI creates something of an imbalance for the Catalan outfit (if Iniesta features in the same side).

ai???He’s a top level player and his anarchy works well within the order we haveai??? ai??i?? Pep Guardiola

Barcelonaai??i??s playing philosophy is already risky as is, but featuring Fabregas in midfield and shifting Andres Iniesta to the left-wing makes for an adventurous undertaking. Though Iniesta is by no means more defensive-minded than the former Arsenal captain, heai??i??s less likely to abandon his position and charge forward and expose Barcelonaai??i??s weak defense.

Thatai??i??s not to suggest that heai??i??s the reason why Barcelona have appeared vulnerable in recent weeks, or that heai??i??s at fault for the defeats to Milan and Madrid, itai??i??s a team game after all. But his not clearly defined role within the team creates a selection and formation problem.

When fit the tandem of Xavi and Iniesta are the first names on the team sheet, along with Lionel Messi, but the preference of Fabregas over David Villa has made Barcelona even more lopsided and predictable.

With Lionel Messi in the side itai??i??s unthinkable that Fabregas will ever be awarded the license to freely roam around the pitch as he used to in London. However, if Barcelona were to alter their formation to a 3-4-3 diamond they would benefit greatly from his understanding with La Pulga and add more of a goal-scoring threat from midfield without breaking up the creative partnership of Xavi and Iniesta.

Nevertheless, adding another player in midfield would weaken an already wobbly Barcelona defense. Not to mention, Barcelona are short on genuine center-backs, which makes any three-man defense an experiment waiting to go wrong. It would also strip Barcelona off the width provided by either, or both full-backs. The 3-4-3 is a double-edged sword. Considering the size of the Camp Nou pitch it should only be employed against weaker teams but avoided against counter-attacking outfits like Real Madrid. If at all, it should only be entertained on the road when the hosts concede territorial advantage to Barcelona.

Verdict

Cesc Fabregas remains one of the most wonderfully gifted midfielders in the world, arguably the best of his generation. Heai??i??d be the creative fulcrum in most other sides, on club and national level, but not at Barcelona and certainly not Spain.

Heai??i??s too good to be left out, too anarchic to be a permanent fixture.

Tags: FC Barcelona