FC Barcelona Preview 2011

Main Storylines: since Sandro Rosell brought his insufferably vacant mug to the Presidential offices at the Camp Nou, the once flush club have entered a period of austerity that speaks either to the mismanagement of his predecessor or to Rosell´s lack of ambition, or rather his ¨tough negotiating stance¨ against clubs that would take advantage of Barça in the Summer transfer window. With that in mind it explains why the Cesc Fabregas deal, one that was essentially done last year with Txiki Begiristain in negotiations with Arsenal, has taken so long to finalize with Zubizarretta at the helm. Arsene Wenger, used to holding out for prime deals where the buyers often get stuck with players past their sell-date, has also been under pressure from management to relieve themselves of the former La Masia stand-out. Look for that to finally end and the Arsenal captain to don the blaugrana colors. The question however is, why Cesc and why now? I know Jonathan Wilson has mentioned the idea recently that Barça like to have players within three years of each other in the pipeline, and with Xavi and Iniesta nearing the virtual end of their careers the club are looking to partner Thiago with someone around three years older than he, schooled at La Masia and with the experience to take some of the pressure off the recently called-up Spanish international. Cesc is not Xavi nor is he Iniesta. He is not a direct replacement. He provides great passing, but much higher up the pitch than either of them, and he is used to dealing with the sort of pressure that José Mourinho´s teams like to inflict on opponents. In that sense also, it explains why Pep was also keen on bringing Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona. While the Chilean can drift centrally looking for space, he is (other than Afellay) the only player that Barcelona have that gives them width on the wings and an ability to make the fullbacks honest. He´ll have to coordinate his runs with Messi, but it should make either player better as teams can´t single either of them out. Who do you sit? I sit Pedro and bring him off the bench in late situations where an extra attacking midfielder/winger is needed.

Forwards: Lionel Messi gets a lot of criticism for his lack of productivity with his national team and his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo brings out the worst in his critics, but in my opinion there is Messi and then there are the rest of us. He´s the best player I´ve seen since Maradona and unfortunately he plays at Barça. Oh well. Carrying on with the rest of his ¨water-carriers.¨ As evidenced by their B-squad´s loss against their opposite numbers at Espanyol during this week´s Copa Catalunya final, Barcelona have had a difficult time with developing classic number 9´s in front of goal which is why they buy them in practically every transfer window. David Villa is still one of the best in the world even though at times last year he looked spent from a very strenuous World Cup in South Africa with the World Champions. He should have an exemplary year for him with some rest and relaxation finally coming to el guaje this Summer. Pedro´s story on the other hand is a remarkable one. He was almost going to be sold before Guardiola took over, and the Barça legend made him into the perfect compliment to the more higher profile players around him in attack. He´s their most valuable attacker, in the right place at the right time of most final passes in front of goal and he is deadly quick in short spurts if not classically swift over distances. His relentless style however sometimes comes with a price. He loses effectiveness late in matches so having Alexis Sanchez to trade minutes with will help. The squad will be greatly served by being more varied in attack Ones to watch: the forgotten signing. Kiko Femenía; the pearl of Hércules of Alicante´s cantera. I don´t think he´ll get much time in the league or in the Champions League, but watch for him in the Copa del Rey at least early on. Pep will give him minutes if he lets him out of La Masía. Let´s also not forget Ibrahim Afellay. In those last few weeks of the season, the flying Dutchman was one of the few fresh legs storming in attack for a weakened Barça.

Midfielders: what else can be said of these mid-fielders. Xavi Hernandez is one of the great midfield generals, maybe the best of all-time considering his effectiveness in picking out the correct pass and his ability to break-down even the most committed defenses. Andrés Iniesta, who was a forgotten man the year before, called out by Pep to recapture his form, became the World Cup hero for all of Spain by scoring that decisive goal in the final. No one has better ball skills against a man-to-man defender than Iniesta. He is also surprisingly tenacious in recovering the ball as are most Barcelona mid-fielders. It is no wonder that some people in the organization have singled him out as Barcelona´s best player, even ahead of Messi at times. As for Busquets, Mascherano, Keita and the rest? The great thing to say about all of them is that they are versatile and help fill roles that are quite often up for grabs at a team like Barcelona. Busquets, despite his red-rage at Marcelo last year in the Clásicos, is experienced beyond his years and rarely rattled. Ones to watch: Thiago Alcántara. Pep has all the confidence in the player and the kid is just a pleasure to watch. With or without Cesc, I think Thiago plays more than even he thinks he will.

Defenders: I think the most remarkable thing about Barcelona´s success in these times is that they have done it without a great set of defenders. Most clubs are built from the back, but the blaugrana have broken every rule of building championship clubs. Now, I know that their philosophy of ball-control, possession and recovery allows them to get away with not having a group of classically built defenders and their fullbacks (especially Dani Alvez) have offensive responsibilities as well, but to have accomplished what they have with the oft-injured Carles Puyol and the oft-lame-brained Gerard Pique is unbelievable. Now, Eric Abidal is a left-back who can cover centrally if needed, as can midfielder Mascherano, and neither are most comfortable in that position, but I think there´s something else at work here. You have a group of five or six players who at any given time are completely interchangeable and very difficult to break-down because they eliminate space so well. It is almost like watching Dutch Total Football in a microcosm. Most pundits talk of the vulnerability of Barça´s defense on the counter. I think they are actually much stronger at the back than people think. I think this is one of the least talked about innovations tha Pep has brought to the club: their versatility in defense. Ones to watch: Andreu Fontàs. The young defender played admirably while Eric Abidal was out with liver problems. Keepers: Victor Valdez is a rock. His back-up Pinto should crawl under a rock.

Projection: it is easy, almost fashionable, to predict the end of this championship cycle at Barcelona. People who do are maybe giving too much credence to the Mourinho effect at Real Madrid; the fact that his squads (at Chelsea and Inter especially) were generally more devastating in second years. That´s a bit of a reach though. Both Chelsea and Inter were on the rise and their primary opponents (Manchester United & Arsenal or Juventus & AC Milan) were waning, in a rebuilding phase. Knocking Barcelona will be much more difficult. Critics may also be projecting, almost willing a collapse by the blaugrana and having them brought down to size. I understand that. No one likes a bully, everyone roots for the underdog, and people are always trying to knock the top-dog down a peg, but Barcelona are stronger than they were last year. If Pep can bring his new signings into the squad seamlessly and the club can stay healthy, there is no reason to think that they can´t be even better.