With Barcelona going trophy-less the previous season for the first time in six seasons, many had attributed that to the ‘end of an era’ for the club and that it was going to take a total overhaul to get the team back to her glory days; some others felt it was the end of Barcelona’s dominance on the continent; while a few others felt the club was experiencing what economists would refer to as ‘diminishing returns’.
However, with Barcelona’s recent record-breaking treble just after a woeful last season they would want to forget in a hurry, it’s become clearly evident that the aforementioned presumptions were mere speculations and more precisely, ‘absolute fallacies’.
Hence, let’s take an x-ray (not ultra sound) of the team’s season and try to evaluate their performance, highlighting the ‘true heroes’. This we do by asking the question “what changed from last season?”
The Board-
This season has seen Barcelona make huge corrections to the mistakes they made last season with regards to transfers, appointment of coach and management of off-field issues
Last season, Barcelona made a purchase of just one out-field player (Neymar), even with the obvious lack of depth in the squad having Pique as the only major fit natural central defender to prosecute over 60 games for the club and with further injuries to other key players, they paid handsomely for it. However, this season has seen the club make wholesale quality transfers in key positions who in effect have gone on to become catalysts to this record breaking success (don’t just mention Vermalaen and Douglas).
Tata Martino is not particularly a bad coach; however, his appointment was a drift from the norm by Barcelona who have a philosophy of appointing coaches from within. It was apparently a bad choice by the board and by implications; he had to resign following the eventual turnout of things. Luis Enrique who had previously coached the B-team of the club before joining Roma and Celta Vigo was appointed and the result is a ‘Treble’.
This season has also seen the Board carefully manage some off-field issues (transfer ban, Neymar’s transfer issues and the sack of the sporting director and the resignation of his assistant) that rocked the team last season.
With the above corrections, the Barcelona board can be given thumbs up as one of the ‘true heroes’ of this success.
The Medical team
For once, Barcelona can boast as one of the few teams that were not rocked by major injuries; with the team having a fresh squad up till the end of the season.
Unlike last season where key players were injured for most parts of the season (Batra at the receiving end of this plight as he was left at the mercy of Bale in the Kings cup final against Madrid), the team remained fresh all through the season and this can be attributed to an efficient medical team. It was reported that Luis Enrique came with his medical staff and it must be said that the doctor has done an excellent job on the team and further confirming the saying ‘health is truly wealth’.
The Luis Enrique factor-
Luis Enrique must be applauded for an excellent season. While many would attribute his success to the abundance of talent inherent in his squad, it must be noted that Enrique did not have it rosy at the start. He has practically imprinted his style on the team by adding something different to the team.
Reportedly, Enrique personally requested the purchase of Rakitic and we can all attest to Rakitic’s impact on the team. He has brought back the aggression and intensity lacking since the exit of Guardiola, added more directness to the attack and improved the defence. Luis Enrique has also solved the problem of marking and utilisation of set-pieces which used to be the team’s Achilles’ heel and his squad rotation has proved important especially at the final stages of the season.
Magical Mercurial Leo Messi-
Barcelona’s success story cannot be told without mentioning the conspicuous impact of Lionel Messi. Interestingly, Messi had a woeful season by his standards (no thanks to injuries) and that clearly rubbed off on the whole team’s performance.
However, this season has seen Messi bounce back from the disappointment of the World cup and last season’s ordeal. He has formed the fiercest attacking trio alongside Neymar and Suarez (122 goals scored), has led the team on the pitch by taking the bull by the horn with decisive goals and assists and has remained calm under pressure by learning to play smart; knowing when to burst in with dribbles and when to use his vision to thread needle-eyed passes from deep positions further expanding his game as one of the best playmakers. 58 goals and 31 assists tell the true story (Boateng is probably still laughing at himself).
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