Five things to keep in mind for Barcelona in the 2020-21 La Liga season

Barcelona kick off a new La Liga season on Sunday against Villarreal.

This will be a year like no other. The future is clouded by uncertainty, but also hope, as Ronald Koeman seeks to steer the club in a positive direction.

Although many things could go wrong given the delicate state of things, let’s take a look at the half-full team so that the Barça fans look for something to believe in.

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Barcelona haven’t really had a coach at the helm since Luis Enrique.

To be honest, Tito Vilanova, Tata Martino, Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien shared the same quality that they were deferential with the players and feared to assert their own vision in the team.

No one knows if Koeman’s project will succeed, but it will be intriguing to watch his ideas in action.

Given his strong personality, there have been reports that he is already clashing with some players.

His lack of faith in Luis Suárez and Riqui Puig has surprised, myself included, but at least we see someone whose brain is cooking.

In the end, his options are limited in terms of signings and transfers. He’s already resigned himself to the fact that he’s stuck with certain players he would rather not have, but one sign of encouragement is the new 4-2-3-1 formation.

To be fair, it seems like every manager in the world is using this training now by default. But give Koeman credit for acknowledging that the old 4-3-3 was outdated and not serving to get the most out of the players on the roster.

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I hope the table stays tight at the top, and this benefits Barcelona in a year where their performances will likely be inconsistent.

Real Madrid, as the current champion, is the favorite. Seeing them drop points to Real Sociedad, and fight against Betis, is proof that they are not involved. Still, Zinedine Zidane can be expected to keep his team focused and on the fight for the title until the very end.

The two wild card teams are Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla. Don’t be surprised if you see them hanging from the top as potential sleepers for the title.

Atleti made a game-changing signing by adding Luis Suárez, and Sevilla looked surprisingly strong against Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup on Thursday.

If Barcelona runs this season like a marathon, even with all the turbulence that surrounds it, they can compete for the league title.

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Ansu Fati is worth the price of admission this year.

He’s only 17 but has the confidence and composure of a veteran.

Watching him play for Spain and at Joan Gamper shows a player ready to lead, unlike last season where he stood out as a member of the supporting cast.

He will be in the starting eleven, and Barça fans will be waiting for him to hope that the team will have someone to build with in the future.

With Riqui Puig prevailing by refusing to sit on loan, the club has a chance for a second La Masia prospect to break through this season.

It was surprising to learn that Koeman doesn’t think Riqui is a better option than the other midfielders.

Regardless, it looks like he will have a chance to stay in the first team and prove his coach wrong. One thing about Riqui that he’s already shown is that he’s not lacking in work ethic, so fans shouldn’t discount him.

Ronald Araujo and Konrad de la Fuente will be the next two from La Masia that are worth keeping an eye on. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either of them receiving minutes from the first team and defending that they should be part of the future.

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This for me, the chance for redemption, is the most exciting element of the season.

Antoine Griezmann, Philipe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele were canceled. Both fans and experts described them as not real Barça players. Here’s the thing, they looked refreshed in preseason. Not just his performance on the field, but the confident expression on his face.

For the first time, it seems that the three of them know they belong and have nothing to lose.

On the other hand, Barça veterans also have the opportunity to protect the legacies they have built at the club over the last decade.

Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba in particular will want to rebound and show that they have as much to give as ever.

For this to work, they will need to evolve. The old way of doing things will no longer work, so the question is whether they can adapt to the new system that Koeman is implementing.

If so, they can lead the team to trophies and glory. If not, they won’t be with the team much longer.

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Will this be Messi’s last year at Barcelona?

Most people assume that it is, but the truth is that it depends on the results.

Messi will not suffer another humiliating season. If this year is more of the same from the leadership of the club, and if the team does not win titles, then it is gone.

But Messi himself will play hard. You know you don’t have much time left in your career. Every season counts and is an opportunity to definitively prove that he is the best of all time.

On top of that, a stellar season will present opportunities at new clubs for next year.

But make no mistake, Messi loves Barcelona, ​​even if he has contempt for Josep Bartomeu.

He wants things to get better and he wants to stay. You just need a reason to do it.

This La Liga season has a lot to interest Barça fans. Regardless of how things turn out, it will be fascinating to see what approach they take and whether or not it works.