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Roman Kotlyar – on the next cadence of the Dutch in the field “Blaugranas”.
Last season ended for Barcelona with a Bayern nightmare 2: 8 in the Champions League, as well as without a single title, which has not happened to the “blue garnet” since the 2013/2014 season. Many people managed to talk about the failed 2019/2020 campaign, as well as the saga with the departure of Leo Messi from the team.
The dust has settled down a bit, so let’s try to assess the situation in the Catalan capital from the perspective of all the conflicts, stories and uproar that have already occurred at the club. Let’s refresh our memory and try to reconstruct the chronology of events, as well as try to predict their future development in the foreseeable future.
The calm before the storm
The start of the 2019/2020 season set the tone for all the subsequent performance of the culés. Aritz Aduris’ splendid side kick was his last goal for the club and gave Atlético de Bilbao a minimal victory over the Catalans on the first day of Examples. A few months later, the Basques will put another pig at Barça, already in the quarterfinals of the Spanish Cup. The problems of this tournament began in the Blaugranas in the first stage with a trip to Ibiza, where the local team created non-resort conditions for the Catalans, almost creating a strong sensation.
Barcelona managed to escape defeat only in the 74th minute, and the winning goal was scored in injury time by the efforts of Antoine Griezmann. However, it was later perceived only as an annoying misunderstanding, a mixed composition, and the beginning of the season. In addition, due to injury, Messi missed the start of the campaign. The temporary absence of the leader and the leader turned on the young star Ansu Fati, who gave a brilliant performance, signing at the gates of Osasuna and Valencia, and also made his Champions League debut against Borussia Dortmund.
Ernesto Valverde’s team game was far from ideal, but many were sure that this was only a minimal accumulation and nothing more. In the end, Barcelona went head-to-head with Real Madrid in the championship, and in the Champions League they took a confident top spot, never losing in the group stage. Particularly noteworthy is the match with Inter (2: 1 victory) on the last day, where the youth of the Catalans were lit, led by Ansu Fati, Carles Aleña and Carles Pérez.
The intermediate results of the season were quite optimistic: the first place in the Example, although with a minimal advantage, was against Leganés in 1/8 of the national cup and Napoli in the same stage in the European cups. Problems and infighting began to emerge only in the second round.
The defeat to Atlético (2: 3) in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup cost the team not only a knockout of the tournament, but also the boss of coach Valverde, who was replaced by Kike Setien. It was a rather hasty decision by the management and personally by Josep Bartomeu. With the former Betis mentor, “who recently grazed the cows and now trains Messi, Suárez and company”, the results did not improve. On the contrary, the situation worsened every day, and with it the degree of excitement grew among all those associated with the “blue garnet” club.
On the 26th day of Examples, Real Madrid managed to dodge Barça again on the table. Before that, Madrid had already taken advantage of the defeat of Setién’s sentinels since the Valencia crisis, but they managed to regain lost positions. Soon the game of draw of the Catalans was definitively and irrevocably abolished. A draw with Sevilla, and then a fantastic winning streak from the “real” club, crowned the new champion of Spain.
The king is dead, long live the king. For the first time since 2017, the Blaugranas failed to become the best team in the country. In addition, the aforementioned elimination in the 1/4 of the Athletic King’s Cup, mentioned at the beginning, marked the end of the quinquennium of domination of the Catalans in this tournament. It is shameful even to talk about the Champions League. Napoli was overtaken by an away goal from Griezmann and Barcelona’s better half of the season in general, and Setien in particular, while Bayern Munich simply revealed all the weaknesses of the once-invincible monster that instilled fear throughout the Soccer Europe.
From the frying pan to the fire
A deafening blow from Bayern in the quarter-finals put the question of a change of power in Catalonia seriously on the agenda. After such a fiasco, everyone had the slightest doubt that Bartomeu knew somehow to lead the team adequately and soberly, which he sprayed with mothballs with his own hand and subtly during his reign in Barcelona.
The “blue garnet” players also added fuel to the fire, openly expressing their dissatisfaction with the management and with Bartomeu personally, and the quintessence of this scandal was the almost complete departure of the club’s icon team: Messi. Unlike Madrid’s worst enemies, Barça have always treated their own legends with special fear and reverence, literally dusting them off. With the same Bartomeu, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta completed their careers in “more than a club”, which received beautiful honors from the club and the fans. Therefore, the long history with the departure of the great Argentine was perceived by the football world as something surreal and did not fit into any framework.
Messi has long voiced his outrage at Barcelona’s transfer policy and leadership decisions, and Bartomeu’s swine attitude only reinforced Leo’s desire to leave his home team and seek another refuge. This could only be avoided by the squiggle in the contract and the huge amount of compensation, intentionally or not entirely, specified by the president in the deal.
Messi’s failed management could seriously harm both parties. The Argentine is unlikely to boycott the training or perform demonstratively below his level, after all, he is too attached to the club, respected and revered by the fans. However, if by some miracle Bartomeu manages to remain in the presidency, Messi’s days in the team will be numbered. This is a rather pessimistic and unrealistic scenario that can only take place under an incredible combination of circumstances.
Bartomeu himself has already shown that he will never give up his familiar place and hold on to power until the end, so disgruntled Barcelona veterans can only wait. Catalan partners have already managed to gather enough votes for his resignation, announcing a vote of no confidence in Bartomeu, so that nothing and no one can save the official. The only unpleasant downside is that the president’s re-election will take place only next spring, that is, at the height of the season and the theoretical fight for titles on all fronts.
What are the charges against Bartomeu and why did Ronald Koeman become hostage to a difficult situation?
Under the current president, Barcelona’s annual revenues have exceeded $ 1 billion, but financial success is only the tip of the iceberg, but the rest, located under the water column, destroys all arguments in favor of Bartomeu. The scandals with the team leaders – Messi, Suárez, Vidal and others, as well as a paid campaign against him to improve the image of the president are just one of many factors.
Reproductive failures are much more indicative here. Large investments can be arranged in different ways, they can be invested in a team strengthening point or in the acquisition of stars for a lot of money, which will be really necessary and useful for the new employer. Of all the signings during the Bartomeu cadence, Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal, Clement Langlet, Marc-André ter Stegen, Samuel Umtiti (his first seasons at Barça), in Frankie de Jong’s theory, turned out to be really successful investments.
There were also many controversial transfers such as that of Paulinho, but many more failures such as that of Ousmane Dembélé and Felippe Coutinho, when Borussia and Liverpool simply threw out the Catalans for huge sums. To finish this thesis, just look at the transfer campaign in the 2016/2017 season: Sam Umtiti, Luca Dinh, Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, and a year later the arrival of Gerard Deulofeu from Everton. The list goes on for a long time.
The same goes for training decisions. Luis Enrique himself expressed his desire to leave Catalonia, but why not part ways with Valverde after defeats against Liverpool in the Champions League and Valencia in the Spanish Cup? Questions without answer.
It is unlikely that the arrival of Ronald Koeman can save the situation in the team. The Dutchman is a club legend and a good marketing and image move, but it seems he just took advantage of it. In light of the increasingly obvious and transparent fiasco in the upcoming presidential elections, Bartomeu carries a rather heavy load on the shoulders of the former coach of the Dutch national team. Koeman will have to clear the Augean stables, that is, establish the atmosphere in the dressing room and the communication of the team leadership, which with Bartomeu and his entourage at the club is seen as the work of Sisyphus, as well as build something similar to a new strategy amidst smoking ruins.
Let’s also forget the fact that thanks to the president, Barcelona has once again damaged its reputation, having removed the legendary defender in the past from the national team that was preparing to start at Euro 2021 next summer and reviving the previous positions lost under Ronald. . Not the least role in this transition was the decision of the mentor himself, who has always dreamed of leading his own team.
In general, the arrival of Cuman in Catalonia still does not seem to be a kind of panacea for the “blue-garnet” collective, and almost Bartomeu’s main political opponent in the elections -Víctor Font- has already announced that in case of his victory will fire the new management. … If so, we will find out next season. But the team’s fans must be patient and remember that the darkest night is before dawn. Fortunately, dawn is yet to come.
Roman Kotlyar, Football.ua reader
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