Barcelona is in the middle of a crisis. With journalistic reports that speak of a debt close to € 1.2 billion (of which € 730 million constitute short-term liabilities); without a president, sporting director, or even a decision-making Board of Directors; with the future of Lionel Messi, his star player, who remains undefined, although his contract is close to expiring during the summer; and currently located 10 points below league leader Atletico Madrid, last year was little less than chaotic for the Catalans. However, despite all the pessimism that may exist at the Camp Nou, there is a feeling that the tide is slowly beginning to change course in sports.
Although the Spanish League title already seems out of reach for the Catalans, there are reasons for optimism. Barça is in third place in the standings, despite suffering a cycle of poor results; besides staying in the fight by the Glass of the King and League of Champions; which is a favorable comparison with his archrival rivals of Real Madrid, who are presumably free of crisis and have only three units of advantage over Barça; apart from suffering a shameful defeat against Alcoy of Second B recently to be eliminated from the Cup.
While the 3-0 setback suffered at home at the hands of Juventus in the last Champions League group stage match did not instill much confidence in view of the next round of 16 matches against Paris Saint-Germain, there are signs pointing out that DT Ronald Koeman (despite having been an extremely unpopular recruitment) has begun to straighten the ship’s course.
The Dutchman deserves all the credit for the way he has behaved and his emergence as a leading presence within a traumatic period for the club; especially considering that few believed him capable of success. Koeman has stood firm, justified his decisions with logical reasoning and has never tried to attribute defeats to the biggest problems lurking at the club. Now, how will you be able to keep the team on track, amid such economic uncertainty?
Transfer problems
Many coaches would find perfect excuses for the lack of new signings. For his part, Koeman accepted that there was no possibility of making any incorporation capable of changing the Barcelona game during the January transfer market, once the presidential elections were postponed until March 7. Instead of waiting for a hiring that was not going to come, Koeman set to work to make the most of the resources he has.
The coach has managed to regain the level of declining figures, such as Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé (and to some extent, that of Frenkie de Jong, although the midfielder is barely 23 years old), while maintains a receptive attitude at press conferences. “My position is well known: we lack people, but it influences the economic situation of FC Barcelona,” he said last week, during the appearance before the match against Elche. “I think we all think the same thing. If no one comes, I accept and stay the same; but if we want more, we have to make signings.”
If money were not an issue, it is certain that Koeman would be delighted with the passes for € 100 million by Norwegian Dortmund Norwegian striker Erling Haaland or Argentine Lautaro Martinez, current Inter Milan signing, who have left in the light in journalistic information. However, monetary availability is a problem. Due to the current financial situation of Barça, the club can only consider the possibility of receiving free transfers or transfers: different sources have informed ESPN that the steering wheel of Livepool Georginio Wijnaldum is in the first places of Koeman’s wish list; while Barça has been repeatedly immersed in rumors of an attempted operation by Lyon winger Memphis Depay.
The Dutch duo will be available for free during the summer window. For their part, several sources have indicated that the club has long maintained its interest in Manchester City defender Eric Garcia, who began his career at the Camp Nou and maintains his refusal to sign a new one. contract before the expiration of his current pact, scheduled for 2021. However, Garcia could be the only necessary signing, being a natural substitute for central veteran Gerard Piqué.
In recent years, the club has been the subject of criticism for the reduction of talent from its famous La Masia quarry and, while it is difficult to extend a golden age that produced figures such as Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets; many consider that Barça has sacrificed the production of promising youngsters to favor high-caliber signings. After investing in the four-year period between 2016 and 2020, a figure close to € 980 million for footballers such as Philippe Coutinho (€ 145 million), Griezmann (€ 120 million), Dembélé (€ 105 million) and Malcolm (€ 40 million) ), Barça is once again paying attention to its youngsters, with encouraging results.
The youngsters leave their mark on the first team
Since his arrival in technical management, Koeman has put on the track a flotilla of young people who arouse emotions and are in the middle of their respective processes to establish themselves within the absolute team. Despite not being graduates of the Masia, Ronald Araújo and Pedri have stood out as two emerging figures.
Araújo arrived at Barça from Boston River in Uruguay in 2018, and the progress of the 21-year-old as a center (although he can still be compared to Piqué in possession of the ball) has been encouraging. : Impressively, the Uruguayan has won more than 80% of his defensive and aerial duels since he was promoted from roster B this year. For his part, Pedri, an 18-year-old winger from the Las Palmas club for € 5 million in the summer season, has adjusted without further inconvenience to life at the Camp Nou, to the point of currently appearing as a regular in the the absolute payroll.
Óscar Mingueza, 21, is another young midfielder (apart from La Masia) who has also enjoyed recent success with the first seed; while Ricard “Riqui” Puig (another 21-year-old graduate of La Masia, who had the best references) scored his first goal with the first team of Barcelona in his commitment of the weekend. Puig, who is an elegant midfielder with sublime talent, shows a lineage of such a category that has motivated the fans to ask for more minutes for him (probably at the expense of figures who have shown low performance, as has been the case by Miralem Pjanic and Coutinho).
Obviously, the jewel in the Barcelona crown is Ansu Fati, the club’s undisputed number 1 prodigy and the best candidate to become Messi’s long-term replacement. Unfortunately, a meniscus injury will keep him out of action for another couple of months; However, the 18-year-old striker, who is already an absolute international with the Spanish national team, has shown that he feels completely calm in senior football, repeating the dazzling performances that made him a star at the youth level. .
However, not everything has gone perfectly: two relatively expensive summer signings, such as the American right-back Sergiño Dest (20 years old, who signed for Barcelona from Ajax for € 21 million) and the winger Francisco Trincao (21 years old, who came from Braga for € 31 million), have not yet managed to achieve the level of consistency needed to justify their numerous passes, despite having shown some potential.
Within a turbulent season, Koeman has managed to guide Barcelona in a phase of transition, which could be considered in the years to come as the beginning of an extremely necessary and successful construction. The great figures probably will not arrive; however, the Catalan fans can be encouraged thanks to the fact that the production line of La Masia will continue to give good results.
Who will be the next graduates of the Masia to stand out?
Ilaix Moriba
It’s a round-trip steering wheel that made its debut with the first team during last week’s Copa del Rey victory; however, he was substituted during the second half, after a performance in which he demonstrated safety on the court. The 18-year-old, originally from Guinea, is endowed with technical skills, tactical intelligence and is happy to combine both elements, both in the air game and on the runway. He passes the ball accurately, though at times his casual style can make him seem overly confident in his abilities. Moriba has the potential to become a high-level ‘8’, or even in containment steering wheel.
Konrad de la Font
Although he did not make his first appearance in a meeting with the absolute payroll, the 19-year-old American striker is one of the La Masia graduates who has received the most encouraging signals from the team’s coaching staff. absolutely. From the beginning, Koeman has witnessed the extreme, characterized by his unpredictability, speed and cunning; allowing him to train with the first team in preseason and giving him minutes in friendly matches. Some appearances as a substitute in the final minutes of Champions League matches and his tenure with the United States team in their clash against Wales last November are good dividends after spending their first half at absolute level. , as part of one of the most important clubs in the world.
Alex Collado
The winger who plays as a winger is one of the most prominent members of the squad that lifted the UEFA Youth Cup title in 2018: however, his development has been hampered by constant injuries. Aside from making two fleeting appearances with the first team, Collado has played primarily with the B squad. He is able to move on both sides, although he sometimes relies too much on his prodigious left. It’s hard to get a player with a sleeker touch, and when he’s at his best, he has enough attributes to make his rivals dizzy. Currently, the 21-year-old is free of injuries and, after adding a few excellent months with Team B, could finally take the next step.
Ilias Akhomach
He is the first player in the promising 2004 promotion to add playing time with Team B. It is likely that the offensive or fluid front winger will still need some time to make his first appearance with the full squad; despite this, his raw talent makes him stand out from the rest. The 16-year-old takes advantage of his left-handed condition to take the ball with his right; however, his ability to unbalance with his change of pace, ability to overwhelm rival defenders and his powerful shot, make him a threat from anywhere in the final third.