Football Special Edition: A review of Barcelona’s defeat against Hercules
This is not the first time that Barcelona was stunned by Hercules in La Liga. Hercules joined the top flight of Spanish football, after a gap of almost 13 years. They were at Camp Nou last time in 1996 before being relegated, and they won the match by 3-2. Pep Guardiola would particularly remember that fixture, because he scored an own goal to give an edge to the visitors. Out of all those present in Camp Nou on Saturday, the results would haunt Pep Guardiola the most, who would be troubled by his past memories.
Many pundits, before the start of La Liga, predicted a two-horse battle for the title, between Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, a few changed their minds when Madrid failed to get a victory against Mallorca, on the opening weekend of La Liga. This meant that only one clear favourite remained, i.e. Barcelona. But, the remaining pundits would be thinking on different lines after this result, as the supposedly “big two” have both shown signs of weakness in their team and their strategies.
However, things have gone against the Catalans in the past as well. In the beginning of 2008-2009 Season, Barcelona lost their opening fixture against Numancia. However, later on in the season, Barcelona ended with three trophies in their cabinet. So, this might not hurt Barcelona as much as it seems right now, but nevertheless, their prestige has been hurt strongly.
The main problem facing the giants in Spain and in all other European leagues would be international breaks for qualifying rounds of Euro 2012. This result also came after an international break of almost two weeks; during this time almost the whole playing eleven of Barcelona played two matches within one week, after attending a training camp with national team. Barcelona was particularly hurt, because the Spanish players in their squad, more than half of their starting line-up, and three Argentinean players had to travel to Argentina to play a match in the midweek. So, fatigue was a major issue for these players, who had only one European qualification match to play.
Many other clubs have tarnished their play this international break, especially Arsenal from English Premier League. Two of the Arsenal strikers got themselves injured during the two week break, leaving their manager with almost no options. Similarly, this would continue throughout this year, which means that the players would get almost no rest throughout the season. This would create more problems for Barcelona, as they have a Champions League match coming up on Tuesday. To make things worse Pep Guardiola Barcelona’s head coach, let many players leave making the squad smaller with limited options for substitutions.
Also, there are speculations going on in Barcelona camp, regarding the future of Pep Guardiola. The Barcelona manager did not over-commit himself with the team, as he took only one year of contract. This has resulted because of suspicions regarding new Barcelona president Sandro Rosell. Guardiola gave a sign to his team, which would have sent negative signals to some players, who would think that their future is insecure as well. It is suspected that football philosophy of Barcelona, on the same footings of Dutch football policy, might change under the new president. This would mean that many young players playing in Barcelona right now would not be required by the club in a few years time.
On the other hand, Hercules deserves a lot of credit for the win at Camp Nou. No matter what is troubling Barcelona, either their bad luck against Hercules or the suspicions regarding the players’ future, they always had an edge against a team like Hercules especially in Camp Nou, which is famous for its ecstatic atmosphere. However, Hercules made many changes to their squad during the summer, which has made them a great contender for a Europa Cup spot, making them a great attacking side. The team also defended well against Barcelona, while their keeper would take a lot of credit for it.
Barcelona would now play in their opening match of Champions League, which would be a good stage for them to get out of shock. Also, their players are mentally strong enough to put the weekend behind, and move ahead with victories in the upcoming fixtures.
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