Football Update: Barcelona’s Problems and Guardiola’s Limited Options.
Barcelona has got yet another slip up in their home ground, with winning only one point against Mallorca. Previously, they were stunned by Hercules, who emerged as victorious at Camp Nou, a surprising result with Barcelona standards. This run of poor form
was also accompanied by a draw against Rubin Kazan, the Russian Champions, in UEFA Champions League. Thus, there are a lot of problems being faced, whose solution is immediately required, if Barcelona wants to remain a threat in Spain and Europe as well.
The real problem with Barcelona is their reliance on a few players. It is often unlikely for a manager to have all his best options available for a match. With a tough routine being followed these days, players often come across fitness problems and injuries.
Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s manager, is facing a similar kind of dilemma. First, Lionel Messi remained out for two weeks, because of an injury, and now Xavi was missing the action due to the same problem.
There is no doubt that Barcelona has placed a heavy reliance on two players, i.e. Lionel Messi and Xavi. Both these players are probably the best players in their team, and they do their specific jobs in an extra-ordinary fashion. As Xavi tends to control
the midfield area, controlling the pace of the game and determining the nature of attacks, Lionel Messi provides the deadly finishes and incisive presence in the box. Unfortunately, in the absence of both these players, Guardiola does not have enough replacements,
which suddenly makes Barcelona a weaker side.
Another dilemma is that if one of the two players is missing, the other one had to bear the whole responsibility of Barcelona attack. When Xavi was missing in the match against Barcelona, the inspiration was sought from Lionel Messi, while others were unworthy
to step up to the challenge. In addition, David Villa was missing the action, which meant that Messi had to score as many goals as he could. The rest of the strikers were not ready to fill in the gap.
Some of the credit must go to Barcelona’s oppositions as well. Teams have adjusted themselves according to Barcelona’s playing style, which is making the job harder for Pep Guardiola. Now, most of the smaller teams remain on back-foot, against Barcelona,
which gives them a greater degree of freedom in the midfield area. That is why on many occasions, Barcelona enjoys more than 70% possession in their matches.
On the other hand, the penalty area is well guarded by the oppositions, letting a lesser degree of freedom within 25 yards of their goal. Therefore, despite a dominating position in midfield and greater possession, Guardiola’s men are finding it hard to
break into dangerous positions, and scoring some goals. A few players, like Messi and Pedro, have the ability to position themselves well in the box, but others have failed to provide any real threat.
In the penalty area, Barcelona lacks any real quality on set-pieces, because not many players can hit accurate headers. On the set pieces, the delivery is getting a problem as well. No one is stepping up to convert easy free-kicks, while Xavi and Messi are
the only ones who can shoot closer to target. Otherwise, Barcelona is missing a lot of goals only because they are not prepared well to score goals from easy set-pieces.
The only solution for Pep Guardiola is to manage his resources in an efficient manner. Tactically, he has nothing in his bag except playing a highly attacking formation. So, when the oppositions go on a defensive, no tactical change is made to find goals
in different ways. Also, an attacking style leaves the defence vulnerable to counter-attacks, which is a way for Barcelona’s oppositions to find goals.
In short, Guardiola needs to redefine his style a little bit. He has had tremendous success in the past, but other teams are getting re-adjusted accordingly. So, rather than being a conservative manager, it is a really important for Barcelona’s coach to
be innovative at times. Maybe, this would be the only way to get Barcelona out of trouble.
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