Part 2: Is Javier Mascherano more important than Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
Now, with Ibrahimovic going out of the Nou Camp it is going to be the Liverpool player, Mascherano who is going to take his place; not as a striker though, but a holding midfielder. However, Barcelona’s critics were unmoved even though Barcelona do not own any heavy holding midfielders. The young Spanish World Cup player Sergio Busquets and Sedou Keita are the only two good options that the Spanish club has. Mascherano is going to be a perfect fit as a first team player along with Xavi Hernandez as Mascherano can win the ball easily and can move the ball around quite well.
The Barcelona critics believe that the young Spanish player Sergio Busquets would have got the job done pretty easily and that the Spanish champions are wasting 21 million Euros on a player that the team doesn’t even need. They believe that this amount could easily go to the “Fabregas Fund,” the Spanish number 10 and the Arsenal captain that Barcelona have been trying to sign since a year now. They believe that Josep Pep Guardiola, the manager of the Spanish Champions, is making good use of Busquets and he is going to “prefer” him over Mascherano when it comes down to first team slots.
All this explains the statement of Andoni Zubizarreta that came out in mid-August. He told the public that he accepted the fact that Mascherano does not really fit in Barcelona’s plans or the squad for the coming season. The club’s sporting director also said that the team is performing with good rhythm and he would love to see them win more trophies through the same squad. However, no one was really sure whether the word “plans” was about Guardiola’s squad plans or Rosell’s economic plans.
The transfer saga that involved Cesc Fabregas did actually teach Barcelona a lesson. They learnt that if a club is not letting a player leave, they are going to ask for a high price and a club that wants the player to leave would definitely come to talking terms and negotiate easily. They made a strategic move towards Mascherano and did not seem to be too desperate for the player, unlike Fabregas. In the Spaniard’s transfer case, the club went too low and showed how desperate they were to sign him while the other club kept toying with Barcelona’s mind. This time, however, they showed no interest in the player while the player wanted to make a move to the Catalan club, and soon a transfer deal was struck as the player pushed the club to leave them for his “dream team.”
Moreover, there could be other reasons why Barcelona might have signed the Argentinean captain. Barcelona suffered a 3-1 defeat to Sevilla on their home grounds during the first leg of the Supercopa. The club’s manager might have had a brain-wave back then as to how the Catalan squad needs reinforcements and there are not many players that can help the team win while the first team is unavailable.
During the first leg of the Supercopa final match, it was Sevilla who were hosting Barcelona at their home. However, the Catalan giants did not have the “best 11” at their end and they went to Sevilla without the 8 players who actually featured in the Spanish team which won the FIFA World Cup 2010 final against the Netherlands. Lionel Messi was put on the bench; the coach wanted him to rest and was trying not to play him during the tie.
Soon the Argentinean was needed during the match, as the Spanish champions started to lose, but it was too little too late for Barcelona. They started the game well with their young players passing the ball around and keeping possession like they always do. It was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored a wonderful goal in the opening minutes of the match to make it 0-1 in Barcelona’s favour.
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