For fans of Barça, prepare for a phenomenal an exciting season that’s sure to end with an abundance of silverware.
With the 1st leg of the Supercopa de España complete and the second leg to take place on Wednesday, Barça’s campaign is officially underway. Teams always aim to start a season off on the right foot, and there’s nothing better to help achieve this than winning an early season trophy. Unless Barcelona choke away Wednesday’s game, expect them to win their 12th Spanish Super Cup.
While they’ll certainly be happy to add this trophy to their collection, especially since they were humbled by an aggregate scoreline of 5-1 to Athletic Bilbao last year, it isn’t the be-all and end-all of their objectives. That of course is to take back the UEFA Champions League after a disappointing exit in the quarterfinal, and to continue their domestic dominance by winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey for the 3rd straight year.
Barcelona were in prime position to repeat their treble season of 2014-2015. But a run of three consecutive losses in April saw them crash out of the Champions League and nearly blow away their lead in La Liga. Everyone was left in disbelief for one big reason. They had gone 39 games without a loss.
That’s what Barça did in their 2015-2016 season. In the 5 month streak, we saw Barcelona play nearly flawless soccer. They rampaged their way though the league, with wins against Real Madrid (4-0), Celta Vigo (6-1) Villareal (3-0) and Athletic Bilbao (6-0). A berth in the Copa del Rey was final was achieved, with the highlight match being a 7-0 win over Valencia. They finished first in their group on the Champions League, and disposed of Arsenal in the Round of 16.
So by the time April came around, Barça was expected to go all the way to another treble. But between April 2nd and April 13th, Barça lost four out of five games. One to both Madrid teams, one to Valencia, and one to Real Sociedad. The consequences? Losing a 13 point lead in La Liga and failing to repeat as champions of Europe. But why did this happen? Why did Barcelona falter at the most crucial point of the season? 2 words: Tired legs.
With minimal squad depth a concern for Barcelona throughout the entire season, they were finally bitten on the behind when their players became extremely fatigued in April. You know how the story ends. Now it could be easy to say “They just peaked early!” and “Collapses like that rarely happen!”, but that’s just refusal to admit the obvious. Barça peaked early cause they practically played the same players throughout the entire season, so good form was bound to happen early. But why did they play the same players?
Cause they had no one other options! Injuries and suspensions meant we saw the same defense, midfield, and attack all season. But the biggest reason is because there was little depth. Luis Enrique had very few people to turn to if someone in the Gala XI were to go down. That’s why Barcelona was fatigued down the stretch. No squad options. Make no mistake about it; Barcelona needed to do some serious activity this transfer window.
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And they haven’t disappointed. This window is reminiscent of Chelsea’s 2014 summer window, where Mourinho was ruthless in brining in Costa, Matic, and Fábregas: Barça’s 2014 window, where we saw Ter Stegen, Bravo, Rakitic, Luis suarez, etc brought in. This summer, we’ve seen Barcelona bring in 5 players to rejuvenate the squad.
Samuel Umtiti, André Gomes, Sergi Samper, Lucas Digne, and Denis Suárez have all joined the team. Barcelona have shown that they are willing to do what it takes to reach the top of the mountain again.
There are a couple of reasons as to why these were the perfect players for Barça to get:
- You could say that 4 of the 5 (Digne the exception) have all made the dream move. (Still, I’m sure Lucas was pretty thrilled to join.) Because of this, these players are going to be more willing to fight for their places at the club. They understand that they aren’t here to start right away; each one is in their early 20’s. But while some players sulk about not getting enough playing time, these 5 won’t. Finally becoming a star player for this team is well worth waiting behind for a few years. This is a great thing because they won’t cause any drama off the field. They’ll always give 110%.
- They’re players for the future. Digne and Gomes are 23. Umtiti and Suárez are 22. Samper is 21. They provide options for the long haul with the likes of Iniesta, Piqué, and Mascherano getting older. Barça can rest easy knowing that the future is safe with these 5,
- They provide versatility. Umtiti can play either as a CB or LB. Suárez can play where Iniesta does as well as on the wings. Samper can play as a holding midfielder or in a more advanced role. Gomes can play in any of the 3 midfield spots. With the flexibility of the youngsters, Luis Enrique can experiment and see where each player is best.
- Lastly, and the biggest reason, is that they are all good enough to contribute right now. While the 2nd point says they’re for the future, Lucho would be ludicrous to think he can’t count on them this season. With the exception of Samper, I would have all the confidence in the world if the other 4 were forced to start due to injuries. I trust them. They’re wonderful talents and are mature enough to contribute right away.
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Because of these 4 reasons, Barcelona have done enough to fix their problems, IMO. The team has no excuse to have any fatigue down the stretch with the depth they possess. But there’s so much more to love about Barcelona this season then the young stars. I hear they have some pretty good star players right now.
Where do I even begin? Let’s start with defense. Claudio Bravo and Marc Ter Stegen are two of the best goalkeepers in the world. Both can stake claims to be the #1 keeper (though the former looks sets to make a move to Manchester City). Piqué and Mascherano are the best center-back tandem in the world, and Piqué is in the category for best defender in the world. Jordi Alba is a top notch LB who will only get better due to the competition Digne provides.
In the midfield, Rakitic has really grown and has so much importance to the way Barça plays. You also have Andrés Iniesta, who’s still throwing out world class performances at the age 32. Sergio Busquets, who is without a doubt the best defensive midfielder in the world, isn’t going anywhere. Oh yeah, they have a trio of forwards nicknamed MSN, I think? I hear they’re pretty good.
These players will have an extra level of motivation this season. Watching their rivals Real Madrid hoist the Champions League trophy must have been a knife to the heart. Expect them to play with a renewed sense of energy and passion as they attempt to win back Europe’s biggest trophy.
The thing that catches my eye the most now about the squad is it’s depth. This team has roughly 20 players that they can count on to start any given game-a luxury most coaches in Europe don’t have.
With such an abundance of options on the bench, Luis Enrique needs to be wise about his rotations. Avoiding fatigue needs to be the most important thing on his mind. This is all he needs to worry about, because Barça’s talent speaks for itself.
The new summer additions give Barcelona arguably the best and deepest squad in Europe. So long as they take advantage of that and rotate, they should always have fresh legs available for each match. Luis Enrique can now afford to rest his star players for the big Champions League and La Liga games. It’ll be a tough task for Lucho, but I believe he’s up for it. With the depth and versatility of this team, Barça should be able to once again be the dominant team in Europe.