The disappointing loss to Celta Vigo has made some Barcelona fans very upset at their boss, Luis Enrique.
When you try to figure out what makes sports in America so polarizing and popular, you come to a fascinating conclusion. While the perpetual memories and unforgettable drama knows no rivals, it’s really the fans that make it the single most distinguishable aspect of American culture.
Compare it to film. Are movie critics passionate and vocal when reviewing a Tom Hanks movie as a Jets fan is when they play the Patriots?
What about music? Do fans of Drake scream and heckle while listening to a song they way Blackhawks fans harass opponents during a game?
There just isn’t anything that compares to American sports.
Well ,unless you cross the pond and look at European football, or what we call soccer.
Soccer is the only major sport they have. Unlike America, Europe doesn’t have 4 major sports to indulge in: Just soccer. Because of this, all of their desire for sports is poured into their soccer matches. They’re more passionate for this sport than us Americans are for any of ours.
But despite this, America does have an advantage: rationality.
Why do I bring this up? This past Sunday, FC Barcelona and Celta Vigo faced off in La Liga. Barcelona, one of the best teams in Europe, were expected to win the match. Surely they would, right?
Wrong. They lost 4-3 due to a combination of poor management and underperforming players.
This loss has created a split amongst Barça fans. Well ,maybe strengthened is a better word. Some, like myself, agree that multiple people were at fault. Luis Enrique put out a weaker lineup than usual, but several big players, like Busquets, Ter Stegen, and Luis Suárez, had quite shocking performances that certainly didn’t help Barcelona’s chances of winning.
However, some blinded fans are putting all the blame on Luis Enrique.
They’ve proceeded to absolutely slander Lucho. They’re under the belief that he is responsible for everything going wrong. Somehow, they think that Lucho is to blame for Busquets playing poorly, Ter Stegen conceding that horrendous 4th goal, Alba and Luis Suárez’s disappearance.
They said “Lucho is a disgrace” and “He loves his ego more than he loves the club” and “We deserve better” and….you get the point.
But perhaps the most disappointing reaction to the game is the hashtag #LuchoOut .
These “fans” believe that Luis Enrique has done such a bad job that he deserves to be fired. He shouldn’t be the manager of a team like Barcelona, they think. They ask themselves, “Why should he stay?”
Well, he’s won 7 out of 9 trophies……and back to back league titles…..and a treble……and a double…..and had a 39 match unbeaten streak. That seems like a manager who knows what he’s doing.
People expect Barcelona to win every single game 3,4,5-0. What they fail to realize is that is in no way possible. People are still under the impression that La Liga isn’t a tough league and that the 3 super clubs should roll over everybody. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? There aren’t any teams that can be taken lightly. If there are, then you shouldn’t lose to teams like Alavés at home.
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La Liga is filled with extremely tough and difficult opponents. Should Barcelona win the majority of the games? Of course, but that’s more because of Barça’s talent than the ineptitude of the other teams.
So there are very. very few teams that Barcelona can underestimate. And if they do, then they don’t always have great performances. The result won’t be a loss (most of the time). Instead, it’ll be a 2-0 win where Barça struggled the entire match. More often that not, those are the types of performances we will see as a result of a bad game by Barça.
To relate this to Lucho, he’s inevitably going to lose. You can’t get around it. The fans that think he’s overrated have him on thin ice. Basically, at the first sign of trouble, they want him gone.
That’s why you see fans asking for him to leave. Because of the bad performance, and bad performances should never, ever happen in their minds. With a mindset like that, all you’re doing is missing the greatness that goes on in front of you.
For whatever reason, American sports fans differ in this regard. While we may be a bit idiotic when it comes to predictions or analysis, we generally don’t call for a coach to be fired after a bad game. It’s understandable for poor performances to happen.
Luis Enrique certainly has made mistakes. He’s made questionable rotations that don’t always produce the best performances. But for the most part, he is a fantastic manager. Is he a tactical genius like Pep? No, but hardly anybody is. What makes Lucho a great manager is his relationship with the players, and his ability to control all of their egos.
If you want to be a sports fan, you have to accept that everything won’t be perfect. Barcelona are gonna lose games. Accept it. But this team always seems to bounce back immediately and produce an illustrious performance the next match. So the next time that Barça win 6-0, think about that #LuchoOut campaign and if you really stand by it, or are just letting your emotions get the best out of you.