Vermaelen: Barcelona defense is tougher than it looks
By Laieke Abebe
Central defender Thomas Vermaelen explained in an interview with the Guardian that playing the Barcelona defense is tougher than it seems.
Thomas Vermaelen has been important in the rotation of the central defense for Barcelona this season. He hasn’t been fit to play ever since his arrival from Arsenal in August 2014. His £15 million move was to help with the depth of the defense. However, many injuries have plagued his tenure with the Blaugrana. A hamstring injury held him out of action at the beginning of his run with Barca, but this season has been the coming out party for him.
The Belgian has been very serviceable this season after finally being healthy enough to consistently get minutes. Vermaelen started a long run of games in all competitions especially in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League. Samuel Umtiti was out injured for a long period of time which gave him the chance to play under Ernesto Valverde. In many spots, Vermaelen was able to make the right passes and make the key challenges to save goals from being scored.
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All of these things culminated with Vermaelen starting in El Clasico against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. He helped to deny many Real Madrid chances while starting with Spanish stalwart Gerard Pique in central defense. The 3-0 masterclass from Barca felt like Vermaelen had finally arrived for the Blaugrana. After so many injuries over his career, starting and playing well in El Clasico felt like the coronation for the Belgian.
Vermaelen spoke with the Guardian on how he’s become so important for the team after the various injuries. In addition to that, he talked about how playing in the Barca defense is more difficult than it looks. While the Barca attack has been amazing over the years, the defense has also been very important to the team’s success. Without them, the Blaugrana can’t be as great as they are.
"“People have a bit of a wrong view of defenders in Barcelona because they think: ‘Ah it’s an easy job, they only attack, attack, attack’ but the demands are very high. Playing in the other team’s half doesn’t just happen by itself. It’s because we keep them under constant pressure. If you let them come on to you, we will be under pressure so you push up, push up, push up, every time. That means you have 50 meters at your back and that’s not always easy. Nor is playing out from the back. Sometimes it would just be easier to kick it forward and that’s it, but that’s not our way, and it’s a bit more enjoyable to play.”Vermaelen on playing defense for Barcelona"
Next: Gerard Pique returns to training
Overall, Vermaelen is set to be an important rotational player in the Barca defense over the next few months. With Gerard Pique being hampered with a knee injury, Vermaelen could feature for Barca this weekend in their La Liga clash with Eibar. He has been on good form when he has featured especially in that run at the end of last year. We will see if the Belgian gets his chance to shine once again.