FC Barcelona sporting director Deco has been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni expressing interest in joining the Catalan giants. However, since Hansi Flick scuppered the deal last summer, the Italian wants to speak to the German directly to get some personal reassurance.
If Flick learnt anything from the nightmare run of 6 goals conceded in 5 days, with both Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid scoring in rapid succession (4-2 & 2-1), then he should call Bastoni. Given that he hinted on Friday that Barcelona are looking to add defensive reinforcement in January, Flick needs to learn that they don’t need a revolution but an evolution with a world-class centre-back.
Self-infliction leaves just 4 fit defenders
As we look at the current make-up of the squad ahead of November, it was a terrible move by Flick to turn down a star centre-back last summer and rely on homegrown talent.
Since allowing Ronald Araujo to leave on loan, and hoping that Andreas Christensen would be fit (clearly not, again in September), the centre-back situation has spiralled. Eric Garcia (thigh), Jules Kounde (ankle), Andreas Christensen and hotshot Xavi Espart (seven weeks out due to El Clasico injury) have all been sidelined, leaving just 4 fit defenders. Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Balde.
This can be seen in the performances against PSG and Real Madrid.
Martin’s limitations – Whilst being a great squad rotation option against the bottom half of La Liga, asking a converted full-back to play in the centre of defence against Mbappe led to a failed clearance in the first half, giving Real Madrid the opener.
Cubarsi getting run into the ground – The 19-year-old has been playing every single minute of the game without a senior presence in his backline. In the 87th minute of El Clasico, his legs were completely dead and got run past by Eduardo Camavinga to set up the winner.
Considering they had to consider playing Rodri and Frenkie De Jong as centre-backs in November is an absolute disaster for the squad planning during the summer. They can’t wait until next summer to fix their backline. They need reinforcements in January.
Why Bastoni is perfect
With Deco attempting to perform some financial wizardry to get Bastoni to leave San Siro (Inter have had a turbulent campaign so far this autumn, losing 4-3 to Club Brugge in the Champions League), Barcelona need someone like him.
Barcelona’s initial build-up comes from right-footed centre-backs or makeshift solutions on the left. Bastoni (1.90m) is considered one of the best left-footed ball-playing centre-backs in the world. Playing alongside Cubarsi gives them perfect symmetry in their passing angles, world-class progression and the physicality of Bastoni from Serie A.
Bastoni wanting to talk to Flick directly is completely understandable. No top centre-back will want to leave their career for a coach who has previously rejected them. Flick now needs to forget his stubbornness from the summer and convince the Italian that he is the missing puzzle piece.
When to play safe to become truly elite
Even if they bring in a world-class centre-back in January, Flick also needs to evolve his tactics.
They play some incredible football. Scoring 40 goals in the early stages of the La Liga season and dominating possession against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid show that Flick’s attacking side is world class. The issue they have is knowing when to play safe.
In the PSG game, they fought back to make it 2-2 in the 79th, but left their defence stranded and conceded within 120 seconds. In the Real Madrid game, they were 1-1 in the 87th minute and had 7 players ahead of the ball when Gabriel Jesus lost possession, giving Los Blancos a 3v2 to run past a tired teen.
World-class teams know when to control the game. Dropping your backline 10 yards in the final 10 minutes of a tight game doesn’t mean you’re not playing your way. It means you’re playing safe with the points you’ve fought for in the 80 minutes. If Flick can add this element to his coaching and Joan Laporta and Deco support him in January by bringing in a world-class defender like Bastoni, this squad will go from an exciting team to an unstoppable force in Europe.
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