HAS BARCELONA'S CRISIS PUT MESSI AND SUÁREZ IN THE SHOP WINDOW?

We're only eight days into 2015 and there is already talk of a massive crisis at FC Barcelona. Despite only trailing La Liga leaders Real Madrid by a point, circumstances at the club has caused panic amongst their fans.

D. Ray Morton, 8th January 2015.

Barcelona Director of Football, Andoni Zubizarreta, was given his marching orders this week as the Catalan club go through a period of uncertainty and turmoil

 

Barcelona look like a right mess at the moment. Ignore that they are still within touching distance of their rivals Real Madrid in La Liga and ignore that they topped their Champions League group because there is something much more worrying afoot. The last week has been full of speculation. Director of Football Andoni Zubizarreta has been sacked and Carles Puyol, Assistant Director of Football, has left the club. Zubizarreta has been made a scapegoat for what has been seen as unsatisfactory dealings in the transfer market in his time at Camp Nou. With the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) slapping a two-window transfer ban on the club for the illegal signing of foreign under-age players, last summer was seen as a key period for Barça to strengthen for the coming year of transfer wilderness.

They secured a massive €85m deal for Liverpool's Luis Suárez who has underwhelmed so far in Lionel Messi's shadow. Alexis Sánchez left the club and is now excelling at Arsenal. Cesc Fàbregas also departed and is having a great season at Chelsea. Defenders Jérémy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen came in for around €20m each. Vermaelen has not kicked a ball for the club and Mathieu is performing just as expected for an over-priced 30 year-old. Right-back Douglas came from Brazil and is not looking anything like a Barcelona-standard player. Ivan Rakitic has shown some positives but many wonder whether he will blossom into a truly world-class midfielder. Claudio Bravo has done well in goal, one of the few positives and Alen Halilovic, at 18, will not be ready for the first team for another couple of years. The massive outlay came to about €190m with Bravo and Rakitic being the only two mild positives from that bunch of signings.

Out with Zubi but will it be out with new manager Luis Enrique too? There are some serious murmurings that he has fallen out with star man Leo Messi. He left him on the bench for their recent shock defeat to David Moyes' Real Sociedad and some believe that Messi is simply fed up at Barcelona now. Former assistant manager Henk Ten Cate thinks that Messi would have already left the club had he not promised at the deathbed of Tito Vilanova that he would stay. Chelsea are sniffing about and may find a way to meet his €250m release clause. Former team-mate Fàbregas is doing his best to lure the Argentine to London.

Could Chelsea manager José Mourinho end up managing Lionel Messi at Stamford Bridge? What was once unthinkable now seems more possible than ever

It is not unthinkable that Suárez, too, could be off. The club shelled out a huge amount of money for the Uruguayan and he has only served in a supporting role for the team. Having to play in a front three with Messi and Neymar, he is far less important than he was at Liverpool and the club might consider cutting their losses should they be able to attract a satisfactory bid. Red Liverpudlians might shudder at the thought of Manchester United showing interest with Radamel Falcao facing an uphill battle to secure a permanent move there.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu understands the turmoil at the club and has brought forward the club presidential election to this coming summer rather than waiting until 2016. Former president Joan Laporta intends to run again and has an audacious plan to bring back former manager Pep Guardiola in the vacant Director of Football role should he leave Bayern Munich and decide to leave management for an upstairs role. Such a move would certainly inspire Barça fans who are struggling to identify with the club who have gone from being the clean-cut heroes of "tiki-taka" to being a club that cannot avoid scandal whether it be Neymar's shady transfer, Messi's tax evasion case, the CAS transfer ban and the all-round sense of instability at Camp Nou. Do they run the risk of slipping down that crevasse and becoming a European "sleeping giant" like say, AC Milan? Time will tell and the coming weeks should be very interesting. Tonight, Barcelona play Elche in the Copa del Rey. Do not expect Messi to start, though this hardly means much playing against such meagre opposition at home. Keep an eye on Luis Enrique however, a man very much under pressure.

FUNDAMENTAL TACTICS BACKFIRE IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS

D. Ray Morton, 1st May 2014.

Mourinho must sense that Chelsea went too defensive last night

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's recent run of good results playing ultra defensive football had not won over many fans these past few weeks and there were some neutral smiles last night as their approach back-fired sending Atletico Madrid into their first Champions League final in its modern guise. On Tuesday, Bayern Munich and Pep Guardiola's obsessive possession football was completely dismantled by a ruthless Real Madrid side who ended up conquering the Germans by four goals without reply on their own turf at the Allianz.

Mourinho and Guardiola approached their respective ties as football fundamentalists turned up to eleven as the pressure of late season crunch time reared its asymmetrical head. Bayern continued with what has become a sterile possession game since they won their domestic league weeks ago. Whether it was a loss of focus on the players' part, a deep overall strategic issue or even Real Madrid's finishing efficiency, the Bavarians were left with a substantial amount of egg on their faces. Chelsea's attempt at dealing with Atletico was borderline repressive, the London side setting themselves up so defensively that the visitors must have felt flattered. The supposed underdogs had been made the belle of the ball.

Ronaldo, who tormented Bayern with a brace of goals, signifying to Bale that La Decima is on

Questions over team selection can be made for both matches. Guardiola reverted to playing Philip Lahm in his natural full-back position which allowed Thomas Muller to start behind Mario Mandzukic up front. €37m signing Mario Gotze and €40m Javi Martinez both failed to make the starting eleven. Chelsea's selection was so conservative it could have had a punchline attached to it. Cesar Azpilicueta had been chosen as some sort of additional full-back meant to destroy the play in wide areas by sitting in front of, or alongside, Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic. Who knows?

Whereas Bayern had set themselves up to play and pass Real to death, Chelsea wanted to smother Atleti but handed them far too much of the iniative. Not even thinking about adapting to a brave approach in front of their own fans, Mourinho's side simply allowed Diego Simeone's "big-balled" dark horses to play without any pressure. A bizarre tactical angle, personally crushing as it adds to Mourinho's semi-final hoodoo that has haunted him since his days at Inter.

Simeone praised his players' mothers for giving them "big balls", maybe a pop at Chelsea's feeble defensive set-up

Real and Atletico advance to the Lisbon final, the two teams least overloaded with tactics in the semi-finals. Of the four teams, there wasn't a whole lot to separate them on paper but it appears as if the two teams that simply reacted to fundamentalist approaches triumphed comfortably. Though the defeats ended up being heavy, Bayern and Chelsea fans should probably hold some optimism for next season. Chelsea are one world class striker away from being a far more dangerous machine and Bayern can do a lot better once they resolve how to play "tiki-taka" without a Messi.

GUARDIOLA'S SELECTION BLUNDER AND ATLÉTICO'S RESILIENCE

GUARDIOLA'S SELECTION BLUNDER AND ATLÉTICO'S RESILIENCE

D. Ray Morton, 2nd April 2014.

The talk beforehand had been about how much of a mismatch this would be. Struggling Manchester United taking on the cream of Europe in the form of Pep Guardiola's mighty Champions League holders Bayern Munich. And mighty were the Bavarians' possession statistics no doubt but leaving Old Trafford with only a draw and having Bastian Schweinsteiger sent off was never part of the script.

The team selection immediately raised some eyebrows. Mario Mandžukić, a serious tormentor of defences, was left on the bench leaving Thomas Müller up front on his own with the trio of Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben and Toni Kroos in behind. Müller didn't offer a focal point for the visitors' attacks and the United defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić enjoyed a rather pleasant evening as a result.

As the first half wore on and Bayern racked up the passes, it suddenly dawned on those watching that maybe this side just wasn't going to be all that incisive on the night. It was described as "sterile possession" in some quarters, reminiscent of Pep's Barça when Lionel Messi wasn't available for selection.

United grew in confidence, defended with spirit and unrattled the Germans. They took the lead on 58 minutes when Vidić glanced home from a corner kick. The old vulnerability from set pieces remains as a Guardiola trademark, something which wasn't obvious in last season's treble winners lead by Jupp Hynckes.

Though Bayern did equalise on the night and set themselves up to take control of the tie in Munich, the other potential semi-finalists will be pleased that die Roten have had some weaknesses exposed. It was the eventually red-carded Schweinsteiger who got the goal, finishing sweetly from substitute Mandžukić's knock-down header. Surely the big Croat will start in the second leg. The result has hurt Guardiola it seems. His post-match press conference was uneasy as he cut a frustrated figure in front of the English media's bombardment of questions.

In the other clash last night, Atlético Madrid will be delighted to have secured a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona meaning the Catalans have failed to beat Diego Simeone's men in four attempts so far this season. Simeone will point out that the same goes for Atléti failing to beat los culés but Diego Ribas' sensational strike could make a key difference should the second leg be as cagey.

Barça still struggle against defensive-minded teams and though Atléti are well capable of playing attacking football, they change up their game plan when they face "Tata" Martino's side. Neymar managed to get an equaliser late on getting on the end of Andrés Iniesta's sumptuous through pass but surely the side from the capital will be happier with the result. Barça's woes continue today with the news that FIFA has banned them from signing any new players for the next two transfer windows.

Looking ahead to tonight's clashes, a game of huge interest should be Paris St. Germain vs. Chelsea in the French capital. José Mourinho gets reacquainted with Zlatan Ibrahimović in a potential classic between the ambitious Parisians versus the defensive and tactical toughness of the Londoners. Chelsea don't have Nemanja Matić available to them which is a big loss, so PSG will try to inflict as much damage as possible tonight in order to set up the away trip. It's a very hard one to call because as much quality as the French champions have, Mourinho's tactical nous in big European clashes is unmatched.

Mourinho and Zlatan, best of chums at Inter

In the other game, Real Madrid face an off-form Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabéu. Though the Germans triumphed in the same clash last season, injuries have ravaged their squad and the side from the Spanish capital should have enough to kill this one off in the first leg provided the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have their shooting boots on.