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.
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.
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.
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