Hassan Chamas
Being the fanatical Real Madrid supporter that I am, nothing made me happier than to see my team beat FC Barcelona so ruthlessly the way they did in the league competition almost a couple of months ago. Madrid ran the show from the beginning till the final whistle, and as Barcelona president Juan Laporta nodded his head in disbelief every time Los Blancos managed to put one past Victor Valdes – who was scarcely aided by his awful defence – he only confirmed what the football world knew well before him: It was really the end of an era for Barcelona.
It did not need a rocket scientist to figure out Barcelona’s glitch, and what was in reality going on inside Camp Nou: After two La Liga titles and a Champions League, the Blaugrana were top dogs on football’s Mount Olympus. The only way that they could carry on afterwards was down; and that’s exactly what they did. Certainly, 2007’s league campaign could have gone either way, but what about this time around? Honestly, were they ever involved, at any given time, in the fight for top position? The answer is a resounding “NO”.
Barcelona’s open style of play became well evident for teams, because when the opposition knows how you think, what kind of play you bring to the pitch, that’s very bad for you, and very bad for your team. Well, Barcelona’s opponents knew that every time they stepped onto the pitch against them. Pretty soon, results became mediocre, and even ugly for Frank Rijkaard’s team, and they continued to struggle, eventually finishing in a horrible 3rd position in the league’s standings.
Gracias and Adios, Frank
Back to their defeat against Real, Laporta finally decided to make “the call”: Guillotines were being set up back in Catalunya, and big names were bound to be ousted out of Camp Nou. The first change, and probably, the one that will be most likely to change things around, was the sacking of Frank Rijkaard, with B-team coach and former Barcelona legend Josep “Pep” Guardiola being named as his successor.
Now, one has to ask about the qualities of Guardiola as a coach, and his ability to guide his boyhood club back to winning ways. You see, prior to being named as the new manager, “Pep” had only a year as manager of the B-team on his résumé, something other club owners would have considered twice – or even discarded – when they needed a new coach, especially one whose job was to put them back on the correct path again and form the blueprint for things to come.
Barca should just take a look at their famous Castilla rivals: Even though he was so heartlessly sacked for not delivering “sexy football” – something that really does not exist – nonetheless Real Madrid’s newly elected president Ramon Calderon chose at that time to bring an old face to the Bernabeu, a master tactician in the form of current England manager Fabio Capello, rather than gamble on a relatively inexperienced manager, something that could have really blown up in his face.
Time for a change
However, there is something that Guardiola does not lack, and that’s “cojones”. Even before the former defensive midfielder had taken over the reigns at Camp Nou, talk of his own list began circulating in the Catalan media and all across Spain, with numerous big names set to get the boot, most notably Deco, Samuel Eto’o, and Ronaldinho. Indeed, long are gone the days where the latter two would go on to dance at one of the corner flags of the pitch each time Barcelona scored a goal. It was a time for a revolution to happen at Barcelona. It was a time for reform. It was time for a change, something that has already been under way for some time, with five players already confirmed to come in.
Indeed, former protégé Gerard Piqué comes back to his boyhood club in order to give strength to a defence that was criticized so many times this campaign. Still in the same department comes Villareal hotshot Martin Caceres and European newcomer Henrique from Brazilian club Palmeiras, while the return of Gianluca Zambrotta to Italy – he never adapted to life in Spain anyway – will be compensated by none other than Sevilla’s very own Dani Alves. In the middle, Seydou Keita will join the latter at Barcelona too, where plans are for him to constitute one half of a central double pivot alongside the impressive Yaya Toure.
At the departing terminal, the big names are Edmilson, who left for Villareal after his contract expired, while Giovani Dos Santos swapped La Liga for the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur, after slipping down the pecking order and behind Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, and young wonderkid Bojan Krkic. Santiago Ezquerro was released – you’re probably wondering “who?” – after not seeing much action in a two-year spell, while Lilian Thuram’s whole professional career could take a turn for the worst after he discovering a veiled heart disease, one that took the life of his deceased brother. This is the same defender that used to terrify attackers a few years ago back in Serie A with Juventus, who faces the probability of hanging up his boots for good. At 36 years, his head says “yes”, but his body says a resounding “no”. In midfield, Brazilian-born Portuguese international Deco meets his former national team mentor Luis Felipe Scolari at Chelsea.
Surely, the transfer market doesn’t end at this point for Barca. With three more names to go – according to Txiki Begiristain – it looks like anything but a quiet summer in the corridors of the Camp Nou.
With a new manager and new faces, the squad carries an enormous burden, and all the hopes of Catalunya for that matter. Indeed, business is about to pick up for Guardiola and his boys. It is true that success cannot be bought instantly, especially if you possess a rejuvenated team and a lot of new faces, and most importantly, if you opt to use a different mentality than your predecessor, but, taking into consideration the success Real Madrid have had over the past two years, despite their multiple changes, it would be seem foolish to predict Barcelona’s campaign just yet. The team has to get back on its feet and display its true colors, and show the whole world that they truly are “Més que un club”.
