AuthorJay Hiza The date was May 1st 2005, Frank Rijkaard gave a few instructions to the diminutive young man before sending him onto the pitch, and as Samuel Eto’o reached the sidelines, the Lionel Messi Era officially began at Barcelona. It was fitting perhaps, that his first goal – a now trademark chip against Albacete – was assisted by the man he was groomed to replace – Ronaldinho. The Argentine’s quality was clear from the start, but surely nobody truly expected him to become the legend that he is today. Despite his teammates raving about his ability, none of them could have foreseen that Lionel Messi would become – perhaps – the greatest footballer in the game’s history. But you see that was how Barca worked. La Masia churned out talent after extraordinary talent – players like Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pep Guardiola, Sergio Busquets and his father, Carles, Thiago Motta, Pedro, and yes, Lionel Messi himself, and whether the club had purchased a player or not, La Masia could be counted on to groom a new generation to replace those who had come before them. Xavi and Iniesta replaced the old guard of Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Deco, Messi replaced Ronaldinho, and everything was right with the world. Recently though, it has become increasingly apparent that the well has run dry. There is no Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, or Busquets to replace this current generation. And so, Barcelona faces an existential crisis. Leo Messi turns 31 in three months, and while this summer’s World Cup will certainly be his last, he still has a good four to five years in him at club level. Luis Suarez and Gerrard Pique are already 31, Ivan Rakitic is 30, Busquets will be 30 in July, and Andres Iniesta is the footballing equivalent of fossilized remains. These players comprise the core of Barcelona’s team – the axis around which everything else is built and there are no players waiting in the wings to replace them. As La Masia collects dust, the club have shifted their focus to the flavor of the week – spending huge money on players they had no hand in grooming. Neymar was supposed to be the future, a mercurial generational talent with the ability to extend Barcelona’s dominance into the foreseeable future. Neymar is now gone though and into the void has stepped Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele. Coutinho is a proven quantity – a quick and crafty playmaker with the ability to unlock a defense with his passing, but he’s not a direct replacement for Neymar. If anything, Coutinho is a stop-gap player who will offer Messi some respite from playmaking duties as he gets older. The player who was really purchased to replace Neymar is Dembele, and there’s no indication that he’ll come anywhere close to footing the bill. He is young, still only 20, but he has already displayed his lack of dedication to his craft, as well as a startling lack of maturity for a professional footballer. His refusal to even train with Dortmund in the off-season, led directly to an injury which made him unavailable to Barca for the first half of the season, and since his return from injury, he’s shown nothing to indicate that he has the quality to fill the Brazilian’s shoes. With a total cash outlay of €280 million for the pair, Coutinho and Dembele represent the future of Barcelona, but neither of them are transformative players. Neither of them can place a struggling team on their backs and inspire them to victory, and with no youth talent waiting in the wings, it begs the question, “Where do Barcelona go from here?” There are really only two options: 1) Revive an academy that hasn’t had any attention in years, or 2) Continue to splash the cash The “pay to play” route seems to be the obvious choice. La Masia is threadbare, and it will take years to restore it to its former glory. A key statistic is that of the current Under 21 Spanish side there are no Barcelona players and there have only been two recent call ups. So Barcelona is relegated to the PSG and Manchester City approach of “throw money at the wall and see if it sticks”. The problem is that there aren’t any notable youngsters in the global game at the moment for them to sign really. Mbappe is one, but he’s at PSG for the foreseeable future, Dembele flatters to deceive, Neymar isn’t coming back, and Dybala – while being an incredible talent in his own right – isn’t a game-breaking player. To add insult to injury, the best young players in the world (excluding those previously mentioned) are currently in residence at rivals Real Madrid, and Los Merengues look poised to possibly swoop in for Neymar this summer. Real Madrid are preparing for life without Ronaldo. They know he can’t play forever. At the Camp Nou however, there is no obvious roadmap for the future.
Spending money on players is perfectly fine, but it has its limits. Cash is a finite commodity, and it won’t be around for long if you can’t get results on the pitch. Coutinho and Dembele are not going to win Barcelona a league title or a Champion’s League, so eventually the coffers will dry up. Time is against Barca here, and they need to make the right decisions moving forward. They need to resurrect the academy, and spend whatever it takes to get good young players coming through the doors again. One thing is certain though – if Barcelona fails to address this issue, the game suffers. Football needs Barcelona to be good. Time is running out on the Messi Era. Barcelona need to formulate a plan for life after he leaves, and they need to do it quickly, or run the risk of ending up like Manchester United, Inter or AC Milan – formerly world class clubs that the European elite no longer take seriously. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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