This
season Barcelona has played some great football in the Spanish league as well
as the Champions League. Their attack and midfield has been awesome right
through the season lead by none other than Lionel Messi and ever reliable Xavi
Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
However
their defense has been more of a concern lately, Puyol is aging and he’s been
injured quite often lately, Abidal is not getting any younger and injury has
kept him out of action quite often this season and pique hasn’t been half of
what he was last year, which is a cause f concern for them. Their away form has
also been very inconsistent comparing to last year. They have drawn 5 and lost
2 this season on the road.
Last
year was pretty good for Barcelona as they didn’t have too much of injury
problems. They had it easy in the League as well as Champions League. This year
has been a different story altogether, they trail Leader Real Madrid by 4
points with 5 matches still left to play, though it can be reduced to 1 point
provided they win the Clasico at Nou Camp.
Champions
League has been easy for them so far however they will have to play Chelsea in
the semi- finals. Chelsea have had quite an amazing run of form lately, they
beat Napoli 4-1, after trailing them 1-3 from Naples and were virtually
considered to be out of Champions League and most recently they have beaten
Tottenham 5-1 in the FA Cup semi finals. It looks like Barcelona has a tough
task ahead if they want to reach the final.
Having
said that, here’s my take on what Barcelona needs to improve and what I expect
from the Catalans in the 2012-13 season.
1). NO MORE PLAY
ACTING
- Barcelona plays some of the most amazing football. They have great set of
players who can control the game at any given day. They score for fun and play
their own game anywhere in the world and throughout the season they have
controlled every single match they have played. However the problem with them
is play acting. It is not apt for a club of such stature to indulge in play
acting and trying to get opponents sent off. They play good football and they
should concentrate on winning matches with the kind of football they play. They
should cut on those theatrics, it’s just hurting the club’s image to be honest.
2). CENTRE BACK - Though Barca has
been near to perfect in their attack, their defense has been a major concern.
Puyol and Abidal are on the wrong side of 30s now and they have been injured
quite often. Pique hasn’t been half as good as last season. Mascherano and
Busquets have been more than capable of filling in for Puyol and Abidal,
however they are best when they play in their natural positions i.e. Defensive
Midfield. Barca really needs a centre back this summer, who can not only be a
back up to Puyol but also a permanent replacement for him.
3). IMPROVED AWAY
FORM -
Barca’s away form this season has been a concern and inconsistency on the road
has really put a dent on their 4th successive title chase. This season out of
17 away games so far Barca have drawn 5 and lost 2, whereas Real Madrid have
drawn 2 and lost 1 in 16 away games, that really speaks of the consistency
their rivals have while on the road this season . If they are to pose a real
threat to Real Madrid next season, they will have to improve on it.
4). MORE OVERALL
CONTRIBUTION IN SCORING - Just as much Barca is playing flawless attacking
football, it’s only Messi who is scoring for them on a regular basis. Barca’s
top 3 scorers this season are Messi, Xavi and Sanchez with 41, 10 and 10 goals
in the league respectively. In comparison, Real’s Ronaldo, Benzema and Higuain
have scored 41, 18 and 21respectively this season. It looks like too much
dependence on Messi to get the goals. Though the others contribute really well
in the overall play but if they want to win the title, forwards need to
contribute more in scoring on regular basis.
5). ANOTHER MESSI
MAGIC SHOW
- Messi has been superb throughout this season so far and I think in 2012-13
season he will get better and better, he already has scored 63 goals in all
competition this season and looks set to break Gerd Muller’s record of 67 goals
in all competition in one season. If he continues like this without injuries I
think he will reach 300 Barca goals next season and also break many more records.
I also feel that he is the strongest contender for a fourth straight Ballon
D’or next year on as well.
6). ANOTHER LA LIGA
TITLE
- This season hasn’t gone the way most people around the world expected for
Barcelona. Too many draws on the road did hurt them and not to forget the
consistent performance Real Madrid puts in week in week out. They trail Real
Madrid by 4 points and look likely to lose the title to their bitterest rivals
for the first time since 2008-09 season. If it happens then I believe Barca
will do everything possible to win the title once again and they will
eventually do it, though Real Madrid has been playing great and have been
really consistent lately but Barca will just beat them to the title.
7). CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
SEMI FINAL
- It looks like the Catalans have a tough task ahead this year but I still
think that Barca can still win the Champions League this year. I will not go as
far to predict that they will win it again in 2012-13 season, however they will
definitely reach the semi-final for the 4th consecutive time. Having said that,
If they are consistent in performances they might just win it but it looks very
unlikely. Barca however will be the team to beat for every team competing in
the Champions League.
8). MORE GAMES FOR
YOUNGSTERS
- During 4-0 win over Bate Borisov in the Champions League last December
Guardiola threw a host of Academy graduates into the starting lineup, resulting
in team's average age being just 21 years old, they however controlled the game
like their own and Montoya and Roberto even went on to score in that match.
They have hugely talented youngsters like 19-year-old Sergi Roberto, Cristian
Tello, Martin Montoya, Isaac Cuenca, Thiago Alcantara and his 18-year-old
brother Rafinha, who looks ready to get more regular first team action in
2012-13 season, while some of them have already been pretty regular this year
as well thanks to injuries to players like Iniesta, Villa, Pedro and Sanchez. I
however feel, injuries to senior players or not, these youngsters will get
their well deserved fair share of chances in 2012-13.
9). DOMINANCE IN EL
CLASICO
- Season 2012-13 promises to be an exciting affair once again. The appointment
of Jose Mourinho and resurgence of Real Madrid has made El Clasicos more
exciting and fierce than ever. Real Madrid has really been in superb form
lately however I believe that they will struggle against the Catalans in the El
Clasicos once again in 2012-13. The recent results don’t favor Madrid either
since 2008-09 season they just managed 1 win and 4 draws out of 12 matches and
have lost 7. 2012-13 will be the same story for the Catalans, they will be the
dominant force in the Clasicos.
10). GUARDIOLA TO
STAY
- it might sound absurd however I have included this Due to Pep Guardiola's
insistence on signing one-year contracts every season, there is always some
amount of speculation about his future and when his last season in Catalonia
will be. I believe he would stay and will sign another contract. A legend as
both a player and manager, Guardiola has won everything there is to win at both
levels, and might look for fresh challenges, it is apparent that he loves the
club and is keen to stay for as long as he can and I will not rule out seeing
him at the touchline for another season at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona
is an amazing team with a great set of players and I believe they will continue
to mesmerize football fans all over the world throughout the next season as
well with the help of some new recruitment in the defense. I will not be far
from right if I say that they will win just about every possible trophy next
season as well. It’s not some kind of overstatement but they play some amazing
football and if their key players remain fit and play well consistently in home
as well as away matches throughout the season they just might do it.
They
have had their share of problems this season, however they look well set to
leave it behind them and look to the fresh challenge next season and it remains
to be seen what kind of changes does the new season brings forth for them.
By Muffin Head
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LEONGUI7E
