Season Preview: Barcelona

In our latest season preview, it’s the turn of the reigning champions and standard bearers of not only football in Spain but a global scale too – FC Barcelona.  Here to take a look is Linda Hui, who has chosen to leave no stone unturned.

One of the most daunting things facing this team is its own history. They’ve already accomplished a great deal in their current incarnation. Indeed, barring a few newer recruits, much of the squad have already won everything there is to win in club football. This presents a two-fold challenge to those in charge. The first is motivation, and in this they have been helped in the past 2 seasons by the relentless challenge of Real Madrid, which is only set to intensify this season. The second is that being so staggeringly successful has focused the minds of other teams on finding ways to stop them. Pep Guardiola knows very well that his team can’t afford to stand still.

Permanent Evolution

Chairman Mao believed that only a permanent state of revolution would keep the Communist Party healthy through constant renewal of its ideology.* Guardiola – who, I hasten to add, bears little resemblance to a Communist dictator outside of certain rhetorical flourishes – believes in continual evolution. That’s why he keeps tinkering with what some might see as too good a thing to mess with, and doing it every season. It’s a risky approach to management, and leaves him open to accusations of egotism and control-freakery, but it’s easy to see why he might think of it as necessary. The newer players come in hungry for success, and provide a timely jolt to any of the old guard who might be thinking of letting up on the intensity.

With that in mind, let’s examine how Pep and co. have shuffled the pack this time around.

Transfers

In: Alexis Sanchez (Udinese), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Thiago Alcantara (Barca B), Andreu Fontas (Barca B)

Out: Bojan Krkic, Jeffren, Gabriel Milito

The three departing players racked up less than 70 games between then for Barca last season, and most of those as substitutes. In other words, unlike previous seasons under Guardiola this off-season has not seen a significant departure which is likely to affect the way the team plays.

However, there have been some significant additions, both from the cantera and the transfer market. The lack of defensive cover being sought in the market is evidence enough for the faith Guardiola is playing in young Fontas, who some are calling the next Pique. Whether or not he can live up to such promise remains to be seen.

Even greater hopes have been placed on the shoulders of Thiago. Guardiola has shown a determination to nurture the undoubtedly talented midfielder, rather than throw him in at the deep end. So expect him to get decent playing time, but he won’t be used as Xavi’s heir quite yet.

Then there are the two high-profile arrivals. Both Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas embody the two somewhat paradoxical requirements Guardiola set for signings: one, to be able to fit seamlessly into the Barca system; and two, to bring a new verticality that the current system sometimes lacks. Although both players will undoubtedly need some time to bed in, the early signs are quite promising.

Areas of Concern

One of the main challenges of the coming season will be the maintenance of physical fitness and mental sharpness over the course of a very intense schedule, due to the twin demands of the additional games European champions are obliged to play and a shortened club season to accommodate Euro 2012. Guardiola has attempted to address this issue by adding to his squad, but it is still quite small compared to other European clubs with comparable calendars. Plus, Barca’s brand of football is notoriously demanding on fitness levels. It will be interesting to see how long they can maintain a high level of intensity, especially given the somewhat chaotic nature of their pre-season.

The other main area of concern for many fans is the defence. As I mentioned above, for whatever reason, Barca are not looking for a defender to sign, even though Milito left and the injury problems of last season hit the defence the hardest. I recognise that it’s difficult to find defenders who can slot seamlessly into the system, but I still wish they’d make an attempt. The squad is notably short at centerback, relying on the versatility of players like Abidal, Busquets and Mascherano to see Barca through a long season.

Five Things to Look Out For

February slump: Guardiola’s staff have done amazing things for the fitness of the squad, but one of the persistent drawbacks is a notable slump in form in February. Worryingly, last season this slump lasted far too long. It’ll be interesting to see what shape the team are in come March.

Rotation: although he’s not known for it any more, Guardiola’s first season was marked by baffling line-ups that worked out more often than not. Now that he has more options, watch for him to return to his old rotating tendencies on a bigger scale.

Guardiola’s contract: Ah, the one year extensions. Given his ominous statements over the past year, some have doubted whether or not Guardiola will sign to extend his contract again. Look for a press feeding frenzy if he hasn’t done so by February.

Political relations: last season saw slight tension between Guardiola and president Sandro Rosell on a few issues, and while the disagreements were never public, Guardiola made it clear he expected stronger institutional support when the club ran into controversy. Watch this space.

The numbers game: one of the striking features of Guardiola’s reign as manager so far is that the forward line has changed significantly every season, the ‘main’ (in reality supporting) striker going from Eto’o to Ibrahimovic to David Villa. The latter had a solid first season, but I think I speak for many Cules when I say that we’re hoping for better numbers this time around. Last season there were times when Villa and Pedro’s faltering form put too much of the goal-scoring burden on Leo Messi. While Messi has never failed to rise to a challenge in the blaugrana colours, he cannot be the answer to every question. The other strikers need to be more consistent while maintaining their excellent work rate.

General Outlook

Barca have to hit the ground running, given that their demanding Spanish Super Cup ties against Real Madrid are followed by the European Super Cup game against Porto and they play Malaga, Villarreal, Valencia and Atletico Madrid within the opening 6 rounds of the league campaign. Any slip-ups will surely be seized upon by a strengthened Real Madrid, and as always it never pays to underestimate the rest of the chasing pack either.

*Yes, I know the idea of a permanent revolution is more strongly associated with Trotsky. Mao is mentioned here because his version was the one I grew up hearing about. Also, this is the weirdest footnote I’ve ever written to a football post.

Many thanks to Linda for this insightful preview of a subject with many facets. If you wish to read more then visit her blog The Beautiful Game, as well as contributions to Barcelona Football Blog. Twitter your thing? Then follow away the lady in question here.

Tags: Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona Season Preview, Cesc Fabregas, Josep Guardiola