The Lionel Messi Barcelona sticking plaster, managerial disasters and Catalan OAP club behind slip into the abyss
Messi #Messi
It was the kind of result that leaves you slack-jawed and astonished but Barcelona’s 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final was no surprise to anyone watching the first 20 minutes.
The Catalan side’s defence was ripped asunder time and again as the pace and power of Bayern’s forward line left them hopelessly vulnerable.
Having lost the league to bitter rivals Real Madrid after building up a decent and now this meek surrender, questions will be asked over the direction of not just the team but the entire club.
In truth, the inquest may come a year too late. – or perhaps even longer.
Many of the frailties so cruelly exposed last night were clear in their 4-0 defeat at Anfield in the semi-final last year.
That should have been the point for reflection and discussion over the way forward.
While the presence of the best player of his generation, and some would say of all time, in Leo Messi is a blessing to the club it is also footballs most effective sticking plaster that has allowed the myriad problems go untackled.
And not even the Argentine genius could come up with a solution last night though as Robert Lewandowski and Co. ran riot.
Here are five reasons for Barcelona ‘s fall from grace.
Expensive and ineffective recruitment 
Barcelona spent more than £350million on three players, two of whom started from the bench on Friday – with the other scoring twice for Bayern. That £105million record signing Philippe Coutinho could be out on loan at all speaks volumes for Barcelona’s rudderless recruitment. That the Brazil playmaker could climb off the Bayern bench and score twice against his parent club underscores major issues behind the Barca scenes. Antoine Griezmann came off the bench at half-time for Barcelona, but the France forward has been unable to find his niche with the Catalans. Ousmane Dembele was back on the bench after nine months of injuries, but remained unused.
Mishandling Lionel Messi
Argentina forward Messi has long since etched his name into every all-time football annal going, and yet Barcelona are now wasting his generational talent. It is five years since Barca and Messi last won the Champions League and, at 33, the diminutive star could now genuinely consider his future at the club. Barcelona have failed to provide Messi with the support sufficient for him to continue to dazzle defences – but the Catalans have also dipped into far too great a deferential stance with him too. Boss Quique Setien and midfielder Arturo Vidal insisted before the Bayern match that Messi remains the world’s best, despite Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski firing 53 goals in a stunning campaign. For this season at least it is clear Lewandowski has outperformed Messi. But no one at Barcelona is able to say that without causing too great a stir. Not provided with the tools for enough power on the pitch then, but with too much power off it, Barca have paid the price for mishandling one of the game’s very best.
Managerial mis-steps
Quique Setien’s tenure outlines Barcelona’s board-room problems and shows the need for a much clearer overall vision. The former Real Betis boss only succeeded Ernesto Valverde in January, but his position is now hanging by a thread just seven months later after the humiliating hammering by Bayern. Valverde mustered three years before Setien, but only four trophies and none of them European. For Barca there will never be another Pep Guardiola, and there are only so many former playing stars with the pedigree to take the managerial reins. Whoever takes control next will require far greater boardroom support to succeed.
An ageing side
Messi is 33, Pique and Suarez are the same, Busquets is 32 while Alba is 31. While many of the players in the squad are renowned names, almost all are well past their peak. The squad lacks power and pace in key areas and the blend of the first XI is weighted heavily towards men in their thirties. The average age of their side last night was 29 and 329 days, the oldest they have ever fielded for a Champions League match. The big question for the club now comes from their famed La Masia academy. Has the talent dried up, or has the inability to move legends on stumped kids’ growth?
Defensive woes
Barcelona lost 38 goals in the Spanish league last season, the same record as 11th place Atletico Bilbao. Full-backs Sergi Roberto is a converted midfielder, Nelson Semedo is primarily an attacking force while Jordi Alba shows serious decline. In central defence, the picture is even worse and Gerard Pique is a seriously diminished presense. He has been a top defender for many years but his decline in mobility and pace is obvious and was cruelly exposed. He must be credited for facing up to the press after the game and even admitted he would be happy to leave to make way for the new blood the club so desperately needs.
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