"Wobbly Wobbly". A case study into Barcelona's Ongoing Defensive Uncertainties.

By Adetayo Adebayo


It would seem these are tough times in Catalunya. The spanish giants, Barcelona have been the subject of declining fortunes ever since their ousting at the hands of German champions Bayern Munich. They've been mocked, abused, disregarded and have recently, though in a friendly, suffered yet another defeat to Bayern Munich making it three straight losses, 9 goals conceded and 0 goals scored against the German outfit. Even the magical, "out of this planet", Barcelona superhero Lionel Messi hasn't quite found his feet against this illustrious opponent.



Well, this publication isn't to join the mockery or the general consensus quite popular in the streets of Madrid to speak of Barcelona's demise as the world's dominant force in club football, NO. It's more concerned with a particular section of the team which I have observed has been begging desperately for added quality for quite some time. Barcelona's DEFENCE!...





When Pep Guardiola came into the helms of power in 2008, he came in with a philosophy. A philosophy so named tiki-taka, which had already been existing in the club's system but hadn't quite shown it's full effect and brutality in the larger scale side of the footballing world. With players like Iniesta, Xavi and of course mighty Argentine, Lionel Messi, he was able to build a spine for a footballing system that basically retained the ball and tossed it around with relative ease, causing their opponents to run in triangles, get frustrated, just give up chasing and of course receive some battering. This philosophy required very little in defensive duties for the Barcelona teams as they had possession for most of their games and their high pressing style left the opposition with little opportunity to create chances and really test Barcelona's defence. With those circumstances, a lot of the club's defenders present in those initial stages of Guardiola's reign like Marquez and Milito were sold without any replacements coming in.




But, oh yes there's a BUT, last season most especially, Barcelona felt the effect of having a side that is bereft defensively. Despite winning the Liga, the team conceded a lot of goals. Usually going on streaks without keeping clean sheets with most of these goals bordered on silly mistakes that generally exposed the flaws of General Gerard Pique and the ageing Puyol, who spent most of the season in the hospital or rehabilitation centre or... well, who knows, he just was never available. Infact, Mascherano who is a defensive midfielder but has been reprised in the central defence role was their best defender in the just concluded season. That fact alone is horrendous to say the least. Barcelona had put themselves in this situation as they had continually refused to pay any attention to their ageing, ailing defenders. The players who were their actual defenders namely Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta (by virtue of their retaining possession of course) have not been able to hold on to the ball and press as much as they used to and other teams now had the opportunity to test their defence. A test that tragically permitted a storm of goals in Barcelona's post.




Barcelona have since recognized this problem and have already shown significant interest in a couple of defenders in this transfer window but still the club hasn't been able to sign one defender (which I actually feel would not be enough. Personally, had I been the manager, I'd sign 5, yes 5 and don't ask me why). Thiago Silva a target of the club favoured by the recently resigned Vilanova has been ruled out due to PSG's high hand and strong stance regarding the player. Other players such as David Luiz and Daniel Agger have also been linked to the club but haven't been pursued with much optimism from the club. Barcelona's crippling financial issues haven't aided the situation as they've had to rely on player sales to fund some of their recent transfers. The way it seems at the moment, despite the club's insistence that they need reinforcements in defence, their recent inactivity has caused growing concerns over the possibility of new additions in the defensive positions.




It would seem the continual term to describe Barcelona's backline this season would be "Wobbly Wobbly" unless something drastic is done before the summer window closes. Any defender right now (of course better than Puyol and Pique) would be crucial to Barcelona's chances and overall performance this season and a signing or more has to be made before the window runs out.




Despite all this trouble, Barcelona can still count on fans favourite Lionel "el puga atomica" Messi and recently acquired Brazilian superstar Neymar to offer some tasty football in the coming season. We all can't wait. 
"Wobbly Wobbly". A case study into Barcelona's Ongoing Defensive Uncertainties. "Wobbly Wobbly". A case study into Barcelona's Ongoing Defensive Uncertainties. Reviewed by Unknown on 10:27 Rating: 5

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