Josep Maria Bartomeu is a man under siege. Having taken the reigns from Sandro Rosell on January 23rd 2014, things have gotten pretty thick for the head honcho at Barcelona. The pendulum has swung and Barcelona is quickly losing its charisma. The same charisma it used to stride with on the European football terrain.
Neymar saga
So, why is it widely believed that the 57-year old is just moments away from a panolada. The waving of white handkerchiefs at Camp Nou is dreadful and embarrassing. Allowing Neymar to leave for Paris Saint Germain didn’t go down well with the Blaugrana faithful. Of course who would have wanted to come up against the MSN attacking trident. But, they allowed that that to pass. It is the failure to get him back last summer despite the incessant pleas of the Brazilian superstar to come back, that drew the real ire of the supporters. He even offered to pay 20% of his transfer fees. Why would anyone overlook a chance to get a replacement for Lionel Messi who is on the homestretch of his glorious career? Any takers?
Poor transfer policies
Then in comes the issue of expensive failed transfers. Bartomeu made a killing from Neymar move. A classic Jeff Bezos. But the proceeds, sadly, have failed to live up to the expectations. Phillippe Coutinho, Aleix Vidal, Ousmane Dembele, Boateng (my God) and I am tempted to add Antoinne Griezmann to this list. Why would such world class players at their former clubs fail to replicate their performance at Europe’s biggest stadium? Barca have struggled to replace their golden era players: Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez and Andreas Iniesta. What makes you think they will do a better job in replacing the Argentine stalwart in 2,3 years? Which begs the question, is it the system, is it the coaches?
Death of the Johan Cruyff football
Bartomeu has worked with 3 coaches, 2 of which never played to the philosophy of the club. Because folks you see at Barcelona, it is not always about the trophies but what kind of football you play. Explains why Pep was such a darling in the Barcelona streets. They call it mes que un club (more than a club). Luis Enrique can be pardoned because at least his methods worked. But what about the disjointed second leg performances at Roma and Liverpool that his successor faced? Valverde employed a defensive approach which delivered on good days and failed on days that results were needed most. And Bartomeu still came out to defend him before bowing to pressure after the Spanish Super Cup. Shameless. I won’t really want to rope in Quique Setien into this conversation. I will shield him under the pretext of he still hasn’t gotten his foot on the pedal to be judged plus how do you expect someone to perform with just 16 senior players? There is a wide belief that he is the guy to bring back the Johan Cruyff football back to Camp Nou.
La Masia Academy
Talking of senior players, when was the last time you heard of a successful graduate from La Masia? La Masia used to be an academy to reckon with. That is if we choose to ignore the services Southampton has religiously given Liverpool over the years. Carles Alena, Alex Collado, Rique Puig and Asumanne Fati are hanging on the whims of a breakthrough, showing glimpses of talent but no structure to let them up. Why? Cause their boss prefers to bring in overrated…never mind.
Boardroom squabbles
One also can’t help but wonder how Eric Abidal was allowed to go on record and viciously accuse the players for not giving their all provoking a response from the ever silent Messi. What about the accusations and subsequent ramifications of hiring the 13 Venture social media company to work up the image of Bartomeu and at the same time smear its senior players in bad light?
What next Barcelona?
Listen, I am not preempting anything. Elections are due next year. Before that Napoli would probably be waiting if UEFA gives a go ahead for the conclusion of the Champions League. Need I say Napoli is the only team to beat European champions Liverpool twice in as many years? Need I remind you they have eliminated Lazio and Inter Milan from Coppa Italia and beaten Italy’s finest Juventus? Tell me they won’t be relishing a chance to pile further misery on Barca. Tell me Bartomeu won’t be forced to take a bow if Napoli does the unthinkable. They have the greek god Manolas remember.
Let’s face it, Bartomeu is sabotaging Barcelona. Not the coaches, not the players. From where I stand, Barcelona is a club trying to re-inflate its diminished ego.
It is just a matter of when, not if.
THE TOUCHLINE 