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Barcelona started the 2019-20 season on the worst possible note, tasting defeat against Athletic Bilbao on Friday evening in the LaLiga. The Catalan giants had a mixed preseason but very few expected their season proper to begin this way.
Despite spending a lot of money in the summer transfer window, the club appears to be no better than it was last season. Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong were signed for big money, but neither made headlines in the game against Bilbao.
In the absence of the talismanic Lionel Messi Barcelona laboured to create opportunities, with Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele and Griezmann all lacking potency upfront. This has become an all too familiar story when the Argentine magician is not around.
There is still a long way to go in the season but on the evidence of Barca’s performance on Friday, it is obvious that the Blaugrana are far from the top European side that they used to be.
Here are 3 things Barcelona must do to become a European powerhouse again:
#3 Sack Ernesto Valverde
The first step to getting the Barcelona of old back is to sack manager Ernesto Valverde. The case of the Spanish manager is very tricky, but he has so far proven that there's something amiss in his managerial style.
Although he has led Barcelona to the LaLiga title in each of his two seasons in charge, the club’s performance in Europe has been sub-par. The 3-0 collapse at AS Roma two seasons ago was largely thought to be a fluke, but what happened at Anfied last season was further proof that Valverde struggles to hold his own when the stakes are high.
It is one thing to lose a game, but it is entirely another to lose, twice, after taking commanding leads. The only positive thing the former Athletic Bilbao manager can point to is domestic success, but Barcelona deserve better than that.
Add to that the fact that Barca’s football under him has been languid and uninspiring, and it raises serious questions about his suitability. The Catalans should be challenging in Europe each year, but Valverde is not the man to help them do that.
#2 Find Messi’s long-term replacement immediately
At this point it is no longer a secret that Barcelona is overly reliant on Lionel Messi. Calling them a one-man team is perhaps not an exaggeration after all; without their captain, the Blaugrana are simply an ordinary team.
In spite of the talent spread across this Barca team, Messi has always been the catalyst that spurs the rest of the team on. In fact, the Spanish giants haven’t won any of their last six games (across competitions) when Messi has been out of the side. Four defeats, a loss and another draw are all they have to show in Messi’s absence.
Maybe the club’s board never thought such a day would come, but now is the time to find Messi’s long-term replacement. The Argentine is aging – he is currently 32 – and is bound to see his performances wane or be blighted by injuries as he enters the final stages of his career.
Whether it is Neymar or Kylian Mbappe that the club is considering, it is clear that Barca need Messi’s long-term replacement and fast, if they want to challenge in Europe once again.
#1 Build a team rather than try to buy one
Barcelona have gradually ditched everything that emphasized their ‘mes que un club’ moniker. The Catalans have gradually moved from a side that builds to a side that buys, and such a policy is not serving them well.
In the last two years, Barca have made some questionable purchases and thrown around huge sums that they were previously not known for. Instead of developing players from the youth setup, the club now prefers to spend huge sums in bringing in foreign talent.
The likes of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho – who has been loaned to Bayern Munich – and Antoine Griezmann all cost well over €100 million, while the young Frankie de Jong was also brought in from Ajax in a big money move.
Instead of building a team, Barca are currently trying to buy one, and that is not the Barca way. In order to compete in Europe once again, the club must first go back to the policy that served them well between 2008 and 2015 – giving players from La Masia the chance and building from scratch.
