With Barcelona beating Sporting Gijon 6-1 at the Camp Nou, the captions for the morning newspapers were all ready, with the finishing touches awaited. But, for once, Luis Enrique changed the tide of things. At the end of another one of his press conferences where he said all the right things, he dropped the hat like he never did.
"I won’t be at Barcelona next season,” said Luis Enrique in his post-match press conference. “I need to rest. I would like to thank the club for the confidence they have shown in me. It’s been three unforgettable years. It’s a very difficult decision for me, one I’ve thought about a lot, but I think I need to be true to myself and fair to my way of thinking.”
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Undoubtedly he has been a successful manager, he has won eight titles in his three years at the club, which includes two La Liga titles and a Champions League, which by no means can be laughed off as your regular fat waiter. But, there seemed to be always the slight doubt, that it was not him, it was his players. There was always those who whispered silently after each set-back, and since then (especially after PSG) have become loud and thunderous.
So without further ado (just like Luis Enrique), we look at reasons why, in the long run, it is te right decision for Barcelona.
#1 Poor planning and tactical ineptitude
Barcelona started the season with Gerard Pique, Jeremy Mathieu, Marc Bartra and Thomas Vermaelen as the center-backs in the team. So he got Samuel Umtiti, and let Thomas go on loan and sold Marc. Not only that, he had Sergi Roberto as the only backup for Alexis Vidal and we all know how that worked out.
Paris Saint-Germain was a different story altogether, his insistence to play with one defensive midfielder almost always saw Umtiti, Pique and Busquets three on three against Julian Draxler, Angel di Maria and Edinson Cavani, something the trio still having nightmares about.
In his three years at Barcelona, he has not once changed his 4-3-3 formation. He played with Andre Gomes at the base of midfield when Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano out injured, without any protection beside him, and an aging Iniesta in the same midfield. Firing on all guns is something, being naïve is another.
Luis was often guilty of the latter.
#2 Lionel Messi’s contract situation
Okay, so before going through with this, I will like to admit that this is a gray area at best. Lionel Messi’s contract situation has been up for discussion for the last six months, and there are quite a few rumors around it.
One bright and popular one was, Messi's stalling of his contract was due to Luis Enrique. It’s undoubtedly the manager’s job to convince his most favorite to convince his star player to stay at the club.
This is, of course, taking for granted that the Barcelona board are ready to meet his financial conditions, and given the fact he is LIONEL MESSI, I suspect they are much more than just are.
So that leaves things for footballing reasons, and that is not good for Luis. He has been rumored to be unhappy with the team’s tactics (expected) and the signings he made this summer (which we will get to later). ‘When in Barcelona, do as Lionel Messi says’.
#3 Poor signings in the last three
Ahh, finally. Apart from Luis Suarez, this is the list of Luis Enrique’s signings for Barcelona.
Ivan Rakitic, Douglas, Claudio Bravo, Marc-André ter Stegen, Jérémy Mathieu, Aleix Vidal, Arda Turan, Denis Suárez, Jasper Cillessen, Lucas Digne, Samuel Umtiti, Paco Alcácer and André Gomes. Only Umtiti and ter Stegen can puff their chest out and say that they are the undisputed first choice in their positions.
Given that Barcelona defence somehow looks worse than it did when he took over is something of an art in itself. The starting lineup against PSG in the first leg of their Champions League tie in itself had 6 players over the age of 27, and even more worryingly for Barcelona, they are Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Andreas Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique.
That, in short, is the core of players that has won Barcelona their last treble. Chink in the famous armor?
#4 Disappearance of the ‘Barcelona way’
When Pep Guardiola left Barcelona, he left a clear brand of football which was then being called the ‘Barcelona’ way. They played in short passes, kept possession and hunted their opponents like hungry dogs.
Since he has left, they have kept the possession aspect of things, but almost everything else has disintegrated of sorts. Under Luis Enrique, the only thing which was done enough to call it a ‘style’ is how soon they got the ball to the trio of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, and Neymar.
Given, they have those three players in the team, it isn’t a bad tactic by any stretch of the imagination. But the ethos upon which the famous club was brought up was the collective, rather than the individual.
In the game against Leganes, they fielded 10 non-Spanish players, something they never did in during their whole La Liga history. That is a perfect representation of the change at Barcelona in the last three years.
#5 No faith in La Masia graduates
I never thought I would be writing this for a Barcelona manager. But, Luis Enrique being an ex-Barcelona player would be very familiar with the ethos of the club.
But since his arrival, none of the La Masia graduates have truly established themselves in the first team. Admittedly, Rafinha and Sergi Roberto have had played important roles, but that seemed to be out of necessity rather than intention.
These are the list of players who have been promoted from the academy during his spell - Denis Suárez, Jordi Masip, Adama Traoré, Alen Halilovic, Munir El Haddadi, Sandro Ramírez and Sergi Samper. None of them have been given a regular run in the team, Denis was even sold and then bought back.
Ex- Barcelona president Joan Laporta speaking to Sporkseeda said, "The Barça model from 2003 to 2010 was 'More than a Club in the World' which was based on the Cruyff (game style), La Masía (majority of home players), Catalunya (Catalan club open to the world), UNICEF (Pioneer in corporate social responsibility of football clubs) and an organization who professionalised in the management of the club. Barcelona from 2010 to 2016 has so far taken advantage of the sports model and the majority of the inherited players, La Masia has been neglected”
There you have it, folks. Proof enough for Luis Enrique to finally vacate the seat.
Know more reasons why Luis Enrique is right to step down? Or do you think he should have stayed on? Send me your thougts on [email protected] or Tweet it to me @soumalyamoitra7.
