5 things we learnt from Barcelona’s pre-season tour

#1 Messidependencia

Whenever the team is in a spot, they look towards Messi – and rightly so

While the 2013/14 season is oft referred to as ‘Messidependencia’, it is almost alarming to see that even today with the plethora of options that Barcelona have in their ranks, they are ever so reliant on the genius of the diminutive Argentine.

I would forgive anyone for being dependent on Messi – arguably one of the greatest exponents of the game – but with a team that has lacked identity in recent times, and one not on the same level as their predecessors, the over reliance on Messi has come to haunt the Camp Nou outfit – a prime example of this was the second leg against Juventus in the quarter-final of the Champions League, when the 30-year-old didn’t have the best of games and was missing his shooting boots.

While depending on arguably the best player in the world is not all that bad, it is the overdependence and the lack of a plan B that has been catastrophic for Barcelona. Whenever the team is in a spot, they look towards Messi – and rightly so – hoping he will spew magic with that left-foot of his but it cannot happen always, after all, he is also a mere mortal.