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Barcelona‘s FIFA Club World Cup tie against Qatari side Al-Sadd, which ended in a 4-0 victory for the Catalonians, was overshadowed by a horrific injury to Spanish striker David Villa who was stretchered off in the 36th minute of play having broken his left tibia. He now faces a period of four to five months on the sidelines, and as a result, will miss most of the latter part of the season, and is battling to be fit for Spain, in time for the UEFA European Championship 2012, which commences in June.
The injury affects no one more than Villa himself, but the effects of an injury of this nature, on his club and club-mates cannot be ignored. Villa hasn’t been in the best of form this season, and Pep Guardiola has preferred Alexis or Fabregas to him in several games this season. But David Villa remains a brilliant striker, and his form isn’t remotely Torres-esque in nature. His influence on a team which won the UEFA Champions League and the La Liga last season, is undeniable. Even though he isn’t playing to his best, and has occupied the bench a fair number of games, he has managed 9 goals and 2 assists from 17 starts. It would be naïve to declare Villa’s status as merely that of a substitute for the club, but his role has diminished, undeniably after Alexis and Cesc’s arrival in the summer.
So in actuality, how badly does Villa’s absence affect Barcelona’s season? Last year, Barcelona were short of cover in attack, and the only viable substitutes for the front three of Villa, Messi and Pedro were Bojan, Jeffren and Ibrahim Afellay. Barcelona are in a far better condition, and this is the time their summer investments are going to pay dividends. Injury has constantly affected Barcelona this season – Puyol, Pique, Pedro, Iniesta, Fabregas, and Alexis have all been on the treatment table some time or the other this season, and while this has affected their campaign at times, their predicament would have been far more gloomy, had they been without backup. This season they have Messi, Pedro, Afellay, and the summer additions of Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez to rely on. And the conveyor belt that is the FCB youth team continue to produce the best talent, and most of them seem to step up to the senior squad without a hiccup, case in point, Thiago and Isaac Cuenca, who’ve become mainstays of the side. Talent such as Kiko Femenia and Gerard Deulofeu continue to wait out in the wings and will be unleashed as and when required.
But, another established forward in the ranks would harm no one, and it would be prudent to invest in one. It would border on foolishness to rely purely on young players, no matter how capable, in case one of the first team players were to succumb to injury. It will be difficult for them to cope without Messi, or Alexis, now that Villa is out. Barcelona Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta remains coy about his willingness to spend in the January transfer window. It would in the best interest of the club management if Guardiola refrained from spending on a striker in January, because all transfer prices tend to be over-inflated mid-season (£35 million for Andy Carroll, anyone?). Established strikers like Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov, Alexandre Pato, and Lukas Podolski (maybe Fernando Torres, for a cut-price £20 million?) are deemed to be available for purchase in the window, and these are the players that may interest Barcelona if they delve into it. But, at this juncture, it’s something which seems highly unlikely. And the fact is, the squad now seems capable of handling Villa’s absence.
Hello, Mr. Del Bosque? Yes, its Roberto….
Which brings us to the David Villa sized problem for the Spanish national team, who may be without their star striker for Euro 2012. Reports suggest he should be fit by the time the tournament commences, but whether Vicente Del Bosque risks taking a striker who’ll have missed five months of action prior to the tournament remains to be seen. It seems highly unlikely that Villa won’t make the trip to Poland-Ukraine if fit, because there are few in the Spanish side who seem to be able to step up to the mantle.
But if he does not, Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), is someone who seems to have the coach convinced about his abilities. And with good reason, having scored 5 goals in 7 appearances for Spain. In Del Bosque’s mind, he will be the most obvious replacement in case Villa’s absence. This is not something you’d say when a striker of Fernando Torres’ calibre is available, but his performances for both club and country, over the past year have been appalling in the least, and he seems highly unlikely to make it through to the first team. Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao) is another good striker, but his qualities seem unsuited to the Spanish team’s tiki-taka style of play. Calls for Roberto Soldado in the Spain team may finally be heard. He’s scored 42 goals over the last two and a half seasons, and has been thriving after Villa left Valencia. Purely on the basis of club form, Soldado seems to be the ideal replacement, but Del Bosque coached him as a youngster at Real Madrid, and seems highly unsure of his quality, but this situation may force him to give the Valencia hitman a chance.
