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Time and again, Ernesto Valverde has been criticized by fans and pundits alike for his lack of flexibility whilst at the helm of affairs at the Camp Nou. Barcelona, for some time, have been on the end of tremendous assaults by opposition teams who go all out in their approach of playing football.
The Blaugrana have been found a rudderless ship, sailing into oblivion, confused as to what the next step should be when things are not going their way.
And, at the eye of the storm is ‘Valverdian Conservatism’.
Last night, Barcelona started the youngest midfield seen in recent years, with Carles Alena, Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto lining up in midfield at San Mames - a decision that initially went down well with the fans, for Valverde stuck to Busquets and Rakitic for the entirety of last season, despite both of them being sub-par in several games over a period of time.
As the fans waited for the beginning of a new era, Valverde’s plans failed miserably. None among Alena, de Jong and Roberto had a good day, with all three being indecisive. While they had their individual moments of brilliance, they failed as a unit, playing harmless square passes across the pitch as Athletic Bilbao maintained a strict shape throughout the game.
As Athletic cut down Barcelona’s famed midfield supply chain, they bombed forward in confidence trying to press high and force them into making mistakes.
Any coach who had the pace of Ousmane Dembele, Rafinha and Antoine Griezmann at his disposal, would probably have tried to counter Bilbao on the break. But not Ernesto Valverde.
He subbed off Alena, brought on Rakitic, and played Griezmann at centre-forward, where he looked like a headless chicken running around with no purpose.
The tactical changes brought back the memories from Anfield last season, where despite having a 3-0 lead in the first leg, Valverde’s Barcelona chose to sit back and defend.
The result? A 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool, their greatest ever European victory at their home stadium.
Don’t get me wrong, Valverde’s rigidness saved Barcelona several times in the LaLiga last season, but it has failed time and again against teams that have had nothing to lose; 3-0 against Juventus, 3-0 against Roma, and 4-0 drubbing against Liverpool are apt examples of the same.
The conservatism does not only restrict itself to the selections of players, with Rakitic and Busquets starting in the midfield trio, but goes further in terms of the formation of an overall strategy. Valverde maintains one shape throughout the game, waiting for the opposition to buckle under pressure.
The formation is so rigid that every time the opponent presses high or maintains a sturdy structure in defense, Valverde looks like a fish out of water, gasping for some sort of sorcery from the little magician to bail him out for the nth time in his career at Barcelona.
Case in point, the match against Villareal (4-4) last season, when Barcelona came back from a 4-2 deficit to steal a draw in the final minute of the game.
The game-changing substitution - Lionel Messi for Philippe Coutinho in the 61st minute.
Despite the results, Valverde seems to have found a cushion in his 4-3-3 (which invariably changes to 4-4-2 in crunch situations) where the players adapt to a system that is built around Lionel Messi.
While there is nothing wrong with it, it results in a world-class talent like Philippe Coutinho playing out of position and destroying his one and a half year tenure in a club.
It is surely commendable that Barcelona under his tutelage have tried to move away from 'Tiki-Taka' and tried a different brand of football, but taking away an established identity and replacing it with a half-baked one has its consequences.
The talent pool that Valverde has in the likes of Alena, Arthur, Griezmann, Dembele, Rafinha and de Jong is not suited to play a game that puts the opposition and the viewer to sleep. Barcelona did not pay over €200 million in the transfer window to mold the players into a system that is obviously not suited for this team.
It could have been done with academy products like Riqui Puig, and Abel Ruiz among others who are trying to break into the squad.
It is high time that Valverde adapts to his team and not the other way around, or 2019 could finally be the end for Valverde and his conservatism.
