Y'Know What Lamine??: Barca 2023-24

[Zososoxfan]

I just finished a loooooong post about the Barca-Spurs preseason match in the Spurs thread and now I'll do the Barca side of the coin.

The good. MATS still looks terrific. Made some outstanding saves, and didn't have much of a chance on either Spurs goal. Balde still looks so good. I think what's most impressive is how well he understands his role in the system at such a young age. He can certainly do more but he's learning to only take the best risks and that's very hard for young players. Araujo is a bawse and is legitimately capable of playing RB. That said, I'd much rather have him in the middle. He came off after a sprint early, but hopefully that was just precautionary. FDJ was everywhere and doing his usual thing of carrying the ball for miles. He missed Raph a couple of times in the first half, but still looks primed for a great season. Pedri is already a world class MF and he's 20 years old--not sure what else needs to be said. Lewa is a legend, again not much more needs to be said.

The so-so. Erik had a very very good game, but he was rash in several tackles and was part of the CB combo that conceded 2 goals. Romeu was pretty good overall but a bit too anonymous to standout as purely good. I do think Spurs will surprise people in how they perform this season, but Romeu and the MF need to be able to dominate the middle of the pitch if they're going to do big things this season. Gavi was quiet but did help settle possession in the middle and might've participated in the buildup leading to the first goal (going from memory and not looking it up). Raph was overall very very good, but he missed a sitter in the box, and with the competition for his spot that can't happen.

The bad. I'm a huge Kounde fan but this was one of the worst Barca performances I've seen from him. Perhaps this was a byproduct of being partnered with Erik, but like I said above Erik had a pretty good game. He wasn't consistently good against the press and I thought his defending was suspect.

Subs: Lamine, Ferran, Abde, Ansu. All 4 of these guys played very fucking well, and that's a huge boost of confidence going into the season. All 4 showed that they should be in consideration for a starting spot in the XI, and right now I'd probably put one of them in over Gavi at LW. I do like Ferran doing the running and getting in front of the goal in the middle. Lamine needs to get minutes, but likely not as a starter. Ansu probably gets the first chance over Abde, but I don't think Raph is going to get a lot of rope if he doesn't score early, and Abde should get real minutes right from the jump. My XI for G1 and backups in the parentheses:

Ansu (Abde)-Lewa (Ferran)-Raph (Lamine)
Pedri (Gavi)-Romeu (FDJ, Gundo?)-FDJ (Gundo)
Balde (Alonso)-Christensen (Erik)-Araujo (Kounde)-Kounde (Roberto)
MATS (Pena)

It is a bit disappointing that Barca didn't shore up RB, but if Dembele goes to PSG as expected (GBP42M) and Kessie gets sold ((E)15M), then Cancelo might be a real option. The problem there is the remaining wages owed (4 years, GBP50M (!!)), at a rate of GBP13M/season (250K/week). I'm thinking a loan with option to buy of ~GBP35M gets it done? I have no idea whether this will work with La Liga financial rules, even with those outgoings. I don't know if Kounde is still rumored to be leaving, but at this late stage I doubt it.

Visca Barca!!

 

[rguilmar]

Nice summary! It looks like Barca only have 13 players registered right now, or at least as of yesterday. It’s hard to decipher what the issue is, but apparently some of the money for the Barca Studios lever hasn’t been received and the club can’t financially register players until something changes (even the sale of Dembele would solve the problem). The 13 includes both Dembele and Kessie. It’s normal for clubs in La Liga to be having difficulty registering players, but this is a little more extreme.

Does the club still rate Ansu over Abde? Given the relative durability of Abde I would pencil him in for some starts. But I’m very biased because I love watching the kid play.

For RB, I know that Cancelo has been strongly linked, but Ivan Fresneda at Valladolid is another player that Barcelona seem to be targeting. He is much more affordable, is a good fit for Xavi’s system, and is much younger. He is very strong defensively and is more of a stay-at-home fullback.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Nice summary! It looks like Barca only have 13 players registered right now, or at least as of yesterday. It’s hard to decipher what the issue is, but apparently some of the money for the Barca Studios lever hasn’t been received and the club can’t financially register players until something changes (even the sale of Dembele would solve the problem). The 13 includes both Dembele and Kessie. It’s normal for clubs in La Liga to be having difficulty registering players, but this is a little more extreme.

Does the club still rate Ansu over Abde? Given the relative durability of Abde I would pencil him in for some starts. But I’m very biased because I love watching the kid play.

For RB, I know that Cancelo has been strongly linked, but Ivan Fresneda at Valladolid is another player that Barcelona seem to be targeting. He is much more affordable, is a good fit for Xavi’s system, and is much younger. He is very strong defensively and is more of a stay-at-home fullback.

La Liga really does have some dumb rules that makes registering players in the first month of the season unecessarily difficult. While I know this isn't specific to Barca, I trust that you know this stuff better than me and Barca's problems are more serious than the rest. I remember Kounde missed the first handful of games last season, and on the broadcast yesterday the announcers said that Gundogan has a clause in his contract that if he's not registered and on the squad for game 1, he can leave on a free!

 

[rguilmar]

The Athletic had an article up today about the issues for Barca when registering players, which is now down to only 12 registered players including Dembele who has two feet in Paris. This does not include Balde and Lamine, both who can play under their youth contracts.

Just to summarize, two separate payments of €30 million for stakes in Barca Studios were not received in June. The result was that Barca lost €60 million off their maximum wages. This is something that the club apparently agreed to as they searched for new partners. New partners have been found, so the club is racing to get everyone registered in time for the game on Sunday. This includes new players and existing players signed to new contracts.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Barca announced that Deco is going to take over as Sporting Director for Jordi Cruyff who left earlier this summer (IIRC). This is noteworthy because Deco was already the DOF, which he took over from Alemany (who went to join Count Dracula at Villa). That's a lot of responsibility and authority in one person. I don't know Deco's track record, but man, that's like BB Coach/GM almost, but more akin to President/GM. Possibly my favorite part of this story is that Deco will resign as an agent in order to take the SD title, which implies he may have still been operating as an agent and DOF simultaneously [US lawyer ethics mind explodes].

ESPN LINK

 

[rguilmar]

If you want to feel a little icky about it all, up until today Deco had been Raphinha’s agent. He did close down the agency when he began recruiting for Barcelona, which was right around when Raphinha signed for Barcelona. As with many things surrounding the club, it just feels a bit off. Admittedly these arrangements seem more common in European sports. Pretty sure Toto Wolff is part owner of his F-1 team, the CEO, the team principal, and an agent representing drivers both on his team and on other teams.

 

[Zososoxfan]

If you want to feel a little icky about it all, up until today Deco had been Raphinha’s agent. He did close down the agency when he began recruiting for Barcelona, which was right around when Raphinha signed for Barcelona. As with many things surrounding the club, it just feels a bit off. Admittedly these arrangements seem more common in European sports. Pretty sure Toto Wolff is part owner of his F-1 team, the CEO, the team principal, and an agent representing drivers both on his team and on other teams.

TBF, that's kinda the world of Global Football. I mean, Superagent Jorge Mendes basically uses Wolves for his own devices to build up the value of his players and frankly I don't think he's all that unique in this regard--just in how powerful he is and how effective this strategy is. Not to mention that agents basically negotiate fees on the side with buying clubs for transfers. This is what happens when the parameters of a CBA or something similar don't exist.

 

[rguilmar]

Just read that the club is employing Bojan Krkic. His role apparently is helping young players with the transition to the big club and in keeping contact with young loanees.

Talk about a blast from the past. Honestly it probably isn’t the worst idea to have him working with the likes of Lamine and the other young talents they have. He knows that pressure of being the “next Messi” more than anyone else.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Xavi announces he'll step down as manager at the end of the season. Apparently, he didn't tell the players beforehand. This came on the heels of a 5-3 loss at "home" against Villarreal.

I'm not really sure how this helps anyone? Xavi is now a lame duck coach and will this do anything to get players to give their best effort for him? Will it free him to make unpopular decisions? The club has some time to find the next guy, so I guess Laporta/Barca are the ones who benefit the most, but if this season really gets away from them it could be real bad.

The early names being floated are likely agents' work than anything with actual legs. The one exception is Rafa Marquez, who was a very solid player for the Blaugrana and is currently coaching Barca B.

The names I'd like to see linked are Jurgen Klopp (HIGHLY doubt it), De Zerbi (in a much better situation but Barca still seems tantalizing to some), Gallardo (still not sure how he didn't land a job in Europe after so many good years at River Plate), Potter (not a lot of Brits manage in Spain), Lopetegui (not likely), Bielsa (kinda interesting!), and I'm sure I'm missing others. I'm sure someone will mention Arteta but again, why would he leave Arsenal?

I did read Alguacil (Sociedad) and Michel (Girona) mentioned, and those do make some sense. Maybe Marcelino (Villarreal)?

Anyone else make some sense? Anyone coming free at the end of season? I saw an article about Tuchel being interested (I'm not). Thiaggo Motta is doing some very interesting things at Bologna and is a former player. Hansi Flick is around. Arne Slot for the Dutch connection? I'm sure Ten Haag will be available soon, but...nah.

Names I want shot down immediately: Mourinho, Conte, Sampaoli, OGS

 

[rguilmar]

Xavi announces he'll step down as manager at the end of the season. Apparently, he didn't tell the players beforehand. This came on the heels of a 5-3 loss at "home" against Villarreal.

I'm not really sure how this helps anyone? Xavi is now a lame duck coach and will this do anything to get players to give their best effort for him? Will it free him to make unpopular decisions? The club has some time to find the next guy, so I guess Laporta/Barca are the ones who benefit the most, but if this season really gets away from them it could be real bad.

The early names being floated are likely agents' work than anything with actual legs. The one exception is Rafa Marquez, who was a very solid player for the Blaugrana and is currently coaching Barca B.

The names I'd like to see linked are Jurgen Klopp (HIGHLY doubt it), De Zerbi (in a much better situation but Barca still seems tantalizing to some), Gallardo (still not sure how he didn't land a job in Europe after so many good years at River Plate), Potter (not a lot of Brits manage in Spain), Lopetegui (not likely), Bielsa (kinda interesting!), and I'm sure I'm missing others. I'm sure someone will mention Arteta but again, why would he leave Arsenal?

I did read Alguacil (Sociedad) and Michel (Girona) mentioned, and those do make some sense. Maybe Marcelino (Villarreal)?

Anyone else make some sense? Anyone coming free at the end of season? I saw an article about Tuchel being interested (I'm not). Thiaggo Motta is doing some very interesting things at Bologna and is a former player. Hansi Flick is around. Arne Slot for the Dutch connection? I'm sure Ten Haag will be available soon, but...nah.

Names I want shot down immediately: Mourinho, Conte, Sampaoli, OGS

The names I’m seeing linked most already are Klopp (not going to happen but an easy connection to make), Luis Enrique (I doubt he wants a second go around but you never know), Tuchel (he’s shooting down rumors already), Thiago Motta, Rafa Marquez, Arteta (shooting down rumors too), Alguacil, De Zerbi, Michel (is he being groomed for Man City post Pep??), and maybe one or two more. Alguacil seems completely in love with the project at Real Sociedad but maybe he feels they’ve gone as far as they can go. The general feeling is that if Xavi had stepped down immediately that the job would have gone to Marquez, but that the Mexican might have shot himself in the foot by not-so-tactfully saying he’s interested in the job.

As for who this announcement helps, it’s Xavi. It releases the pressure on him from the media. He seems to think that the players are playing under too much pressure and it’s affecting their play, and that this announcement will relieve them of that pressure. But it seems like he’s just projecting what he feels on to the players to explain the poor performances.

The problem of course is that Barca are a mess and have several veteran players underperforming. They will be financially limited at least until they can return to Camp Nou and the media pressure is immense. On the other hand, it is Barcelona, one of the most attractive jobs in the world. And living on the Mediterranean isn’t such a shabby life.

Barca needs a manager who can has a history of helping underperforming veterans, specifically their CBs and striker, and can improve their leaky defense that has allowed 19 goals in January (they allowed 20 all of last season). It would help to have a manager who has a history with the club and can absorb some of the spotlight, and maybe someone will to work for a little less money to help the club financially. The answer to me is a simple one; Jose Mourinho. Who doesn’t love a redemption song? I kid, I kid Zoso. That’s a dream for someone like me who just wants to be entertained. That would never happen. I think it will come down to LaPorta and what he wants. An advantage in having Xavi around from LaPorta’s perspective was that the manager provided cover politically. Everyone knew Xavi wasn’t LaPorta’s choice but he’s Catalan and popular with the culés. The president has been shielded from any of the blame. Does LaPorta bring in another young manager who will likewise provide a degree of cover or will he go for the big name veteran that we all know he wants?

Ultimately this is not a desirable job except for the fact that it’s Barcelona. Whoever is next in line will need to right the ship more or less with the players that they have right now. Long term, they will need to build around the young players. For me, and feel free to disagree with me, Barcelona are a club that’s lost their way. I don’t know how they get back on track and I don’t think it’s an easy ask. Barcelona is a special club but they just seem to have lost their soul a little bit. At least to me.

Honestly, this whole situation makes me sad. Xavi seems like a good man. It was his dream job to coach his boyhood club, the club he so well represented as a player. He’s the connection to the Pep years and arguably the greatest soccer ever played. He could never get his vision transferred onto the field. At one point he was frustrated that the players could not make a pass that he routinely made as a player, and that kinda summarizes his failure to me. He knew what he want the team to do but couldn’t get them to do it. To see him absolutely crushed by the job he wanted is something nobody should be happy about (though a quick tour of Twitter reveals a lot of people relishing this). I have a good friend from the North Shore who’s going to his first ever soccer game in Europe on Wednesday night at Montjuic. I had to explain to him that it likely won’t be a festive experience, that it’ll be more like a funeral than a soccer game.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Barca lost their way years ago under Barto, this is just more of the fallout. I'm not 100% certain, but I do think Xavi is Laporta's guy though. Barto stepped down in 2020, Laporta was elected in March 2021, and Xavi was hired in November 2021. Now, Xavi was basically begged to take the job even though everyone involved knew it wasn't the right time because Koeman was really struggling and eventually got the sack. It doesn't matter--Xavi should get another job and I would not be surprised in the least if he's back again in the future.

Xavi's tenure has to be considered a success as he won La Liga last year and was unlucky to draw finalists Inter and Bayern in the Group phase. Last year he didn't get it done the way I expected--the defense was stingy--but he righted the ship nonetheless. This year however, is a different story. There have been lots of injuries, especially in the MF but also to MATS and Araujo, but this is still a talented squad that hasn't been performing.

Barca need to stop chasing hardware for a year or two while the finances get back in line. They need to invest heavily in young players and let them grow a bit. This year has actually been OK in that regard, as Yamal and Fermin are seeing real minutes, and perhaps there's a few others coming up behind them--Roque, Guiu, Fort, and most recently Cubarsi. Not to mention that players like Pedri, Gavi, Balde, and even Torres aren't much older. So the bones of the next great Barca squad are there, but transitioning away from Lewa and Gundogan (who I think has been awful this season and him playing 2500 minutes to date is a big part of the problem) is the next big challenge.

Now of course, Barca will do none of this and they will move heaven and earth to overspend this summer, again, in the vain hope of being competitive next season. But I think they will still be relying on free transfers, the Barca name, and loans to fill out their squad.

As I've said before, owing €112M to FDJ, €78M to Lewa, €54M to Kounde, €50M to Raph, and €37M to Gundo is just not a way to get the finances stable. They probably need to ride out the FDJ contract which remains staggering but FDJ is still a 26 y.o. super talented MF, but they do need to either build the squad around him or have a good plan for how to use him in rotation (i.e., at 2 spots). Lewa has been a big part of the problem this year but he needs to be transitioned to a rotation player over the next 1.5 seasons and if he doesn't like it, his agent should get on the phones now. I was a huge fan of Kounde moving to Barca but he's been hot and cold. There's absolutely still a player in there but it would be best for all involved if they can align on whether he's a traditional CB, a Wan Bissaka like FB, or a Pep-style FB (a la Gvardiol). The club has never fixed the hole at RB, although I'd love to keep watching Cancelo--easily one of my favorite players of this era (N.B. I am a fullback so I have a huge soft spot for them). Raph is Raph and both he and Kounde are somewhat movable assets if need be. Gundogan is overpaid on wages but since he came on a free he's fine as a rotation and late-game option.

As the Barca turns...

 

[rguilmar]

Two other names:

Garcia Pimienta has Las Palmas punching way above their weight this season. He played for Barcelona, managed Barca B, and is from the city. The more I think about it, this one makes a lot of sense.
Ernesto Valverde has Athletic Club humming right now. Stylistically he probably fits decently well with what Barcelona are now (but arguably not how they want to play). He’s been there and was treated pretty unfairly at the time, so I’m not sure he would leave a team where the fans like him for the opposite.

 

[rguilmar]

Barca lost their way years ago under Barto, this is just more of the fallout. I'm not 100% certain, but I do think Xavi is Laporta's guy though. Barto stepped down in 2020, Laporta was elected in March 2021, and Xavi was hired in November 2021. Now, Xavi was basically begged to take the job even though everyone involved knew it wasn't the right time because Koeman was really struggling and eventually got the sack. It doesn't matter--Xavi should get another job and I would not be surprised in the least if he's back again in the future.

Xavi's tenure has to be considered a success as he won La Liga last year and was unlucky to draw finalists Inter and Bayern in the Group phase. Last year he didn't get it done the way I expected--the defense was stingy--but he righted the ship nonetheless. This year however, is a different story. There have been lots of injuries, especially in the MF but also to MATS and Araujo, but this is still a talented squad that hasn't been performing.

Barca need to stop chasing hardware for a year or two while the finances get back in line. They need to invest heavily in young players and let them grow a bit. This year has actually been OK in that regard, as Yamal and Fermin are seeing real minutes, and perhaps there's a few others coming up behind them--Roque, Guiu, Fort, and most recently Cubarsi. Not to mention that players like Pedri, Gavi, Balde, and even Torres aren't much older. So the bones of the next great Barca squad are there, but transitioning away from Lewa and Gundogan (who I think has been awful this season and him playing 2500 minutes to date is a big part of the problem) is the next big challenge.

Now of course, Barca will do none of this and they will move heaven and earth to overspend this summer, again, in the vain hope of being competitive next season. But I think they will still be relying on free transfers, the Barca name, and loans to fill out their squad.

As I've said before, owing €112M to FDJ, €78M to Lewa, €54M to Kounde, €50M to Raph, and €37M to Gundo is just not a way to get the finances stable. They probably need to ride out the FDJ contract which remains staggering but FDJ is still a 26 y.o. super talented MF, but they do need to either build the squad around him or have a good plan for how to use him in rotation (i.e., at 2 spots). Lewa has been a big part of the problem this year but he needs to be transitioned to a rotation player over the next 1.5 seasons and if he doesn't like it, his agent should get on the phones now. I was a huge fan of Kounde moving to Barca but he's been hot and cold. There's absolutely still a player in there but it would be best for all involved if they can align on whether he's a traditional CB, a Wan Bissaka like FB, or a Pep-style FB (a la Gvardiol). The club has never fixed the hole at RB, although I'd love to keep watching Cancelo--easily one of my favorite players of this era (N.B. I am a fullback so I have a huge soft spot for them). Raph is Raph and both he and Kounde are somewhat movable assets if need be. Gundogan is overpaid on wages but since he came on a free he's fine as a rotation and late-game option.

As the Barca turns...

I agree wholeheartedly with much of this should have been more clear about Xavi and Laporta. When LaPorta was running for club president, he was promising one of two or three German coaches (Flick, maybe Klopp, I forget who) and his opponent was promising Xavi. I can’t remember the details, but when the move was made Xavi was the only one “available” and “willing.” So Laporta hired him but campaigned promising different names. Other figures at the club who have since departed (Cruyff etc) were higher on Xavi than LaPorta.

Those salary figures are pretty sobering. I did get the chance to see Barcelona twice while in Spain (I’m literally writing this from El Prat waiting for my plane to take me back to Boston) and the most disappointing player by far was Lewa. It isn’t just that he looked so bad but that he appears incredibly frustrated that his skills are eroding. He honestly offered nothing to the team. I mean, he did get a lucky deflection goal, but compared to the near constant danger created by Shark Torres and especially Yamal, he was awful. He’d be the first player I’d be trying to move to KSA, initially by reducing his playing time so he knows the writing is on the wall (although it seems like he’s been taking the Xavi news as a personal failure which I respect). The others are think are legitimate reclamation projects unless someone is willing to take them off your hands. Laporta was personally packing FDJ’s suitcases for Manchester last year and I imagine he would do the same again this summer if he can get that salary off the books.

I think you’re spot on with what Barcelona should do and with the sad reality that they won’t do it. I feel like they think that if they can fix the problems on the field that the structural issues off the field will fix themselves, but I think the opposite is true. Fix the stinking mess behind the scenes, get back what you’ve lost as a club, and the results will follow. I’m very high on their future if they build around the young core. What are your thoughts on Fort and Cubarsi? I hadn’t really seen either until the Betis/Bilbao matches but was left impressed by both of them, especially defensively. Fort in particular was absolutely being targeted by Athletic Club and he held up well in an extremely hostile environment.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I agree wholeheartedly with much of this should have been more clear about Xavi and Laporta. When LaPorta was running for club president, he was promising one of two or three German coaches (Flick, maybe Klopp, I forget who) and his opponent was promising Xavi. I can’t remember the details, but when the move was made Xavi was the only one “available” and “willing.” So Laporta hired him but campaigned promising different names. Other figures at the club who have since departed (Cruyff etc) were higher on Xavi than LaPorta.

Those salary figures are pretty sobering. I did get the chance to see Barcelona twice while in Spain (I’m literally writing this from El Prat waiting for my plane to take me back to Boston) and the most disappointing player by far was Lewa. It isn’t just that he looked so bad but that he appears incredibly frustrated that his skills are eroding. He honestly offered nothing to the team. I mean, he did get a lucky deflection goal, but compared to the near constant danger created by Shark Torres and especially Yamal, he was awful. He’d be the first player I’d be trying to move to KSA, initially by reducing his playing time so he knows the writing is on the wall (although it seems like he’s been taking the Xavi news as a personal failure which I respect). The others are think are legitimate reclamation projects unless someone is willing to take them off your hands. Laporta was personally packing FDJ’s suitcases for Manchester last year and I imagine he would do the same again this summer if he can get that salary off the books.

I think you’re spot on with what Barcelona should do and with the sad reality that they won’t do it. I feel like they think that if they can fix the problems on the field that the structural issues off the field will fix themselves, but I think the opposite is true. Fix the stinking mess behind the scenes, get back what you’ve lost as a club, and the results will follow. I’m very high on their future if they build around the young core. What are your thoughts on Fort and Cubarsi? I hadn’t really seen either until the Betis/Bilbao matches but was left impressed by both of them, especially defensively. Fort in particular was absolutely being targeted by Athletic Club and he held up well in an extremely hostile environment.

Didn't see the recent matches so no thoughts on Fort or Cubarsi.

One good thing this season is that Ferran Torres looks like he's ready to break out. He hasn't gotten enough minutes this season (still under 1000 in La Liga) but he has 7 goals in league (3 assists too) and another 3 in UCL (same as last year, but Barca have at least 2 more games to go). I've seen enough to pencil him in as a starter next season. With Lamine that's at least 2 starters, and then you still have Lewa, Roque, and Raph. That's enough talent to sell someone and still have good options at all 3 spots.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Really good writeup over at barcafutbol.blog:

We love our legends. Our heroes. And we often burden them with our own expectations. We want them to come in impossible circumstances to save us and ride into the golden sunset amid cheers and waving flags. That is why legends and heroes are so feted in human culture. They can sometimes help us live our expectations vicariously. Give us an escape to win, to do the impossible without doing it ourselves.

...

So the main question is how did it come to this? At least that's what we as fans are most keen to make sense of. Per human psychology, our first reaction is to find meaning in something that goes wrong by assigning blame. It helps us rationalise expectations with reality.

But what if the real question is "Was it supposed to be any different"?

Let's rewind the clock a bit. Xavi had refused to accept the same role of coaching Barca a year before he actually accepted it, citing a lack of experience and timing. Most of the fan base agreed with his decision. So what happened in that one year which helped him change his decision? Did he gain the requisite experience in 12 months?

I guess the answer comes to another "legend" from the Ghost of 2009, winning the Barca elections. The man credited with crafting Barca's most successful period of history in terms of economics, branding and sporting excellence.

Joan Laporta.

But maybe there is a bit more nuance to this. Laporta in his entire campaign, which was mostly of atypical hubris, had never really endorsed Xavi as his candidate to coach Barca. Hushed murmurs rather suggested that "Presi" was more inclined to bring the German school of football to Camp Nou. It was also telling because, in the run-up to the same election, the man who had actively endorsed Xavi in every speech to return Barca to its erstwhile glory was Victor Font, a challenger to Laporta's claim to Presidency.

Common sense would suggest Laporta would look at anyone except Xavi to lead the bench.

So what happened in one year that made Xavi agree to take a role he was not ready to (just a few months back) and made Laporta agree to accept a person who had actively campaigned for another Presidential candidate?

Like most decisions, there is no simple answer to this and nothing that is documented or verified, but common sense might suggest a few scenarios. By the time Laporta strode into office for the second time, Barca's financial situation on a terrifyingly bloated wage bill, lack of European silverware and losses from Covid was frightening. For a person entrusted with the job of saving the institution, reducing Barca's wage bill, bringing back fiscal profitability, complying with FFP, repaying other clubs on payments not made with respect to player transfers and re-constructing a fading, crumbling Camp Nou, the margins of flexibility were exceedingly small.

Priorities needed to be redefined.

...

Maybe in Xavi, Laporta found the perfect face to give his budding new project some much-needed room to breathe and in Laporta, Xavi found a President who would support him to land in a "BIG" club gig at the very beginning of his coaching career, that would help build his coaching credentials and experience. If things worked out it would go down in history as the remontada of remontada's and if it didn't, there would always be other clubs and other coaches.

But miracles hardly repeat themselves in exactly the same way.

After putting his weight behind Victor Font, Xavi landed in the Camp Nou hot seat with Laporta presiding and Laporta found a Barca legend willing to coach the team at reasonable expense with a team roster which was hardly elite. It probably did not fulfil Laporta's dream of German gegenpressing on the Camp Nou greens, but it did give the fanbase a reason to unite and come back to watch the games in the stadium. Attendance had been falling steadily even after Covid restrictions had been taken off. The fanbase was jaded and needed a spark of freshness and bold ideas to feel rejuvenated. Xavi made that spark happen. And that was far more crucial for a president for whom his politics and his love for the club were the same. He needed to do that. You cannot run an institution like FC Barcelona if you do not embrace the politics.

...

For all practical purposes Barca's financial situation while not rosy at all is a little better than what it was two and a half years ago (only just) and it seems that against all odds, the Camp Nou will be open to the public from the end of this year. Truly a remarkable feat if that happens. The outstanding debt while glorified by Western media is not really that much of a critical risk on the long-term (20-30 year) horizon since a lot of it is phased as bonds and collateral against prime real estate assets which are hardly ever very risky, especially in a volatile market. We often forget Barca is more than a 100-year-old institution where the Camp Nou itself is close to 100 years old and the people running it have a fair idea of its appreciated value over time.

A lot is made of Barca's gross debt and it is huge, to be honest. A lot of mismanagement has led to this and for that, the club and its various boards are fully responsible. But to keep it in context, Real Madrid's gross debt is also 1.6B but their professionalism, governance and media management is far better. There is hardly a single headline about their debt in the media, while for Barca there are probably two every week.

...

Xavi used his own credibility to carry the credibility of an institution which had lost a lot of it over time. Many a personality would have given up earlier and it's no surprise that it has drained him to this extent by now. He played his role in this regard brilliantly and beyond. There were no complaints. No outbursts. Xavi embodied the "club man" and the ethos of what Barca used to be. Sure, the football wasn't champagne, but we need to question ourselves if that was our "taken-for-granted" expectation without looking at reality. For this, he deserves a lot more credit than the media and fans have given him.

But while that is true, it is also true that he did not quite succeed in probably the one core job of a coach: Imprinting a form of clear ideology of playing the game for the team he managed. The players did not quite improve from what they were and often looked confused and clueless on the pitch. Some even regressed. Injuries decimated the club in both seasons. Even when they won the league last season, the deficiencies in midfield, and inability to adjust to game-state and dominate opponents were evident. Player recruitment was equally puzzling and one cannot fully blame finances for it. Many teams in La Liga had less financial outlay than "broke Barca" and built better teams. Teams that played cohesively. Did Xavi get the players he wanted? Probably no. But he knew when he signed that he would not get that financial support. Does he not understand football tactics? Of course he does. Better than most of us. But he could not adjust in time when he did not have the ingredients to play the way he wanted to play.

The italicized text above is a good summary of Xavi's stint. While that excerpt doesn't mention that winning La Liga was a miracle, the article does go into that in great length. Nevertheless, it's weird that Xavi can't get this group of [imperfect] talent playing with identity, that is until you consider that his 2 biggest allies in the boardroom also left.

I bolded the text above because it was a new perspective on the debt issue for me. In sum, the debt is bad, but also not dissimilar from Madrid's. However, it seems to be hampering Barca far worse.

 

[rguilmar]

I did read Alguacil (Sociedad) and Michel (Girona) mentioned, and those do make some sense. Maybe Marcelino (Villarreal)?

Anyone else make some sense? Anyone coming free at the end of season? I saw an article about Tuchel being interested (I'm not). Thiaggo Motta is doing some very interesting things at Bologna and is a former player. Hansi Flick is around. Arne Slot for the Dutch connection? I'm sure Ten Haag will be available soon, but...nah.

Names I want shot down immediately: Mourinho, Conte, Sampaoli, OGS

Alguacil pretty forcefully shot down any potential interest in managing Barcelona (or any other club for that matter). He very clearly wants to stay home in San Sebastián.