My evaluation on the current situation of FC Barcelona
My evaluation on the current situation of
FC Barcelona
by Hrik Roy (ID - 22301599)
Introduction:
"Més que un club", means “More than a club”; the slogan for one of the most prestigious clubs in the history of football – Football Club Barcelona. This is a Spanish club which was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper. The fans, members, players, management members are called CULE. They have won 27 La Liga, 5 Champions League, 3 Club World Cups, 31 Copa Del Rey, 14 Spanish Super Cup and more. However, recently they are in a state of crisis. With the financial crisis, their best player Messi leaving in 2021, humiliation in the European major tournaments such as UCL against the big teams, they are not really in some sweet position to be proud about.
In this blog post, I will discuss the club's financial situation, their recent transfer activity, their managerial situation and their recent on-field performance.
Financial Situation:
The club is facing serious financial issues now. They had a debt over €1 Billion. This debt has been accumulated over several years, due to a combination of factors, including overspending on transfers, high wages, corruption of the previous board members and president, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this, they are unable to buy their required players as those players are so pricey. So, they have limitations over the transfers. For this unstructured financial condition, they have even lost their best player Lionel Messi in 2021 keeping the whole world in shock. Lionel Messi didn’t even believe in himself but there were so many factors that couldn’t keep him, and he joined PSG.
After Messi left, they were even facing bigger problems such as selling out less tickets and jerseys. Barcelona tried to bring back Messi after his contract ended with PSG this year but alas! They still couldn’t do it due to financial and wage issues. They had to activate several levers and sell different properties such as Barca Studio to pay the debt and make a good squad.
Recent Transfer Activity:
Because of their recent pricing, they were unable to obtain all the players they desired. After two disastrous transfer seasons without signing any big players, they have begun to accumulate some established talent for the future. Because defensive midfield is one of the most important positions, they are constantly looking for the proper player to replace Sergio Busquets. Furthermore, following Dani Alves, they haven't had a perfect and reliable right back in a long time, thus they're looking for a quality right back as well. There are other options, but Joao Cancelo is the most likely to appear. Ariol Romeu has been signed to replace Busquets. They needed a capable touchline right winger, so they spent roughly 70 million dollars on Raphina from Brazil, who excelled in his first season. Last year, they added Joules Kounde and Andres Christiansen, and Inigo Martinez this year to strengthen the defense. They also added Robert Lewandowski last year as the striker and he was the highest goal scorer last season. After spending up to 450 million euros on Phillipe Coutinho, Antonie Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele, three players that fell short of the club's expectations, they have started to put together a potent team once more.
Managerial Situation:
Xavi Hernández is the club's current manager, appointed in 2021. Xavi was previously a Barca player. This legend was appointed after sacking the previous coach Ronald Koeman because he couldn’t bring Barca’s glory back. After appointing Xavi, he is given the freedom to choose the players who to buy and the board negotiates with the player accordingly. Xavi has already done an excellent job making some positive changes, such as implementing a more attacking style of play, giving more attention to the defense line, bringing discipline in the dressing room, bringing out the potential of most of the players and trying out different formations. Barcelona has already played 1 and a half seasons under Xavi and the results were runners up and champions of La Liga for 2021 and 2022 respectively. They are also doing well in the other domestic tournaments and El Classicos. Although they are still not doing enough in the European tournaments, hopefully they will from this season as there were obstacles in the way previously. Although it remains to be seen whether Xavi can be the long-term solution for Barcelona, with the work he is doing currently, fans and board can trust him and relax.
On-Field Performance:
To be honest, Barca’s recent on field performance is mixed. They did well in some places for which everyone should be proud such as winning La Liga and Spanish Super Cup, defeating the archrival Real Madrid several times in one season. So, I can say that they are improving a lot lately. Inclusion of the new young blood is being helpful. Lewandowski was the highest goal scorer in the previous season. Defense is doing really well so far.
But still there are some issues to be solved. Especially in the big matches in the UCL, they are not showing their worth. They are nervous, it's like they don’t know what to do in the field. Against big teams, they are suffering. Though there were some injury issues too but still this can't be an excuse. They even had to play Europa league for two consecutive seasons because they were humiliated and eliminated from UCL too early. They are not showing character in those big matches, making silly mistakes which lead to the opponent’s goal. So, as Barca is doing so well in the domestic leagues; they are doing the exact opposite in the global leagues. So, their current on field performance is not up to the mark but they are gradually improving under Xavi for sure.
Conclusion:
The current situation of FC Barcelona is challenging. However, the club has the potential to overcome its problems and return to its former glory. Xavi, president Laporta, the board and the players are doing their best to regain their position in the world. It will need to make some tough decisions and take some calculated risks, but if they can stick to their vision and work accordingly, it is possible for the club to rebuild and become a giant in European football again.
Author’s bio:
Hrik Roy
Hrik Roy was born in Chattogram, Bangladesh, on September 1, 2002. Currently doing bachelor's degree in CSE major at Brac University.
Links:
https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/
Nice blog
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