Team Focus: How Happy Can Barcelona Be With Their Summer's Business so Far?
Every summer, in the one part of the year in which there is no domestic football, Barcelona and Real Madrid take their battle off the pitch, attempting to out-do each other in every aspect of the game. Spending big during the transfer season is part and parcel for these giants of European football. Last year Barça signed Neymar, so Real went out and bought Gareth Bale in the most expensive transfer of all time. This year, both have already spent upwards of £80m after missing out on the domestic title to Atlético Madrid, after Diego Simeone decided to join what has become a two-horse race in Spain. The two biggest clubs are now looking to reassert their dominance.
For Barça, the prospect of a transfer ban for breaching rules on signing international players under the age of 18 has probably been enough to force their hand further than normal in the transfer market, even if activity was a necessity nonetheless. That ban has been suspended for at least the duration of this summer's window, and after finishing the 2013/14 season without a major trophy, the powers that be at Camp Nou have been given a wake up call.
There remains a real chance that the club will not be able to conduct any business either in January or a year's time and so yet more business is likely at their end as their president, Josip Maria Bartomeu, confirmed on Thursday. Similarly, for players on the peripheries of the squad considering a move away, now is the time to jump ship, rather than risk being stuck there for another 18 months, at the very least.
There has, therefore, been plenty of activity both in and out of Barcelona already this summer, with a number of tradeoffs made to make way for incoming stars. Carles Puyol has retired, Víctor Valdés has let his contract run out, Alexis Sánchez has gone to Arsenal and Cesc Fàbregas to Chelsea, while the likes of Marc-André ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and most recently Jeremy Mathieu have all been brought in. There is time to rectify any problems, but can Barcelona look back at their business thus far and conclude that they have done well so far?
Luis Suarez has in the past year joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo amongst the world's elite footballers, and the thought of two of the best players on the planet pairing up together is a frightening one - not to mention Neymar completing the attacking trident - but his four-month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup means the Uruguayan will miss a chunk of the season. By the time he returns to action in late October Barça could well have serious ground to make up in the title race.
Last season, no player in Europe's top 5 leagues scored more goals than Suarez (31), who missed the first 5 games due to yet another suspension. As he showed for Liverpool and then his country at the World Cup (after missing their opening game due to injury), he is capable of hitting the ground running when making a return to action, and he will undoubtedly find his feet at Barcelona, surrounded by that kind of quality, but Alexis, as one of only 5 players to reach double figures for both goals and assists in La Liga last season, remains a tough act to follow, particularly with a few months' work to make up.
One of the other players to achieve 10+ goals and assists was the incoming Rakitic, whose quality cannot be doubted, but when considering that he comes in almost as a direct replacement for Fàbregas, one has to wonder whether the deal was worth it for the Catalans. Fàbregas was played out of position for much of his time at Barcelona, often deployed as a 'false 9', playing highest up the pitch to accommodate Messi, who likes to be able to roam free as a number 10. The Spaniard was widely criticised in this role and the fans barely came round to giving him a chance despite him finishing the past season second for assists (13) in the Spanish top flight only to Ángel Di María and creating more clear-cut chances (27) than any other player in the top 5 European leagues.
Now, with Suarez coming in, new manager Luis Enrique will surely play a front three of the Uruguayan, Messi and Neymar. Xavi is still at the club, though rumours remain that he may yet be on his way to MLS while his performances at the World Cup suggest he is on the wane. It could be worth the pass-master quitting whilst ahead rather than attempting to carry on at the top when the end is so near. That - or at the very least a drop in playing time - opens up a space in central midfield. Surely Fàbregas is the perfect man for the job?
Rakitic is a wonderful footballer, capable of playing in a few different positions and possessing incredible passing ability that is befitting of his move to Barcelona, while his set-piece taking ability is another plus, helping him to 10 assists last term. However, in Rakitic they have a player only 10 months Fàbregas' junior, and with vastly less experience, particularly in the Champions League. He was significantly cheaper than the man he is replacing, but it is hard to believe that Barcelona would be too worried about prioritising finances over trumping Real Madrid, especially with a transfer ban upcoming.
In defence, Mathieu has been signed from Valencia for the substantial fee of €20m and it seems an odd signing for a 30-year-old who does not scream 'Barcelona' in his playing style. 1.92m tall and averaging 6.5 clearances per game last season, Mathieu does provide useful cover at both centre- and left-back, but a pass success rate of just 83.0% is good, but simply not up to Camp Nou standards. With Puyol out the door and Javier Mascherano displaying at the World Cup how much more suited he is to a midfield role, there is reason for Barça to strengthen at the back, but it remains to be seen whether Mathieu is the answer to their problems.
There is plenty of time for Barcelona to fill any vacancies that they need to before the end of this transfer window, but so far at least, they are yet to eradicate their many glaring inadequacies from last season. Bringing in Suarez is a real statement of intent from a side looking to regain the dominance they have enjoyed in recent years, but there is certainly still work to be done. Looking back at a summer of big business so far, Barcelona fans can still justifiably remain wanting more.
How happy do you think Barcelona can be with their summer's business so far? Let us know in the comments below
Where will Suarez play at Barcelona? Messi is their CF (or the False 9), Suarez has never played as a winger.
@kam left winger at ajax and Groningen, right winger sometimes and Liverpool.
Rakitic is a wonderful player but I feel he will need time to suit Barca's playing style. In terms of passing game, Fabregas is better than Rakitic on any day. But Rakitic probably edges Fabregas in terms of scoring. Cesc was once considered the future Xavi, he is still young and could very well fill in Xavi's boots for Spain but the lad simply went out of favor at Barcelona.
"Luis Suarez has in the past year joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo amongst the world's elite footballers" NO NO AND NO. Zlatan is still ahead of Suarez who is not yet on Messi, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic's level. Suarez didn't even play the champions league last season while Zlatan, Ronaldo and Messi have all scored 8 goals or more in that competition.
@Mike.PSG dude this year Suarez in terms of quality of play has been the best player around, better than an out of form Messi, better than rinaldo. Check the stats..
the worst club ever, barcelona.
Cesc got 13 assists and all that stuff. What dont you compare his stats in first half and 2nd half of his 3 seasons, he ALWAYS fails when it really matters. I'm glad he's gone.Rafinha is a safer bet, let alone Rakitic.
+loans: D. Suárez to Sevilla is a good one, he'll get playing time in Primera or Europa League, big plus. -loans: Sergi Roberto needs playing time , he can't afford another season basically in the stands, we should loan him to Celta. +Deulofeu/Rafinha: they came back better players and especially Rafinha should be playing regularly. +Olazábal, J. dos Santos, Krkić, Cuenca: goor for them and good for us, that they left. -/+Song, Afellay: not sold yet, but probably will be soon. -Tello: only a loan? why not sell him, it's not like we expect him to return a better player, that would play regularly in the future.
Pros and Cons> +ter Stegen: that's a great signing, he's among the best already and is still very young., good replacement for Valdés. -Bravo: did we need him? Is Masip not good enough to be a back up goalie? Why are we putting so much pressure on M.A.T.S.? -Alves/Montoya: Alves is past his best and Montoya is not exactly world class, we should've got Azpilicueta. -CB: Mathieu in for Puyol, really? really??? +Rakitić for Fàbregas: even though Cesc was sold under price, his replacement is more than adequate. -Suárez for Sánchez: L. Suárez is too problematic and controversial player, plus he's repeated offender with disciplinary problems, it's too risky to have him. He can't control his behavior and next time he does something stupid he'll get a very lengthy ban and I don't believe he can last a whole season without an incident. Sánchez is still at his prime and he's a fighter.
(3) playing intelligently, and he never gave Barcelona what Pep thought he would upon bringing him here. His passing is poor, his crossing is poor, he is often reckless with the ball, and it just doesn't make sense for him to juke and attempt to dribble through three defenders at every possession. Some call him unlucky, but his style of play just doesn't suit Barcelona, even with Luis Enrique at the helm. Neymar should shine this season once he becomes healthy. He did underperform last season, but that jump from being a Brazilian god to a Spanish league where every team has great players and is tactically sound (even if many don't agree) would be too much for anyone. Injuries, adaptation, and having been knocked off of his high horse held him and Barcelona back. Too much was expected of him last season, but he should have learned from these mistakes by now. I look forward to seeing a tactically sound Barcelona side with much more spring in their step than last season.
(2) sense of the word. He will still use Xavi and Busquets' brains and decision making, no doubt; however, especially with the signing of Mathieu, you can tell that he is looking for someone aggressive, someone who can offer Barcelona something different. He may be thirty, but he is the tallest player on the team, no doubt the strongest, he's very fast for a big man, and he gives Barcelona security at the back (something that we have been lacking for years). You can always learn tips and tricks to secure better passing, but you can't make someone grow and you can't give someone like Bartra the physical presence of Mathieu or Piqué in one season. He'll be great one day, but he still needs time to develop. It seems silly to comment on the signing of Suárez—this is clearly going to create the most vibrant attack in the world. Alexis may have done this or that, but I only recall him showing up in one big game (the chipped goal against Madrid) in his Barcelona career. He stopped
(1) The loss of Cesc is only a disheartening one to Barcelona because of his roots being Catalan. Trust me: No one was happier to see him leave than true Barcelona fans. He is a great footballer, don't get me wrong. If he weren't, José Mourinho wouldn't have reached out to him. The problem with him at Barcelona is, because he practically grew up in England and developed into a top-tier footballer via English football, he simply does not have the lateral vision of Xavi, Iniesta, or Busquets. Now, people will say, "Well, neither does Rakitic." This is true to a point, but his assertiveness is what Luis Enrique sees. Rakitic may be more similar to Cesc than to Xavi, for example, but he is much more of a "go-getter" with and without the ball. He's taller, stronger, and his decision making has often proved better than Cesc's. People who question these signings clearly never saw Luis Enrique play. He was a great passer of the ball in many ways, but he was an attacking presence in every
reading of the game. that garay for u. i have rambled abt this guy
So the point i was emphasizing including neymar rambling was suraez is a great signing considering at some of many he played many times as winger and whereas sturidge played as striker even then he was effective even thogh suarez forte was false no. 9 and he regularly swapped position with not so great sturidge during the game that would be devastating to opposition defense. so suarez is good his 4 month would ensure ample of plaaying opportunities for gerrard delfonsu who was not given fair opportunities by matinez. As we all know delofonsu is one best young spainish talent. Number rakitic is again a good signing but as article pointed out he has not experience in cl level. But he is good. regarding Mathieu who as old as lahm is 31 and bought for 20 euros is farce and worst deal ever seen. Could have bought hummels for 20 million if u belive in crappy english journalim which was obviously picked from spainish gossip papers. or they buy e. garay for 15 million euros good as passing...
if he is made main guy but the thing is he made brazil lose fluidity and it would result same for barca and neymar if he is not main is just avg to say the least. ppl were saying neymaar is better than considering intl football that just it in brazil nt he main and his performromance but brazil suffer as a result but his real face is that of barca where is not the main guy play like good winger who defnitely not money barca paid for him. he is not better than reus(if he was even half as good reus brazil would scoring forced to score from setpieces), infact the substandard goetze is better than him. goetze did not good wc but he always performed well during borussia days, final performance showed that form is temporary arguement. james rodriguez showed every1 he is real young prodigy-infact best in 91-92 genreation. Hazard is better than neymar by mile atleast he was excellent Ligue 1(20 goal and 15 asts) and solid if not very good english league he was chelski best player for godsake.
overall barca did good. the thing abt suarez 4 monnth ban is it would give gerrard delfonseu regular playing time as he is still considered one the finest talent in spain. during 4 months ban barca would be in good hands. the thing that worries me is neymar he underperformed for barca last season and neymar by making central to brazilian football ultimately hurt brazil football as he made the team one dimesional. admittely he looked good in wc but brazil lost fluidity that defined in confederation cup. fred the much maligned player at wc was top conferderation, hulk was not suffering from green patches infact was quite deadly and neymar performed. since the time scolari took decision to make neymar central to brazilian attack none the goal that brazil scored came open play since group stages. except for germany game the one goal they scored came from open play otherwise all of brazil goal after group stages came from set pieces. so neymar for me is major concern, he can good at barca..