Barcelona 19/20 Preview
FRENKIE DE JONG:
THE FUTURE OF BARCA'S MIDFIELD
On Sunday under the bright and usually unforgiving lights of the Camp Nou, Dutch midfielder Frenkie De Jong made his home debut and proceeded to pass Arsenal to sleep in a first half performance that hearkened back to the time of Xavi and Iniesta.
Frenkie gutted Arsenal at times, switching play side to side with finesse, precision and an elegance unseen
And he was only playing at half capacity...what this young man will conjure alongside Lionel Messi,
He completed a litany of passes, dribbles and a few tackles in only 45 minutes, looking even better than he was for Ajax last season, adding a renewed physicality to his game.
Although he was quoted as saying he "didn't deserve the MVP" award for the Joan Gamper match, Frenkie has already combined well in the build-up play from the back with Gerard Pique, Nelson Semedo and Jordi Alba.
The Dutchman spun quick little passing triangles in midfield with Ivan Rakitic and Riqui Puig,
He continued this last night against Napoli, coming off the bench along with Dembele in the 66th minute and 2 minutes later, the two combined once again as Frenkie slid a ball for Dembele to smack off the woodwork.
If the embryonic electricity of this brooding partnership between Dembele and De Jong is any indication of how Frenkie could combine
The way in which Frenkie affects every area of the pitch is otherworldly and it doesn't seem a tad crazy to assume he'll become the midfielder Barcelona deserve, not merely a Xavi impressionist,
but a law unto himself...a new kind of midfielder that Lionel Messi has been dying for.
It is astounding how easily the Barca fans have taken Frenkie's arrival for granted.
I see way too many fans on Twitter who fail to see the big picture, saying "we need Neymar desperately" when we have enough attacking creativity and impetus from the De Jong signing alone, aside from the riches in the forward positions we already have (Messi, Dembele, Griezmann, Suarez, Perez).
Not to mention the bevy of creativity coming from our young midfielders who have only scratched the surface on their ceiling-less talent (Alena, Puig and Arthur).
Frenkie's presence and youthful exuberance will have already raised the levels of Arthur, Rakitic, Roberto, Puig, Vidal, Busquets and Alena, with all on that list
Regardless of Valverde's instabilities and incapable management, when Messi has space and time: amazing things happen, most often leading to victories. When Messi has the ball zooming into his feet with pace, he can do anything he feels like (instead of the ball being floated to him, allowing defenders to close Messi down as we've seen the last two seasons).
Not to mention what these young midfielders will be able to do with the French "Ebony and Ivory" powers of Griezmann and Dembele,
With the addition of Frenkie, the passing will be quicker, keeping defenders and pressing attackers at bay and we'll be seeing a lot more possession this season.
And we're not just talking possession for possession's sake: we're detailing how with a revamped line-up including these new energetic beasts of burden (Frenkie chief among them) Barca will be dominating the ball while continuously putting the opposition into uncomfortable positions.
No longer will we battle for 65 minutes to break a team down, no longer should this collection of players allow a team 45% possession, let alone out-possessing us
No longer will we see a team too afraid or physically exhausted in recovering the ball.
Thanks to the purchases of Frenkie, Griezmann and Firpo, all extremely hardworking players with a ludicrous amount of technical quality and the promotions of Riqui Puig, Moussa Wague and Carles Alena,
The Valverde years have seen a lack of stamina and energy to reclaim possession once we've lost it and unless Valverde is willing to start younger midfielders on either side of Busquets, some of this progress will be washed away.
In a midfield trio alongside Arthur and Sergio Busquets in deep, Frenkie's blistering attacking play and stealthy final third runs will pay Barca mighty big dividends, especially when Lionel Messi returns from his new calf injury.
MESSI'S INJURY
As bad as it is to start the campaign without our talisman, this injury to Messi could provide an opportunity for Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann to craft a partnership up top (which would prove extremely valuable later on, regardless of whether or not Suarez sits on the bench for the majority of the season).
We've seen the ruthless Spanish media already dictate to every football fan in the world that these two players hate each other, however this has just been another disgusting example of the corrupt Spanish media, always willing to print anything to sell.
Yet somehow we've found footage of Griezmann and Suarez sharing a drink together, sitting alongside each other on a plane and hanging out.
And considering how the hapless Ernesto Valverde continuously runs our captain into the ground to deflect media criticism against his banal tactics and our over-reliance on Messi-earned results, it's better to get Leo's big injury out of the way already and see what our squad can do without him for a few weeks.
VALVERDE:
HOW MANY MORE TIMES?
And still, Valverde (aka the luckiest man on earth) has failed to use this depth accordingly: superb winger Malcolm was nearly blacklisted before being sold to Zenit St. Petersburg, literally damning the man to Siberia (why sell the man if we're not going after Neymar??? Why???); Riqui Puig and Carles Alena were phenomenal but rarely saw the pitch while our slower, older midfield featuring Vidal and Rakitic clocked all the minutes and lacked drive and impetus;
Ernesto Valverde is being given one final chance (right? This has to be the last attempt right???) to make up for the disastrous finale of the last two seasons;
Instead of being cast as a manager on the hot seat, under pressure to deliver results and needing to earn back the faith and trust of the players, fans and club, Ernesto Valverde has been treated as a two-time defending champion, while Messi is forced to defend him before the Camp Nou crowd The Argentine is content assuming all responsibility, blame and pressure for Barcelona's results from here on out...it seems he's almost eager to be the fall guy.
I'll never understand why the players, the board and the fans treat Valverde with such reverence...it's as if he has the biggest library of sex tapes known to mankind.
No dog on planet earth has as long of a leash as Ernesto Valverde, and while he may remain "top dog" right now,
He's began the season the right way, saying all the right things, muttering what all the fans want to hear, but we will wait until we see it. We'll wait on baited breath until he benches Rakitic for Puig; we'll wait and see if he actually rests Alba for Junior Firpo, or if he'll throw on defensive substitutions and hamper the attack when in the lead of a big match, resulting in our imminent doom.
Talk is cheap with Valverde...
...but we have two eyes.
We'll use them to be the final judge.
And since we cannot do anything about Valverde's "Dead Man Walking" presence, he will be known as a non-factor in our future pieces until he's offering the honesty and bare minimum management level we expect: keeping our players fit and fresh through rotation, honoring the progressive tactical values of the club, demanding improved levels from his players and banishing the 4-4-2 formation that has proven a disaster.
INTRODUCING FUTURE BARCELONA SUPERSTAR JUNIOR FIRPO
That's why the news of versatile left back Junior Firpo finally arriving from Real Betis is beautiful, both in terms of necessity and timing (we also should've stolen their manager Setien early this summer).
Though once again, Firpo's arrival only matters if Valverde actually uses the Alba replacement and challenger.
Firpo is another energetic and aggressive youth arrival, a left back with the height of Dembele, the feet of a winger and some of the same punishing physical attributes in defense as Samuel Umtiti (examples used to show athletic versatility not player profile comparison).
The former Betis man is as physically imposing as a center back and as elusive and deadly in the final third as if he were a natural winger, an astonishing combination we've begun to see more of (Benjamin Mendy, Djibril Sidibe to name a few).
Missing out on such a versatile weapon (and a player who has punished both Barca and Real Madrid
As much as we rely on Jordi Alba's attacking prowess down the left and as much as we demand the creation of width to exploit gaps in the center, Firpo is not only desperately needed to rest the former Valencia man but maybe even steal the starting spot if he's playing better than Alba.
With this in mind, every Barca starter should be on notice.
BARCA'S UNTOUCHABLES
NEED A RUDE AWAKENING
Pique can't be untouchable at the back with Lenglet and Todibo as options (and Umtiti more than capable of sliding over to right center back), Busquets cannot be un-droppable at the base of midfield, Rakitic must earn his playing time instead of having it handed to him by divine right, and Luis Suarez is going to have to duke it out for the season's duration against (and in tandem with) Antoine Griezmann.
All of those starters played more than 50 matches last season, an incredible amount for 30+ year olds playing in a squad this big. It was obvious after 2018's Rome debacle that we needed reinforcements throughout the pitch, both to push our starters back to their best levels and to rest them for the season's final push.
And for all this discussion about selling Samuel Umtiti or Coutinho,
IN CONCLUSION
In 2019/2020, Barcelona could be unstoppable.
Forget Neymar, don't even bring him up.
If he comes, he's here and with his arrival follows the Neymar Circus... and we'll deal with all of that when or if we cross that fateful precipice.
However, with this bevy of riches in midfield, attack and the solid figures at the back, you have to figure that upon Messi's recovery from this injury (and dare I say, before he does) this team, despite Valverde's idiocy and diabolical madness, will rout their way to a league and Copa Del Rey double if they can vanquish both Madrid teams, though unforeseen injuries and whether Valverde refuses to make the same pitfalls of the last two years, will decide what happens in the Champions League.
It is as if the board have tried to make every transfer possible to insure that whatever substitution Valverde could make this season, it's destined to be a damn good one (with what's on that bench).
It never works out like the Twitter Football Olympiad of hype...hell, if it did we would've crowned Manchester City for the last seven years.
There has to be a plan with all of these weapons and these toys of footballing majesty...this group of specimen. The responsibility for victory cannot just be piled upon Lionel Messi's back yet again: we've seen many great players shrivel and cower in the spotlights alongside Messi,
Valverde has to get this right and the best way in doing that is: to get out of the way.
Either announce your resignation or be emotional for once... get angry, fly around and celebrate goals, hug your players for giving their all and reward them when they do.
You're here, Ernie...even if you shot John F. Kennedy you'd still be Barcelona manager.
But you have to have a plan.
They may be donning the ugliest kits of all time, though at least the players wearing them couldn't be anymore exhilarating.
GK Ter Stegen
RB Semedo or Wague
CB Pique
CB Umtiti
LB Alba or Firpo
CDM Busquets
RCM Frenkie De Jong
LCM Arthur
RF / LW Dembele
CF / RF Messi
LF / CF / CAM Griezmann
Now that we have a high caliber goalscoring / assisting runner who's agile, young, has already won a World Cup and loves to hunt down defenders on the ball,
We need the entire team to be based around the interaction between all three phases of the game and the bridges that get us to goal: Ter Stegen quickly distributes, Busquets, Semedo or Pique collects and sets it up for Frenkie in space:
..and this is where the new Barca is going to make us all need to change our pants at half-time.
We now have a midfielder like the great days of old: mids who can skip through defenses, pass over the top, around or under them and can score goals. Frenkie can also win the ball back quickly, too as he has shown time and time again in his Ajax career. Now, who would be on the end of this tremendous build-up play?
Titles are never won on paper,
But for me: whatever Valverde does matters not,
By
Lonn Phillips Sullivan
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