Barcelona's Silent Mutiny Pt. I: Meet Eric Abidal, Bartomeu Scapegoat

      

BARCELONA'S SILENT MUTINY PT. I:

MEET ERIC ABIDAL,

BARTOMEU SCAPEGOAT

       The international break has been both a blessing and a curse for FC Barcelona players, coaches and for the people who provide the most but, in the end, always mean the least: the fans.
       On one hand, without Barca matches there hasn't been the awful, head scratching decisions of Ernesto Valverde to haunt our minds and contend with our happiness, there's been no disgusting, lazy performances from our players to feel disappointed by, but we still miss our club. 
        Our players' form may be shady for the club, but they've been in a far more productive mood for their national teams.

      You may find yourself annoyed by the success many of these players are having on this break: "Why Can't They Play Like This For Us???"
       Or...it may point to just how rejuvenated and energized our players are without Valverde and Bartomeu's menacing vampirism to drain them....or...maybe this good form and display of passion is just what this team needs.
       We've seen Lionel Messi lead Argentina through Brazil for a morale-boosting 1-0 win from his penalty-rebound winner, followed by an assist and a stoppage time penalty in the final seconds of Argentina v Uruguay (a Messi vs Suarez international showdown).
         In the same match, Luis Suarez matched Messi with his own free kick screamer and fine assist to Cavani, before the PSG striker incredibly challenged Messi to a fight before full time.
         Elsewhere, matters grow even more perilous for Barca / French winger Ousmane Dembele who was forced to watch France ruggedly / listlessly qualify for Euro 2020 without him. 
        Although most would try and claim Dembouz doesn't warrant a place in the final 23 man squad, France won't win a European Championship this summer if Dembele isn't in their squad...actually, no: Les Blues have no chance if Dembele isn't in the starting XI.
           Whether you like his perceived attitude, supposed lack of professionalism or not, Ousmane Dembele's supernatural footballing abilities give him repeated chances even when his body and Valverde refuse. 
       Though unlike his jackal manager at Barcelona, France's Deschamps has given the Frenchman an in during a recent interview, nonetheless taking the opportunity to scold him and demand Ousmane "give everything" for a spot in this summer's tournament.
        Dembele is a player I have adored and yes he needs more time on the pitch to truly find his feet as a Barcelona player, but when we witness him give passes away that launch opposition counters and we see him hesitate to track back, then we have a huge problem. 
        For me there's still time for Dembele, but it's up to Valverde to start the kid consistently and then it's up to Ousmane to deliver on his stratospheric potential. 
       Then again we keep saying this and I gotta say: if you watch the matches, the full 90, then you know as frustrating as Dembele can be, he's equally exhilarating. Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi & the entirety of the midfield would be smarter to look for him more often, as his 70+ pass match vs Villareal last season proves, Ousmane is capable of passing with volume and accuracy...if he gets the ball more regularly.
        Sticking with the Barca contingent within the French squad, Antoine Griezmann starred as the only meaningful contributor in those lukewarm French performances (his goals and assists directly qualifying France in a tough group); meanwhile our French defender Clement Lenglet was run out for 90 minutes in both qualifiers. Lenglet was solid enough but cut a doggedly tired, rushed and error-prone figure.
         ....but as for the club itself, we've only seen connections to Neymar, Willian and a rash of other ridiculous transfer speculations to go along with the troubling comments from (of all people) Eric Abidal. 
          The Barca Sporting Director's interview not only proves how out of touch the club's hierarchy are with the players, the community, the fans and even football itself: this surreal behavior from the former Barca left back demonstrates the core problems at the heart of the club's rotten structure for all to hear.

           Abidal was supposed to be "the voice of reason" in the pool of sharks and clowns known as the Barcelona Board Room; but after Abidal recently called the collapses against Roma and Liverpool "accidents", said Messi could leave next summer, pined over Neymar, labeled Riqui Puig a "risk" for the club, seemed fine letting Carles Alena depart...all of it was abysmal. But worst of all he let us know:
"it's up to Valverde whether he continues after this season or not..." 
             What the?
             Seriously???
             Was that just said??
             Are we dreaming????
             Or has this nightmare become an unchanging rumination of doom that curdles and sours with each passing day?
             I guess Valverde is on a Johann Cruyff / Bob Paisley / Sir Alex Ferguson level where he's not even questioned or given ultimatums by the board after maniacal, diabolical, straight up pull your teeth out decisions and he's also above any evaluation other than his own? 
             Just speculation, but what type of sex tape does he have of Bartomeu? Seriously, does he have the bloody gloves in a bag somewhere or something?
             What does he have on the board or president to be given such autonomy?
             Who had to die for Valverde to get this job in the first place? 
             Who's in charge here? 
             Valverde's freedom to commit chaos and calculated dread is unheard of since Michael Keaton's madness on the set of Beetlejuice and for Abidal to say "it's up to Valverde when he wants to leave" (combined with everything else he rambled about) was so brainless, so out of character it shocked all of us, didn't it? 
             But then it didn't....
             This is just another example of Bartomeu's ruthless passion for turning the smartest people within his orbit into the biggest idiots...he has an obsession for making the people with the most integrity turn into sudden liars and deniers of an obvious reality. As a Soci friend of mine said, "no wonder Puyol didn't take this gig and no wonder Valdez was immediately sickened by the state of the club."

            But it didn't always use to be this way:
            When he first came to Barcelona in 2007, Abidal went from a club icon who retired in heroic fashion to an ex-player who was a vocal Joan Laporta supporter and opponent of the Sandro Rosell regime (including Barto).
          Abidal was the perfect example of how a Barcelona player, fan or manager should uphold the club's philanthropic / humanitarian values and he did it all while playing for the ultimate Michels / Cruyff vision: Pep Guardiola's FC Barcelona from 2008-2012.
           He was a key component of that Xavi / Iniesta / Messi-led passing machine, setting up countless attacks from the left back slot, though I fear in his present position as Barcelona Sporting Director, now he is being the one set up. 
         Since accepting Bartomeu's job offer (and after that horrorshow interview), Abidal is setting himself up as a scapegoat, whilst paying no credence to anything the club stands for in those remarks while a bizarre emptiness overtook the Frenchman, too. 
         Once Bartomeu won re-election and staved off Augusti Benedito's Vote De Censura in the highly charged political climate of 2017, Abidal's dreams of becoming a Barcelona sporting director were hijacked by a club president who knew he was at his lowest approval rating...a president who knew his regime's sporting director at the time, Pep Segura, acted like a thug and a fool... 
           At that crucial juncture, Bartomeu needed the perfect face to make the fans "relax" or his presidency and Dr. Strangelove board room were in jeopardy. 
           In the wake of Bartomeu's re-election, Abidal's presence felt like an early Xmas: a voice for us within the chaos; instead, it was just another calculated manipulation by this cancerous president.

          Even after securing big signings like Frenkie De Jong, Antoine Griezmann, consulting with Ousmane Dembele before he arrived, and prying Clement Lenglet from Sevilla for peanuts and a cracker jack, he could be the first scapegoat to go. 
         Since his appointment, Abidal's job performance appeared suitable: he seemed to be the only one working for the club. But after these recent quotes, it seems Abidal is towing the company line, currently (as well as tragically) becoming Bartomeu's mouthpiece.


          Make no mistake, Abidal's lust for Barcelona and his dedication to helping the club was taken advantage of in Bartomeu's greatest hour of PR need; but after these sacrificial recent statements confused or angered Barca fans and rattled the cage, it'll be Abidal that'll be punished for Bartomeu and Valverde's failures.
            

STAY TUNED FOR
"BARCELONA'S SILENTY MUTINY PT. II"
by
LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN   

(I do not claim ownership of any photo used, merely to promote wonderful photography)