...AND SO IT BEGINS? THE RETURN OF BARCELONA?

...AND SO IT BEGINS?
THE RETURN OF BARCELONA? 

                 Well well well....
                 That Barcelona CAN play football eh?
                 My my how I love to praise and wax lyrically about beautiful Barca-ball, and though we haven't had many chances to do that in a long time thanks to the disturbance of Ernesto Valverde and Josep Maria Bartomeu, the players have done what I really hoped they would do: get together, communicate, focus, work out the issues on the pitch and maximize their sky-high potential.
               Many have said they "used Lionel Messi's Ballon D'or presentation in the pre-game to amp themselves up", but their expressions of quiet focus and confidence were glued to their faces in the warm-up as well...something has changed behind the scenes in the Barcelona dressing room and we don't think it has a damn thing to do with Ernesto Valverde.

               What a performance it was in the first 55 minutes of the wild 5-2 victory over Mallorca and one that felt every bit, as BEINSport's Ray Hudson aptly put it, "a throwback".
                 Lemme tell ya what he means: he's not just talking about finally playing with pace, accuracy, energy and an undying lust for goals...he's repping the days when Barca had Puyol, Valdez and nobody else in defense and bombed forward with little or no concern as to how many goals they conceded, those teams just knew they'd bury the opponent by outscoring them...back then Barcelona only cared about clean sheets in the Champions League (when they really mattered)...yet match to match, we simply outscored everyone 5-2, 6-1 etc....which was what this hell bent for leather display on Saturday was all about...turning the clock back to late 2005, 2008 or Spring 2009 and going for it.

                For once, the players went out there and took the game to the opponent and left them in tatters, sweeping them aside in a manner akin to the way our favorite Messi, Xavi & Iniesta-led teams terrorized and delighted the European continent with for years.
               Crucially, for the third match in a row the forward line appears to be flying high after the gradual rise of Griezmann into the team. Finally, just as we'd hoped, Mess & Suarez found a way around Valverde's tactical shortcomings and their own egos to integrate Griezmann into the forward line with the ease & understanding that should've happened a month and a half ago.
             What we watched on Saturday was much more than a powerhouse Messi performance, a once-in-a-lifetime Suarez finish and a magnificent shift from Antoine Griezmann capped off by a filthy chipped finish & an assist to Messi early...We've seen stunning, world class play from Barcelona front-lines even during the Valverde era, so what was really different? 
             It wasn't just the way the midfield passed, pressed and hounded Mallorca into handing over possession in dangerous areas, it was the manner in which the entire team pressed and possessed the ball. 
             Every pass, every move, whether from the feet of Gerard Pique, Sergio Roberto, the insanely criticized Sergi Busquets or the usually rugged play from Luis Suarez, most of the play from everyone was fast.
             The passing on Saturday was at its optimum on occasion, the ball pinging around from the spry agility of Frenkie De Jong or the one touch magnetism of Sergi Busquets; the magic also came from Sergi Roberto playing finesse balls inside from his auxiliary right back / wide midfield role. 
            There was also Gerard Pique turning back the clock to his best performance, flying around with a smile on his face as he pierced long balls into the opposition half, and left back Junior Firpo supplied nonstop unselfish runs (that were very rarely picked out by an aware Lionel Messi). 
            And of course: Griezmann, Suarez and Messi played some illustrious pinball-fantastic football in the heart of the Mallorca defense was the massive and delicious cherry on top.
              The pace of play was especially quick, a welcome difference to the typical Valverde-era crawl, with the Barcelona crowd taking notice in rapturous approval and appreciation, finally providing the magical Camp Nou atmosphere the players and manager haven't always deserved (a vibe of positivity and unity that was greatly missing the last two seasons). 

             And we could all tell at home that this was a different Barcelona: from the first minute I felt like this could be a big blow-out, but more than that, despite whatever scoreline would be the result, the success of the team in recent matches has been about the refurbished and rejuvenated mentality the players displayed, top to bottom.
             Whether it was Ter Stegen grabbing his 2nd assist of the season (when his goal-kick took the perfect bounce up and over two defenders and set Griezmann free on goal), Luis Suarez unselfishly interchanging with Griezmann and splitting out wide left or tucking inside on the right, or Sergi Busquets spraying passes to all corners of the expansive Camp Nou pitch, this was a special mastergod performance to build from...and just in time for El Clasico.
            The Barcelona players looked up for the task before the match, maintaining a steady game-face and forgoing the casual careless vibe we've seen over the last year-and-a-half in the tunnel and in warmups. There weren't any smirks, cliquey whispers or childish antics, just intensified communication between each other and bloodthirsty stares, even a near anxiety to get out on the pitch and prove all of our criticism wrong.
            These are the key ingredients to this new mentality...one we hope will continue, for if they don't maintain the same energy or care and the Valverde mentality of boring casualty "football" returns and the "Barcelona" we've seen the first half of this season and the last few seasons returns, this team now truly knows what they're capable of and will have that shame to haunt them on many a sleepless night in the future. 
            
PACE / TEMPO

(BARCA WON THE BALL 12 TIMES IN THE MALLORCA HALF)

          Winning possession in the final third is something that sets a team on a blistering pathway to success: simply put, nothing can jettison an attacking juggernaut quite like taking the ball from an opponent whilst in stride with only 20+ yards left to go towards goal...especially with Lionel Messi on your team.
           Not only does this intensify the pressure on the opponent, it sets up a rash of quick and usually easy goals within seconds after the turnover. The ball-winning / tackle-happy ethos help an attacking / possession team dictate the tempo, just look at how the vastly inexperienced and un-athletic Ajax were within a second away from the Champions League Final last year...they press and possess with equal fury, still led by Hakim Ziyech, Dusan Tadic and of course last year they had Barcelona's newest midfield wonder Frenkie De Jong. Together, led by Frenkie, they harassed, attacked and dominated everyone from Real Madrid, Ronaldo's Juventus and Bayern Munich. 
           Imagine what we could do...in the right hands of the proper manager, this could be the greatest Barcelona team of all time as far as sheer entertainment, domination and title winning histrionics...but could we still have that based on the strength of our players alone??? All while our board lies blinded by dollar signs???
           We could if we can get back into the time machine and go back to a time where Barcelona ran matches from first minute to last, forcing the opponent to adapt.
          When most fans think of dictating the tempo of a futbol match, they think of a group of players sitting on the ball and working it side to side, draining the energy of the opposition; however, the most effective way of controlling a match is to dominate both sides of the game...on and off the ball while managing each minute of the match as it comes, avoiding the pitfalls of allowing transitional goals (Barca wins possession, plays a poor and ambitious ball and the turnover, coupled with our movement forward, creates an easy counter-attacking opportunity ending in a goal or usually, a last ditch Marc-Andre Ter Stegen save).
            This is what made those Guardiola teams so special: they won possession in the final third with gusto, intensity and speed, constantly harassing the back-lines and deepest lying midfielders just as the opposition manager was expecting his side to do to Barcelona. We never provided them with a sitting duck to press into submission, no...we passed and pressed with such ferocity they couldn't touch the ball because A. it was moving too quick and B. the passing was too accurate and unpredictable and C. we moved our guys around, even if just slightly.
             This mentality completely flips the script and offers the opponent no chance when they barely have the time to possess the ball (thanks to a venomous front press) and can't find their third or fourth wind of energy to chase it down, either.
            Just as we finally returned to these Barca values as a collective unit, we've witnessed Messi, Griezmann and Suarez finally gel, we've also seen a blueprint for how we can limit Valverde's damaging influence on the team, we've watched Barcelona take control of the UCL Group of Death with a banner-victory over BVB and now we're seeing the team perform at a high level collectively: the only ultimate pursuit in Barcelona football.

PASSING DECISIONS / ACCURACY

             On so many occasions with Valverde's Barcelona, we see our back-line relax late in matches with a 1 or 2-0 lead, playing conservatively in the name of their manager; but before long, one lax pass from Pique or Sergi Roberto and we'd have 6 opposition players in and around our own box, usually scoring on us (even when Ter Stegen made brilliant saves). 
              In the last 3 matches, the 3-1 win over BVB, the late 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid and now the comprehensive 5-2 evisceration of Mallorca, we're being teased by Barcelona's back-line finally passing with pace, accuracy and penetration from deep...but will it continue? Will Samuel Umtiti get more opportunities, stay fit and usurp Clement Lenglet? Will it matter if he doesn't? 
             With Ernie, who knows.
             Under Valverde-Ball, we've seen the following in nearly every match: Pique slide the ball horizontally to the right back, either Roberto or Semedo and then, while ignoring a mountain of space before them on the right wing, either right back checks the ball back inside to Pique who then slowly rolls it to Lenglet and back again, then once an opponent presses Lenglet or Pique, the ball goes straight back to Ter Stegen...costing us 40-50 yards of territorial advantage and allowing the opposition press to sit around in our own half.
                Beginning with Samuel Umtiti's unbelievable 90 minutes vs Borussia Dortmund (the best 90 minutes by any Barca defender this season), Valverde-Ball is out the window: Umtiti was looking to smash the ball in between the lines of midfield and attack, sending finesse passes into Messi's feet from over 60 yards and Dortmund couldn't organize their front press because of this. 

               Passing into the feet of attackers or midfielders from deep not only quickens our pace and the tempo of our attack, it also keeps the opponent's front press from being too aggressive, thus giving our midfield and back-line even more time on the ball. If a striker comes in to press Pique, he now has to worry about the wide open gap he's vacating for Pique to feed the ball into Busquets, bypassing the front press and allowing Busquets to launch an attack in just one pass and a turn; now with Arthur, Sergi Roberto playing out of his mind as a defender, a midfielder and a winger, Rakitic giving 100% in his last stand, Sergi Busquets in the pivote position, a retreating Lionel Messi as well as the outstanding and automatic Frenkie De Jong, there are a bevy of options in which to start the attack. 
               But if Pique or Lenglet refuse or fail to see the open gaps for forward options (no matter how safe they may be) and continue to listlessly roll the ball to the side, we become a predictable team to press. Therefore, Samuel Umtiti and / or Jean-Claire Todibo must be given playing time to freshen the team up and force Pique and Lenglet to compete at higher levels match in and out. 
               Against Mallorca, the passing from the back was the perfect conveyor belt into the feet of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez, forcing Mallorca to twist, their coach to shout and their goalkeeper to make 14 saves from Barcelona's 17 shots on target, Suarez hitting the post after sexy play from Roberto on another effort.
               Which leads us perfectly to...

TAKING MORE SHOTS


(9 BARCA PLAYERS HAD A SHOT ON TARGET, INC. SUBS ALENA & PEREZ)

           With a whopping 25 shots attempted, but most importantly, 17 on target, Barcelona were letting it fly against Mallorca for once...and it's about time: the eye test, as well as statistics, prove the Blaugranes are undefeated in 19/20 when attempting 14+ shots.
            In each of Barcelona's three defeats and two horrifically sub-par outings vs Prague, every team (Levante, Granada, Atletic Bilbao and Slavia) took more or as many shots as the Blaugranes, and against Prague, the Czech club attempted nearly twice as many shots as Barcelona (Prague attempted 24 to our 13 and hit 9 on target alone!).
            On the other side of the coin (Valverde's face on one side, the team, led by Messi on the other), in each match where Barcelona scored 4+ goals, the blue and red-checkered gang attempted 17 shots or more.
            I remember a time where we'd only lose after attempting every shot imaginable, hitting the post a few times in cruel fashion, missing a penalty, allowing own goals etc...we'd always lose to lesser clubs who'd park the bus, get lucky and we'd all be sitting there scratching our heads after attempting nearly 30 shots...football is just cruel sometimes...
             In that bygone Xavi-Iniesta era, it appeared the more desperate things became, our aggression in attack and urgency increased, our guys always displaying an absolute willingness to try everything possible to get back in the game (as seen in such efforts as the UCL semifinals 2nd legs vs Inter Milan in 2010 and Chelsea in 2012).
             Once again, we are seeing that urgency and at the perfect time: these players are fighting for their reputations and their legacy as Barcelona players, swimming against the tide of a ruinous manager and his treacherous / apocalyptic vision and continuous injury from mismanagement and desperation to prove themselves.
             So why not finally start taking the shots...you miss 100% of the shots you don't take and until now, this Valverde-Ball was based around emasculating our club's values, failing to try and desperately trying not to fail and in effect, failing our players.

THE 2ND COMING OF THE DREAM TEAM, BUT WITH A NIGHTMARE MANAGER?

             Against Roma, at Anfield in May, Valverde-Ball killed us: we played 4-4-2 formations with Jordi Alba as the main attacking winger, forcing the Spaniard to defend with 180% and attack with 150% against top opposition, we only used Ousmane Dembele in the final minutes of matches despite his ruthless talents and pace out wide and the entire "system" completely relied on Lionel Messi to collect the ball and create from deep, (in the absence of a winger) create width and play long diagonals to Alba out wide left from these right wing positions and Valvere-Ball forced the little man to score / create all of our goals while pressing from the front like a heathen on fire. Somehow in the middle of that, Messi found time to contribute as an auxiliary midfielder and taker of all corners, free-kicks and most penalties...but through this, we wasted our best players' energy in doing tedious tasks for Valverde's own titilation in the beginning of his final years...an unforgivable travesty.
              No wonder we lost to inferior opposition.
              There are no excuses with this roster, but more than that, the profiles of these new guys fit our strengths like a glove if used appropriately.
              Valverde is still incapable of utilizing anyone right or doing anything new, he's throwing out the same XI's he's always puked out before, but these players are getting together and figuring this stuff out before executing their own game plans on the pitch (against BVB, Atletico at times and especially vs Mallorca, we saw Griezmann, at left wing, float inside all the way until he was almost a right winger...hell that's where he dished his wondrous assist to Messi's epic turn and whip).
              Now we have De Jong's speed in midfield to cover a lot more ground, the finesse and artistry of De Jong / Arthur, the omnipresent beauty from Sergi Busquets at the anchor and a litany of options on the bench (should we choose to keep them, which we should, only Rakitic should depart so we can begin to play Alena & Puig far more).
             With these options, Busquets is now far more dangerous than he's ever been before at the pivote spot with avenues to his left and right for our center backs to feed instead of always funneling each attack through Sergi and making him an easy pressing target, he now has the freedom to roam a little bit and find pockets of space where his distribution can be far more deadly.
               This is such an upgrade over the trio of 30+ year old midfielders of yesteryear from Valverde, though the idiotic manager still has a penchant for this routine, substituting Vidal on for De Jong in the 64th and the 3 man 30 year old midfield of Busquets, Rakitic and Vidal played for 8 minutes...allowing a goal within seconds of playing together. Rakitic moved to Frenkie's spot on the left, attempted a maniacally stupid tackle that missed its mark and the ball goes past him, the cross goes in and Mallorca get a goal immediately.
               Perhaps Valverde finally understood this 30+ year old midfield is a disaster waiting to happen at any period in any moment of any match when he witnessed Mallorca grow in aggression and gain more of the ball, nearly making the game 4-3 minutes late in a match we'd dominated up to that point. 
              Finally, he did an un-Valverde thing: he stopped the bleeding, throwing on Carles Alena for the lad's first minutes since the opening 45 of Matchday 1 and suddenly, in a snap of a finger, Barcelona played with urgency, energy and grit, just from one insertion of youth.
               Is Valverde getting it????
               I dunno...because as soon as he began making decisions, the level of intensity and play dropped off a cliff when he did the midfield shuffle...just stay out of the way until we can get you out, Ernie, please, just enjoy the paychecks and the front row seat to Lionel Messi's greatness, just enjoy the job you don't deserve and stay outta the way.

IS THIS BARCA HERE TO STAY?
           Let it be known: this isn't a game anymore...this isn't a joke of a Barcelona team, this isn't a group of players that should be mired in the doldrums of a Valverde coma: this is a super-team that should be rampaging their way through opposition like Audie Murphy in To Hell and Back.
           We've shown this form before in 19/20 against Betis without Messi, Suarez or Dembele, looking fantastic at times in the 4-0 win vs Sevilla and were expansive during the 5-1 beatdown of Valencia; we showed this form last season against Real Madrid x2, Lyon and in spells against Liverpool...just imagine what we can do now when Valverde plays the right XI with Frenkie De Jong, Samuel Umtiti, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann surrounding Messi, Busquets, Pique and Ter Stegen?
         Yet there's also the matter of our slapstick manager's substitutions killing our momentum in matches, with no better evidence than the win over Mallorca.
         Frequently in the few matches we've played with frenetic gusto and had the most success, Barcelona lost the grip on proceedings as the match went into the 60th-70th minute mark and allowed chance after chance, usually turning into sloppy goals, often the result of Valverde's disastrous decisions.
          Until Valverde starts making the right substitutions to keep the foot on the gas pedal, we'll see uneven performances such as this fun-loving win over Mallorca. 
           It was riveting as a long time Barcelona fan to witness our players executing a rampant, ride the lightning style of football that hearkened back to the ways of yesteryear, all while the individual greatness of Lionel Messi shined on, Luis Suarez continued his recent selfless play and Frenkie De Jong ran the Barcelona midfield like a Dutch shrine to Xavi and Iniesta...it was fun as hell...and something all Barcelona fans deserved after a long time in the darkness of Valverde's shadow, the horrors of Rome and Anfield and the spineless media abyss of Bartomeu's distraction. 
         This isn't a complete Barcelona team yet and the match against Mallorca only shows the current improvement within the group of players, not their manager. 
          However, if this squad can sustain the same intensity and hard work on and off the ball they showed us all vs Mallorca, this match will be remembered as the starting point of something special...Valverde be damned.

by
LONN PHILLIPS
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