Its about time it happened. Never seemed like it would on one hand, but on the other, that very comment makes me think why shouldn't it, for so many reasons it was going to. Right now, only one reason comes to my mind - is their style of football that hard to recreate or a better term - copy ? I repeat -Barcelona's style of playing football - is it so hard copy ? I don't know, it looks so easy (on the eye as well) and there is a team built for that one purpose alone. Ok before I go on i want to introduce them - who need no introduction. (The Barcelona Intro para can be skipped, but I like to praise them whenever i get a chance)
Presenting the Football Club of Barcelona or in short 'Barcelona' or 'Barca'. A football club that I and a majority of the world has the highest regard for. Unarguably the best football club of the known footballing world (Europe and South America) in past 5 years , and by best I mean best by miles. Why are they the best and so so special - well for one they have a homegrown team - full of Catalunyans and a minority of foreign nationals - that means they bought less talent and grew their own over the years. That's how a club should be isn't it or at least that's how clubs were meant to be. But anyway, that is just one minor point. Barcelona's style of football, called tiki-taka by the footballing world, involves a lot and lot of passing . And its a very beautiful positive style of football which involves everybody in the team, building passes, searching for a hole in the opposition defense or creating one by their play - through balls , simple one touch passes in triangles (3 players) or squares (with four players ), constant movement, constant , shifting, all this coupled with wing play & high pressure too. Individually all these plays are sporadic and rare, or individual for any team but all of this coming together every minute and that too at a breakneck speed and involving lot of turning and twisting is something else. For this purpose most of the players they have are quick footballers with a low centre of gravity (putting it politely for short ). By combining so many things in their style they have the 'perfect football' (by my definition) or something like that, because when you see it, it seems so right, so positive so beautiful and so effective. Effective because that style to a certain extent was implemented before by Arsenal of early 2000s but not to this success. This success meaning - this barcelona team has won everything -including 2 champions league (not considering the 2006 ronaldinho one). Absolute domination of the football scene in home and away, league, cup, europe, world , international . I say International because what Spain has won and done in the last 4 years, they have never done before - won their first world cup (2010), won euro 2008 dominated world football by being number one last four years - all this because "spain is barcelona and barcelona is spain" - this might be a slight exaggeration but the spanish and barcelona engine room is run by the same people - Xavi and Iniesta . Add to that Puyol and Pique at defense and Villa in strike . Ha ha .
I say all this but I haven't mentioned another great reason - Lionel Messi , One of the greatest footballers ever, and he is been at Barcelona forever, throughout this revolution, being their main output source, being their main and top scorer . So between the Barcelona team they also have I think around 5 ballon D'Or or Similar ones, including Euro and WC best player. Yes, I am mentioning less about Messi , because its Messi . He is the face of Barca and a world Celebrity . So yeah. But saying all that, Barcelona is successful because they play like a team, like a well run machine - NOT because of Messi. He is been above and beyond ordinary but still that isn't enough and that isn't why Barca is Barca. That is the point to remember and that brings me to the actual topic of this article: Has Barca's downfall begun ?
"Great Cities are meant to rise and fall" - Bruce Wayne, Batman (Hush Series), also some great man must've said it, but that's where I've read it. Similarly all great teams/ great footballing eras , great footballers follow the same rule. Look at total football era(cruyff and others), Brazil ka domination of world scene(they still have the talent), Milan Domination (early 1990 - Dutch Trio), Cryuff's Barca Dream team , Real Madrid ( the great Puskas and DiStephano Era -1955-1960)and now Barca of Guardiola (although some work was also done by Rijkard ). This Barca team is showing some signs of the downfall, at the start of the season there were signs like barca losing to league teams or drawing, not scoring as freely- this more frequently. Saying all that, they still dominated every match in terms of possession (at least 65%- YES ) and shots on goal. But one thing- somehow the defense seemed to be weakening a little. Maybe the injuries are playing their toll at last on Barca. And yes, Real madrid defeated Barca for the first time in a while last year. But why this today - because I saw Barca playing AC Milan at Home (Nou Camp)in Quarters of Champs League. It was touted as a David and Goliath match repeatedly (Goliath being Barca). And during this and the away game they didn't look as ominous as they usually do and and this is not a rarity anymore. Even in the sunday match against Bilbao they had some difficult . A thing to notice was that a messi-centric playing seems to be developing, which according to me seems detrimental to their ethos. In today's match and the away leg , Barca's was much weaker, in terms AC Milan were romping more frequently than usual in Barca's half and causing them lots of problems. Barca still dominated by a lot, but the incisiveness in the final pass was lost somewhere. The killer magic passes, the through balls were rare and everybody concentrated on passing to Messi . But he was covered well, so well that he couldn't have a good shot at goal more than twice per game, that he scored two goals in total both and away through penalties - that's rare - taking nothing away from Milan - they defended well and had done their homework well enough. And finally, the charm of a Barca Match was lost, the game was won due to couple of penalties (one penalty in Bilbao match too) and that was uncharacteristic in terms that Barca isn't a team that usually wins their matches that way. Being the way they are, the football they play, the superiority they show that's not the way they win ! Its the negative to their positive ethos (Not including Busquets in the positive ethos part, he he ).
Facts to note : In the team today the starting forward three of Barca were Messi , Fabregas and Cuenca not Pedro or Sanchez -
This fact was kind of annoying as it meant maybe, maybe passing to messi in a 4-5 -1 ish attempt seemed to be the plan. Somehow the barcelona charm wasn't there in the game and thats why it makes me ponder that has the end begun. Because, on the other hand, Real madrid are winnng their matches in style (5-1 at Osasuna ) and their domination seems to around the corner (no other team has such talent to offer, so yes Madrid is the Heir). Somehow that fact isn't as pleasing. Because Madrid's Domination, if happens (very possible if they their team stays the same) doesn't mean anything. It need not mean that any national team might benefit from it. It doesn't mean that Madrid have a beautiful system in place for youngster to develop and come through. Ok the last line didn't come out right. But anyway, what it will mean is that for a few years they will produce winning football through a team assembled by buying the biggest footballing stars of world that money can buy. That philosophy is not encouraging . With that comment I sign off this article.
Hope barca return to their beautiful ways through the vast talent they have in Tello, Thiago and the rest. (Of course Iniesta and Xavi are gonna be there for a while ).
