Feeling blue after purple patch TROUBLE

Ageing players, patchy recruitments and strained coach-player relations have compounded Barcelona’s problems despite having the world’s best player in their ranks

NEWDELHI:Although it seems like ages ago, it was only last year when Barcelona looked primed to win yet another treble of the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. On May 7 2019, a day before the second leg of the Champions League semi-final – against Liverpool – the Catalan outfit looked destined for another historic season.

With the league title secured, Valencia waiting in the Copa del Rey final and a 3-0 lead over Liverpool from the first leg, Barcelona were all of three good games away from clinching their third treble, after 2009 (under Pep Guardiola) and 2015 (during Luis Enrique’s stewardship).

First Liverpool pulled off one of the great comebacks in the second leg (with a 4-0 win at Anfield) to deny Barcelona’s dreams of a sixth European Cup. And then their season ended in a cup final defeat to Valencia -- leaving the club slumped at the threshold of a great 2018-19.

Now, as Barcelona’s ongoing season starts to unravel as well, one can’t help but wonder how things have gone relatively south for a club boasting of the world’s greatest footballer and one of the best squads in the world. On Tuesday, Lionel Messi’s side was held to a 2-2 draw at home by Atletico Madrid, which in turn kicked a big dent to their hopes of a successful title defence.

Barca’s latest struggles come at a time when there are reports in the Spanish press of a rift between Messi and coach Quique Setien. Lending credence to these reports are videos, from recent games, that show the duo avoiding communication during drinks breaks.

Tuesday’s draw left Barcelona one point behind leaders Real Madrid, who can now go four clear if they win their game in hand on Thursday. And Barca have already been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao.

Setien, who replaced Ernesto Valverde in January, and his tactics have both come under the scanner; his substitutions on Tuesday wouldn’t have won him many supporters either. While Luis Suarez (whose fitness in recent games has seemed suspect) played every minute of the game, Antoine Griezmann was substituted on to the pitch only during the dying minutes of the contest.

To make matters worse for Barcelona, there is also enough evidence from recent times to show that the problems at Camp Nou go well beyond Setien. Their ageing squad, for one. Seven of Barcelona’s ten outfield players who started against Atletico on Tuesday are already in their 30s. And they have done little to replace some of their ageing stars over the years.

In fact, five of the eight Barcelona players with most appearances across all competitions this season are all above 30 -Messi, Suarez, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba. Even Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal, key to Barcelona’s composition in general, are in the same age group.

With football being suspended for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic (before it made a return last month), there were always going to be fitness concerns, especially with games coming thick and fast in a bid to complete the staggered season and start the next one. Perhaps thanks to their average age, Barcelona hasn’t responded well to the challenge, winning three games, drawing three and losing ground in the title race. This time, even Messi’s individual brilliance hasn’t been enough to help arrest Barcelona’s slide.

Then, the club’s recruitment in recent years has been patchy at best. The €222 million sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 left them with money to spend on a replacement and more. Barcelona have since made three signings for more than €100 million each, and none of them have worked out. Ousmane Dembele and Griezmann have been underwhelming, while Philippe Coutinho is no longer even wanted by the club and is currently on loan at Bayern Munich. And, unlike in the Guardiola era, there are fewer than usual La Masia graduates playing regularly in the first team.

Consider Barcelona’s most recent transfer as well: The club sold 23-year-old midfielder Arthur to Juventus for €72m and signed 30-year-old midfielder Miralem Pjanic from the Turin club for €60m. The effective swap is reported by ESPN to have been done in order to fix Barcelona’s books and help post a profit. Whether they benefit from it on the field is yet to be seen, given that Barcelona already have a veteran Sergio Busquets and a young Frenkie de Jong in deeplying midfield roles.

To be fair to Messi’s team, they still have a chance of bringing home silverware -- the Champions League, where they are locked 1-1 against Napoli in the round of 16. But even the dazzle of a European silverware will only momentarily distract attention from the cracks that seem to have appeared all over Camp Nou.

JUVENTUS, MAN UNITED WIN LEAGUE GAMES

AGENCIES ADD: Juventus maintained their four-point lead at the top of Serie A after a 3-1 win at Genoa that keeps chasers Lazio at bay despite their comeback triumph at Torino.

Three stunning individual goals from Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo and Douglas Costa downed relegation-threatened Genoa and kept Juve’s on course for their ninth straight league title.

Bruno Fernandes boosted Manchester United’s bid to qualify for the Champions League as his brace inspired a 3-0 win at Brighton.

At the Amex Stadium, Mason Greenwood opened the scoring early in the first half and Fernandes doubled the lead before the interval. Fernandes netted again after half-time with a fine volley as United climbed above Wolves on goal difference to take fifth place in the Premier League.

On Wednesday, the Confederation of African Football announced that next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon has been postponed until 2022. The Cup of Nations was set to be played in January and February 2021, reverting back to its traditional winter slot after experimenting with a summer tournament in Egypt last year.

Meanwhile, India bid for the 2027 Asian Cup hosting rights along with Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, AFC said in a statement.