Post-Neymar Barca still chasing Madrid
BARCELONA (Reuters) –La Liga’s reputation as the epicenter of world soccer talent has been bruised by the world record smashing sale of Neymar to Paris St Germain and how Barcelona reacts to the departure of one of its leading players will define the new season in Spain.
Barca outscored Real Madrid last season with its ferocious attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar but still surrendered the title to Zinedine Zidane’s side.
Purists at Barcelona hope the virtuoso Brazilian’s departure will lead to new coach Ernesto Valverde building a more balanced side and reverting to the possession-based style of play perfected under former coach Pep Guardiola to try and wrestle the title back from Madrid.
The La Liga campaign gets under way next weekend, but the two bitter rivals will already meet for the first time this season on Sunday when they clash in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup in Camp Nou in Barcelona. The return leg will be played in Madrid on Wednesday.
Like Barca, Real is also grappling with questions over its strongest formation.
It looked its most powerful last campaign playing a four-man midfield led by playmaker Isco rather than with its usual threepronged attack, which has left question marks about the future of Gareth Bale.
There is little doubt about the quality of Real’s nucleus of players that last season won the league and became the first team to successfully defend the European Cup since 1990. Madrid looked as unbeatable as ever last week in its 2-1 win over Manchester United to win the European Super Cup.
The range of talent in Real’s squad explains why its recent transfer activities have been geared towards building for the future rather than the immediate present, bringing in 19-yearold full back Theo Hernandez from Atletico Madrid and Spain under-21 midfielder Dani Ceballos.
Barca has added more pace to its side with the return of winger Gerard Deulofeu after stints in England and Italy although the Spaniard cannot be expected to be a replacement for Neymar.
Valverde has strengthened in the one key area it was lacking last term by recruiting Portugal right back Nelson Semedo, although he still faces a huge task in hunting down Zidane’s all conquering side which shows no sign of letting up.
The title race is set to be even more of a two horse race than in previous seasons as third force Atletico Madrid has been unable to strengthen due to a ban on registering new players until January, while Diego Simeone’s side may also take time to bed into its new Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
Competing with Atletico for third will be Sevilla, which spent much of the last campaign competing for top spot until dropping out of the title race and finishing fourth and has had a summer of change, bringing in former Celta coach Eduardo Berizzo to replace Jorge Sampaoli.
They have also parted ways with Spain winger Vitolo, captain Vicente Iborra and, more crucially, longtime sporting director Monchi, who has been credited with unearthing so many of the players responsible for the team’s many successes in the 21st century. (Reuters)