Barca reserve the right to dominate La Liga, Europe again
MADRID: Barcelona are no longer just a richly talented team – they can now boast, for the first time in a decade, a squad with more strength in depth than ever before.
In their bid for a fifth Uefa Champions League within 12 seasons, Barca have kept their exquisite, elegant first-choice team together, but have backed it up with the signing, this past summer, of six young squad players, who are already being deployed – either to give a wellearned rest to the regulars or to plug gaps caused by injury.
After wearily crashing out of the Champions League against Atletico Madrid last season in the quarter-finals, Barca decided that they needed to sign squad players rather than superstars.
“For many years, the reserves at Barcelona were not important,” commented Catalan radio RAC1. “There was a wonderful, sumptuous team, but not a strong squad to back up the team. This meant that the team suffered massively when there was fatigue and injuries – as indeed happened last spring.”
Part of the blame for this situation, ironically, has been placed at the door of Pep Guardiola, who returns to the Camp Nou tonight for a crucial Group C clash as coach of Manchester City.
Barca top the group with a maximum six points from two games, two more than City.
Barca carried practically all before them during Guardiola’s glittering reign from 2008 to 2012, though on several occasions the lack of reliable reserves led to problems, most notably in the springs of 2010 and 2012.
This situation repeated itself last season, when Barca crashed out of the Champions League and almost threw away the Spanish League title after a string of injuries, fatigue and the poor form of key players.
Coach Luis Enrique and sporting director Robert Fernandez are determined not to let this happen again, especially with seven first-team players either already over 30 or due to pass that crucial age this season.
This is why Barca signed the six squad players in the summer: Back-up goalkeeper Jesper Cillesen from Ajax, defender Samuel Umtiti from Lyon, left-back Lucas Digne from PSG, midfielder Denis Suarez from Villarreal, plus Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer from Valencia.
“We know that it is our job to help out when there are injuries and poor form,” said Digne, who is the back-up for the currently injured Jordi Alba. “We do not renounce the possibility of becoming first-choice players eventually, but in the short term our task is to help the coach out when needed.”
The signings were received positively by the fans and media in the summer – though some of the newcomers have allegedly not yet come up to scratch.
“This is the deepest and best balanced squad since 2006,” TV channel TV3 said.
Cillesen and Alcacer have so far failed to impress, with the Dutch keeper looking shaky in his only game so far – a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Alaves – and with Alcacer still waiting for his first goal.
“I am not anxious to score. I know the goals will come. I just want to help the team,” Alcacer said after a nervous cameo appearance late in Saturday’s 4-0 pounding of Deportivo la Coruna.
On the other hand, Umtiti, Digne, Suarez and Gomes have all won rave reviews, prompting many fans and commentators to conclude that Barca at long last have a deep, reliable squad. – dpa