Barcelona's floor is (still) way too low
As long as the fundamentals are not good enough, better players won't elevate Barcelona's level enough to be relevant.
The return of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele was hailed as the solution to most of Barcelona’s issues. However, as we’ve seen time and again, better players don’t make the system, they only elevate it. If the system and the collective aren’t functioning correctly and the fundamentals of the team are lacking, both on an individual and systemic level, different players won’t be the answer to those woes.
However, Barcelona do have a personnel issue; their squad depth is simply nonexistent, and there’s no escaping that fact. Many of the players Xavi currently has to rely on aren’t of the required level and it’s holding the whole team back. Yes, beggars can’t be choosers and at the moment, financially, Barcelona are the beggars of this story. But even when the starting XI is fit and Xavi can field a strong lineup, not much changes structurally or tactically.
Barcelona are sometimes a good enough team
Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been very vocal about my expectations and criteriums for this new Barcelona. Xavi needs to improve the team. It’s as simple as that and it’s objective number one. Not much has changed since; I would rather sack him on the basis of not achieving that objective than on a potential lack of silverware. At the end of t…
Yes, you can argue the team’s tactics give more freedom to the players in the final third but if there’s no automatism where there needs to be (at least) some, when there are no patterns, no rehearsed actions or distinct game model, you don’t get elevated by higher individual level, you depend on it.
When it comes to such players like Dembele or Pedri, the drop in quality that follows their absence is inevitable. Simply put, they are the difference makers; players that do extraordinary things others cannot do and that makes them invaluable. But they are also ceiling raisers; players who can help Barcelona reach a higher level and even punch above their weight but they are not players on whom a system should depend.
It’s actually the floor raisers who can give you an outlook on how good the actual system is. As the saying goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. So Barcelona is as strong as their Sergi Robertos or Marcos Alonsos. No disrespect to them but in the hierarchy of players, they are near the bottom. And in those moments, if the profiles are right and the talent ID is right, the team as a whole, the system as a whole, enhances the individuals and they become more than just the sum of their parts. But Barcelona’s issues are two-fold: their individual quality is lacking but so is the system as a whole.
Xavi's bittersweet reign: Why can't Barcelona control games?
Barcelona have been on a path to rediscover their identity for several years now. Coaches like Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman all had different ideas of what that actually meant but none could bring it to life. At least not the way it was
In other words, the system cannot enhance the individuals, it can’t make them become more than they are on their own. And that’s an issue. Even a player of lower quality but of the right profile and in the right (and functioning) system is a player who can and will provide value. Lots of it even. But that’s not the case with this Barcelona team. Their floor is low because the squad depth is lacking but their floor is also low because their fundamentals are lacking too.
The system represents the floor and fitting utility players are what completes that floor. The great players, the elites, the superstars, the Pedris and Dembeles, are the ceiling. Barcelona depend on the latter to fly as high as possible but they depend on the former to function properly. Even when Pedri and De Jong are in the team, as we’ve seen tonight, the squad still plays largely the same style, only their issues are sometimes mitigated by higher individual quality.
But if Barcelona depend on Pedri to function properly, if a single player’s absence destroys the structure of the team, then Xavi has much bigger problems to solve than simply replacing one midfielder when he’s not there. However, tonight also showed that as long as their floor is too low, as long as their fundamentals and quality in depth aren’t good enough, they won’t achieve much.
How well Xavi tackles that problem going into next season will largely determine the success of his project at the Camp Nou.
By now, the cat is out of the bag - I wrote a book! Anatomy of a Genius: Leo Messi’s Tactical Evolution at FC Barcelona is the culmination of (approximately) a year’s worth of research, interviewing, relentless watching of footage and dissecting of one of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch. And it’s finally available in all major online bookstores, including Amazon, Book Depository and Pitch Publishing’s official website which contains other sources as well.
To help you with the decision to buy (or not to buy) the book, I’ve also published a FREE sample chapter on BarcaFutbol! You can read it HERE. Either way, I appreciate the overwhelming support so far and hope you’ll enjoy reading this book as much as I did writing it.
excellent piece