If Barcelona doesn’t win La Liga this year, then you officially can’t buy wins in football

Published by Kevin | Filed under Football (aka soccer)

Any team with Deco, Henry and Marquez coming off of the bench might just be too good for its own good. That is exactly what happened in Barca’s opening match of their 2007/2008 season in Spain, where those three players certainly were not yet used to their roles in the new lineup. The game, against Racing Santander, was a nil-nil draw, with all three super-subs eventually making an appearance.

With Puyol, Marquez and Zambrotta, alongside your pick of Thuram, Abidal or Olequer, holding down the fort in the back, this Barca team looks almost impenetrable- on paper that is. The scary part is that Barcelona’s defense might just be the weakest area of their team- somehow, someway. With the option to play any of Xavi, Iniesta, Deco and Toure (and Messi and Ronaldinho non-technically speaking) in the midfield, they should control the ball and tempo at will. I haven’t even gotten to the forwards yet, where coach Frank Rikkard prefers to play three forwards up top. Eto, Henry, Messi, Ronaldinho and Gudjohnsen make up a rather imposing set of options for the attack, which surely must scare opposing defenders going into every match.

It looks like Deco might get traded. No matter how good he is, this team simply does not need him. After Puyol, who then becomes the real leader of this team? Ronaldinho seems like the obvious choice, skill-wise at least, but I just don’t see him as that type of player. Plus, he just doesn’t play defense. A real leader must step up no matter what third of the field you are in. Henry could play that role, but coming off the bench makes it rather tough, no? Eto, while possibly the most talented player on the roster is a finisher, not necessarily the leader they need. That leaves, in my estimation, Messi, Iniesta or Xavi. Iniesta and Xavi are both great players, but their job on this team is really just to be solid players, and keep the team in check. Messi’s talent is finally going to overwhelm his youth. His rugged play, unbelievable skill and constant work ethic give the Argentinian all the tools to lead by example, if nothing else.

How can the reigning fourth best player in the world (according to FIFA) come off the bench? Just watch, and you will find the reason.

In the next year or two, we will all be looking at Messi as the best player in the world. Right now, I personally would give that distinction to Kaka, or Zidane if he quit retiring. Soon enough though, Messi will simply be unstopable, not so unlike Maradona. That could possibly give Barca four of the top five players in the world, in Henry, Ronaldinho, Eto and Messi. Ridiculous.

There has been talk recently of Ronaldinho going to Chelsea. While Barca would get along just fine without him, they are clearly a better team with him on the pitch. Abromovich can buy almost any player he wants, but he must realize that Barcelona does the same thing as Chelsea. Each roster is equally loaded with talent, and each team is willing to shell out almost anything it takes to get the player they want. Barcelona is one team that you can’t just buy players from; and if Barcelona doesn’t win at the very least La Liga this year, then you officially can’t buy wins in football.