The real end of the Barça cycle

He Barça It had been delaying the final crisis for so long that when it finally arrived, it was brutal and with very dangerous short and long-term consequences. 2020 may have been the worst year in the club’s history at all levels: no titles, terrible results, three coaches, vote of no confidence and resignation of the president, institutional chaos with the management board, no money to sign or pay that they had signed, the messi burofax asking to be allowed to leave for free, the mismanagement of situations such as the ‘dismissal’ of Luis Suárez or Quique Setién, the pathetic case of social networks with the club paying profiles that criticized opponents and even players …

The list is endless and hardly anyone is saved. The effects of the pandemic of the coronavirus have had their influence, of course, especially in economic matters. But it is not the only cause. The storm had been coming for years, but as it had not finished downloading, mainly because Leo Messi was acting as an umbrella, the appropriate measures were not taken. In 2020 the lightning, thunder, the flood appeared and even the earth shook in the club. And this time the Argentine, tired of working miracles, already looked the other way.

You have to travel back in time to try to understand this surprising lack of foresight. Journalism, in general, tends to abuse short and catastrophic headlines. That is why the concept of the end of the cycle has coexisted with the Barça team since they did not win the 2011-12 League that Real Madrid snatched from Jose Mourinho. But it was not like that. They rushed into talking about the end of the cycle because Tito Vilanova’s Barça won the 2012-13 League with 100 points.

At that time the anti-Barcelona players and the Catalans were attached to ‘cruyffismo’ who, after enjoying Guardiola’s undoubted footballing excellence, no longer accept anything else. The year of ‘Tata’ Martino, arrived urgently due to the illness and death of Tito, and a commitment to a more direct football of the Luis Enrique’s Barça In the 2014-15 season, already with Xavi as a substitute, it was valued as another end of the cycle due to the hecatomb that was coming. But, surprise, that team won the triplet and another League and a Cup before the arrival of Ernesto Valverde in 2017. Again postponed.

That August 2017 did look bad. Neymar fled to PSG and Bartomeu rushed to spend the 222 million that the Brazilian left in ruinous operations like Dembélé and Coutinho, to which Griezmann’s was added in 2019. Real Madrid gave Barça a review in the Spanish Super Cup. End of cycle, he started again. But not like that. Two more leagues and another Cup arrived to say goodbye to Iniesta. There were also two major and painful disappointments such as the European eliminations in Rome and Liverpool. But the 2019-20 season was beginning and the team was still alive. Anfield’s 4-0, yes, did a lot of damage. So much so that nothing was the same anymore.

Valverde’s third year started with ups and downs. And in January 2020 the coach was fired after falling to Atlético in the semifinal of the new Super Cup. Bartomeu did it without having desired relief, Xavi Hernández, guaranteed. His refusal left him naked and he hired Quique Setién for his passion ‘cruyffista’, but the squad did not believe in him and Messi was no longer the same. He 8-2 del Bayern in the quarterfinals of the Champions the only match in Lisbon was an insult.

Bartomeu hired Ronald Koeman and began a cleaning of the locker room that was left half because there was no money for liquidations. Orphan without his faithful squires Luis Suárez and Arturo VidalMessi resorted to a very personal interpretation of his contract, which ends in June 2021, to request his departure through a burofax. Bartomeu had his way and did not let him go, but he ended up leaving. A sad 33-year-old player was left, faced with some teammates, very far from his best football version.

With Koeman Yes there was initially a change in attitude and a commitment to young people, but the results do not accompany and 2020 ends with the feeling that this time the end of the cycle did come, the real one, and that getting out of the well will take time, sanity and even a lot of luck. Messi, with permission for alleged ankle problems, extends his vacation in Rosario and will miss the last league game of the year against Eibar.

Laporta and Font, favorites in the presidential elections

2020 ends for Barça in the middle of the electoral process. Although it is a sign of a democratic club, the fact that there are nine candidates reflects the chaos in which the club lives installed. Not all will pass the signature cut and on January 24 it will be time to vote. Joan Laporta, former president between 2003 and 2010, when the cycle of success began, has known how to wait for the moment to make an impact with his return to the forefront of today and is already the favorite despite the fact that Víctor Font had been reporting for months on one more project worked that has Xavi Hernández as a great claim on the bench. Both represent a return to the essence of Johan Cruyff. And it is already known that after a time of break with that model, it always ends up coming back.

The Egarense coach, smart as always, seeing that Font is no longer such a favorite, has run to publicly distance himself from any pre-candidacy. With Pep Guardiola fed up with the Barça environment and without any desire to return, Xavi will be the next coach for sure. The when is missing. Koeman knows it has an expiration date, but it’s blurred. It is not ruled out that the season does not even end if entering the next Champions League is in danger. In any case, there will not be a second season except for some great title in the current one.

Jordi Farré, promoter of the vote of no confidence in Bartomeu; Agustí Benedito, Xavi Vilajona, Toni Freixa, Emili Rousaud, Lluís Fernández Alá and Pere Riera are the other seven candidates. With the economic problems that the club has, there are many. There is more to lose than to gain.