When Gerardo Martino was signed as FC Barcelona’s manager in July, the prevailing attitude was one of cautious optimism. He was an unknown quantity, and less rigorous media made his lack of European experience a major talking-point. But more level-headed fans did their research, got to know Martino’s bielsista heritage and pragmatism and welcomed him. Nobody expected an all-conquering winner; while Tito Vilanova was considered a continuation of Pep Guardiola’s project, Martino was an outsider, the first non-Masia coach in five years. Cules hoped, however, that an outside perspective would revitalize the team, diversifying and strengthening the famous Barça DNA, now a stagnant gene pool. In short: not titles, but transition.


If you told me in November that Martino’s team would end up trophyless, once again losing the Copa del Rey to Real Madrid and knocked out of the Champions League by a Spartan-drilled Atlético, I would not have complained. I would have assumed that Tata Martino had continued to make the tactical evolutions to his team that he was making in November, and that the long-term benefit of those changes would be worth the lack of silverware. In January, I pictured one such long-term scenario, in which Martino’s verticalidad would help usher in a fresh, younger Barça, with a run-and-gun midfield, some of the best attackers on the planet, and a slightly more counter-attacking style, similar to Jürgen Klopp’s Dortmund.

Martino was, above all else, a pragmatic man. He gave his players’ individual attention and confidence, he rotated the squad well, and he introduced his tactical innovations in small doses. But Barcelona, it seems, does not welcome pragmatism. This is a club of romantics, driven by a passionate, even fanatic core. Beating Rayo Vallecano 4-0 was a near-disaster, as it included with it the shock of less than 50% possession. At any other club in the world, that scoreline and those statistics would be welcomed with open arms. Martino’s Barça went the first twenty games of the season undefeated, but throughout that streak he was hounded with questions of a changing style, of fan’s dissatisfaction or lack of control in matches. Each week, Martino fended off these questions with a quip in the press conference and a win on the pitch.

But eventually he seemed to get weary, his comments a bit shorter and sharper. And over the winter break something seemed to happen. What exactly transpired remains unclear, but the overwhelming gist of it was simple: Martino tried to make minor changes to Barcelona, faced stiff and constant resistance from fans, media, and possibly even players, and eventually gave up, reverting to the default style used by Tito Vilanova. In recent months, his style became reminiscent of that horrid spring under Jordi Roura: a default lineup with a midfield four, few substitutions and no evidence of learning from mistakes. Under Roura Barcelona were on autopilot, hoping just to get through a horrible situation and make it to the end of the season without crashing. Martino’s 2014 has felt much the same.

Much as no sane cule blamed Jordi Roura, nobody should blame Martino. Like Roura, he is a man who got far more than he bargained for, who was handed a horrible situation (cancer in one case, a cancerous environment in the other) and made do the best he could. But many cules are not sane – in fact, a vocal majority are impatient, fickle, short-sighted and self-righteous. They cursed Roura and Alexis Sanchez last season; they cursed Gerard Piqué up until he was injured; this week, they curse Tata Martino, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Cesc Fábregas, José Manuel Pinto, and more.

The mob surrounding FC Barcelona right now is calling for revolution: tear down everything, sell everyone, start anew. But does anyone really believe this fanbase has the patience for a complete overhaul of its team? Tata Martino instructed his center-backs to play long passes and to sit a bit farther back when defending, and was met with a frenzied, unceasing debate about playing style as if the soul of the club were at stake. Carlo Ancelotti, by contrast, was given the freedom at Real Madrid to completely restructure his team, selling key assets and switching formations entirely. Madrid paid the price early on in the season but are now reaping the benefits, with one trophy in their pocket and two still to play for.

Unfortunately, overhaul will indeed have to come. But it is not Martino’s fault, nor Messi’s, nor any individual’s, really. It is not even Sandro Rosell’s fault, despite all the damage his board’s indifference and neglect have caused. All of the discussion I have read lately revolves around what mistakes were made, tracing a path of blame in order to explain how a beloved club could have gotten to this point. Personally, I find such discussion fruitless. Not only is hindsight a huge bias, but focusing only on missed opportunities, the Javi Martinez’s and Thiago Silva’s, entirely ignores the opportunities on hand. For even as cules justifiably rage about the damage done by a truly incompetent board, they neglect that as recently as January Barcelona still had greatness within their reach.

It was a matter of transition, of simple improvements and small changes, in which fresh blood and pragmatic management could bring a still-great team back to the top. But that option was rejected, not by an individual but by the entorno, some hideous, seething beast which spat venomous criticism and impatience, drooling blame and petty politics on every occasion. Handed the impossible task of succeeding Pep Guardiola, Tata Martino made good, meaningful changes to Barça, but was met with such a hostile environment that he undid all his progress, like a painter tearing up his work in a fit of madness.

A trophyless season is not a tragedy. The utter lack of progress in any department that Barcelona has made since the 7-0 defeat to Bayern Munich is. Fans and media across the board are calling for a complete overhaul at Barça. The sane ones have focused their attention on an incompetent, criminally negligent board, while the utterly insane and, frankly, disgraceful ones have made Lionel Messi or other individuals their target. But in all the calls to tear down the walls, nobody seems to have questioned how they will be rebuilt. This is not just a matter of finding new, capable leadership, but a matter of how the fanbase reacts to change. If it continues to behave like a spoiled child, demanding success without being willing to pay the price of transition, then no board or manager on earth will be able to pick a team out from the rubble.

Barcelona have forced ourselves into a corner, in which nothing short of a full overhaul (and escaping the looming spectre of the transfer ban) will halt the team’s downward trajectory. But if the upper management, coaching staff, and squad all need significant changes, so too do the expectations and attitudes of the club’s supporters. Barcelona have been flying in a rarified atmosphere for many years, but finally descending below the clouds is not a cause for panic, a cue to look for blame and scramble for a parachute. After looking down on the world for so long, it is simply time to look up and begin the climb again

Out of the Champions League. Looking from behind in the league chase. Out of the Copa del Rey. The last time Barça lost three times in a row was in the first months of 2003, and even then it wasn’t as bad as it is now. But who’s to blame? The coach? The players? Messi?! or perhaps the board. After 5 years of success, last night’s match truly marked the end of an era at the Catalan club. Poor results, thin squad and awkward tactics, things haven’t been this bad for some time.


Former Newell’s Old Boys and Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino was selected amongst reported candidates like Marcelo Biesla, Michael Laudrup and Luis Enrique, to continue leading Barça during one its most historic eras. The man had no European experience, yet he was still a gamble the board were willing to take. But Tata did very well in the first part of the season; he was able to motivate his players, bring the best out of the likes of Alexis Sánchez, bring in good results, rotate the squad and give the fans reasons to gloat. The fans were reminded once again of Pep’s Barça. The pressure and intensity that we lacked in the last couple of years were back, the defensive line was more disciplined and the final third witnessed magic at its best. Some hoped to dream of another treble. Everything seemed harmonious, and it almost felt like Tata was out to get the world, but 2014 struck a storm he could never manage. Off-field gossips turned into the club president’s resignation. Yet Tata was still up for the fight, cautious of a month that always shows a dip in form, that month was February. But his awareness showed nothing on the pitch, and it was all downhill from there. Once fighting for treble dreams, it only took three games to tarnish an entire campaign. Culés made fun of Real Madrid in last’s year campaign when players like Mesut Özil would talk of treble dreams, then find themselves with only empty words. Well, the joke’s on us this time folks.

Is it fair to blame Martino? In his first season ever in Europe, he beat teams like Real Madrid and Manchester City both home and away, something unimaginable during Tito Vilanova’s charge last season. Yet Tito achieved a record-breaking league campaign despite poor results against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and a league crown meant he had something to show for it. But Tata doesn’t, and despite giving the fans their gloating rights every now and then against the bigger teams, he was exposed by the smaller ones. There’s a reason why teams like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern Munich would spend so much to bring a coach with a high reputation, and that reason is the authority they can assert in the locker room. Tata looked fine and pleasant when things were going his way, but where was he in the times of crisis?

Tata Martino stated when he came in charge that he was satisfied with the current squad and needed no additions. Whether it was the board pressuring the coach or the coach overwhelmed by the immense talent the club has, the coach took on a responsibility that day. If we take a look at the team’s squad for the past three games, they all have similar features: lack of defence, the inclusion of an out of form Cesc Fábregas and a partnership upfront that is promoted by the media rather than its performance. The rotation policy died since the game against Real Sociedad, from then Tata failed to give each player their deserved playing time. The man who once had the balls to bench Messi at his best is now begging him to spark at his all-time low.

I think we all remember when Martino said that “the team will always suffer when it comes to defending aerial balls” but if that is the case, why did he choose to watch from the sidelines during the winter transfer period ? It has been clear for a long, long time that we are in desperate need of tall defenders, or even tall players in general, yet Martino did nothing. He knew the weaknesses of his defense, he knew that the time would come when we would face Europe’s best and he knew that a retiring legend, a young prospect, a converted midfielder and an inconsistent star could struggle when it most mattered. And how did Martino react? Well, the game against Granada proved a very important point to me: Tata Martino would rather play a defensive line with no natural defenders before calling up one of Barça B’s prized products such as Edgar lé or Frank Bagnack. Remember the youth? That place which brought out about 75% of our current squad? And it’s not as if Puyol’s absences came by surprise; Puyol’s been struggling to get back to full fitness for a very long time now, a time during which the coach should have considered all matters and prepared a youngster for his big day. But today we look back at that horror of a week and wonder: If I was a Barça B player, will I ever get my chance? If I was Dani Alves, would I still post a video of myself dancing in club attire on perhaps the morning of the biggest game of the season? If I was Cristian Tello, does the coach even notice me anymore?

Some may argue that the players are nowhere near their top form, and that is absolutely correct, but do you honestly believe that Martino is doing his best as Barça’s coach? If there was one person who lost his passion for the game lately, it was him. All great coaches are great motivators, and it is his job to lift up the team’s spirit when it is at its worst. Here’s a question: what makes Diego Simeone and Jurgen Klopp so special? It is the passion and energy they bring to the field. They’re different. It is never just about the tactics, Martino isn’t acting as a leader. Even José Mourinho, in his own crazy way, knows how to extract the players’ best when it’s most needed; all great coaches possess impeccable leadership skills.

We’ve all been thinking for a week now what is up with all of these crosses. Why cross the ball when your centre forward is 1.69 meters tall? Is that a new version of tiki-taka? Dani Alves has wasted numerous chances and ruined attacks with inaccurate, useless crosses against Atlético and Real Madrid, and what did Martino do? We discussed before the team’s need of a classic #9 striker, a target man, that would act as a plan B; a player that would give us a chance to fight back through utilising air balls, but where is he now? If crosses have turned into such an important aspect of our playing style, where is the guy that would actually make use of all this? “Barça have a way of playing that is hard to modify. There are no long balls for a pure number nine, we’re a team that passes the ball, elaborates plays and when we aren’t precise in finding space the game becomes uncomfortable for us,” said Martino yesterday following the loss. Wow. We’ve stood by Martino all season long, even after the Champions League’s exit and the depressing loss against Granada, but yesterday’s was just too much to handle.

Alexis is having, by far, his best season at Barça, and has proven several times this season that he can be depended on. Where was he? Martino’s choice of playing Iniesta on the left wing, Neymar on the right wing, and Cesc in the midfield has worked against Manchester City, and Manchester City alone. He believed starting with Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Cesc would help gain more control, but sometimes control isn’t what you need. Sometimes you need a heart like Alexis’ on the field. The energy, power and pace the Chilean adds to the team is undeniable as we’ve all witnessed many times this season. So why bench an in-form striker for an out-of-form midfielder when you are out there to win? We faced Atlético knowing that we must score at least a goal for a chance of qualification, and Martino kept his second-best attacker on the bench, preferred playing Cesc as a false nine, moved Messi to the right wing and it was a disaster. Barça struggled and failed to create decent chances. Then came Madrid, and Martino decided to put Neymar on the right wing where he is as useful as a floppy disk nowadays, and kept Sánchez on the bench once again, only to introduce him in the 85th minute after the team just conceded Gareth Bale’s goal.

Martino decided to play it safe, for he was out of ideas and out of luck. He disregarded the fact that Barça were facing the same opposition but in a much different situation, because Carlo Ancelotti was finally prepared, having lost twice before. Ancelotti reacted, Martino didn’t. Guardiola had the guts to even start with three defenders when he knew the team needed to push for a goal, and these decisions are what separate great coaches from mediocre ones. It shows how far you are willing to go to reach glory.

A trophy-less season for the first time since Pep Guardiola’s arrival marked the end of an era at the Catalan club. Once the most feared team in Europe now struggles to be the best one in Spain. But like any cycle, it needs to end in order for a new one to begin. This club has redefined football and marked history with legendary achievements; a fall was imminent. But so soon? At the hands of the very same generation? That’s what hurt culés the most. So who’s to blame?

The reason we are having this discussion in the first place, the reason we are suffering from depression is because these players have set the standards incredibly high. They are the golden generation of not only FC Barcelona, but football in general. We were spoiled, and watching this team run over all opposition with ease turned into a habit, but even golden generations reach a time where change and new blood are needed. We just want to stay on top of the world and bring back the mighty Blaugrana. Before you go on, this isn’t one of those pieces that will promote an entire overhaul of the squad. If anything, players like Lionel Messi, Víctor Valdés and Xavi Hernández should be thanked day in and day out for the performances they’ve given us for so many years. Nonetheless, there are things that need to be said and fingers that need to be pointed.


For a while now, we’ve been hearing about these many “finals” that the team has ahead of them. Ever since Barça lost their dominance over the league earlier this year, the players have appeared a lot more than usual in front of the press, all with the same message: “The next twenty something matches are all finals.” As a fan, it’s great to hear how these players are putting so much importance on games against Almería and Osasuna. The problem was though that the players would count the amount of finals they had left with not only the games left in the league, but the possible ones in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. I’m no coach, nor do I have some degree in psychology, but doesn’t that seem a bit overwhelming? Sure the club has lived some great memories, but a treble target in Martino’s first year? After being hammered 7-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich less than a year ago? I’m sure that coaches like Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone and Jose Mourinho have a very good reason why they try to make their players take the season game per game. But what our players have done was disregard the idea of even getting knocked out by European elite, and now they go home empty handed.

While the expectations were high, the common attitude was different. A sense of over-confidence and denial was Barça’s greatest enemy. Yes, denial. Because it was denial that led great players like Xavi Hernández to blame the pitch after a disappointing loss against Valladolid. I understand that the pitch’s condition is a very important part of our game, but I’m also sure that these players have enough experience to understand that every away game has a disadvantage. I’m sure many of our current players wouldn’t have dreamed of a pitch like the one in Camp Nou when football was played with a beaten up ball and the only time the game should stop was when a car passed through. But we all know it was never about the pitch’s condition as much as it was a dark denial our players have developed in recent years. Our players choose to never blame the system, never blame tiki-taka, failing to admit that their style will be ineffective at times. Other teams blame referees or injuries when they lose, and Barca prefer to say that “things just didn’t work out for us.” Ever wondered why?

The team has gone through a lot this year. It started with Tito’s cancer relapse and was followed by Messi’s injury, Valdés’ injury, Neymar’s injury, Neymargate, Iniesta’s loss of his child, Puyol’s exit, Valdés’ season ending injury, Piqué’s injury and on and on. Nevertheless, the players are always keen on stressing that they will continue to fight, but the problem is that they haven’t when it most mattered. I understand much has occurred since the start of the season, but why the fake promises? Why convince the fans that the team was going into the Champions League’s second leg against Atlético Madrid in the best form of their lives only to witness their worst form in ages? In order to solve a problem, one must first admit having a problem. Montoya, arguably our best player against Granada, revealed after the game that the team “is mentally screwed.”

There has been something missing in the past few games, something that hasn’t given the players a reason to push it to the limit. That missing thing was leadership, and there was a lack of it. The players seemed to suffer from a mental block; they were out of ideas and unable to focus, believing that a pass will eventually find its way to Messi and all will be solved. They lacked spirit, passion, and creativity. And what makes matters even more depressing was Premier League’s Steven Gerrard showing that spirit in Anfield when his side beat Manchester City to get a hold on the title. They were overjoyed with their achievement, and amidst the celebrations and the fans’ cheers, Gerrard gathered his teammates in the middle of the pitch. He screamed at them, motivated them, and insisted that they focus on their next game and their next game if they are to finally lift the Premier League’s trophy. He knew it was his responsibility to keep his team’s head in the game, and to help them mentally overcome the stress and difficulties they are about to face as they reach the end of the season. I wanted to watch our captains do the same. Win or lose, I just wanted to watch the team fight back like they promised.

The solution isn’t to axe those who we believe are no longer hungry or motivated to win, it is much simpler. These players have always loved the club and always will, so instead of allowing them to leave, motivate them once again to work hard. For those who haven’t heard this yet, there are rumors that the board is open to selling Messi. If that is indeed true, and for those who are asking for it, you’ve gone mad. Yes, Messi hasn’t been performing anywhere near the level we expected him to be, but sell him? Whether you agree or disagree, Barça’s golden generation wouldn’t have achieved all this without our Argentinian star. Messi may be protecting himself for the upcoming World Cup and sacrificing Barça in the process, but so what if he is?

As for Dani Alves, the man who posted a video where he was jumping up and down a hotel bed ahead of the crucial game against Atlético, the man who asked those who doubted the team to “better not come” and stay at home, I expected more. The Brazilian was nowhere near his best form, giving away possession countless times with inaccurate, useless crosses that contributed to nothing. The old Alves used to dominate the right wing, attempt longshots, shout at his teammates and wake them up when things were not working out, and we have seen none of that recently. Alves was too busy with press conferences and responding to those whom he believed weren’t behind the team that he lost focus when it most mattered, and blamed the pitch when the team lost.

Surprisingly, the ones who put up a fight were the ones with the least experience. Marc Bartra sped up his recovery to make it in time for a cup final, scored the equaliser, and kept chasing Bale even though he suffered an injury while trying to keep up with the Welshman. Same goes for Neymar. Our 22-year-old Brazilian hasn’t had the successful campaign many have expected, but he did show spirit. Neymar was our best player against Atlético and against Granada, simply because he put up a fight and did his best to break the deadlock. He has the potential of becoming the best in the world, and until he proves us wrong, doubting his worth is unnecessary. But the problem with the newly signed Brazilian is not his playing style. If anything, the kid is looking to leave a memorable mark on the club before he ever moves on (and no, that mark won’t be Sandro Rosell’s resignation and the club’s demise). Neymar’s biggest problem has been his attitude on the field. Barça are more than a club. The prized La Masia, which has produced most of this great generation’s key players, teaches students not only about football, but about life. The La Masia kids grew up and carried their respect for the game along with them. That respect is being tarnished right now every time the skinny Brazilian throws himself at the ground while wearing the club’s crest and colours. Fights and slurs have been thrown by Neymar in both games against the Madrid giants. Neymar should start learning from his supposed ‘idol’ Lionel Messi as he matures in Barcelona.

There is no shame in going down while fighting, when you are bringing it all, but that was not the case throughout this previous week. We gave up and surrendered, and that is not acceptable. I genuinely believe that no team has proved to be superior to Barça in terms of quality, for the Catalans would conquer the world when at their best, but we are our own worst enemies.