State of Barcelona

[JFK-1 1,693]

This will be interpreted by some desperate characters as Barcelona being in some sort of crisis which in turn will become a fantasy that they can beat them.

 

Celtic's Champions League foes: Graham Hunter looks at the current state of uncertainty at Barcelona

 

IF you were Celtic and your first European match of a return to the Champions League group stage were Barcelona how would you like the Spanish champions served up?

 

With their greatest ever footballer playing through a groin injury, their inspirational midfielder still in injury rehab, with their manager out of contract at the end of the season and specifically unwilling to renegotiate and having just admitted that their most important transfer target snubbed them and signed for Manchester United instead?

 

Which, coincidentally, is exactly the state of play at the Camp Nou.

 

Leo Messi, who emotionally quit Argentina after another Copa America defeat just a few weeks ago not only repented but played through serious groin pain a couple of nights ago to score and beat Uruguay. Not without repercussions.

 

“Not sure if I’ll play against Venezuela, I’m in a lot of pain and I’m going to have to speak to the team doctor - it’s a bit of a bugger” [Leo actually said something which rhymes with Tucker, but we’ll leave it at that]

 

The fact that the little genius injured his adductor while playing in last weekend’s match in Bilbao for Barça but STILL turned out to overtake Romario and become the third highest South American scorer in internationals [behind Ronaldo and Pele] will be driving Luis Enrique a little crazy with frustration right now.

 

But he plays when he wants, this guy. And as for Luis Enrique, well, he signs when HE wants.

 

Notoriously, the Camp Nou job had a burnout effect on Pep Guardiola who really should have walked away from his dream job before it became a nightmare - back in 2011 following the glorious Champions League win at Wembley.

 

“I’d only renew for six months at a time if I could,” he griped on renewing his contract. “Time wears everything down in this life. There are really just two ways in which you leave a job like this - when you are sacked because you aren’t winning any more or when you know it’s just the right moment and you seize it”.

 

So, back to the present, his friend and fellow devotee of daily intensity and living the Barça life to the limit Luis Enrique, is into the final year of his deal. No panic about that, but there’s always a sensation of a man who might have another plan when he says to his employers: ‘no, let’s NOT chat about the future right now…’

 

Barça director Albert Soler explained: “I’m relaxed. At Barça there are always situations needing solutions and this is important. Luis seems strong and full of pride in the project.

 

“Talks about contract renewal aren’t on the agenda right now… that moment will come around. What’s most important right now is that he’s strong, content and happy”

 

Luis Enrique has been a tonic for this club. He blew away cobwebs - not just the drop in standards under Tata Martino, but a subconscious conviction amongst the squad that talent was sufficient to maintain their standards. Now there’s a ferocity of daily work, ambition and an appetite to tilt at another treble.

 

Whether he’s going or staying next June the last thing he needs is to be hectored and pestered every week in press conferences about ‘when’s the new deal being talked about ‘Mister’?’

 

That’s him warned.

 

Barcelona, in general, would be all the more relaxed ahead of the return of the Champions League if Andrés Iniesta was already full fit - ready to take control of the midfield again. Yesterday the club captain did give an optimistic thumbs up, in the modern way, via Twitter.

 

“A good day at work with good ‘feelings’. But I’m following the programme and I’ll stick to going step by step for as long as it requires”.

 

Just a hint that there may be a wee bit left to cure the knee injury sustained at Sevilla in winning the Supercup.

 

And, to be fair, Barça broke with the normal practice of club’s who’ve taken a bloody nose in the transfer market. It was written, firmly, about a year ago that they’d reached an ‘in principle’ agreement with Juventus for Paul Pogba.

 

Yet, as you may have noticed, the Frenchman’s hanging around Deansgate not Sitges and the club which made him football’s record transfer signing is United. Not Barça.

 

1-0 Jose Mourinho?

 

“We did strike that agreement with Juventus,” Soler confirms.

 

“It only allowed us first option if they chose to sell him then - but at that stage they didn’t want to sell and we were in the middle of Presidential elections. Now, with the amount United spent on him - we’ve bought six players!

 

“The Premier League has gone ‘strong’ in this market - nobody’s spent more than the English. If we’d spent that amount of money on Pogba then that would have been that for our market. We’ve invested in a number of young players - we’ve made a bet on our future.”

 

However, bets come in all shapes and sizes. Soler also reveals that there’s now a sizeable and expensive queue forming at the Camp Nou.

 

Not from Celtic fans looking for tickets, not even from Rod Stewart and his entourage - looking for the tearful away win to go with his great greetin’ in 2012.

 

No. It’s the engine room of the Barça squad which has won eight trophies in the last two seasons. It’s money time.

 

The ‘Blaugrana’ accountants have found many tens of millions to amplify the contracts of Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets and Neymar over the last few weeks. That’s not bad going.

 

But it also nudges other mountains of dosh nearer the doors marked: ‘Exit’.

 

Soler: “Now it’s time to negotiate with Rakitic, Suárez and Messi - and Iniesta’s on that list too. In that order”.

 

Somewhere, in the midst of all this, someone will be beginning to plan for Celtic and how to host them, play them and beat them. But it’s not like there’s nothing else going on here.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/celtics-champions-league-foes-graham-8757372#rlabs=1%20rt$category%20p$4

[the gunslinger 3,366]

So only 4 goals this time