You could sense it was a special moment. A band of footballers, clad in stripes that could only be associated with one club, were staring up at the giant screen in the stadium. A very familiar silhouette was dancing through a procession of defenders, leaving them in his wake in a manner that had long since reminded the old timers of one of the game’s untouchable Gods.
All the cameras seemed to be focussed on a particular figure at the front of this gang of very special footballers. Lionel Messi was staring up at the screen with a frankly curious look on his face – as if he couldn’t decide what all the fuss was about. Barcelona’s prodigal son had proceeded to equal, and then break, Telmo Zarra‘s long-standing record of 251 La Liga goals.
But it is almost as if the world is tired of Messi’s exploits. Barcelona – and Messi himself – have been rocked by a number of scandals, both on and off the field. The dark cloud hanging over the Camp Nou has shifted public opinion rather dramatically, with onlookers suggesting that they knew all along that it was all too good to be true.
Even so, to seriously consider Messi’s departure would be quite premature, even as the man himself has issued a statement that was out of character. At this stage, this is a hypothetical exercise – one that is fascinating from a purely footballing perspective.
#1 How will Barcelona shape up without Messi?
Even the departure of their lynchpin is unlikely to effect a change in their formation. The 4-3-3 is as much a part of Barcelona’s DNA as anything else. Johan Cruyff’s influence is still very much in the air in La Masia, with teams of all age groups of the famed academy religiously adhering to the formation.
The Messi we see today has reverted to the role of the inverted winger that he excelled during his early days at Barcelona, but also playing in a deeper role as an advanced midfielder. Much like those days, there is a jet-heeled Brazilian to keep him company on the opposite flank – the peerless Ronaldinho has made way for current Brazilian captain Neymar.
Neymar is Messi’s successor
The prodigy has made a remarkable transformation to the European game since joining the Catalans a little over a year ago – slotting in seamlessly into Barcelona’s playing style right from the word go. He has sadly not been given the credit he deserves – Santos’ erstwhile Prima Donna has shown a remarkable level of emotional maturity to understand what it takes to succeed at the very top.
He has taken on the responsibility of the captaining his country in his stride. And he has shown more than just a few signs that he has the ability to take on Messi’s responsibilities in due time. He certainly looks all set to be yet another name in Barcelona’s list of Brazilian heroes.
Luis Suarez is pure quality
The addition of Luis Suarez was seen as a puzzling one last summer – the Uruguayan’s latest indiscretion at the World Cup ought to have made him an outcast. Luis Enrique’s motives were made clearer when he moved Messi deeper to function as the chief playmaker.
Suarez was brought in to share the burden of goal-scoring with Messi. And in the event of the Argentine’s departure, we should see his abilities in front of goal take centre-stage. There has been a prevalent opinion that Suarez has submitted to Messi’s will since his arrival.
It is true that the frightening directness that has characterised Suarez’s game for long now has been sacrificed for a more nuanced, balanced approach. But that may have been a conscious effort on the part of the striker to go out of his way to bed into the way things are done at Barcelona. Remember that the bite marks on Giorgio Chiellini have probably only begun to fade right about now. This is a man who desperately wants to show he belongs with the Catalans.
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