Can Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde survive champions’ miserable away form?

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From Andy West
Spanish soccer writer
A few weeks ago, had you spotted Barcelona’s trip to Granada on Saturday in the La Liga program, you could have called the team would be topping the desk in the evening’s end.
You wouldn’t have figured that team would be Granada.
But that is what occurred, the promoted Andalusians gaining a victory to render Barca floundering in mid-table, with seven points from their five matches.
It’s the worst beginning for 25 years of Barca, but even more worrying than the outcome was that the performance, since the men of Ernesto Valverde just managed two attempts whilst always looking vulnerable at the end.
What is going on? And what will the reigning winners do? BBC Sport examines a meltdown in the Nou Camp.
The very first point to notice about Barca form is for away trips their issues have been exclusively reserved.
The Nou Camp has stayed a near-fortress, together with Barca winning their last 12 home games and only losing two in their own patch because Valverde arrived as director in summer 2017.
Lately , though, they have been nothing short of catastrophic on the road, turning into a collection of similarly bad performances much too consistently for it to become a mere exaggeration.
Valverde’s guys have failed to win some of their past eight games away, with Saturday’s loss at Granada after an extremely fortunate Champions League draw at Borussia Dortmund, where they just escaped thanks to a series of fine saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen, wayward Dortmund completing along with the support of the woodwork.
Following Saturday’s setback manager Valverde admitted:”I am worried. Away from home people aren’t getting results and when that happens a few times, like today, it’s a symptom of not [playing] really well. We are not playing games that are good.”
For many different reasons Barca are away from their surroundings’ comfortable blanket, they look uncomfortable. What exactly are those reasons?
In defence of Valverde and his players, their preparation to the new campaign was far from perfect.
Although the remaining group embarked upon a commercially driven programme of friendlies featuring matches on three continents at 13 days, Many players missed a large chunk of pre-season due to their participation in the Copa America.
Since the action started, as a consequence, they have suffered a string of accidents. Skipper Lionel Messi was sidelined ahead of the curtain-raiser at Athletic Bilbao, and there Also Have been absences such as Jordi Alba, Ousmane Dembele, Luis Suarez along with Samuel Umtiti.
Consequently, Valverde has been forced to shuffle his pack and use players. Frenkie de Jong and new signings Antoine Griezmann, as an example, have been lined up at every conceivable position in the line and midfield respectively – beneficial to their settling-in process.
Another disruption that is self-inflicted was that the Neymar saga.
The club’s unpleasantly public courtship of their opinion-dividing former celebrity, which lasted right until Spanish transfer deadline day in early September, was a serious diversion and made a strong impression that the squad consists of a couple of untouchables alongside a bunch of gamers (Dembele, Umtiti, Nelson Semedo, Ivan Rakitic) who would have been thankfully jettisoned in case a part-exchange deal for Neymar was struck by Paris St-Germain.
Messi, in particular, is facing allegations – similar to those he’s regularly faced at international level – that he wields too powerful an influence over group selection and the overall rule, especially given the ongoing starting XI standing of his best buddy Suarez, despite the Uruguayan’s inconsistent form over the past couple of years.
Any excess power is likely unlooked for, arriving as a organic side-effect of their unrealistic expectations heaped on his shoulders , but the hints add fuel to the notion that the Spanish champions are far from a united and happy camp at the moment.
Despite these hindrances, it’s indisputable that a group with caliber and Barca’s thickness should still be capable of overcoming competitions such as Osasuna Eibar and Granada.
For most observers, the fact they’ve neglected to do this can be attributed fairly and squarely on the strategic approach used by Valverde, whose position is coming under serious scrutiny after he survived the chop in the aftermath of his team’s dreadful collapse at Liverpool in last year’s Champions League semi-final.
Valverde has at all times been accused of being an overly cautious coach, setting his teams up first and foremost to prevent defeat from the ball-playing principles espoused since the times of Johan Cruyff. In Messi’s foot, based on his critics, he puts everything for attacking inspiration.
An over-reliance about Messi – dubbed’Messidependencia’ from the Spanish media – was a recurring problem for five or six years, and it’s certainly the case that Barca have looked bereft of ideas during his absence from the opening weeks of this year: Griezmann, as an instance, has not managed one shot on goal throughout his four away games for the club.
More stressing yet, possibly, is that Barca now have the joint-worst defensive listing in La Liga. Even the home games that they won (equally 5-2, against Real Betis and Valencia) were clearly uncomfortable from a defensive viewpoint, along with the waters of space frequently offered to Dortmund and Granada counter-attackers during the latest games was an obvious indication of a group which now knows neither how to strike or to shield.
Valverde appears particularly concerned by his midfield trio, running four distinct mixtures during his team’s six matches and attempting several more from the bench when they haven’t worked out, meaning seven gamers have already received considerable playing time in the centre of the field – without any looking especially convincing.
Those failings have created something of a vacuum cleaner, causing a lack of sufficient support to some back four and an inability to provide sufficient ammunition to some attack.
Configuring a successful midfield is the biggest task facing Valverde with the remainder of the staff more or less choosing on itself and it is one he has so far not achieved.
Barca’s bad start to the season, to the back of a much worse end to last year, is piling pressure on boss Valverde, who accepted after Saturday’s loss at Granada he has to take responsibility to the group’s form.
The favor of Valverde is counted in by two factors that are major he is believed to enjoy assistance from Messithe same is applicable to the great majority of fans.
Although societal networking has turned against the Barca boss (any mention of the name on Twitter is invariably followed by the word’outside’), there have been hardly any stirrings of discontent against him in the Nou Camp – probably as a result of the fantastic home form on his view, significance fans who attend games have only actually ever seen his team winning.
That could quickly change. Patience is running out and it will be fascinating to see the reaction when Barca are back in action at home to in-form Villarreal, who have already taken points, Valverde receives on Tuesday night this season.
In case the worst happens, there are tons of potential replacements – the very lengthy list of currently available bosses includes Pablo Machin, Quique Setien, Abelardo, Massimiliano Allegri, Laurent Blanc and (surely not?) Jose Mourinho. (Marcelino, recently fired by Valencia, isn’t an option because coaches in Spain are not permitted to handle more than one team in a season.)
Of those in employment, Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman would inevitably be heavily connected given his past as a playing great together with the club, as would former midfield star Xavi Hernandez, although only just starting his managerial career with an appointment at Qatari side Al Sadd. It is odds-on that Xavi will manage Barca at some stage – that the only real question is whether now would be.
We may find out.
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