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

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From Andy West
Spanish football writer
A couple of weeks back, had you seen Barcelona’s trip to Granada on Saturday in the La Liga schedule, you may well have predicted the team would be topping the desk at the evening’s end.
You would not have figured that staff would be Granada.
But that is just what happened, the promoted Andalusians getting a 2-0 victory that is deserved to depart Barca floundering in mid-table, using seven points out of their five matches.
It’s Barca start for 25 years, but even more worrying since the men of Ernesto Valverde managed two tame attempts than the outcome was the operation whilst looking vulnerable in the opposite end.
What is happening? And what will the reigning champions do? BBC Sport examines a full-blown meltdown that is early-season in the Nou Camp.
The very first thing to note about Barca’s bad form is their issues have been exclusively reserved for outside trips.
The Nou Camp has remained a near-fortress, with since Valverde arrived as director Barca winning their past 12 straight home games and only losing in their own patch.
Lately they have been nothing short of catastrophic on the road, turning into a set of performances that were bad much too consistently for it to become a mere coincidence.
Valverde’s men have now failed to win some of the past eight away games, with Saturday’s loss at Granada after an extremely fortunate Champions League draw at Borussia Dortmund, where they only escaped due to a series of fine saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen, wayward Dortmund finishing and also the support of the woodwork.
Following Saturday’s setback manager Valverde confessed:”I’m stressed. Away from home that we are not getting results and if that happens a few times, like today, it’s a symptom of never [enjoying ] . We aren’t playing games that are good.”
For many different reasons, when Barca are away from the comfortable blanket of their surroundings, they seem uneasy. What are these reasons?
In defence of his players and Valverde, their prep for the campaign was far from ideal.
Although the remaining group embarked on a programme of friendlies featuring matches on three continents in 13 days, players missed a chunk of pre-season because of their involvement at the Copa America.
Since the severe action commenced as a result, they have endured a string of accidents. Skipper Lionel Messi was sidelined ahead of the curtain-raiser at Athletic Bilbao, and there have also been absences such as Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Jordi Alba along with Samuel Umtiti.
Thus, employ several players in a variety of places and also Valverde has been forced to shuffle his pack. Frenkie de Jong and new signings Antoine Griezmann, as an example, have already been lined up in each position in the line and midfield respectively – barely beneficial to their settling-in process.
Another disruption was that the Neymar saga.
The club unpleasantly public courtship of the opinion-dividing former celebrity, which continued straight before Spanish transfer deadline day in early September, was a severe distraction and created a strong belief that the squad is composed of a handful of untouchables along with a group of gamers (Dembele, Umtiti, Nelson Semedo, Ivan Rakitic) who’d have been thankfully jettisoned if a part-exchange bargain for Neymar had been struck with Paris St-Germain.
Messi, in particular, is facing allegations – like those he has regularly faced at global level – that he wields too powerful an influence on group selection and the overall rule, particularly given the continuing starting XI standing of his best buddy Suarez, despite the Uruguayan’s inconsistent type over the last few years.
Any excessive power is unlooked for, coming as a pure side-effect of those expectations heaped on his shouldersbut the hints add fuel to the notion that the Spanish champions are far from a camp right now.
Despite these hindrances, it’s indisputable that a group with caliber and Barca’s thickness should be capable of overcoming competitions like Osasuna Eibar and Granada.
For many observers, the fact they have neglected to do this could be blamed fairly and squarely on the tactical approach employed by Valverde, whose place is coming under severe scrutiny after he survived the chop in the aftermath of his group’s dreadful collapse at Liverpool in last season’s Champions League semi-final.
Valverde has been accused of being an coach, setting up his groups first and foremost to avoid defeat in a manner far removed from the ball-playing principles since the times of Johan Cruyff. For attacking inspiration, according to his critics, he also places everything in Messi’s feet.
An over-reliance on Messi – dubbed’Messidependencia’ from the Spanish press – was a recurring problem for five or five years, and it’s certainly the case that Barca have looked bereft of ideas throughout his absence from the opening months of the year: Griezmann, by way of example, has not managed a single shot on goal throughout his four away games for the team.
More worrying yet, perhaps, is the fact Barca have the record in La Liga, conceding nine goals in their five matches. The home games they won (both 5-2, against Real Betis and Valencia) were clearly uncomfortable from a defensive viewpoint, and the oceans of space frequently offered to Dortmund and Granada counter-attackers through the most recent games was an obvious indication of a group that now knows neither how to attack or to shield.
Valverde appears especially concerned by his own eponymous trio, running through four distinct mixtures throughout his team’s six matches and attempting a lot more from the seat when they haven’t exercised, meaning seven gamers have already received significant playing time at the middle of the field – with no looking particularly persuasive.
Those failings have created something of a vacuum, causing a lack of sufficient support to some back four and a inability to provide a toothless attack with adequate ammunition.
Configuring an midfield is the biggest job facing Valverde with the rest of the group more or less choosing on itself and it is one he has so far not attained.
The bad start to this season of barca, to the rear of an end to last season, is inevitably piling pressure.
Valverde’s favor is counted in by two important factors he is still believed to enjoy Messi’s support .
Although societal networking has turned fiercely against the Barca boss (any mention of his name on Twitter is followed by the phrase’outside’), there were hardly any stirrings of discontent against him at the Nou Camp – probably as a result of the outstanding home form on his watch, significance fans who attend games have only really ever watched his team winning.
That, however, could quickly change. Patience is running out and it’ll be intriguing to see the reaction when Barca are back in action at home to in-form Villarreal, who have already taken points Valverde receives Tuesday night this season.
In case the worst happens, there are plenty of possible replacements – the very lengthy list of now available directors includes Pablo Machin, Quique Setien, Abelardo, Massimiliano Allegri, Laurent Blanc and (surely not?) Jose Mourinho. (Marcelino, recently fired by Valencia, isn’t a choice because coaches in Spain are not allowed to manage more than one group in a season.)
Of those already in employment, Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman would inevitably be heavily linked given his past for a playing good together with the golf club, as might former midfield star Xavi Hernandez, although only starting his managerial career with an appointment in Qatari side Al Sadd. It is odds-on that Xavi will handle Barca at some point – the question is whether today would be.
We might find out.
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