5 Things Learned from Barcelona's 2015/16 Season
Barcelona brought the curtain down on another successful campaign on Sunday by beating Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final, securing a fourth trophy for 2015-16 and ensuring they remained the undisputed best team in Spain in domestic competition.
Early-season successes in the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup were later added to by the retention of La Liga, with the Copa win landing a domestic double for a second successive season.
It was a season of adaptation and struggle to a point, with injuries and the second half of a year-long transfer ban to contend with, but it was ultimately one in which Barcelona were once again one of the world's strongest and most impressive-to-watch teams—even without a back-to-back UEFA Champions League success.
Here are five things we learned from the Catalan club's season that we can watch out for next term from a potential improvement or alteration perspective.
Luis Suarez Is the Best Centre-Forward on the Planet
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The discussion can be officially ended now.
Forget Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain or any other No. 9 previously brought into the discussion—Luis Suarez is the best all-around centre-forward in world football.
By any reasonable measure, he wins out: endurance, consistency, resilience, link play, individual skill, penalty-box instincts, big-game mentality, goalscoring rate and the ability to score with any part of his body. Suarez has it all, does it all and did it all during 2015-16, notching 40 goals in La Liga to win the European Golden Shoe as well as La Liga's Pichichi Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top goalscorer.
A total of 59 goals in 53 games this season, including winning four trophies along the way, saw him end with a season-long strike rate of a goal every 81 minutes. They are absurd numbers, and he is the complete attacking package.
MSN Isn't Infallible and Can Be Stopped
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That's Suarez on an individual level, but he very much is part of an attacking triumvirate: the fabled MSN attack of Barcelona, made of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
They are a tremendous attacking force, blending different styles and skill sets, linking and finishing off play to great effect—but they can be stopped, and they do make mistakes. It's not simply a case of putting them on the pitch and Barcelona automatically win.
In league play, Barcelona were only kept from scoring on two occasions: Espanyol away and Real Sociedad away. A further seven matches saw the Catalan side score only one goal. From those nine matches, Barca won just twice.
Frustrate them, close out space, play aggressively, have a goalkeeper in form and no shortage of luck. It's extremely difficult to do, but a proper plan and defensive organisation goes a long way toward stopping MSN scoring.
Alternatively, you could just make them take a penalty—10 missed this season between them.
Sergi Roberto Showed the Squad Is Lacking in Overall Depth
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Injuries hit Barcelona hard during the first third of the season, and one man stepped up more than most to fill in wherever required: Sergi Roberto. The 24-year-old midfielder looked far off the pace during 2014-15, but this year more than proved his capacity to contribute.
The Spaniard started off the year by operating from right-back and rivalled Juanfran of Atletico Madrid as La Liga's most impressive in the early stages before moving back into midfield when Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic both picked up injuries. Playing on both sides of the centre, Roberto later filled in on the right side of attack and at left-back, as well as covering for Sergio Busquets in holding midfield.
He performed each task admirably, showing enough awareness and quality on the ball to be a threat going forward while also displaying the tactical astuteness manager Luis Enrique had obviously seen in him the year previous.
Roberto deserves plenty of credit for taking his chance—but the amount of game time he saw and the positions he filled were also indicative of the lack of quality elsewhere in the squad. Beyond the first 12 or 13 names, too many members of the squad were carried, playing irrelevant matches or having next to no impact as substitutes.
Marc Bartra, Aleix Vidal, Sandro Ramirez, Adriano and plenty more beside were all disappointments, and it was Roberto who made the most of their inadequacies.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen the Better Bet in Goal
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Claudio Bravo remained the No. 1 goalkeeper for La Liga this season, with Luis Enrique again going with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League.
It raised some eyebrows, then, when Ter Stegen was dropped for the FIFA Club World Cup—which Barca won—in the winter despite only being there due to winning in Europe last season, which was the German's domain.
There is seemingly no shortage of interest in signing him this summer, with ESPN FC crediting Manchester City with the biggest hope, but in terms of performances this season, it was Ter Stegen, not Bravo, who was most impressive most often.
The Chilean had a downturn in form and didn't look as dominant in goal this season as he has done previously, while his age must also be considered. At 33, he could still comfortably play another season or two at the top, but would the Catalan side not be better off offloading him or relegating him to No. 2 and playing Ter Stegen, 24, who could be in place for a decade?
The former Borussia Monchengladbach 'keeper put in some truly exceptional displays in Europe, filled in admirably in La Liga and improved his concentration markedly. He was better overall despite playing less than Bravo, and he has done enough to be promoted to first choice next season—if he remains at the Camp Nou.
Luis Enrique, a Better Man Manager Than Tactician
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Barcelona boss Luis Enrique had another wonderful season overall, and as discussed in our recent in-depth look at him, he should not be faulted for his performance and for continuing the domestic dominance of his team.
That said, just like every other individual involved in football the world over, he has his strengths, his weaknesses and his areas that need improvements—and it's fair to say his tactical innovations have not always panned out to the betterment of the team's performances or results.
His management of the squad, his selections, his media work and the way he keeps morale, desire and focus on point are extremely impressive, but his decision-making in running matches and overcoming opponents (beyond the Barcelona blueprint of an offensive-minded 4-3-3) are not always positives.
It doesn't have to go against Luis Enrique—he simply manages in a different way to others. And if success is forthcoming at the end of the season, he's ultimately doing things right.
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