Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique's Key Decisions Ahead of 2016-17 Season
Barcelona's 3-1 win over Celtic was pleasing for many reasons, with the team starting off their pre-season fixtures at a high level already. But as is the way for football managers, Luis Enrique's head will still be filled with problems to solve.
Some of them are "good" problems, such as what to do with all the fine midfielders he has at his disposal. Others are headaches—for instance, the constant complaints of Marc-Andre ter Stegen about not being the regular starting goalkeeper, ahead of Claudio Bravo.
The latter was the main issue for Diario Sport on Monday, as the newspaper's cover says both goalkeepers are returning from holiday.
Javier Miguel wrote: "It's a battle of supremacy that wasn't expected to arrive on Luis Enrique's plate until August 8, but Ter Stegen took the decision to return a week earlier than planned from his holidays, while Bravo's trip to New York has been postponed."
The strategy thus far has been to play Bravo in La Liga, while the German features in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, but that has not been enough to sate the 24-year-old, who is hungry for more minutes.
Luis Enrique's dilemma is whether to give Ter Stegen more time in goal, because he is already a fine stopper and has the potential to be Barcelona's guardian for the next 10 years, or if he should keep trusting the Chilean.
In the past two years, Bravo has let Barcelona down on fewer occasions than can be counted on one hand, making some spectacular saves along the way. They have lifted the title on both occasions, and he was also picked to play in the Club World Cup, which they won as well.
Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz says Ter Stegen felt left out when he was not selected in that tournament, in Japan last Christmas, but also that Barcelona will not let him leave for anything less than the €80 million release clause in his contract.
As good as he is, no club will come in for him at that amount, so the chances of the stopper leaving are fairly slim, unless he forces his way out.
Luis Enrique will probably keep his cards close to his chest in pre-season, splitting the game time between both stoppers, although third choice Jordi Masip will probably feature against Leicester City on Wednesday.
One line forward in the team, and there are more questions for the Asturian coach to ponder. Who replaces Dani Alves at right-back?
The only natural player for that position is Aleix Vidal, who was out of favour last season. He was given a start against Celtic and featured for the full 90 minutes as he tried to play his way into Lucho's good books.
Another option is Sergi Roberto, who impressed there last season despite his natural position being central midfield. Utilising him at right-back would go some way to solving another problem, which is that the club have 10 players who would say their best position is central midfield.
One of those is Javier Mascherano, who has been recycled at Barcelona as a centre-back and recently signed a three-year contract.
He has formed a solid partnership with Gerard Pique, the base that Barcelona’s success in the last few years has been built upon, even though the MSN star trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar take all the accolades.
Mascherano’s performance levels have generally been good, rather than excellent, if focusing only on the final few months of last season. His flaws are occasionally exposed, although his tenacious attitude and dedication to last-ditch tackles go some way toward making up for them.
He was exposed in the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla, sent off in the first half for taking down the pacy Kevin Gameiro as he charged towards goal.
Barcelona shelled out for Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti this summer, and the 22-year-old will be looking to carry on his fine Euro 2016 form with France at club level.
Lucho’s task is to work Umtiti into the team but make sure Mascherano’s intensity is there when it needs to be, too, and the boss needs to ensure the Argentinian continues to have a huge influence off the field for Barcelona even if he gradually features less on it.
The squad has lost some of the unneeded players, like Marc Bartra and Adriano, but all the key players have remained, bar Alves. That means, with the addition of Andre Gomes, the midfield area is rather packed.
Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta is the coach’s favoured midfield trio, and they are still expected to be the men he turns to for the big games this season.
However, Gomes can play in either of the two positions ahead of Busquets, while Arda Turan, Denis Suarez and Rafinha will all be vying for game time, too.
At least Sergi Samper, the talented 21-year-old who looks to be a future Busquets, is close to moving to Valencia, according to Superdeporte (h/t Sport).
It is unknown whether Samper will leave on loan or if he will be sold to Los Che with a buyback clause, as was done with Denis Suarez. That deal was the perfect demonstration of an increasingly common strategy, which seems more beneficial to all parties than a loan deal.
There is a further problem with regards to Barcelona’s strike force. It is common knowledge that the club are searching for another striker to offer support to the MSN, and that could be because the coach is planning on rotating a little more this season.
Last year, Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez barely had any rest at all, apart from when they suffered injuries, with Lucho reluctant to even take them off during games. However, in a crucial moment toward the end of the season, their form dipped, and they looked exhausted.
With an improving Munir El Haddadi and a potential new arrival in the cards—Gremio's Luan is the latest forward to be linked to the club, according to Joaquim Piera of Sport—that may not be a problem for Barcelona this year. It will also help that it’s Real Madrid who will be heading to Japan in the winter, rather than the Catalans.
Those are the main issues for the coach, although others will rear their heads as the season gets under way—they always do. However, Luis Enrique showed he is good at dealing with them.
The coach looked stricken in January 2015, midway through his first campaign, with the club in crisis, at least as much of a crisis as you tend to get at the Camp Nou. And yet he steered them back to lift the treble, which was followed by the double last season.
You would bet that any problem that comes Luis Enrique’s way—and they always come thick and fast at giant clubs like Barcelona—will not be too tough for him to handle.
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