Barcelona FC: A Fading Star or Can Guardiola Take This Club on to Greater Things

While the greatest team in the modern era are preparing for their second Champions League final in three years, further enhancing Pep Guardiola’s glowing list of accolades, it has to become a reality to the rest of Europe that this side could get even better.

Guardiola hails this season’s La Liga triumph as the most special. Citing the influence in Madrid of Jose Mourinho and the phenomenal statistics of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Barcelona manager understood the fatigue his players have had to fight through on the back of a World Cup campaign.

But where the club boast the three best players in world football, who are further supplemented with an array of similarly wonderful talents, it is frightening to suggest that this team can and will continue to get better.

The squad issue is plain for everyone to see—the team need more bodies. While the Catalan club do not have the seemingly endless resources to fill their 25-man quota with superstars like their Madrid counterparts, they do have the added boost of their new Qatar sponsorship.

Many rumours will be circulating this summer about Cesc Fabregas and the desire he has to join up with boyhood club.

But the fact is he is not a priority. This is not a club who can  afford to meet Arsenal’s valuation of their captain and then go on to further strengthen areas which need addressing.

The need for more goals is the big worry.

There is too much of a reliance on Lionel Messi for goals. While Pedro and David Villa have produced numbers that would surpass any other team’s leading scorer, it's just not enough when every other player is not consistently chipping in with goals. Specifically those players considered “backups”.

But the young Argentine does need resting if he is to prolong his reign as the world’s greatest player.

What this means is that the club need to and are actively seeking alternative options to produce goals. The most likely is in the form of another striker, possibly Giuseppe Rossi or Alexis Sanchez.

The concern is that on too many occasions the players look to give the ball to Messi, not so much in the hope that he’ll do something with it—because they know he can—but rather they look to him as somewhat of a “get out of jail” card when things don’t go their way.

This means that the opposing teams will eventually find a way to nullify Messi’s impact and attempt to phase him out of the game. Where as if the goals where shared more evenly among the team then it would make it far more difficult to defend against. Barcelona may also find it easier and quicker to finish off games with a frontline augmented with another goal scorer or two.

Defence has also been a problem for Guardiola this season with Puyol missing for large parts of the campaign.

Does this mean they are looking for a long-term partner for Pique, someone who can not only bring the ball out of defence but a player who can perform last ditch challenges like Puyol has so heroically over the years?

Again, the foundations are there for a defence to become even stronger and allowing for the team to better their goals against of this year. By the way, its 21.

 
It would be unfair to suggest the team have crawled over the finish line because they’ve continued to play the best football in Europe. But Guardiola has battled to keep his best players fresh for the entire season whilst also keeping a winning mentality and continuity running throughout the squad.

Despite what many think Barcelona are not a team laden with cash. They still have to move on sellable assets in order to improve their squad.

And with the concern over aging players as well as those who consistently pick up injuries, it's important the club can recruit individuals who can bridge the gap between the current stars and those coming through La Masia.

This is far from a club who are running on empty, and I do not expect Pep Guardiola to allow such a thing to happen. But the aim will be to keep clear daylight between themselves and Real Madrid, who have already began the process of strengthening their squad.

Next summer I expect to see a Barcelona side rejuvenated, with those extra players in key positions and a squad who are more than capable of retaining their La Liga crown.