F.C. Barcelona's Problems This Season

At the advent of the 2007-08 season, much paper space was devoted to Barcelona's attacking lineup. With Ronaldinho and Messi on either side and Eto’o in the centre, along with the acquisition of Thierry Henry from Arsenal; Barcelona was predicted to herald a new period of European domination. They were expected to run riot in front of rival defences.

Unfortunately for them, it hasn't happened—so far. 

It all started with the arrival of Henry. If Frank Rijkaard was planning to introduce the young duo of Giovani dos Santos and Bojan Krkic into the first team during the preseason; then buying Henry was an unnecessary venture.

When earlier Rijkaard could have substituted Eto'o with Gudjonsen and brought on Dos Santos and Bojan in place of Messi and Ronaldinho, now there was a confusion on the choice of the starting three and whom to bring on.

And since Barcelona plays with three strikers, at least one player would always miss a place even on the bench, and this led to a clash of egos. Eto'o was injured in the initial stages of the campaign and after a brief comeback, has had to rush off on international duty for Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations. His initial absence was looked at as an opening for Henry to establish himself.

Though he himself has had recurrent back problems, he has managed 10 goals for the club so far, but that is still abysmal by his standards. Messi and Ronaldinho have both been plagued with injuries and fitness problems, and the latter also has to deal with being hopelessly out of form.

Gudjonsen hasn't been able to make an impact in the few chances he has been given. Dos Santos and Bojan have played pretty well for a debut season, but they too lack in experience and vision.

In stark contrast to the striking options, the midfield this season has been quite barren. Edmilson has been out injured for quite a while now and Deco has been on-and-off. He seems to be on his way out of the club soon and Xavi is getting old. The two of them have been limited in their creativity and they haven't had the presence and impact they've had in the past few seasons. And with the unavailability of Edmilson, Toure has been pushed into a more defensive role. In the games that he did play as an anchor, he was quite effective like the 3-0 win over Lyon.

The El Classico is a perfect example of how important he is in that position. Baptista was given too much space and that cost Barcelona. Iniesta may be the best player for the Catalunians this season but he's more effective in an attacking role. The problem lies that in the event of an injury, Rijkaard has no substitutes. He's been playing the four of them, game after game and this has led to tiring them out. He hasn't been able to rotate the midfield the way he would've liked and this has resulted in a dearth of variety.

The defence too has been shaky. Due to Puyol's lack of height, he can't play a central role as the other teams play long, as he's not effective in the air. Owing to being club captain, Rijkaard cannot take him off and hence he's been pushed to the right as Marquez is having a good season. Abidal and Zambrotta as fullbacks have been solid in their performances. Milito can't be benched for long due to being a high-profile signing in the summer, but he has been featured only in cameos.

In the goal, Valdes hasn't made too many mistakes this season but the second choice custodian, Jorquera, has been injured for most of this season. So Valdes has been forced to play almost all the matches this season as the reserve keepers lack quality.

No Barcelona manager has lasted four years in recent times, and this is Rijkaard's fourth year in charge. Opponents have all adapted to his 4-3-3 formation and attacking style of play. They just lie back and defend deep, relying on counter attacks. The passing around and waiting for that perfect opening and through-ball has become all too monotonous and Rijkaard needs to adjust if he has any hopes of contending for the title this season.

Technically speaking, Barcelona isn't going through a crisis as is made to believe by the media. The team is still second in the standings and only six points adrift of Real Madrid. It's still in contention for the Copa Del Rey having reached the semis. Barcelona has lost only two matches in the league this season, which is less than Madrid and the majority of the points it has dropped has been because of draws.

Eto's return from Africa and continuing his goal-scoring form for the club will be crucial in the title race. Messi and Ronaldinho will also have to get to their best to improve Barca's chances. Together the three coupled with Henry were referred to as the "Fantastic Four" at the start of the season, but due to injuries and fitness problems, all four haven't been available at the same time. Between them, they still haven't struck a winning combination that has been consistent. 

It is funny that Barcelona made the mistake of buying Henry when it already had so many attacking options, the way Madrid did when it put together the infamous "Galacticos." Just the way Cambiasso, and even Owen to an extent, were almost sure of not playing in the same team as Figo and Ronaldo, Rijkaard should've known that there would be too many striking options and someone would have to be sacrificed. Ironically, Barcelona won the La Liga during the period of the Galacticos!   

Barcelona has been pressurized due to being under constant media speculation and its elaborate passing has been criticized. Real Madrid is able to play dirty when the need arises and put up dominating displays. Barca, on the other hand, plays pretty and conjures beautiful moves but they don't result in anything.

On the whole, Rijkaard will have to improvise on his tactics and change his attacking style to emerge with three points from every game. At the end of the day, it isn't just about passing around and playing beautiful football. It is about scoring goals and winnings matches. A certain Arsene Wenger in England will testify to that after his exploits with Arsenal last season.