Soon, the bosses of "Barcelona", who will ring in the New Year of 2015, should meet as quietly as possible, says the "fcbarcelona.lt" website.
During the first minutes of the New Year, the raised cup of bubbling drink may be the only one held by the leaders of the Catalan club this season.
At least some football analysts are beginning to talk similarly now, having learned of the decision of the Sports Arbitration Court based in Lozano.
"Barcelona" will not be able to register new footballers for one year. This means that during the two transfer windows - in January 2015 and the summer of the same year - no new players will come to the club.
Winter has already arrived and will not last long. Nothing tragic or extreme, because in January "Barcelona" does not buy players anyway (except for a few very rare exceptions). However, in the summer of 2015, the Catalans will definitely not be able to even perform a minimal "blood transfusion", which means that the team's composition will not change, their chosen tactical schemes will age faster, there will be no implementers of new ideas from the coach, and the team risks becoming even more predictable.
Some analysts, for example, Carlo Carganese from goal.com, trumpet that "Barcelona" will regret selling Cesc Fabregas to London's "Chelsea" and may already say goodbye to their hopes of competing for Spanish League titles and the UEFA Champions League trophy. And that until 2017.
According to C. Garganese, the new "Barcelona" purchases in the summer of 2014 did not impress anyone. Yes, Luis Suarez strengthened the attack, but Ivan Rakitic is not at the level of C. Fabregas and is neither "the second Xavi, nor Andres Iniesta." Douglas Pereira occupies space and so on.
This means that "Barcelona" can already write off not only this, but also the next season, 2015-2016. In fact, according to the analyst, this means that the Catalans withdraw from the trophy fight until 2017 summer.
Gloomy and bold predictions, aren't they? Let them be like that, but we still want to ask what is better: wanting to play Rakitic or Cesc Fabregas, who has spent three years at home and ready to spread his wings?
C. Fabregas was certainly not the worst "Barcelona" footballer. On the contrary, one of the best, but even casual football fans noticed that the midfielder played well in the first half of the season, but after New Year, in the summer, he seemed to disappear until mid-spring. And so for three years in Barcelona.
Finally, C. Fabregas openly admitted that the decision to leave "Barca" was his personal desire, and the leaders of the Catalan club did everything for him not to leave. They did it civilly, i.e., they tried to persuade him and, according to the press, even sent Lionel Messi to somehow change his plans (later the Catalan himself confirmed that it was just a press invention and "Barca" did not send L. Messi, and the Argentine did not influence C. Fabregas).
"I went to the club president and sports director and asked to find a solution for me to leave. This was my own desire. They did not want to let me go, but thankfully everything went smoothly," the Catalan said in a live radio show on "Cadena Cope," who later bid farewell to "Barcelona" by affirming that he has "unfinished business in England".
Perhaps "Barcelona", according to the same C. Garganese, may regret selling C. Fabregas, but "Barcelona" would regret even more if a demotivated C. Fabregas had stayed.
It is an age-old rule: the Catalan club never stands in the way of a player leaving if that is his desire. No matter what caliber of star he may be. There are many examples, most notably Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ronaldinho.
However, it is not worth dwelling on C. Fabregas alone.
Although the FIFA-imposed punishment eliminates "Barca" from the transfer market for one year, no one takes away the club's right to use its talent pool. And it seems that the name in Catalan club's youth academy is called "cantera" for a reason - a mine.
The sports crisis of "Barcelona" will be overcome quite easily, and Adama Traore, Munir El Haddadi, Sandro Ramirez, Macky Bagnack, Sergi Samper, Alen Halilovic, and the company will certainly not lack motivation or determination to prove that they deserve to wear the first team's jersey. There is also Gerard Deulofeu and the very promising Denis Suarez.
If the leaders of the Catalan club think wisely and are careful, they will do everything to extend the contract ending in the summer of 2015 with Dani Alves. And that will be enough in the current situation.
In the near future, "Barcelona" leaders will need to think harder about how to emerge from a deep institutional crisis, rather than look at what footballers they could snatch in the transfer market.
Within the club, "Barcelona" has already found its "scapegoats" for the youth players' registration history - Guillermo Amor and Albert Puig lost their jobs, and it was announced last week that the club is bidding farewell to acting director Antoni Rossich.
If G. Amor and A. Puig are relatively minor players in the "Barca" management structure, A. Rossich is a true shark. However, it seems that even that will not be enough.
Josep Maria Bartomeu will likely have to weather a new wave of demands to hold presidential elections for "Barcelona" in the summer of 2015, a year earlier than the end of the current club's Board of Directors' term.
In the event that the opposition (it seems that Joan Laporta will soon be at the forefront again) succeeds in forcing the current leaders of the Catalan team to hold elections, next summer will most likely repeat a similar situation to the one Gerardo "Tata" Martino faced. That is, new people will come to the club who can only make promises in the first year.
G. Martino was chosen as a "stopgap solution" as a coach. Well, no one predicted that Tito Vilanova would suddenly have to give up everything and resign from his position. "Tata," in his new environment, found an already gathered team, he just lacked time (because the season was about to start) to adjust them according to his plans and had to play the cards he was dealt. Figuratively speaking.
If presidential elections are held in the summer of 2015, it is quite likely that the opposition will win them. However, they will not be able to do anything either. And not this time due to lack of time, but because of the mistakes made by the current club leaders and the sanctions imposed. So what is the point of now forcing J. M. Bartomeu out of his position, if the newcomers would have to fall into the same mess?
By the way, there is also the so-called Neymargate. But that's another story and not related to the FIFA-imposed punishment.
It is often said that it is easier to fight when your opponent is considered the favorite. Then the tension is less burdensome, psychological responsibility is reduced, and more motivation arises.
Such an extreme situation will benefit the team whose dedicated fans still remember with gold-tinted glasses the victories of the Josep Guardiola era. New experiences toughen.
A cat that doesn't know how to swim will do everything to float and survive. And so will "Barcelona," especially since no one is planning on drowning here.
All it takes is to lift your head and maintain composure. The lifebuoy to help you float is right here - you just need to open the doors of the Joan Gamper sports complex and at least not make a mistake now.
fcbarcelona.lt
