The Messi factor
On Saturday night, Barça went out and trashed Mallorca 5-0. They did
it without Messi, without Puyol, Xavi or even Busquets. Sure it was
Mallorca and not Man United, Madrid or PSG. But still, it is one of many
games that have proved that Barça is not dependent on one or a few
players. Of course, Messi is important for Barça, but the team has never
been dependent on him. There are games when he came to play from the
bench and contributed to a winning result, changed the outcome of the
game, like the other day against PSG or like that cold night in Ukraine
against Shakhtar in 2008. Let’s make this clear: Barça without Messi
wouldn’t collapse. The team isn’t built around Messi, it’s built to get the best out of Messi. The Barça style isn’t dependent on him.
Without Messi, Barcelona wouldn’t have won 14 trophies during four years under Guardiola. But Barça wouldn’t have won those 14 trophies without Valdés either, they definitely wouldn’t have won them without Xavi, Puyol, Iniesta nor Busquets. FC Barcelona isn’t a team that has one world class player but twenty-three of them. Take away one of them and yes, the team will get weaker. But they won’t collapse because there are other players that have the qualities to drive this team.
Without Messi, Barça would be a fantastic team, with him they are an extraordinary team. Against PSG, if Messi hadn’t come on, Barça might not have scored that goal and they wouldn’t have proceeded to the semifinals. But Messi’s presence wouldn’t have been enough hadn’t Victor Valdés saved those seven shots. Messi’s presence wouldn’t have been enough if Pedro had missed his shot or if Villa had misplaced that pass. At this level, one player can never be the entire team. Messi needs his teammates and his teammates need him. FC Barcelona is also a team that will never be about one player, rather it’s a team where every player is an integral part of their playing style.
Obviously, some players are a bit more important than others depending on their position or their performance during a game. Clearly, Messi has the ability to influence a game on his own. But the entire team will never solely rely on him alone. After losing to Inter Milan in the Champions League in 2010, Carles Puyol went over 50 games before losing another game with Barça. During this period of over two years, Barça only lost when Puyol wasn’t playing. It shows the importance Puyol had on the team. When he wasn’t there to scream at his teammates, they would at times find trouble concentrating 100% on what had to be done and Barça dropped points, regardless of Messi’s presence. Andrés Iniesta became the player with the most consecutive games without losing a league game in the club’s history as he went with 55 games before losing to Real Madrid in 2012.
Does this mean Barça are dependent on Puyol or Iniesta? The answer is simply no. Barça is dependent on all their players, and them having a good day.
As a record-breaking, statistics-shattering best player in the world, Messi tends to have more of an impact . Puyol with his leadership is another. Valdés has shown more than a few times how crucial he can be to the team. But if I was a coach for a team that was going to face FC Barcelona and I had a say in which player would not be aligned in Barca’s starting XI, I would not make them take off Messi, I’d make them take off Sergio Busquets.
For the same reasons that I would have asked them to take off Xavi a few years ago. Back then, it was Xavi who held the maestro stick at Barça, today it’s Busquets. It is him who makes the team play the right symphony. When Xavi had a bad day the entire team had a bad day, when he had a good one the entire team had a good one. A good example is when Xavi had maybe his best ever game, Barça won 5-0 over Madrid. It’s the same with Busi today, if Sergio plays bad then Barça plays bad. If he isn’t playing, the team undoubtedly suffers a lot. The team suffers more without Busquets than without Messi, because Busquets is the conductor and Messi is his star.
Does this mean Busquets is better than Messi? No. Does it mean Barça are dependent on Busquets? No, not that either. It just means that Busquets’ role for Barça on the pitch is just as important if not more than Messi’s role.
Without Messi, Barça would still win titles, but not as many as with him. Barça without Messi is a fantastic football team, Barça with Messi is an extraordinary football team.
Without Messi, Barcelona wouldn’t have won 14 trophies during four years under Guardiola. But Barça wouldn’t have won those 14 trophies without Valdés either, they definitely wouldn’t have won them without Xavi, Puyol, Iniesta nor Busquets. FC Barcelona isn’t a team that has one world class player but twenty-three of them. Take away one of them and yes, the team will get weaker. But they won’t collapse because there are other players that have the qualities to drive this team.
Without Messi, Barça would be a fantastic team, with him they are an extraordinary team. Against PSG, if Messi hadn’t come on, Barça might not have scored that goal and they wouldn’t have proceeded to the semifinals. But Messi’s presence wouldn’t have been enough hadn’t Victor Valdés saved those seven shots. Messi’s presence wouldn’t have been enough if Pedro had missed his shot or if Villa had misplaced that pass. At this level, one player can never be the entire team. Messi needs his teammates and his teammates need him. FC Barcelona is also a team that will never be about one player, rather it’s a team where every player is an integral part of their playing style.
Obviously, some players are a bit more important than others depending on their position or their performance during a game. Clearly, Messi has the ability to influence a game on his own. But the entire team will never solely rely on him alone. After losing to Inter Milan in the Champions League in 2010, Carles Puyol went over 50 games before losing another game with Barça. During this period of over two years, Barça only lost when Puyol wasn’t playing. It shows the importance Puyol had on the team. When he wasn’t there to scream at his teammates, they would at times find trouble concentrating 100% on what had to be done and Barça dropped points, regardless of Messi’s presence. Andrés Iniesta became the player with the most consecutive games without losing a league game in the club’s history as he went with 55 games before losing to Real Madrid in 2012.
Does this mean Barça are dependent on Puyol or Iniesta? The answer is simply no. Barça is dependent on all their players, and them having a good day.
As a record-breaking, statistics-shattering best player in the world, Messi tends to have more of an impact . Puyol with his leadership is another. Valdés has shown more than a few times how crucial he can be to the team. But if I was a coach for a team that was going to face FC Barcelona and I had a say in which player would not be aligned in Barca’s starting XI, I would not make them take off Messi, I’d make them take off Sergio Busquets.
For the same reasons that I would have asked them to take off Xavi a few years ago. Back then, it was Xavi who held the maestro stick at Barça, today it’s Busquets. It is him who makes the team play the right symphony. When Xavi had a bad day the entire team had a bad day, when he had a good one the entire team had a good one. A good example is when Xavi had maybe his best ever game, Barça won 5-0 over Madrid. It’s the same with Busi today, if Sergio plays bad then Barça plays bad. If he isn’t playing, the team undoubtedly suffers a lot. The team suffers more without Busquets than without Messi, because Busquets is the conductor and Messi is his star.
Does this mean Busquets is better than Messi? No. Does it mean Barça are dependent on Busquets? No, not that either. It just means that Busquets’ role for Barça on the pitch is just as important if not more than Messi’s role.
Without Messi, Barça would still win titles, but not as many as with him. Barça without Messi is a fantastic football team, Barça with Messi is an extraordinary football team.
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