A long season ahead
Barca has got off to a good start this season, winning the Spanish SuperCup and beating Racing Santander 0-3 , but it would be foolish for cules to get over excited at this stage.
It would be foolish in the extreme to write off Jose Mourinho on the basis of a somewhat lacklustre draw for Real Madrid in Mallorca. Mourinho has signed up an exciting crop of talented young players led by Mezut Ozila. He will be relying on the experience of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo while hoping that the rejuvenated Real will become great again just as Chelsea and Inter were similarly forged by the charismatic tactician.
By contrast Pep Guardiola is relying on a group of players who have already achieved greatness as a team. The addition of Xavier Mascherano brings further experience and quality. But , with the exception of the midfield, t’s a relatively small squad nonetheless and major injuries to one or two of the key players as the season hots up will make the squad vulnerable.
This may be the season in which Guardiola will have little option but to rely increasingly on Jonathan Dos Santos, Thiago Alcantara, Rubén Miño, Sergi Gómez, and Oriol Romeu, the identified young talents of Barca’s B team despite the fact that the majority do not have the international experience of Mourinho’s young bloods.
Perhaps the best news of the week for me was the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He came to Barca overvalued over a year ago and destabilized the team in almost every major game he played in, seeking to be the centre of attention, and failing to lead by example. His exit, and that of the more lovable Henry, however, will put even greater responsibility on the shoulders of Messi to inspire old and new with his genius.
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