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SteemSports Presenter: @feekayo

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SteemSports Writer/Editor: @writingamigo

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Barca used to be dominant

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Spanish giants FC Barcelona have experienced unparalleled success in recent years. In the last decade, they have been one of the biggest clubs in the world and the most successful. With the appointment of Pep Guardiola in 2009 and the rise of a new generation of La Masia graduates coming together to play one of the most attractive brands of football ever seen. One could call that team the greatest team of all time. With technical players like Xavi and Iniesta, Barca played cerebral football with an emphasis on technique and smart exploitation of space as opposed to brute strength and was able to dominate club football. They won 2 Champions League titles under Pep Guardiola, and the team formed the spine of the Spanish national team that dominated world football winning the World Cup and back to back European titles. And I haven’t even mentioned the best part - FC Barcelona has Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Arguably the best ever. And with Messi on top of his game, the team looked unbeatable and they still do. But something has changed.

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The secret to Barcelona’s footballing dominance was their style of play. They dominated the games by keeping the ball away from their opponents. They had a strong midfield, the best midfield in the game. Barca had Xavi, a brilliant reader of the game and an excellent passer of the ball; Iniesta, who scored the goal that won Spain its first-ever World Cup is as brilliant as they come, an excellent dribbler and hard to dispossess. And finally, Busquets who shielded the defense. Sergio Busquets is slightly built, but he performs his work perfectly. He protects the defense and is also very difficult to dispossess. These players were all home grown players. Graduates of Barcelona’s famed academy La Masia. Even Lionel Messi, born in Argentina, moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join the youth team. Barcelona had a team of players already immersed in their philosophy from a very young age.

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Today's struggles

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In recent years, however, the club has departed from their philosophy. Thiago Alcantara, a promising youth player, was let go for peanuts to Bayern Munich. Thiago was always seen as the heir of Xavi. The club just let him go without making any plans for a replacement. Young players, La Masia graduates have been loaned out, deemed ‘not good enough for the team’ without being given as much as a chance. Now to be fair not every generation can be a golden one, and the club is not under any obligation to transition the players to the senior team, but they haven’t really found suitable replacements for their aging and retired players especially in the midfield.

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Xavi retired in 2015 after the club won their second treble. Iniesta is now 33 years old. Busquets is 28 and still good enough for the team. Xavi has been gone for 2 years, and Barcelona still hasn't found a suitable replacement. Ivan Rakitic was signed in 2014, and while he started well, he was a little inconsistent last season. Instead, Barcelona has spent 40 million euros on Arda Turan and over 50 million on Andre Gomes, players who do not suit Barca'style and have struggled to match their fees. The midfield of FC Barcelona, the spine of a once great team, is dying.

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The title of this article might seem like an exaggeration. After all, Barcelona finished 2nd in the League last season and was in the title race until the last day. They also completed a historic comeback against PSG in the Champions League round of 16, but in truth, these events just put a gloss on the problems. Barcelona has problems with the team. For example, Sergi Roberto, winner of the PSG tie and the man who started the run that led to Leo Messi’s late winner against Real Madrid is a midfielder being used in the right back position. This is because Barcelona let Dani Alves go. Dani Alves who helped Juventus reach the final of the Champions League. That Dani Alves. And even though they replaced him with Aleix Vidal, they didn’t have anybody else in line so when Vidal got injured they had to convert a midfielder to the right back. That’s Barcelona. The new Barcelona, with no planning whatsoever. They have bought stupidly. FC Barcelona also has the highest wage bill in the whole of Europe.

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To be fair, the majority of that money goes to their famed forward line MSN, but if you compare the amount they pay to the other players, the average, inconsistent, past it players, to that of other big teams like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, you’ll understand. And even those teams have stocked their team with quality signings and promising youth players.

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Madrid’s midfield, which has helped them win back to back Champions League titles is looking more like Barcelona than Barcelona themselves. And they have amazing depth. A blend of experience and youth. In fact, the entire Madrid squad looks very promising. Real Madrid’s B team is capable of challenging for, if not winning the Spanish La Liga.

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Barcelona sold Munir and got Paco Alcacer for 30 million euros. A fee he is yet to justify. Madrid got Vallejo, Marcos Llorente, Asensio and Theo Hernandez for 51 million euros and Barca got Andre Gomes alone for 50 million. Ceballos, Asensio and Isco are rumored admirers of FC Barcelona but they signed with Madrid instead and who can blame them? Madrid is simply more organized and a far more attractive destination for players right now.

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Barcelona is now rumored to be going after Paulinho, the Tottenham flop Paulinho, in fact, they’ve already had a bid rejected. Barcelona’s board seem not to have learned from last season. A season where if not for the consistent brilliance of Messi, they could have ended up even worse than they did. Far worse in fact. FC Barcelona has lost its identity. Gone is the patient, beautiful football, now they just lump the ball to MSN especially Messi and hope he’s having a good day. Which he usually is, he’s an amazing player, but when he does have a bad game like the first leg against PSG, Barcelona seems lost and clueless. And that is why they are in trouble. Other teams are building. The English teams, AC Milan, PSG, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, and Barcelona isn’t even standing still - it is regressing.

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The big hope

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But all is not lost. Things can still be fixed. Maybe the problems were caused by poor management of the players. Luis Enrique rotated and tried to use players in different positions. If these players have a fixed function, if youth players are given a chance, maybe the decline can be stopped. I believe a few of the players should be let go, but nothing seems to have been done just yet. With new coach Ernesto Valverde and a few signings here and there; particularly at the right back and midfield, I believe the team can be strong once again. And let’s be honest, as long as FC Barcelona have Lionel Messi, you can never truly count them out.

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