Life after Lionel Messi has arguably been a struggle for Barcelona. Since he left the club, it hasn’t been a smooth campaign.
Following major upsets and humiliations in European Competitions, conversations about the Blaugrana’s ability to cope without Messi have returned once again.
Barcelona won the Uefa Champions League, Uefa Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup in 2015, which was the last occasion the club won a trophy in Europe.
Barcelona did not advance to the round 16 of 2021/22 UEFA Champions league competition after the group stage matches, finishing outside the best two teams in the group.
The Spanish side placed third and had the opportunity to play in the round 32 stage of the UEFA Europa League.
Having made little of an impression, they were subsequently eliminated from the competition at home by German team Eintracht Frankfurt.
Exactly after a year,as a result of failing to advance to the UEFA Champions League round 16 level, they were placed in the Europa League instead, which put them in the same predicament as before.
After falling to Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford, they once again wasted a chance to change the story.
When all of these problems will be resolved is the key issue now.
Here are some reasons the Club has failed to impress up to expectations in European competitions.
INEXPERIENCE FROM XAVI
First off, the club’s results in Europe have been hampered by inexperience, both on the coaching and player levels.
Although Xavi Hernandez is a very talented coach, he lacks European coaching expertise.
He came from a lower-tier league to Barcelona, so it would take him more time to become used to coaching in Europe.
The club’s legend has struggled to prepare very well for games due to his lack of experience, as evidenced by the mistakes he makes with his starting lineups during European football night.
THE YOUTH FACTOR
The current crop of players is also quite young, therefore it will take some time for them to catch up to the level of the other European teams.
We have witnessed several games where Barcelona outplayed opposing teams and dominated, but they were unable to capitalize and prevail.
This is a result of teams’ lack of a winning mentality and character. The team is now in transition and will require time to unite and compete in Europe at a higher level.
When the game gets challenging, especially when they are away from home, they typically give up.
PREVIOUS LOSSES AND INJURIES
The club’s recent losses and humiliations may have had a psychological influence, contributing to this circumstance. The Roma and Anfield debacle are two actual instances.
Secondly, they’ve been unlucky due to match suspensions and significant injuries that occur right before crucial European matches could also be a role. They mostly lose important players just before European competitions resume but mostly have a full squad during a break in European competition.
Barcelona had all of its players available for the ongoing 2022–23 season’s opening Champions League group stage match against Bayern Munich, but soon after some crucial players began suffering injuries that led to their elimination.
The team’s talisman also got hurt right before the Europa League match against Manchester United.
Going Forward, the club needs to address these issues in order for the team to start performing well in European Competitions.
By: Egyir Papa Kwamena
