FC Barcelona Thread - *Campeones de España y de Europa 2009*

Football, she be a harsh mistress. Bring her silverware and she smiles thinly before averting her gaze - an unmistakable sign that she wants more.

OK, pseudo-poetic misogyny aside, it remains a fact of footballing life that glory is fleeting, and a team cannot remain for long at the top without rebuilding. Just consider Frank Rijkaard, who once topped the world with Barcelona only to sink into disrepute later on.

So awesome has been Pep Guardiola's debut season with the Blaugrana that it's hard to imagine his stock falling low enough to lose his job - but believe it: it could happen.

That's not even to begin suggesting that it will, though. The coach so far has shown enough about him to be considered a success story. But if he's going to continue to win trophies, there will need to be some changes at pitch level.

With that in mind, let's look at the squad and how it should look for next season. We won't follow quite the same format as Cyrus C. Malek did for his examination of Real Madrid, for the simple reason that there are too few 'goes' to make it worthwhile. Instead we'll do it by position.

Goalkeeper

Barcelona's back line has been as strong in the Liga this season as has their front players: a mammoth +71 goal difference (at time of writing) bearing testament to that. Not only that, but Victor Valdes is in line to pick up the Zamora award for being the Liga's best goalkeeper, statistically speaking. This has not quite silenced his doubters - although it has dampened their shouts into murmurs - and to be fair to them it is undeniable that there are better goalies than him on the continent. But is he the disaster that he was once characterised as? Certainly not. For this reason he should be kept on. As for Pinto and the out-of-contract Jorquera, both should be allowed to leave. Talk is that Sergio Asenjo could serve as Vic's new understudy...

Verdict: Victor Valdes is no more error-prone than any other goalkeeper at Europe's top table and does not deserve the raw deal that he gets from some observers. That said, he cannot be considered world-class, and thus if one of the world's best five or six goalkeepers becomes available then Barcelona should make a move. As it stands, though, this is not an urgent undertaking.

Defence

As aforementioned, Barcelona have the best defensive record in the Liga. This comes despite the fact that there have been some high-profile injuries in the back line throughout the campaign. As we'll see below there is not too much scope for new purchases at centre-back: full-back, though, remains an issue. Eric Abidal's form is open to question and overall there is a distinct lack of backup, too. But the concession record suggests that a couple of changes, rather than root-and-branch restructuring, will do just fine.

Verdict: A new left-back would be required this summer anyway for the sole reason that Sylvinho is aging rapidly, but the continued inability of Eric Abidal to find consistency renders this a must. The centre-back position is in flux due to Gabriel Milito's injury: assuming that he recovers well, then between himself, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, and Martin Caceres, there is enough left for at least another season without further elaboration. Right-back could use one extra reinforcement, but Daniel Alves is so unique that his absence necessitates an entire rethink of style as well as personnel: this is arguably the hardest (but not most important) challenge for Txiki Begiristain and the technical staff to meet.

Midfield

Every football fan can rattle off the Iniesta-Yaya Toure-Xavi triumvirate as if it's a holy mantra, and I suppose in some sense it is. These three, while not quite infallible, comprise one of the most inventive and also most solid midfields today. I say solid because, despite being an attacking, three-man midfield, it is rare to see it completely overrun. The problem here, though, is depth: fans have faith in Seydou Keita, who admittedly does have much to offer, but beyond this the squad pales in comparison to that of, say, Manchester United.

Verdict: More depth is needed. I remain to be convinced that Sergi Busquets is a long-term answer in midfield, and the other youngsters perhaps require another year at a lower level before stepping up to the Primera (if their showing against Mallorca is anything to go by, at least.) Aliaksandr Hleb was too expensive to cut losses on just yet, but with Eidur Gudjohnsen going, another attack-minded midfielder who can put his foot on the ball would go down nicely, and in fact should be considered a must, not least for those matches in which Iniesta presses forward.

Attack

The three remaining members of the Fantastic Four have each had successful seasons in their own right. Lionel Messi has enjoyed some sublime games; Thierry Henry has been awesome; and Samuel Eto'o is, well, about to end up as top scorer. Yet despite the absolutely incredible goal tally between the three of them, it is not a perfect setup. There is a lack of depth, again, and Eto'o has been misfiring a bit. I type this with some guilt because to denigrate the achievements of the three forwards this season is almost sacrilegious, but this topic is about what will happen in future. For me, there must be, if not a personnel change in summer, certainly one alteration. Here's what it is...

Verdict: Whisper it, but for me the issue of Samuel Eto'o is the biggest of the summer. It seems absurd to write that a Pichichi winner-elect might be on the verge of losing his touch, but Eto'o has finished this season in what is, in my opinion, very poor form. Is Bojan the man to replace him? For me he is not - not because of any lack of talent - he is a great player - but because he is not a pure-and-simple, fox-in-the-box number nine. His role is slightly more subtle. What Barcelona need is a hard-working centre forward who will hit the target the majority of the time (and score not too much less than that). Is David Villa the man? Or will Samuel Eto'o, just like last year, return after the summer reinvigorated and back on top? We'll see.

Messiah wrote:i think forlan would be almost as willing a runner as eto'o

Jaime wrote:Messi: "Si me llama Florentino, le atenderé."

Lionel Messi has admitted that he would speak to Florentino Perez but only to politely tell him he is more than happy at Barcelona.

Jaime wrote:Hype!

Messiah wrote:oleguer is that bad and it a league anc CL winner

Crosas is pretty good, will soon be SPL champions, now wonder lyon have fallen so much since he left

the rest are pretty shit especially merida

kas wrote:Eh, not so enthusiastic about it now, even though he's a good fullback. We need someone with height.