In the midst of an internal crisis, Barça is about to play a crucial week

The start of 2020 for FC Barcelona is worrying. Accused of having hired a communications company to improve the image of its president, the management of Barça is in turmoil while Catalan supporters await as early as Tuesday in Naples, a reaction in the Champions League after the conceded ascension last year in the semi-finals in Liverpool.

“We know everything that is going on, but we are trying to make sure that it does not affect the team, and I can assure you that it does not affect it (…) Everything that interests me, it's football, ”assured Quique Sétien, at a press conference. But at 61, the Spanish technician’s Champions League experience is non-existent and his European adventure comes down to a failure in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League, against Rennes last year. Since his appointment (January 13, 2020), the native of Santander is still struggling to oil his workforce, where the agreement between Griezmann and Lionel Messi is still too fair. With already two defeats to his credit, Setièn is preparing to live a decisive week with a first big test in Italy and the Clasico on Sunday, at the Bernabeu.

A quadruple to forget everything

But after a premature elimination in the King's Cup against Bilbao, the approach of this knockout stage of the Champions League is causing more and more concern in Barcelona, ​​after a winter transfer window below expectations, where the arrival of the ex-Toulouse Martin Braithwaite has been widely criticized, and potential internal friction with Lionel Messi, "the greatest player of all time" according to Gattuso. “He is an example for everyone, he never says a word higher than the other. It does things that only exist on the Playstation, things unthinkable, "said the Napoli technician at a press conference on Monday.

And once again, the captain of Barça could be the author of this end of the crisis. Author of a quadruple this weekend against Eibar (5-0), the seventh of his career under the Barcelona colors, Lionel Messi allowed his club to take the lead in La Liga, while Real Madrid inclined to Levante (0-1). A possible sign of fate which shows that ultimately, the Argentinian is the man who wears Barça at arm's length. Deprived of the final since 2015, the Barcelona collective, without Ousmane Dembele, Luis Suarez, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba, could take advantage of this wide victory to wake up. On the contrary, a setback in Naples would be synonymous with disaster for Setién and his group, before moving to Madrid this Sunday.

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