The Blaugrana leaders felt it when saying goodbye to their jewel Lionel Messi in the summer of 2021: the reconstruction was going to take time.
The future did not prove them wrong.
Three seasons later, the work is still immense.
Third in Liga, six points behind Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, PSG's future opponent in the quarter-final of the Champions League, is still looking for its bearings.
Xavi, departing coach
And to say that this 2023-2024 season should be that of confirmation.
Crowned Spanish champion last June, Xavi, another local idol, imagined himself delving deeper into his game ideas. Despite two early eliminations in the C1 group stage, he had a rather encouraging record to his credit so far.
Intelligently renewed squad, rise in power of nuggets of the Masia, return of a solid defense… The lights seemed green.
In fact, he quickly became disillusioned to the point of announcing on January 27 that he would not complete his contract in 2025 and that he would leave the club at the end of the season.
A small earthquake but not a huge surprise either, as we explained to you at the time, in this club in the grip of serious financial difficulties and which very quickly wears out its coaches.
The complete table of the quarter-finals of the 2023-2024 Champions League.
At odds with certain members of the sports management, including the Portuguese Deco, the former midfielder chose to leave the ship after a worrying start to the season.
“I feel that this way the tension will drop.
Two years ago, I was the solution.
Today, I don't want to be the problem.
I would always want the good of the club.
»
A defense that has become very fragile again
The statistic is surprising for an institution that has known big names of the caliber of Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué.
This season, Barça is only the 12th defense in La Liga, with 34 goals conceded, or 1.2 per game.
Like the French international Jules Koundé, sometimes delicate and lugged from the center to the right lane, the sinking particularly came during big matches.
In December, they took four at home against Girona (2-4), three on the pitch of the Belgian Royal Antwerp (3-2).
The following month, again with a rout in the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid (4-1) then equally alarming defeats against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey (4-2) then Villarreal in the league (3- 5).
The bleeding has subsided a little over the past month and a half but this latent fragility is not likely to escape Luis Enrique's staff.
A cascade of wounded in the middle
All these goals conceded do not only depend on the quality of the defenders.
Xavi, a fan of 4-3-3, has to deal with numerous injuries in the midfield, a sector that has been orphaned since this summer by Sergio Busquets.
His two playing masters
Gavi
(19 years old) and
Pedri
(21 years old) are thus regularly on the flank.
Victim in November of a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee and an associated injury to the external meniscus, the first in principle has no chance of playing again this season.
The second relapsed (right thigh) at the beginning of March and should not be available before the end of April, that is to say after the two confrontations against PSG (April 9/10, April 16-17).
However, there is room for optimism regarding the Dutchman
Frenkie De Jong
, particularly for the return leg at home.
Usual central defender, the Dane Andreas Christensen was urgently repositioned in a sentry role to bring impact and density to the recovery, alongside the metronome Ilkay Gündogan.
Note that Spanish left-back
Alejandro Balde
underwent surgery at the end of January and will not return to competition until next summer.
Lewandowski-Yamal, the fashionable duo
Be careful, you shouldn't make the picture too dark either.
FC Barcelona is on a tightrope, as we have seen.
But the members of the Montjuïc Olympic stadium - the Camp Nou is currently under construction - can count on his offensive cards.
Robert Lewandowski is having a more than decent season.
The Polish striker, top scorer (12) and best passer (6) of his team, once again showed against Naples the exceptional player he was at 35 years old.
But the trend of the moment is Yamine Lamal, 16 years old, an absolute phenomenon of precocity with enormous responsibilities.
Responsible for replacing Ousmane Dembélé in the role of the particle accelerator, he is already compared to Pulga... An enthusiasm which does not please his coach very much.
“There are times when he can look like Messi.
He cuts into the center, infiltrates the area and puts the ball in the top corner, said Xavi after a magnificent goal scored at the end of the match against Mallorca (1-0) on March 8.
We have the impression of finding Messi in him, but it is not a good thing to compare him.
»
The starting lineup of FC Barcelona against Naples in the round of 16 second leg of C1 (3-1 victory):
Ter Stegen - Koundé, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo - Lopez, Christensen, Gundögan - Yamal, Lewandwski, Raphina.