Its going to be yet another 180 minutes of high drama as defending champions of the Premier League, Chelsea have been drawn against the mighty Barcelona. Before I start, I would like to make clear here is that this is written by me, an ardent Barcelona fan myself. However, Chelsea is not one of those clubs I hate from the bottom of my heart and I do respect, enjoy watching them play especially under the current regime of Antonio Conte. I have discussed this with a handful of my friends, a handful of whose blood would probably be blue simply because the passion for Chelsea is such. So just wanted to put my thoughts through about the draw.
First and foremost thing that struck my mind when I saw Chelsea was that, “OKAY, WE ARE NO FAVORITES NOW.” As surprising as it is to read it, that’s the truth of the matter and I am sure many of ` those who haven’t followed Barcelona recently wouldn’t find this sensible enough. The Barcelona that we were known for before, scaring opponents away just by the sight of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, stepping out together or when the very famous M-S-N high-fiving before kick-off are way beyond memories now.
We need to win, they WANT to win
So it is absolutely important for us to not to head into the game anything like the way we headed to Paris last season. Its not only about Paris Saint-Germain but a number of teams namely Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool are those who need to be handled with utmost attention as compared to facing either extremes like a top quality Real Madrid or an average side like Beskitas (with all due respect).
Don’t mistake me for misjudging the quality of the teams mentioned above. The knock-out stages of any cup competition is seldom decided by sheer quality. These are the games where the team which shows more will, determination & vigour could reign supreme. This is where Barcelona have lost out to several teams over the years since the treble victory. We lost out to Atletico Madrid, almost to PSG and then Juventus finished the job.
The common factor amongst teams like Atletico, PSG, Juventus is simply motivation and desire to go farthest in these cup tournaments. The reason is simple as these are teams which haven’t won the UEFA Champions League ever or either since many years ago. Now drawing comparisons to the current Chelsea side, we are welcoming the league Champions from London into the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League after 2 years and especially after a horrendous league campaign in 2015–16 that didn’t allow them to participate in Europe last season.
And whether we like it or not, Result = Quality + Desire + Form + Luck
We are talking about 4 different factors here and this obviously means that even if we possess better quality, a team which can out-do us in the other 3 factors will end up going past us. So no, we aren’t favorites just because we have quality.
Antonio Conte as all of you would be knowing is a no non-sense manager and he wouldn’t be tolerating any lack of motivation in his 11. The cases of David Luiz, Bakayoko and Willian are all live examples of how much he values a player who doesn’t show that he wants to win. You run, you sweat, you perform and you stay. So there is absolutely no doubt that they would be willing to take us to the brim even if they don’t get past.
Come on, let’s face it!
We have slid downslope and this is no way something that has happened overnight but it is our accumulated decisions that has led us to where we are right now. A collection of blunders right from not keeping key players happy, not adding depth to a fragile bench, not upgrading positions in various departments, all together have brought us to this state. There are one too many myths about Barcelona that ought to be broken right away:
1) We are not the best attacking side in Europe and given the likes of Manchester City, PSG and so on, we aren’t even top 3 right now.
2) At the same time, we dont have a weak defence. There are times we are shaky facing the counter attack but if situation demands we will sit back in 2 banks of four and let the opponent enjoy possession, we have finally realized its nothing shameful.
3) Talking about ‘off the ball’, our pressing seems to be back. Playing 4 midfielders could also be a reason but the high press after losing the ball is looking more similar to the Pep Guardiola times.
4) Ter Stegen is absolutely world class now and arguably the 2nd most important player after Messi for us, as we speak. No doubt, he is a major reason for all of the clean sheets this season. The goal-keeper being one of the top players in Barcelona isn’t a regular affair.
5) Potential weak link for us could be Nelson Semedo simply because he hasn’t faced the Hazards or Neymars of the world and especially now when his confidence seems to have taken a hit in the recent games, he might not quite be ready. He is unavailable for the 1st leg, however he may well start the 2nd leg at the Camp Nou.
Don’t forget, we have….
Dembele will be returning by the end of this month and in all likelihood, we would go back to the traditional 4–3–3 then. The Frenchman’s inclusion will be decisive and he actually can decide how the remainder of the season would be turning out for us. If he is going to fit in seamlessly, it spells danger for the opponents. If he is going to take time to fit in, it spells danger for us as a team fighting on all fronts.
We have spoken about Semedo but in truth, the fourth midfielder has also proven to be a headache for us in one too many games by hampering our creativity and depending on our little magician to do everything for us going forward.
Hey but come what may, what’s the fun in staying up midnight and tuning to watch our team face Besiktas? Lets make it a memorable game, lets cheer, lets banter, lets remember the game for all the good reasons hopefully and may the better team progress.
Images source:
www.everythingbarca.com
