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As promised, we are back with the second edition of Ramzi Tanani‘s writings in his brand new column here at totalBarça – Ramzi’s Rambles.

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The game against Atletico caused more frustration among the cules (I can’t make you feel better HieiFCB, but try to call her again!) than all the annoyance Juventus caused their fans this season. There were fists blowing in the air, and everyone from the players to Pep had their shares of the vows and swears.  But the crying on spilled milk ended by now, and the anxiety while approaching the following challenges is starting to crawl like a snake through the veins of the Blaugrana hearts.

We can talk all day long about the loss of Keita, Xavi, Abidal, and whoever will fail to make it for the game against Racing, but time will prove (hopefully) that the game against Atletico was not the beginning of crisis, it was the bottom of the crises’ well. Now the team will start recovering. The problem against Atletico was the string of injuries and suspensions all coming together against a team that is used to complicating Barcelona’s Liga adventure even while selecting all the key players.

In the following three weeks Barcelona hosts Racing and Malaga at home before travelling to play Almeria.  The available squad is as capable as the full squad to get the full points, which is never a certainty in football regardless of who starts. There are three weeks till the game against Valencia at home, where only Keita and Abidal will not be available. Of course the club may receive more bad news, the same goes for all the clubs. In fact, it is almost certain that Alves and Yaya will be available for the Champions League game next week, and hopefully will not be rushed to start against Racing. This means that Pep will have more options to lean on in the following games, which was not the case against Atletico.

No one can argue that Xavi, Keita, and Abidal are huge losses. But their absence will be more a challenge than a problem. A challenge, if the club succeedes to pass, that will only make the club better. That’s why I consider the current situation as an opportunity more than being a dilemma. And so we don’t proceed in poetry, let’s point out some of the gains we can aim on:

1)      Giving more time to youth players: For the following game against Racing, Barcelona will have enough resources to select exclusively the established players. With the likes of Puyol, Milito, Pique, and Maxwell we have a reliable backline, and it goes the same all the way in midfield and offense. Pep was very reasonable when he decided not to risk starting the young players at the wrong time (against Atletico). Being a player whose glory is based on a risk Cruyff took once when he introduced the skinny Pep to the first team, I can ensure that Pep is more eager than anyone to imitate his mentor. If there is a right time to start giving the youth a chance it is now. Not necessarily as starters, but at least they must get the chance of gaining the experience of first team football. And who knows? Introducing a youth to first class football is an unpredictable process. Some may go Bojan’s way; while others may go Busquets’ or Pedro’s way, sealing their place in the first team without looking back again.

2)      More Maxwell: Abidal, with his titanic performance, buried Maxwell’s chances to be a starter in consecutive matches so he gains the rhythm of the competition. I can’t see Maxwell becoming the first option on the left flank permanently, but if he proves being as reliable as I believe he is, Barcelona will have to worry no more regarding the depth of that department.

3)      The Jeffren project: Some of the best fullbacks in the game’s history are converted wings. It’s not a coincidence that Pep picked him twice to play there. Why not Pedro for example? I am aware his performance in the two occasions was not that good. But the learning curve requires patience. May be he was only an urgent option who played as a fullback for the last time in his life against Atletico. Maybe he is a project where in the following two years we will have a new 24-year old Alves who can play both as a left back and a right back. A tough call. But the boy has the pace, stamina, and aggression. Add some tackling and positioning to that, and you are done.

4)      Yaya’s comeback: Yaya’s interview with “ El Mundo Deportivo” this week was one of the best news I read about him since last season. He gave me all the reasons to feel more optimist again that he will overcome his current dilemmas. I remember criticizing him for not forcing his agent to keep silent. Seluk (his agent) obviously has a huge effect on Yaya, and his repetitive complains did not do the player any good. Not only did he insult the player’s teammates more than once, but he even tried to earn Yaya through media what the player needs to earn on the field: playing time. I am not sure what kind of discussions Pep had with the midfielder, but finally the player asked his agent to stop the complaints. That’s a good start. On the other hand, at the beginning of the season, he didn’t take it well by not becoming automatic starter and needing to compete for place in the starting line-up. His attitude made a bad impact on his performance as he barely performed up to his usual standards this season. He lost his place in the picking order and when he was used later he had the attitude of “Hell, I don’t need to prove anything!”, walking more than jogging and jogging without running for once. To stamp things on steel: Pep, the former holding midfielder and the most successful coach at the moment, confirmed what I said after few games in the season and benched the player.

Now there is a new opportunity. Yaya will have few weeks where he won’t need to worry about competition for places, so he can focus completely on performing on the field. He is a quality midfielder, and the competition will only bring his best performances for the future. That’s if he decided to stand for the competition, which he finally seems to accept. The following few months will decide his future at Barcelona. Before the interview –and for the first time since he joined the team- I started to feel that he is leaving soon. After this interview, I can see a glance of hope. Now he needs to prove that on the field.

5)      Yaya-Busquets partnership: While all the debates so far this season were about Busquets’ “unfair” acquisition for Yaya’s place. Trying to be extremely creative to find reasons that led Pep to make this decision (and of course, the reasons must be anything beside Busquets’ quality or Yaya’s form). And, after months of literally attacking Busquets just for the love of Yaya, the following few weeks may witness uniting the two powers in the midfield. It’s kind of a perfect combination that only Keita can hack. Yaya’s calmness, strength, and defense discipline added to Busquets’ agility, stamina, and playmaking qualities can create a solid cover in front of the defense, and a reliable backbone for the offense department as well. I am looking forward to it. You can be sure that if Pep tries it once, he will repeat it more often. And with Abidal, Xavi, and Keita all being sidelined, there are strong possibilities that it may just happen.

6)      Breaking the cycle of Xavi dependency: Now we have to play without Xavi in the midfield for the following few games, no choice. And that’s a huge incentive for the coaching staff to look for the alternatives that they didn’t feel the need to test in the past. One of the main alternatives I am looking forward to is having Messi beside Iniesta in the midfield. The talented duo are the future of Barcelona playmaking. We may even see that alternative against Racing, especially if Puyol plays as a right fullback.  That’s without excluding the possibility of playing the likes of Jonathan dos Santos or Thiago (especially in Keita’s role).

7)      More Ibra-Henry understanding: One of the main criticisms for Ibra is that he moves to the midfield too often, which is valid. One of my criticisms regarding Henry’s performance this season is that he didn’t take advantage of Ibra’s movement, taking advantage of the holes in the area and acting as a striker more often. With Xavi out, Ibra’s playmaking skills will be more decisive for the following games. That may give Henry more time on the field as there will be a need for another proven goal scorer to play off Ibra. If this period leads to more understanding between Ibra, Henry, and Messi, the goal scoring dynamics will start roaring like never before this season. That will be a huge boost on the long run. (More about it in: Who scores Goals for Barcelona?)

8)      Pep and his team, Showtime: When a new coaching staff starts working on a team, they do the initial effort needed to generate tactical ideas to set the project in the right place. When things settle down and the ship sails smoothly, the tendency of taking risky tactical decisions declines, leaving all the space available for the sense of security to take place. The principle: “don’t fix if ain’t broken” becomes the holy slogan. For the short and middle term, that’s the best approach. On the long term it leads to slow unrealized declination. For Pep’s credit, he is aware of this fact, and he always try to make changes that create a shock (especially among the fans). But the only place where the change is so sensitive is the tactical structure and style. That’s where the changes were minor to say the least. I believe in the 4-3-3 possession game based on continuous pressure and offense oriented approach, which is the basis of Barcelona’s football.  But there are those urgent situations where you need to be less predictable and surprise the opponent by using other alternatives.

The game against Atletico was one of the good examples on that matter, as I pointed out in the briefing I wrote about the game. Having the kind of injuries Barcelona have at the moment will require some new unavoidable tactical touches. It may not go as far as changing the tactical structure, but we may see more strategies based on two holding midfielders (especially when Alves and Maxwell start together on the flanks), we may see more games where we clearly flip the offense triangle by using Henry and Ibra as strikers with Messi behind. This will allow us take advantage of having Maxwell and Alves stretching the flanks. Again, the impact of fullbacks shows its face. Such tactical attempts may sound temporary, but it will add more cards for the future that the coaching staff can use whenever needed.

9)      Refreshing the fan’s anxiety: You can admit it, or you can live in denial, the continuous victories of Barcelona made the cules so addicted to the football shows that end with triumphs that any other way sounds unacceptable. The recent injuries causes a  tremble in the sense of security between the Blaugrana and made them question the possibilities of success. That’s a good thing. There is a need for any club fans to be reminded that in football, you win sometimes and  you lose some other times. It’s an obvious truth as you know, but it is a forgotten one. The victories became more luscious when they comes the hard way.

The team challenge to win the Liga and the Champions League will always be hindered by a bad news here and a bad result there. That’s not good for a club fan. That’s not what the team enjoys facing. But no doubt, that’s what make the season more interesting. There are theories that consider destructive episodes as the main need for the constructive process to keep on going. We don’t need to go that far, as it gives a reasoning for wars and crimes. But no doubt, challenges are the vital incentive for continuous development, for those who have the winning mentality. There is no doubt that Barcelona is a club of perfectionist winners, and it’s for them to prove it once again.