Barca need a leader to guide them through this rough patch
What has become very clear in situations like this is that proper leadership is truly essential to take on complicated situations like this and it’s a lack of this quality that the Catalan giants seem to be suffering from.
The older players, who have recognition along with the trophies to match and who are a reference in the dressing room are usually the ones called on to give the team a lift during these troubled times, but different circumstances are making it complicated.
The captains, Puyol , Xavi, Iniesta and Valdes, along with frontmen Messi and Neymar are the ones who should take a step forward, step up to the mark and carry the team, but current form and injuries are preventing this from happening.
Both Valdés and Messi are injured. Without them, FC Barcelona has lost two of its last three games. In addition, Messi has gone to Argentina to continue with his recovery so that it doesn’t affect the dressing room from its usual day to day routine.
Injury to these two players is highly relevant because Valdés was in the middle of a great season and his fine performances have saved the team from certain goals. Leo Messi has also contributed much with his scoring power, saving his team’s bacon on more than one occasion.
Current form
Carles Puyol, who has always found a way to convey his passion for the team in difficult times, is not physically fit enough to play His knee is not allowing him to play regularly and on Monday, doctors had to remove fluid from the joint. Gerardo Martino is pacing the captain, but cannot count on the player as much as he would like to.
In the cases of Xavi and Iniesta, their current form is brought into question. Iniesta hasn’t been at 100% since the start of the season and it’s difficult for Xavi to maintain his form. The proof is that both were replaced against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. As for Neymar, the Brazilian is not finding the back of the net as frequently as everyone would have liked.
i hope barca will recover from their poor form. neymar is not living up to expectation as he lacks goal scoring ability at the moment.