FC Barcelona looks like going into meltdown after sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked by president Bartomeu. The sacking appears to have been some time coming and a string of poor signings such as Thomas Vermaelen, who has yet to play a game for Barcelona, is just one of many poor decisions the ex Barça stopper has put his name to. The ban by FIFA means the Catalans won’t be signing any new talent until January 2016.
To make matters worse, hero Carles puyol stepped down after the sacking as Zubizarreta’s assistant. Puyol is a legend at Barça and the fans won’t take his decision to quit lightly – they will want to know the ins and outs.
Zubizarreta’s sacking may be a warning to Luis Enrique who has also made a string of bizarre decisions this season. His failure to beat Real Sociedad and thus pile the pressure on Real Madrid for the top spot was the last straw. Luis Enrique’s decision not to start Messi and Neymar at the Anoeta set alarm bells ringing and the Argentine looks an unhappy bunny under the manager.
To be honest, I never thought Luis Enrique was the man for the job, and that was judging him at his disastrous spell at Roma.He looks like he’s committing the same mistakes and I feel he will be lucky to see the season out if he continues in the same vein. He doesn’t communicate with his players enough and it’s still unclear who his starters are in defense – one of Barça’s biggest woes these past few seasons. People will remember Luis Enrique for benching for the best part of the 2011 season Roma captain Francesco Totti. Enrique risked the wrath of the Roma fans by leaving out a legend and people have asked the same about the manager leaving out Xavi. Is Enrique trying to mark his territory in the dressing room?
Obviously, there are problems with Messi and Luis Enrique and the Argentine added more fuel to the fire about his leaving the club by following Chelsea on Instagram!
It appears that the unthinkable is now a reality and Barcelona risk losing their best ever player. And as Catalan sports newspaper aptly puts it this morning in their headlines: “Total Crisis” – “What now Bartomeu?”
Tras un largo día, así viene la portada de SPORT "Crisis Total" pic.twitter.com/oLhEst8oVu
— Alfredo Martínez (@Alfremartinezz) January 5, 2015
How I wish enrique follows that stupid old fool right after his sacking. Enrique isn’t the right man for the job at Barcelona. WE NEED TATA MARTINO BACK.