After four years, Barça won La Liga again, the fifth time in the past 10 years.
With a transfer fee of €228 million over the past two seasons and a net investment of nearly €100 million, the younger Barça team ended a three-season slump in La Liga. The next goal is to go further in the Champions League.
01. Unprecedented unity + increased transfer fees: the basis of Barca's success
a. Unprecedented unity in this Barça team: Laporta and Xavi bring cohesion
Tactically, Harvey is an idea, but a little naïve. He has his flaws, but he also has his own strengths.
Because of Xavi's arrival, Barca's dressing room has become unprecedentedly united. He is a very good speaker for cohesion, and his status as a celebrity gives him better prestige to use his management skills.
In the past 10 years, Barça have won a total of five La Liga titles. The loss of the title occurred in the season when Rosell and Bartomeu took over as president, Bartomeu came to an end, and Laporta purged after taking office.
In other words, because of Barca's unique attacking philosophy, the team's competitiveness in the league has a natural advantage (there may be a natural disadvantage in the cup, and it needs to be absolutely strong to complete the treble or double, otherwise it will be difficult to have a chance).
But whenever there is internal unity, Barca will easily win La Liga, which is not accidental, it is determined by the characteristics of the team.
b. More than 200 million in the past 1 and a half years: Laporta is by no means lacking in boldness
In his first year in office, Laporta found that shrinking spending would not help Barca get out of the quagmire (he is not known for economic management), so he decisively returned to what he was good at: more investment and more influence.
Over the past two seasons, Barça have invested a total of €228 million in the transfer market, with a net investment of nearly €100 million. Especially since the winter window last season, more than 200 million euros have been invested (55 million euros for Ferran Torres + 158 million euros for the summer window), which has greatly improved the team's fighting effectiveness.
This La Liga victory is also Laporta's fifth La Liga title during his personal tenure as Barça president. In addition, he has led Barça to win two Champions Leagues, two Copa del Rey, one Club World Cup and one UEFA Super Cup, as well as four Spanish Super Cups.
The season ended with La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup double, at least a sign of a renaissance. Laporta, with more than 200 million in investment, saw some returns.
As president, Laporta knows how to control public opinion and will always do everything to put the team under a positive public opinion, which is important for a team like Barça that needs unity to unleash its strengths.
But if Laporta decides to support a coach, then that person is blessed. The two days of ice and fire between Xavi and Koeman are precisely the true portrayal of Laporta's different positions.
02. Younger and harder! This was the beginning of Barça's renaissance
a. This Barça team works hard: the lack of goals conceded is the best proof
Barça have been united like never before this season and have worked extremely the pitch. This is best demonstrated on the defensive end.
Especially after using the four-midfield system, the team's running, possession and defense are perfectly combined.
In many cases, there is no need to overemphasize the importance of the health of the BACK combination, even if Alonso replaces Andreas Christensen, he can keep a clean sheet away at the Bernabeu for Real Madrid.
The key points are the number of people, timeliness, and good division of labor and cooperation at the time of withdrawal. The two sides and two ribs were densely staffed, leaving two central defenders to pinch a Benzema to complete repeated relief.
Abandoning part of their own attack and allowing Real Madrid to limit their speed when defending on the wing is the basis of Barca's success.
Xavi's side have played a good defensive standard in some games (provided there are enough central midfielders to rotate successively, and the Europa League defeat to Manchester United and the Copa del Rey defeat to Real Madrid, all because there is not even a substitute in the midfield), which is gratifying.
As you can see from the statistics, Barça have the fewest shots on goal in La Liga, averaging only 8.7 per game, which is more than 2 times higher than Real Madrid and Atletico.
Don't underestimate this 20% reduction in shots, it is all the result of the hard work of the players. Although doing so will also increase the likelihood of injury to some extent.
Another reason for the improvement in defensive statistics is the recovery of ter Stegen. Of course, the excellent performance of the goalkeeper is actually related to the improvement of the overall presence rate and the improvement of the defensive quality.
The two complement each other and form a virtuous circle, and the reason why ter Stegen becomes more confident is naturally not just because of hair transplantation.
b. This Barça team will be younger
Another good news is that this Barça team is getting younger. With Pique retiring, Alba becoming Balder's replacement, and the rejuvenation of the back line are visible to the naked eye.
In midfield, Pedri and Gavi became the backbones, and De Jong was only 26 years old.
While the development of Fathi and Ferran Torres has been disappointing in the forward line, Yamal, who is under 16, has already taken off.
Lewandowski has 2-3 years left on his contract (Barca have options to renew it), and Barca will further complete the transformation of the forward line before he fades out.
When Sergio Busquets decides to leave Barca and Alba's contract has one year left, there may only be one veteran of the team, Lewandowski.
Considering the self-discipline of the Poles, whether it is the attitude of training or the commitment in the game, this Barça team has a good mental outlook.
03. Younger and harder! La Liga is Barça's, will it be in the future?
A. La Liga is Barça: will it be in the future?
At the Barça La Liga title celebration, the team displayed a brand new T-shirt that read: "La Liga is ours and will be ours in the future." ”
The summer window brought in Lewandowski as a guarantee of winning the league. This could have been foreseen 1 year ago. However, the team also has a hidden danger, that is, in addition to Lewandowski, there is a lack of a strong second scoring point.
Rafinha, who scored seven goals in La Liga, Pedri with six goals and Dembele with five goals, are not the best solution in the Champions League or in tough battles.
When Lewandowski is not strong in strong conversations or is tactically limited, how Barca can win in games with more back and forth goals becomes a problem.
b. Want to go further in the Champions League: Barca are still not strong enough at both ends
For Barça this season, the biggest regret is to be out of the group stage of the Champions League for the second consecutive season, and finally to the last 24 of the Europa League, which has brought huge financial losses to the team.
Missing the knockout stages of the Champions League in the past two years may result in direct loss of revenue of nearly 150 million euros. This is a huge blow to Laporta and Barca, who have increased their investment.
The reason for this result is that the team is not strong enough at both ends. The Champions League group stage opener against Bayern was typical, with Barca, who created more attacking threats, missing out on three great scoring chances.
On the other hand, this Barça defense is not particularly good when defending alone, and except for Araujo, no one is a good one-on-one player.
The problem is that Araujo is not known for his position selection and complement, and he still easily leaks space when rotating positions.
Once the pace of attack and defense becomes faster, Barca's backline is not very capable of paying for the front. Bayern's goal this time can be said to be typical.
In the Champions League, defenders are still needed to complete some key ball clean-up work, and Barca's back line is still more suitable for home life, not the configuration of attending dinner parties.
Especially when the front-court finishing efficiency is not enough, the problem of the back line will be more abrupt. With Real Madrid's Copa del Rey second leg 0-4, Barca played a good first half.
The first goal conceded was precisely when Lewandowski failed to take advantage of his 2 shots and was hit by the opponent with a counterattack. After 0-1, Barca, who are in the premise of the formation, will find it difficult for the back line to continue to bear weight.
Conclusion:
Laporta brought home his first La Liga title two and a half years after returning to Barça's chairmanship. In the coming summer window, the team will have to prepare for the next level.
The arrival of Gundogan will be a part of strengthening the advantages of La Liga, but it will not be a help in the Champions League, and other reinforcements will be needed. Fortunately, in any case, Barca, who are once again La Liga champions and have a place in the seeded Champions League, always have a brighter future.