How good is FC Barcelona without superstar Lionel Messi?
What do you do when you lose the best player in the world to an eight week injury layoff? A few weeks on, FC Barcelona are still trying to figure out how to adjust to life without Lionel Messi.
The international break gave Luis Enrique and his coaching staff an opportunity to pause and compile their thoughts and strategies for coping without their Argentinian talisman. Even then, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will get any easier for them.
Messi went down with an injury during Barcelona’s narrow defeat to Las Palmas on September 26. The club changing injury occurred in the opening minutes of the game under pressure from a defender as Messi pulled the trigger on a shot on goal. The Argentine tried to continue for another couple of minutes before eventually succumbing to the pain and being substituted off.
As much as fans of the Catalan giants, and indeed their players and coaching staff, would have hoped that the injury would prove to be nothing more than a minor strain or hyperextension, a post-match scan revealed a much more serious prognosis.
In a statement released by the club afterwards, the severity of Messi’s injury was confirmed:
"The tests carried out confirm that Leo Messi has suffered a tear in the medial collateral ligament of his left knee. He will be out for around six to eight weeks according to a statement from the Club’s Medical Staff."
To be crystal clear, this isn’t a sport in which injuries are uncommon. In fact, by those same standards six to eight weeks is far from the end of the world also.
This mattered so much more because it was Lionel Messi though.
That’s not as much because of any sense of mourning caused by the brief absence of arguably the greatest player ever to step foot on a soccer pitch, instead it’s a reflection on the 28-year-old’s remarkable durability.
For a player who has played a colossal number of games at the highest level since the age of 17, Messi has managed to stay remarkably healthy.
Prior to his latest setback, Messi hadn’t missed a game since early in the 2013-14 season. In other words, Barcelona simply aren’t used to having to deal with life without their talisman.
That injury layoff was due to a hamstring injury which kept Messi sidelined for eight weeks. Luckily for Barcelona the latter part of Messi’s time in the physiotherapy room coincided with La Liga’s winter break, so the impact was lessened slightly.
Still, in that time Barcelona played eight games without their Argentinian star, posting a record of six wins and two defeats. A solid string of games, without question.
When you stop to consider that those victories came against Granada, Cartagena (twice), Celtic, Villareal and Getafe, it becomes apparent that Messi’s last injury didn’t necessarily coincide with the toughest stretch in the club’s schedule.
To the same effect, the fact that their two losses came in the toughest of those eight games, against Athletic Bilbao and Ajax, leaves some other conclusions to be drawn also. Barcelona have an incredible wealth of talent at their disposal, but when it matters most they need Lionel Messi, and that’s no cause for embarrassment.
Since this most recent injury, Barca have played two full games without Messi as their focal point and the results have been far from impressive.
First off was a lucky escape at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. Los Cules trailed to their German opponents through the first 80 minutes, before two late goals from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez dug them out of a major hole.
In their next outing they wouldn’t be so fortunate though. On the road against Spanish heavyweights Sevilla, Barcelona were ousted 2-1 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. As a result, seven games into the league season, the Catalan giants sit in fourth place, albeit only one point off the top of the pile.
Still, that leaves very little margin for error, and chances are that Barcelona can ill afford to lose too much ground even this early in the campaign.
Messi is irreplaceable, so it would be remiss of them to try and do so, but how can Barcelona compensate for his absence? What becomes the gameplan from here?
Head coach Luis Enrique broke that down very simply:
"“There is no substitute for Messi, it will be a challenge to be competitive without him. But we are going to have the same football plan that we use but with other players.”"
That’s the common coach’s refrain in situations like this one. Preach the system in the hope that the team’s philosophies can win out above all else.
If ever there was a club designed to cope in that sense, it’s Barcelona too. Those who have come up through the academy ranks at the club (which is many in the first team set-up) have had the core principles of “tiki-taka” ingrained in them from an early age.
Through constant possession, control and movement, Barcelona have spent more than a decade now striving to beat the opposition with something besides their superior personnel. Barca look to lull their opponents into a false sense of security. Let the ball do the work. Let the opposition lose their focus.
When the system takes care of that, then the individuals get a chance to shine. As much as Barcelona are blessed with a core of talented midfielders like Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, it will be the strike duo of Neymar and Luis Suarez who will do the heavy lifting without Messi.
Luis Enrique wouldn’t take responsibility for ensuring that both men step up to the mark to keep his team afloat, instead he insists that onus lies with the players themselves.
"“Neymar must continue to be Neymar and he does that very well. Luis Suarez must continue to be Luis Suarez, he also does that well. They all must take a step forward.”"
So far this season, Neymar has netted four goals in six league games, while Suarez has added three of his own, along with two more in Champions League games. They’re not bad scoring clips, but if they’re trying to make up for Messi’s regular contribution they will need to find another gear.
The reality is that Barcelona are still a very good team without their star man, but whether they are top class remains to be seen.
During his last injury, Barcelona’s schedule was very kind to them, and provided Messi’s timetable for recovery doesn’t vary too dramatically, his team should get off lightly again. Rayo Vallecano, Eibar, Getafe and Villareal won’t necessarily strike fear into the hearts of Barcelona, and although BATE Borisov will provide a stern test in Europe, they are perceived to be the weakest team in Group E.
Things could get really interesting if Messi suffers any setback though. Almost eight weeks to the day from his original injury, Barca will square off with their greatest rival Real Madrid in the latest chapter of the storied “El Classico.”
If that wasn’t enough, the two weeks or so following on from that epic encounter sees Barcelona face Roma, Real Sociedad, Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen. The reigning Spanish champions will be hard pushed to find a tougher five-game stretch than that all-season long.
We’ve established that when it really matters, Barcelona simply need Messi, and there can be no question that they’ll need him at his best and healthiest for those five games.
Spanish football expert Graham Hunter wrote in The Guardian about the lessons that Barcelona need to have learned from their past when it comes to injuries to their star man:
"The debilitating effect of Messi playing early, following injury, against PSG and Athletic Club in the spring of 2013 was in fact catastrophic for Barcelona’s chances to perform competitively against Bayern Munich in the semifinal. There in body but absent in spirit, Messi was anonymous in Munich and not picked for the return in that 7-0 aggregate humiliation.Have these lessons been learned by club and player? We shall see."
As great as Barcelona are with Messi, they’ll likely remain good without him. The secret in returning to that highest level of play will lie in ensuring he has a measured and productive recuperation, and that’s likely what will become the most significant outcome from this event.
Barcelona’s season won’t be defined by their two months without Messi. His health and fitness for the second half of the season could prove to be an all-important factor upon his return though.