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Things became clear in the 45th minute of Barcelona vs Valencia. The league leaders, Barcelona, were already down 1-0 and Valencia were in the middle of a string of passes in Barcelona’s defensive third.
It was exactly the kind of thing you’d expect Barcelona to do to Valencia, and it drove home the point that things weren’t right at the Camp Nou. At the end of the move Santi Mina scored Valencia’s second goal of the game. Barcelona would never recover; they had been beaten at their own game.
The loss was Barcelona’s third in a row in La Liga, something that hasn’t happened since February of 2003, more than 13 years ago. For a team that had the world convinced it would win back-to-back trebles for the first time in European history less than a month ago, Barcelona has suffered nothing less than a collapse.
They are out of the Champions League, their nine-point lead at the top of La Liga has been reduced to zero, and they reacted like sore losers instead of champions.
Neymar slapped Valencia’s Daniel Parejo as Parejo celebrated with his teammates after the game. It was a classic example of someone who couldn’t stand the sight of others celebrating at his expense. The immature, cowardly nature of the act was confirmed as Neymar ducked and trotted away from any confrontation after the slap.
Luis Enrique, the man who had once sat before the media and basked in the glory and adulation of constructing the greatest attack in the world, responded responded to criticism with jibes.
Journalist Victor Malo asked Enrique if he thought his team’s physical preparations were having an affect on the poor run of results. Enrique then asked Malo to state his last name, which in which literally translates to “bad.” “Correct,” Enrique said after Malo stated his last name. “Next question.”
If we all judged Barcelona too soon by handing them the back-to-back treble in March, perhaps it is also too hard to judge them now. But what started with a loss in El Clasico and festered with a Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid has now become clear: Barcelona have been shaken by adversity, and it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
The season is far less forgiving at the beginning of April than it is at Christmas. It is no coincidence that after struggling in December last year the club could rebound to the win the treble, but after a few losses this spring have had their season decimated.
The frustration is real. Photo: @SkyFootball | Twitter
The real nail in the coffin is that Barcelona has little motivation to right the ship. What is a domestic double compared to back-to-back trebles? We are seeing the club’s thoughts on that question play out before out eyes. If they were still motivated by what the season offered, they would not lose themselves so embarrassingly after a La Liga loss that still left them in first place (albeit only by goal differential).
Barcelona are not satisfied with mere success, they need historic success, and for 3/4 of the season they made us believe they could achieve it. Now we are seeing what happens when their ambition is humbled, and it’s not pretty.
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