SEASON REVIEW: FC BARCELONA 2021/22
BARCELONA’S 21/22
SEASON: A SEASON OF TWO HALVES
-Mitansh Kagalwala
FC Barcelona’s 21/22 season was supposed to start on a
promising note. New signings Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia had
all joined on free transfers, and thus, despite Barca’s heavy financial
problems, the squad looked in overall better shape. The promised return of Ansu
Fati, the rise of youngsters Gavi, Nico and Pedri, and the upturn in form
towards the second half of the previous season all pointed to a resurgence. This was going to be Barca's season of comeback. And,
of course, Barca still had Leo Messi. What more did they need?
Then, on August 5th, 2021, president Joan Laporta
announced that, for the first time in his glittering career, Lionel Messi would
don a jersey other than the claret-and-blue. La Liga’s heavy financial
regulations meant that Barca could no longer afford to pay Messi’s wages, and
the Argentine was forced into a tearful exit to PSG.
Even then, despite ridding themselves of Messi’s mammoth
wages, Barca struggled to register their new signings, as financial problems
began to mount. Fans turned to squad fringe players on huge salaries, such as
Samuel Umtiti, Philippe Coutinho and Sergi Roberto, to take out their anger on
the previous board’s financial mismanagement of the club. In the end, the club
had to rely on a voluntary salary reduction from Gerard Pique to be able to
register their new players.
Despite all this, the season started on a positive note. A
4-2 thrashing of Real Sociedad on the opening matchday, followed by a draw and
a win against tricky sides like Athletic Club and Getafe seemed the right way
to start the season.
And then came Bayern. Barca, looking to banish the ghosts of
that terrible defeat at the hands of the Bavarian giants, took on Julian Nagelsmann’s
side at the Camp Nou on the opening matchday of the Champions League. The
Blaugrana, however, looked beleaguered, and were put to the sword in a 0-3
defeat. That started a cascading effect on results, with two consecutive draws following.
A 3-0 win against bottom placed Levante aside, Barca looked a shell of even
their last season self. The following game, Barca lost 3-0 to Benfica in yet
another European humiliation, followed by a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid. Injuries
ravaged the squad at this point, with Barca forced to call upon youth players like
Ez Abde, Ilias Akhomach and Ferran Jutgla to supplement new signing and
fan-hated Luuk De Jong, with Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite, Ansu Fati,
Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Aguero all injured, and Antoine Griezmann sold to
lessen the wage bill.
Ansu Fati returned to score a wonderful goal as Barca finally
put on a convincing display to beat Valencia 3-1, before straggling to a 1-0
win against Dynamo Kiev. The next matchday: El Clasico. An unconvincing
performance at the Camp Nou saw Barca lose the mother of all derbies 2-1, with
a last minute Sergio Aguero goal the only consolation. Barca then went onto
lose 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano, a game which slammed the final nail in head coach
Ronald Koeman’s coffin.
Barcelona legend Xavi was appointed to the hot seat, and while the team’s play and style had improved, the results hadn’t. Following a draw to Benfica and another 3-0 loss to Bayern, Barca were dumped from the Champions League, finishing in 3rd place in their group, into the Europa League. The Blaugrana were also eliminated from the Supercopa, losing 3-2 to Real Madrid in a competitive Clasico, and from the Copa Del Rey, 2-3 to Athletic Club. At this point in the season, Barca not only had virtually no chance of winning any silverware, but were also in danger of not finishing in the top 4.
FC Barcelona Manager and legend Xavi
Then came the January transfer window signings, and the 1-0
win against Deportivo Alaves that proved to be the turning point. Barcelona started
that game in 7th, and managed to eke out a narrow, but hugely
important win. Reinforcements in the form of Ferran Torres (55 million from Manchester
City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (free, from Arsenal) and Adama Traore (loan,
from Wolves) were added to the frontline. The Dani Alves-shaped hole at right
back was also solved with the return…of Dani Alves.
The first game featuring the new side was the 4-2 victory
against Atletico Madrid, a game which served to prove the upturn in Barca’s
fortunes. Huge wins over Napoli (1-1 and 4-2), Valencia (4-1) and Athletic Club
(4-0) followed, with players such as Aubameyang, Luuk De Jong, Frenkie De Jong
and Ousmane Dembele shining. The return of young midfield talent Pedri only
added to the spur of the upturn in form. From the end of January to the last
week of March, Barca won 5 games and drew 1, losing none, pushing them back up
the table, also negotiating a difficult tie with Galatasaray to qualify for the
quarterfinals of the Europa League.
And then, once again, came El Clasico. In good fortune for
Barca, Madrid’s Player of the Season, Karim Benzema, was ruled out with a calf
injury. Dressed in their yellow kit at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Blaugrana
put on a show at the enemy’s home ground. Two from Aubameyang, one from Torres,
and another from Ronald Araujo, who had been in excellent form, sealed a
humiliating 4-0 win over Real. It wasn't just the scoreline; Barca dominated the entire game, barely allowing Real a sniff at goal. A vintage FC Barcelona performance, one which culers had waited years to see, in the biggest game in the world.
BAR 4-0 RMA: The Clasico is Blaugrana!
A 1-0 win over Sevilla the following matchday increased
Barca’s hold on second spot, so much so that the following dip in form didn’t
drop them in the La Liga standings. Barca lost out on the Europa League in the
quarterfinals to eventual champions Eintracht Frankfurt, but held on to finish
second and seal their Champions League place for the 2022/23 season, ending a
rollercoaster of a season with plenty of downs and not enough ups.
Our Player Of The Season: Ronald Araujo
A strong case could be made for Pedri, but we decided on the
Uruguayan centre-back for his excellent season. Araujo made 45 appearances for
Barca across all competitions, accumulating 3,060 minutes as the season
progressed. The Uruguayan was essential to the Blaugrana defence, a true
mountain in front of goal. His importance can be seen in the fact that Barca
picked up 64 points in 30 games (2.13 PPG), while only picking up 9 points in 8
games without him (1.125 PPG). His best game of the season was undoubtedly the
second El Clasico, when Araujo, playing out of position at right back, kept the
in-form Vinicius Jr. subdued the entire game, effectively numbing Real Madrid’s
entire offence.
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The Future
The future is hopeful for Barca, with the majority of the
team on the young side, and Xavi doing well with the squad. New signings have
come in, with midfield destroyer Franck Kessie and centre-back Andreas Christensen
already announced, with rumours basically confirming deals for Raphinha, Robert
Lewandowski and Cesar Azpilicueta. All that is limiting Barcelona now is their
financial status, which should be damped, given the recent authorization of economic
levers to increase the inflow of money. The 2022/23 season will be a true test
of the character of the club, with a challenging, but promising, year to come.
CHECK OUT OUR CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD SERIES
CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD PART ONE: FC BARCELONA
CHAMPIONS IN REBUILD PART TWO: MANCHESTER UNITED
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