Ahmed al-Sibai
On March 8, 2017, a new chapter in the history of football was written representing one of the greatest "remontada" in the first popular game since its inception, when Barcelona succeeded in reversing a 1-0 defeat to a 6-1 victory in the Champions League final .
Instead of this return being a blessing to Barca, she turned into a curse and a curse that he suffered in the following seasons, and became a victim in three decisive matches, the result of which Barca lost three titles.
The first in the quarter-finals of the 2018 version of the main continental competition, when Barca went to Rome 4-1 in the Camp Nou, before losing by 3-0 in the Italian capital.
As for the second, it was more severe when Barça advanced last season by going to the Champions League semi-final with three cleansers against Liverpool, before it collapsed in "Anfield" and fell with a clean four and lost the final qualification, thus losing the dream of regaining the championship title, which he won last time in 2015.
The third was shocking. Last Thursday, in the face of the dramatic Spanish Super Cup semi-final, Barca received two goals in five minutes and lost the exciting match, thus losing the qualification for the final of the tournament with its new system to face Real Madrid.
On this subject, the newspaper "Marca" says that the ghost of "Olympic" (the stronghold of Rome) and Anfield returned in Jeddah (the place of the Super Cup), considering that it is not the first time that Barça loses control of the result and collapses without reasons that explain this.
However, Spanish journalist Carles Esculan differentiates between the three defeats, and considers that the loss against Atletico is not comparable to the losses of Rome and Liverpool, because Barca "made a good match in the Super Cup but rather is the best for a long time, but the naive defensive errors that caused the defeat, even if he lost Barca in front of Rome and Liverpool and presented the same level against Atlético, as the exit was painful for the fans.
The numbers say that in the minutes between zero and 70 of the Atletico-Albrsa match, the possession rate for the latter was 74.5%, and the correct pass rate was 91%, and the team paid 15 times against the Atlante goal. From the 70th to the 94th minute, the Barca acquisition ratio decreased to 65%, correct passes to 79% and repayments to only three, meaning that Barca provided the best hour and the worst quarter of an hour.
The Catalan team - according to journalist Alex Delmas - does not know how to deal with the decisive minutes of the match, and instead of calming the game and absorbing the enthusiasm of the opponent, he got tense and heeded to his coordination, and thus lost the meeting.
It is noteworthy that the common factor in these football "disasters" was coach Ernesto Valverde, who proved, day after day, that it was not the appropriate option to train the team, because despite winning the first season in the local duo, he lost the cup last season in favor of Valencia, and this season began with a volatile performance in which he suffered Barca is the two things to stay at the top of the La Liga arrangement, just two goals behind Real Madrid, so that he will be leaving in this way from the Super Cup "the drop that overflowed the cup."
All of the above proves - beyond a reasonable doubt - that he does not have the tactical thought to deal with matches and depends on the genius of Argentine star Lionel Messi, but - as the Spanish newspaper "AS" reported - "Messi is tired of being alone, one hand does not clap, the player He is committed to his role and does more than is required of him as the team leader, but his teammates' individual mistakes prevent him from winning more titles. "
That is why the newspaper "Marca" indicates that "Messi is no longer sufficient alone to win the important matches, and the proof is the last game of Atletico and other crucial matches, because the club needs an integrated team that provides a collective performance to win titles."
Despite Messi's defense and the remaining names on the team for Valverde, it seems that this season is the last for him at the bench of the Barca replacements, and his days may be numbered if Xavi, the former captain and the current Al-Sadd coach agreed to take over the reins of the Catalan team starting this month.
And if we go back a little, history tells us that the last of Barca's sackers from his coaches was Dutchman Louis van Gaal on January 26, 2003 when Barça was 12th in the League.
The question remains: Will the Barca administration dismiss a coach who has not yet expelled the "scandal" loss at "Anfield" and dispensed with him because he left the Super Cup? The few days or even the next few hours will answer this question.