“It was an embarrassing night for Barcelona, a weak capitulation here in Lisbon in the Champions League, and the ramifications and repercussions will be loud and long. It’s a long way back for a very proud club, and you wonder what the next stage is going to be for them. They head back to Barcelona hanging their heads in shame.”
Darren Fletcher’s remarks after the historic loss that Barcelona suffered last night highlight not only the sorry state of Messi and co, but the state of Spanish football as a whole.
As tweeted by Opta last night, the 2019/20 Champions League semi-finals will be the first since 2005/06 not to feature Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, and the first since 2006/07 not to feature Barcelona or Real Madrid. Spanish football enjoyed a lengthy dominance of continental football, pioneered by the two greatest players of all time, but now, as their players and institutions age, it seems as if the dominance has finally faded away. Perhaps this domestic downfall has been preceded by the downfall of the national team, who have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the last three major tournaments.
For Real Madrid, they were completely outplayed by Manchester City in the last 16, with the 4-2 aggregate score line appearing more flattering for Madrid than City. This was their second exit at this stage in two years: last year they were shocked by a youthful Ajax side bursting with energy and intent. Taking winning for granted does not get you far, but winning is in the DNA of Los Blancos.
Despite emerging victorious in La Liga this season, Europe’s most successful club appear worlds away from the standard they need to be competing at continentally. This evidences the demise of what was once the world’s most desirable league.
Darren Fletcher’s remarks after the historic loss that Barcelona suffered last night highlight not only the sorry state of Messi and co, but the state of Spanish football as a whole.
As tweeted by Opta last night, the 2019/20 Champions League semi-finals will be the first since 2005/06 not to feature Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, and the first since 2006/07 not to feature Barcelona or Real Madrid. Spanish football enjoyed a lengthy dominance of continental football, pioneered by the two greatest players of all time, but now, as their players and institutions age, it seems as if the dominance has finally faded away. Perhaps this domestic downfall has been preceded by the downfall of the national team, who have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the last three major tournaments.
For Real Madrid, they were completely outplayed by Manchester City in the last 16, with the 4-2 aggregate score line appearing more flattering for Madrid than City. This was their second exit at this stage in two years: last year they were shocked by a youthful Ajax side bursting with energy and intent. Taking winning for granted does not get you far, but winning is in the DNA of Los Blancos.
Despite emerging victorious in La Liga this season, Europe’s most successful club appear worlds away from the standard they need to be competing at continentally. This evidences the demise of what was once the world’s most desirable league.
It was frustrating night for Zidane and Hazard. Despite an overall disappointing performance, it was ultimately a due of defensive errors that cost them the game and the tie.
Since Barcelona won their last Champions League in 2015, they have reached the semi-finals just once. That appearance was the memorable 4-3 aggregate loss against Liverpool, in which they threw away a 3-0 lead after the first leg. The season before, a 3-0 defeat at Stadio Olimpico condemned them to an away goals defeat against Roma, again giving up a three-goal lead.
The two seasons before this saw two further quarter-final exits against Juventus and Atlético Madrid, where matches away from home were again the issue. Most embarrassing, however, is undoubtedly the manner in which they lost against Bayern Munich yesterday – conceding eight goals for the first time since 1946. The players played poorly, but appeared unbothered by this. The superiority was clear. The (lack of) desire was clear. It was obvious that Barcelona are no longer what they were.
Such a downfall has been somewhat replicated by Simeone’s Atlético Madrid in recent years too. In the four Champions League competitions spanning from 2013/14 – 2016/17, Atlético Madrid reached two finals, one semi-final and one quarter-final. Notably, in all four of these matches they lost to another Spanish team – Real Madrid.
The three Champions League campaigns that followed were extremely underwhelming. In 2017/18, they failed to get through a group containing Chelsea, Roma and Qarabağ. In 2018/19, they blew a 2-0 first leg lead in their second-round tie against Juventus. This season, they were outwitted by a fresher, younger, more exciting RB Leipzig, managed by 33-year-old Julian Nagelsmann. It seems as if this defeat to a team who like to play in a contrasting manner to Simeone’s men finally signified the end of Atlético Madrid’s recent European successes.
So, why is this demise occurring?
Real Madrid’s core group are ageing. Luka Modrić is 34, Casemiro is 28, Toni Kroos is 30, Karim Benzema is 32, Isco is 28, Dani Carvajal is 28, Raphaël Varane is 27, Segio Ramos is 34 and Marcelo is 32. Six of these eight players played in all three of Real Madrid’s Champions League wins in 2016, 2017 and 2018, with the other two playing in two of them. It was a dominant group, and a group which brought so much success (with the help of Ronaldo also).
The club therefore developed a loyalty to these players, tying them into lengthy contracts with high wages. Yet, as the output of these players falls, as we have seen in the past two years, their wages remain the same. Players are reluctant to leave and less funds are free to replace them.
However, where recruitment has taken place, it has been relatively underwhelming. Eden Hazard has been a disappointment so far, and will now be playing in a team whose stock is descending. Centre-back Éder Militão completed a huge move from Porto last summer to take the position of Ramos’ understudy, but he too has not performed as expected. Luka Jović and Ferland Mendy are two other examples of recent signings who are not up to Real Madrid standard. While this is enough to bring success in La Liga, sloppy recruitment is punished in Europe. With that core group only getting older, the team dynamic will be changing, and that consistent hunger to win among all players seems to be slipping away.
The two seasons before this saw two further quarter-final exits against Juventus and Atlético Madrid, where matches away from home were again the issue. Most embarrassing, however, is undoubtedly the manner in which they lost against Bayern Munich yesterday – conceding eight goals for the first time since 1946. The players played poorly, but appeared unbothered by this. The superiority was clear. The (lack of) desire was clear. It was obvious that Barcelona are no longer what they were.
Such a downfall has been somewhat replicated by Simeone’s Atlético Madrid in recent years too. In the four Champions League competitions spanning from 2013/14 – 2016/17, Atlético Madrid reached two finals, one semi-final and one quarter-final. Notably, in all four of these matches they lost to another Spanish team – Real Madrid.
The three Champions League campaigns that followed were extremely underwhelming. In 2017/18, they failed to get through a group containing Chelsea, Roma and Qarabağ. In 2018/19, they blew a 2-0 first leg lead in their second-round tie against Juventus. This season, they were outwitted by a fresher, younger, more exciting RB Leipzig, managed by 33-year-old Julian Nagelsmann. It seems as if this defeat to a team who like to play in a contrasting manner to Simeone’s men finally signified the end of Atlético Madrid’s recent European successes.
So, why is this demise occurring?
Real Madrid’s core group are ageing. Luka Modrić is 34, Casemiro is 28, Toni Kroos is 30, Karim Benzema is 32, Isco is 28, Dani Carvajal is 28, Raphaël Varane is 27, Segio Ramos is 34 and Marcelo is 32. Six of these eight players played in all three of Real Madrid’s Champions League wins in 2016, 2017 and 2018, with the other two playing in two of them. It was a dominant group, and a group which brought so much success (with the help of Ronaldo also).
The club therefore developed a loyalty to these players, tying them into lengthy contracts with high wages. Yet, as the output of these players falls, as we have seen in the past two years, their wages remain the same. Players are reluctant to leave and less funds are free to replace them.
However, where recruitment has taken place, it has been relatively underwhelming. Eden Hazard has been a disappointment so far, and will now be playing in a team whose stock is descending. Centre-back Éder Militão completed a huge move from Porto last summer to take the position of Ramos’ understudy, but he too has not performed as expected. Luka Jović and Ferland Mendy are two other examples of recent signings who are not up to Real Madrid standard. While this is enough to bring success in La Liga, sloppy recruitment is punished in Europe. With that core group only getting older, the team dynamic will be changing, and that consistent hunger to win among all players seems to be slipping away.
Rodrygo has injected some excitement into the senior Real Madrid squad after his £45m move from Santos last summer. However, the task of reigniting Spain's most popular team is a huge task for a 19-year-old.
The story is similar but more extreme at Barcelona. With claims that the club is ‘run’ by the likes of Messi, Piqué, Suárez and Busquets (suggestions that they decide transfers have been made) unsettling the dressing room, the hunger of Barcelona seems to have disappeared. This has run parallel with their decreased use of their famed academy. Barcelona now opt to sign players, instead of develop them. This is surprising; after all, it was their academy graduates that got them to where they are today.
They are perhaps a few years ahead of Real Madrid in their demise, with Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Dani Alves and Mascherano all having departed in one way or another in recent times. The loss of a group which brought constant success can shake things up, and Barcelona are left with a reliance on a seemingly disinterested Messi on the field.
Griezmann hasn’t fully settled into life at Barcelona yet, leaving the Neymar void unfilled. Dembélé, Coutinho and Malcom were all deemed insufficient replacements for Neymar also. The continuance of a dynasty is difficult. With serial winners (who spent their whole life at Barcelona) departing, new players do not just seamlessly slot in.
The desire to build from the beginning again seems to be absent, and this was personified by the Pjanić-Arthur transfer, where Barcelona opted to trade 24-year-old (highly-rated) Arthur with 30-year-old Miralem Pjanić. Although teenagers Riqui Pugi and Ansu Fati have come through the academy and broken into the first-team, the current policy of buying old at Barcelona needs to change. Patience is required if they desire to see European success again. Messi will inevitably have to leave, but until then it seems unlikely that the club’s mentality will change. The reliance on the Argentinian is unsustainable, it gives Messi a lot of power within the club and recently has led to him voicing frustrations with his teammates publicly.
While the player-ageing situation at Atlético Madrid is less extreme, they seem to be lacking that top-quality striker which they always seemed to have had. Their league campaign this season was uninspiring, and it seems like on a European stage their famous tactics are no longer as potent. Valencia too were traditionally one of the biggest four clubs in Spain, but recent unsuccessful years has brought unrest upon the tyrannical owners, and the club now seem to entering a downward spiral. Similarly, Sevilla have struggled for consistent domestic success and have also been unable to translate their successes in the Europa League across to the superior European tournament.
They are perhaps a few years ahead of Real Madrid in their demise, with Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Dani Alves and Mascherano all having departed in one way or another in recent times. The loss of a group which brought constant success can shake things up, and Barcelona are left with a reliance on a seemingly disinterested Messi on the field.
Griezmann hasn’t fully settled into life at Barcelona yet, leaving the Neymar void unfilled. Dembélé, Coutinho and Malcom were all deemed insufficient replacements for Neymar also. The continuance of a dynasty is difficult. With serial winners (who spent their whole life at Barcelona) departing, new players do not just seamlessly slot in.
The desire to build from the beginning again seems to be absent, and this was personified by the Pjanić-Arthur transfer, where Barcelona opted to trade 24-year-old (highly-rated) Arthur with 30-year-old Miralem Pjanić. Although teenagers Riqui Pugi and Ansu Fati have come through the academy and broken into the first-team, the current policy of buying old at Barcelona needs to change. Patience is required if they desire to see European success again. Messi will inevitably have to leave, but until then it seems unlikely that the club’s mentality will change. The reliance on the Argentinian is unsustainable, it gives Messi a lot of power within the club and recently has led to him voicing frustrations with his teammates publicly.
While the player-ageing situation at Atlético Madrid is less extreme, they seem to be lacking that top-quality striker which they always seemed to have had. Their league campaign this season was uninspiring, and it seems like on a European stage their famous tactics are no longer as potent. Valencia too were traditionally one of the biggest four clubs in Spain, but recent unsuccessful years has brought unrest upon the tyrannical owners, and the club now seem to entering a downward spiral. Similarly, Sevilla have struggled for consistent domestic success and have also been unable to translate their successes in the Europa League across to the superior European tournament.
The picture above shows the operating budgets of La Liga teams over the last four seasons. While attempts via equalised TV deals have been made to level the financial playing field, the current institutions in place in Spain massively favour the big teams, giving them these huge budgets, and leaving all other teams with tiny ones. The inequality makes it impossible for other teams to grow and compete, and as Barcelona and Real Madrid have a monopoly of domestic and international fans, no investors would desire to hold stake in any other team, thus reinforcing the statuses of the big teams. With Real Madrid and Barcelona in the current state they are in, no Spanish team is in a position to take the reins and dominate proceedings due to the financial restrictions they face. We must wait for the two giants to rebuild themselves before La Liga is again considered the best league in the world.
Image courtesy of Twitter - @Millar_Colin
Image courtesy of Twitter - @Millar_Colin
Football in Spain is and always has been dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid, with their supporters being distributed far further afield than just in their respective cities. With such a focus on these two, fringe teams haven’t the financial prowess to effectively and consistently compete with them, resulting in La Liga effectively being split in two – Barcelona and Real Madrid play in their own league and the other 18 teams compete for the rest. You have to go back to 2002 to find the last year that neither of them finished in the top two.
With other teams uncompetitive, it has always been down to Barcelona and Real Madrid to bring continental success to Spain. While this has been achieved to great extent over the past 15 years, we are now seeing the end of the dynasties which will take years to rebuild. Spanish football is in an unsustainable position and if it wants to return to a state of dominance, it will need to be patient and things will need to change massively.
With other teams uncompetitive, it has always been down to Barcelona and Real Madrid to bring continental success to Spain. While this has been achieved to great extent over the past 15 years, we are now seeing the end of the dynasties which will take years to rebuild. Spanish football is in an unsustainable position and if it wants to return to a state of dominance, it will need to be patient and things will need to change massively.
Written by - Ben Rowe
Edited by - 3-At-The-Back
Edited by - 3-At-The-Back