In the previous part of this series, I defended Xavi by pointing out some of the things he faced which no coach could solve. A big aspect of Xavi's job was the Spanish media and this post, I will attempt to highlight how problematic the Spanish media is.
Harmful Headlines
When I talked about uncertainty in Barcelona, I postponed talking about the media's role in it until now. It's very important to note that players do consume the media and Barcelona players have been consuming the worst sports media in the world, or at least in Europe.
Ever since Xavi took over, how many players have seen in the Spanish media headlines up for sale? Or to be more precise, is there even a player that wasn't up for sale or "unwanted in the club" according to media? The answer is no. From Lewandowski to De Jong, to Ter Stegen, and even the club's teenagers, it's always one bad match or two followed by the media destroying the player's mentality and putting him up for sale, sometimes on behalf of the club.
In such an environment, of course, every player's mentality is extremely fragile as one mistake can lead to hundreds of millions of fans being told he is bad. Bear in mind, I am not talking about Football Troll pages, I am taking the actual media, the newspapers, and so-called experts in Spanish football.
A fear-filled atmosphere is not a place to learn from your mistakes and improve. It's not a place to take chances, it's a place to be as small as possible, and do as little as possible so you're not seen by the media.
However, this is not even the worst that the media is doing to Barcelona, it's the conversation about Barcelona's next coach, speared by the media, that has done and seems to continue to do the biggest damage. For that, we need to talk about Barcelona's next manager.
Barcelona's Next Manager
Earlier this season Jurgen Klopp announced his departure from the club by the end of the season, it didn't take a day before the Spanish media started linking him with Barcelona, just like it did Nagelsmann, Flick, Tuchel, and even Conte.
Does this media see the type of players and football Barcelona has? Does it see Klopp's style? Does it see the fact that Barcelona can't buy players? In what world is Klopp a good signing? How would Klopp, a manager who prioritized physicality in his team, handle players like De Jong, Pedri, Gavi, Torre, Fati, Torres, Gundogan, Yamal, and 80% of Barcelona's squad?
Klopp needs a complete overhaul to get the results the media wants him to. Does Barcelona have the time and money to do so? No. The same thing applies to all other big-name managers linked to Barcelona, they're simply not realistic or simply bad choices. Even worse, they require a whole change of football philosophy.
Here you might wonder, so what? Let them change the philosophy. What have Barcelona gained from that philosophy? This is where I have to respectfully point out how ignorant everyone making that point is.
Barcelona's Philosophy Have Always Been Its Source of Success
Barcelona has 5 Uefa Champions League titles, all won under a variation of its school of football philosophy. Cruyff, Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola, and Enrique. Notice how all those are ex-Barcelona players? Notice how many are directly influenced by Barcelona's La Masia?
Some people tie the Tiki-Taka to Guardiola but it was essential in Barcelona's entire history ever since their stadium was destroyed in World War II. It was only with Pep when that became more apparent. Barcelona's philosophy created Barcelona's success, it's only when they were stepping out that the club fell into that dark void.
Do you want proof of how successful that philosophy is? Look at Manchester City. I am not talking about Guardiola's arrival, I am talking about Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, ex-Cruyff and La Masia students to be the head of the City project. The Mirror's 2016 article with the hindsight of today, tells you how good Barcelona's philosophy has been.
The only "Coach" who succeeded in Barcelona after Enrique is Valverde, and it's because he wasn't a coach, he was an appeaser. Coaches who tried to actually do their jobs got thrown to the side. The formation and tactic has been the same since 2016 in Barcelona, 4-4-0 with Messi and Suarez not bothering to defend and no coach can change that. Many might remember this instant when Messi flat-out ignored the coach's assistant in Celta Vigo.
That's Barcelona without its philosophy, a team with brilliant individuals with brilliant moments, but once you run out of moments and want to go back to basics, you realize there are no basics. There are coaches who don't want to lose their jobs, youngsters afraid to try, and sacred cows, untouched even at their worst days. Barcelona had no basics once it lost track of its philosophy.
Good Coachs = Good Barcelona Coaches
Do you have many to make the changes Klopp requires? No. Then why the hell is he even considered for the job? Is he a great coach? He's top 3 easily. But not every great coach works in any place. De Zirby, Xabi Alonso, and Inzaghi might be able to take over Liverpool after Klopp leaves, but Klopp wouldn't be able to coach Inter Milan, Brighton, or Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso could coach Liverpool and Brighton, but not Inter. De Zirby could coach Liverpool and Leverkusen, but not Inter Milan.
The same who goes the other coaches in contention by the Spanish media, but none of them actually work. Long story short, stop listening to Spanish media. So, this leads us to the actual question.
Who Should Barcelona Hire as a Coach
Honestly, Barcelona's best-case scenario is Luis Enrique leaving PSG and becoming Barcelona's manager. He's from the club and knows its ins and outs and would definitely know what to do. He knows La Masia, its talents, and how to handle them. He also knows how to handle big clubs and big demands.
Flick had a good run at Bayern, but a miserable one with the German national team. Imanol Alguacil has only coached Real Sociedad so we don't know how he could handle a big club like Barcelona. Nagelsmann, Tuchel, and Conte are too different to do anything with Barcelona.
Luis Enrique is the best-case scenario, simple as that. I mean who else is a serious contender? Wait, what is that, Marca? Mourinho. Alright, enough with this fucking series now.