Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup 3-1 victory over Real Madrid has tongues wagging. For the uninitiated, it’s straight forward revenge for last October’s defeat to the same opponents by an identical margin. Seasoned watchers of the beautiful game saw a lot more than met the eye. These are the Top Eight conclusions from El Clasico.
1- Nothing beats a good football education.
Echoes of Barcelona’s emphatic 5-0 and 3-0 wins over sworn rivals Real earlier this century reverberated around Riyadh’s King Fahd Stadium when four of Blaugrana’s La Masia products turned on the style with Barcelona 3-0 up. Sergio Busquets, Pedri Gonzalez, Pablo Martin Gavira and Alejandro Balde were literally toying with Los Blancos midway through the second half. It was testament to the enduring allure and durability of La Masia’s tiki taka, pass and move philosophy for which current manager Xavi Hernandez was a foremost apostle.
2: Blaugrana thrives best in 4-2-2-2 formation.
Xavi deserves massive credit for liberating the careers of both Busquets and Frenckie de Jong by fielding them simultaneously with Pedri and Gavi. This required a marked departure from Barca’s approach earlier in the season which saw the Catalans fielding both Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele from the start. Barcelona are a lot more compact with all four players featuring together simultaneously. System works a treat by protecting the back four while dominating possession.
3- Balde already better than Marcos Alonso.
Was a mammoth Alonso fan when he was a Chelsea player. His ability to conjure up goals at Stamford Bridge is the stuff of legend. But each time Balde takes to the field, he makes Alonso come across as a brown beaten second hand jalopy. The 18-year-old is blessed with pace to burn, infinite ball control, an innate ability to sense danger and considerable drive. Balde is the future that has helped stabilise Barca’s defense.
4- Xavi still needs Busquets at Camp Nou.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta and his technical team are best advised to keep Busquets for two more years. Letting the double European champion and World Cup winner leave for the American MLS or Saudi Arabia’s top flight would be a huge loss to Barcelona as he is the fulcrum on which a new side is being created. Busquets’ retirement from La Roja duty must be taken as a blessing that will keep him fresh to pass on extra lessons in midfield control to emerging talent.
5- Dembele miles better than Raphinha.
Until Raphinha started playing alongside Dembele, it’s strange how many football scouts and directors were fawning over the Brazilian as a superior talent to Dembele. The Frenchman has been giving weekly demonstrations of his deviously ability since Xavi Hernandez became Barcelona manager. His searing pace, sharp ambidextrous dribbling and mastery of the tiki taka philosophy makes Raphinha appear as child’s play. Dembele deserves better acknowledgement.
6- Pedri Gonzalez will match Andreas Iniesta’s achievements.
Each time an argument breaks over who was a greater player between Xavi Hernandez and Andreas Iniesta, I root for the latter because he did damage closer to the opposing goal. Pedri is a cross between Xavi and Iniesta as he gives you the best of both. He recycles possession like Xavi, passes like him but is blessed with Iniesta’s vision and ability to manipulate space. Pedri also arrives in opposition box more often than Iniesta.
7- Time to groom heirs to Benzema, Kroos, Modric.
As former team mate Cristiano Ronaldo has found out, it’s impossible to play at the highest level forever. Real Madrid were decidedly second best throughout the ninety minutes because leading lights Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos couldn’t live with the youthful fervour of Pedri and Gavi. The quicker Carlo Ancelotti finds successors to the five time Champions League winners, the better for Los Blancos.
8- Xavi Hernandez is the real deal.
Several club legends are failing to live up to expectations right before our eyes. Frank Lampard bungled his lines at Chelsea. Steven Gerard left Villa Park without much ado. Wayne Rooney is literally hiding in the American MLS. Xabi Alonso is struggling to cut his coaching teeth at Bayer Leverkusen. By winning his first silverware and guiding Blaugrana to the summit of Liga Santander, Xavi Hernandez is bucking the trend by proving to be the real deal. Beyond the aesthetics, the manner in which he organised Barcelona’s back four to restrict Los Blancos to sporadic shots on goal points to a man in control of his marbles.