It’s long been contested that Barcelona are ‘Messi-dependent.’ That the Blaugrana are not the same team — in fact, far from it — when their talisman is not in-situ.
During a two-month injury lay off last season, Neymar stepped up in Messi’s stead and proved to all and sundry just why he had been purchased in the first place.
The Brazilian was brilliant and alongside Luis Suarez, all negative thoughts of the Catalans not being able to achieve without their No.10 were banished.
However, Luis Enrique’s side have taken a bit of a battering this season, dropping points when the Argentinian maestro was out of the side with a pubis complaint.
Squeezing past Borussia Monchengladbach and another four-goal salvo from Celta Vigo both came when Messi was seated on the side lines.
Once back in the team, both Deportivo la Coruna and Manchester City were put to the sword by 4-0, before a match-winning contribution from La Pulga (The Flea) at Valencia on Saturday.
I’m loathe to suggest that one man makes a team because it’s patently and obviously not true, but without Messi pulling the strings, Barcelona are a far easier proposition to dissect and dominate.
He is a throwback player. One who genuinely gets people up off of their seats when he has the ball at his feet. Sends experienced defenders into a blind panic as he bears down on them, unsure whether he’ll pirouette through them all, arc a ball over the top to a colleague or deliver an exocet into the top corner.
All of the above are constants in the Argentinian’s armoury and have been for the 10 years he’s been at the pinnacle of world football.
Gerard Pique probably encapsulated in a sentence or two just how important he is to the team when he told Catalan TV station TV3 recently that “he [Messi] has been completely unique… when he leaves it will be like the day your father dies, and that will be hard.
“We talk about Leo now but one day he won’t be here and we will be naked, but we will have to start again to keep being competitive.”
It perfectly sums up that in fact, yes, Barcelona are still very much dependant on Messi, even if to admit to the same undermines the other personnel in the team.
That it should still be a thorny issue to discuss is odd too because everyone can see with their own eyes precisely the difference that he makes. Just ask Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. Cesare Prandelli and Valencia.
Without Messi, Barcelona don’t win either of those games — plain and simple.
Whether the club choose to keep their own counsel for fear of bruising a few egos, is missing the point.
Messi-dependence isn’t something to be embarrassed about.
