Chaotic Barcelona trying to make up for Messi’s lost time
- 07 Feb 2020
Lionel Messi admitted in December he could soon retire but Barcelona’s frenzied attempts to make the most of his final years appear to be having the opposite effect.
As Athletic Bilbao’s players celebrated Inaki Williams’ 94th-minute winner at San Mames on Thursday night, Messi stood still in the centre circle, hands on his hips and staring down at the ground in front.
He had missed a chance to win it, his shot saved by Unai Simon, just moments before Williams’ flicked header crept inside the post to send Barca out of the Copa del Rey before the semi-finals for the first time in 10 years.
Messi has been the inspiration and saviour of this Barcelona team, his finger prints on their string of La Liga titles more than anyone else’s.
But as Bilbao proved, when Messi misses, Barca are there to be hit, their insecurities known and ready to be exposed.
The political turmoil now engulfing the club stems in part from desperation, not to waste Messi’s final years or at least to be seen to be trying to make the best of them. He will be 33 in June and said at the Ballon d’Or presentation retirement was “approaching” but a sense of time running out haa long-lingered at Camp Nou.
When Messi won the Champions League in 2015, aged 27, the assumption was there would be more but instead there has been only disappointment, three quarter-finals and one semi-final, the last two tournaments ending in capitulation.
Lurking over the next month is a Champions League tie against Napoli and the Clasico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, when failure would be harder to swallow.
First, Barca play away at Real Betis on Sunday before two home games against Getafe and Eibar could offer a chance to reset.
If they falter, Real Madrid look primed to capitalise even if they were jolted by cup defeat too on Thursday in a 4-3 loss to Real Sociedad. Madrid play away on Sunday at Osasuna.
Agence France-Presse
Spanish League fixtures (GMT):
Saturday: Levante vs Leganes (1200), Getafe vs Valencia (1500), Real Valladolid vs Villarreal (1730), Atletico Madrid vs Granada (2000)
Sunday: Espanyol vs Mallorca (1100), Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao (1300), Osasuna vs Real Madrid (1500), Celta Vigo vs Sevilla (1730), Real Betis vs Barcelona (2000)
