Despite failures in Europe and in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona have returned to the top of Spanish football by winning the 2022/23 La Liga title.
Barcelona are back, but not quite
The Catalans finished the campaign with 88 points, 10 more than arch-rivals Real Madrid and 11 more than third-place Atletico Madrid. It took four years, a period riddled with all sorts of problems on and off the pitch, mostly financial.
The club have frequently been forced to part ways with major earners in their squad to cut down on salary expenses, as well as to offer those who were planned for new contracts salary deductions too. It was obviously very painful for everyone connected with club when they failed to put together a viable solution for Lionel Messi to remain at the club two years ago, and the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner left to join Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent. They apparently tried to bring him back over the last couple of days, but the man himself doesn’t think they all wanted him back and he has chosen to join Inter Miami in the MLS instead.
On the other hand, there are some players Barcelona simply couldn’t get rid of, try as they might.
Last summer, Philippe Coutinho, who proved a complete waste of money following his arrival from Liverpool in January 2018, left to join Aston Villa on a permanent deal after spending six months on loan there. Winger Trincao and forward Memphis Depay also left, along with midfielder Nico Gonzalez and defender Sergino Dest who were loaned out to Valencia and AC Milan, respectively.
As for those who played for the Blaugrana, the world was arguably most impressed by academy products Gavi and Pedri, widely perceived as long-awaited heirs of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but a closer look at the number of matches played says that a large number of players played important roles in this title win. There were 19 players whose appearance total in all competitions in 2022/23 passed the mark of 30.
There can be no doubt about Xavi being a very capable head coach, with a particular knack for making the most of what’s at his disposal.
But to get where they want to be – where they were when Xavi was still playing, Barcelona need to sort out their financial difficulties and return to the old paths of glory in Europe too.
And speaking of those times, the club have said farewell to the last two of Xavi’s former teammates, excluding goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who only played a year with the current coach. Gerard Pique has retired, and Sergio Busquets has decided to write the final chapter of his career somewhere else as his contract expires.
Time for change at Real Madrid
It was clear for a long time that Real would likely come up short in the title race against the resurgent Barcelona. Even though they got some revenge eventually by thrashing the arch-rivals in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey and going on to lift the trophy, they believed they would rack up another success at their old hunting ground – the Champions League, but there they met their old foe Pep Guardiola whose Manchester City team annihilated them in the semifinals. Rarely has a Real Madrid team looked so impotent in a Champions League game, and that was probably a strong warning that changes were needed.
For all the quality players like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos possess, it was painfully obvious that they have no pace anymore to counter City’s fast-passing game in the middle of the park. Only Carlo Ancelotti knows why exactly Aurelien Tchouameni wasn’t trusted to start that game, while Eduardo Camavinga played on the left defensive flank.
After Casemiro left the club to join Manchester United last summer, along with Raphael Varane, and with Sergio Ramos gone as well, many changes have obviously been made already, but further ones are afoot. Real have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, and the England international who is yet to turn 20 appears to be the final piece of the midfield rebuild as he joins Camavinga, Tchouameni and Fede Valverde.
Modric and Kroos are expected to extend their stay in the Spanish capital by another 12 months, though there has been no confirmation as yet. But the one confirmation that did come and that will have caused some pain for the Los Blancos faithful is the departure of Karim Benzema.
The 35-year-old striker, a crucial part of the team for 14 extremely successful years, has left Madrid to join Saudi side Al-Ittihad. The club are said to be contemplating new names to fill the void, one of which is Chelsea’s Kai Havertz.
With Benzema, Busquets and Pique all gone, it really feels like the end of an era for the Spanish game. For Barcelona, little is expected to change on the pitch, but for Real, it will be interesting to see how different things will be from now on.
Sevilla “sacrifice” La Liga placement for continued Europa League glory
Spanish representatives in the Champions League haven’t lived up to expectations, but in the Europa League, Sevilla made sure at least something remained familiar. Jose Mendilibar led his team to their seventh trophy in the competition, though arguably at the price of a 12th-place finish in the Spanish top flight.
There was even a period early on when it seemed they might end up in a race to avoid relegation, but they eventually improved their form, and just in time to feel more comfortable when it mattered for them to stay focused in Europe. Be that as it may, Sevilla are a team of great quality, and with a bit of smart recruitment over the summer, they shouldn’t have such problems again.
Valencia and Celta Vigo are teams that will surely hope for a better campaign the next time around, having come far too close to losing their top-flight status, but for Valladolid, Espanyol and Elche, there will be no chance for that.
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