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Lucho's Experiment In Defense Shows How Far Vidal Has Fallen
Playing three at the back against Leganes shows that Aleix Vidal is at the bottom of the pecking order.
Before Saturday’s match against Leganes, the chances of seeing all of Barça’s main squad players on the field were slim; they had just played in the Champions League on Tuesday, and have to deal with Atlético Madrid on Wednesday. Luis Enrique was expected to rest a few key players, but not all of them; the recent debacle vs Alavés showed that too much rotation could have dire consequences.
So when Barça released their squad list, it wasn’t a surprise to see someone like Sergio Busquets rested.
What was a shock, however, was who the players in defense were going to be.
LEGANES, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 17: FC Barcelona line up prior to start the La Liga match between Deportivo Leganes and FC Barcelona at Estadio Municipal de Butarque on September 17, 2016 in Leganes, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
Just by looking at the photo above, you cans see one flaw that Barcelona has in this lineup: They don’t have a RB. No sign of Roberto. No Vidal.
Initially, we surmised that Barcelona would play with a back three: Umtiti, Piqué, and Mascherano. Something like a 3-4-3. Playing with this formation still allowed Barça to have players on the wings. They would still technically be a right back, at least in terms of attack.
The real mystery lied with how Barça was going to defend. Would they stick with a back three, something they aren’t used to?
We soon had our answer. When defending, they switched to their default 4-3-3. Barcelona played with a backline of Alba, Umtiti, Piqué, and Mascherano.
Wait…..what!? A back line of Alba, Umtiti, Piqué, and Mascherano??
We knew that Lucho was going to rotate, but wow, this one was surprising. Mascherano has never played there for Barça, or any of his prior teams.
EZEIZA, ARGENTINA – AUGUST 30: Javier Mascherano of Argentina gestures during a press conference at Argentine Football Association (AFA) ‘Julio Humberto Grondona’ training camp on August 30, 2016 in Ezeiza, Argentina. Argentina will face Uruguay on September 01, 2016. (Photo by Gabriel Rossi/LatinContent/Getty Images)
Lately, the RB position has been occupied by Sergi Roberto. He’s becoming more comfortable with each passing game, and has now firmly established as the first choice in that position.
But he can’t be playing every single game. He’s a player that Lucho rates highly, so it’s understandable that he was rested.
You would think that if Sergi isn’t playing, then Aleix Vidal would be the one to cover for him. He’s the only other player in the squad that has experience playing as a right back. So you would have thought that Vidal would have featured in the game.
Nope. Not today. Not only did he not play, he didn’t even make the match squad.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 9: Aleix Vidal of F.C.Barcelona reacts during the Spanish League match between F.C Barcelona vs Deportivo Alavés at Nou Camp, on September, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joan Cros Garcia/Corbis via Getty Images)
When someone like Mascherano, who has never played RB before, starts over you, there’s some serious problems there. Vidal was originally purchased as a potential replacement for the great Dani Alves. Now, he’s not making the match squad and is seeing his position covered by a defensive midfielder. Not exactly happy times for Vidal.
Today’s lineup made it perfectly clear that Vidal isn’t in Lucho’s graces. But why? Well, it’s due to one big reason.
Vidal as all of the attacking instincts of a winger: pace, crossing ability, and good technical skills. With possession, he’s the ideal right back for Barça. His faults and weaknesses lay in defense. Too many times, he loses focus and allows for players to run in behind him. Doing that at Barça is going to kill the team’s performance.
It’s been tough for Vidal to adjust to life at Barcelona. After having to wait until January to play, he was never able to find his feet right away. With a full offseason and preseason ahead, there was hope that Vidal would have a fresh start. And with Dani Alves gone, Vidal had a chance to assert himself into the first team.
Well, it obviously hasn’t worked out that way or this article would be futile.
In the 7 official games that Barça have played, Vidal has only started in two of them: The second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, and matchday 3 of La Liga vs Alavés. The Super Cup was practically won when the second leg started, so there wasn’t much significance in him starting. The Alavés game was one that Lucho rotated the majority of the squad for, so again there isn’t much importance in him starting.
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It was clear that Vidal wasn’t impressing Lucho. Perhaps Sergi has just been that good, but the more likely reason is that the former hasn’t shown enough in training to get a game.
The Alavés game was the tipping point of Aleix’s fall. If Vidal was that bad against a newly promoted side, how could Luis Enrique possibly trust him against the more elite clubs?
The answer is that he can’t. Vidal has been utterly and completely uneventful.
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Never in a million years would you imagine Javier Mascherano playing as a right back. But that rational belief came to crashing end today. Aleix Vidal, once thought of as the successor to Dani Alves, has reached the bottom of the Barcelona pecking order. Barça should be thankful for the emergence of Sergi Roberto, or else they would be playing Vidal every single game.
Talk about a downfall.
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