Barcelona had an indisputable first part of the season. Leader of the championship with 7 points ahead of Real Madrid, 62 goals scored and only 3 conceded. He was proclaimed leader of the ranking from the first phase … of the Champions League tied on points only with Olympique Lyonnais (big favorite to win it this year). They are already qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition and are regularly heading towards the Copa de la Reina (this Sunday they beat Alavés 1-6). Barca are at the top, maintaining their position as one of the best teams in the world. The question is whether he will now be able to maintain the pace and continue to subdue his rivals and dominate massively.
I admit that I have serious doubts. And I justify them by analyzing the facts. For example, the exhausted team, to which are added the injuries of key players like Aitana, Ona, Patri Guijarro and Salma Paralluelo. Barcelona started the season with a reduced squad, without natural replacements for their two most decisive foreign players, Ewa Pajor and Carol Hansen. Added to this is the last minute departure of Lucía Corrales, after the London City Lionesses paid 500,000 euros for her departure.
Additionally, during the season, players were injured. Pajor’s injury set off all the alarms, but in the end it was just a scare. Aitana, Patri and Ona are the best in the world at their positions, so it’s natural that the team will miss them. The injury of Salma (a player who can perfectly cover both a hypothetical loss of Pajor and Hansen and who, in optimal condition, is also among the best in the world) is also not in her favor.
Currently, young players who have reached the first team are giving exceptional results. Clara Serrajordi (already an absolute international) in place of Patri Guijarro and Aicha Cámara and Carla Julia, covering the loss of Ona on either side of the defense, provide important support. And Barça’s career is a machine for generating talent and results. Barsa B, a subsidiary team, has won two of the last three Leagues 1 RFEF (the second division) and is currently tied on points with Alavés.
But the reality is that there are not (for the moment) players of sufficient quality to replace the scorer Pajor and the decisive Hansen. And who replaces Aitana? Currently, this fire is being extinguished by the very young Vicky López, and even if she does it with ease and talent, Bonmatí, triple Ballon d’Or, is logically irreplaceable.
The good news was the explosion and definitive consolidation of Claudia Pina, the fittest player in Spain (and perhaps Europe), who, through play and goals, ensured that no one in the Catalan club missed Mariona Caldentey.
It is clear that today, it is FC Barcelona who are winning. Win a lot, win well and almost always win. He dominates national competitions with authority, imposes his style and continues to be a reference in Europe. But the season is long and football, especially that played at the highest level, does not forgive the accumulation of minutes or short squads.
Injuries to key players tested the team’s true depth and exposed a clear reliance on its big stars. The career, for the moment, responds and with it, the model resists. But the very high demands that are made when deciding on titles do not include promises or context. Barça continues to reign, yes, but the great unknown is no longer that; The question is whether he will have enough fuel to reach the same speed and with the same force until the end.
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