Barça's obsession after Real Madrid's defeat to Valencia on Wednesday
The players know that before dreaming they must focus on recovering their style
It's been just over a week since the defeat in Paris and, since then, Barcelona have been through a number of emotions. Captains have criticised the play, the manager has been singled out, players have called for union... Then there was the game against Leganes which nearly provoked a heart attack and then two days off for all the players.
Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta have been in Andorra, Gerard Pique was playing Padel, Leo Messi's been in Egypt, Josep Maria Bartomeu in Chine, Luis Enrique on his bike... Barça are always in the extreme there's been sadness for the defeat in Paris, a period of reflection over the errorrs... and now an injection of belief afer Real Madrid lost to Valencia.
Barça returned to training on Thursday with a defined obsession, a necessary step before beginning to dream of winning La Liga or turning things around against PSG. Looking to far ahead is a danger that the players try to avoid, even if it's normal that these thoughts are in their minds. Before anything, though, they know it's necessary to take a step forward in terms of where they find themselves.
It's about recovering the level of play which has been lost for a while, as Pique said earlier this week. To get back the style which allows them to control games and, above all, to create a lot of chances, a problem which has been obvious in recent games. For example, Suarez has had hardly any chances. Barça aren't playing like before.
They know that's the first step they must take. First, the reality. Second, the dreams. Training on Thursday and in the coming days is focused on this idea: Clear the minds of the players, unblock them and find out what the problems have been to begin to thread the needle.
The players know they have to move quickly because they have a test of fire on the horizon on Sunday: Atletico Madrid at he Calderon. Barça know that if they don't play well, they won't win. And if that's the case, things will once again be as bad as they were. But to make a statement in Madrid this weekend would lead to a huge morale boost for Barça and allow them to dream again. That's Barça's big obsession in the coming days.
