Yerry Mina: Now what, after Levante debacle?
The defender's future is one the line after Barca were beaten 5-4 by Levante
One bad night can leave you in trouble at Barcelona and in elite football. And Yerry Mina had just that as Levante hit five and beat the Catalans, breaking their unbeaten record.
Mina arrived at Camp Nou less than five months ago and has found it had to get game time.
IT WAS NOT EASY
He arrived in the winter window with no time to adapt to European football, faster and more tactical than Brazilian and South American football in general. It's even harder to adapt to Barcelona's game, which is differernt from most others. Playing high up, specific positional play and breaking lines of pressure.
PROS AND CONS
Yerry, a powerful defender, dominates the ball in the air and can bring it out well, but he's not particularly fast. Neither on the ball or in anticipating. That's not too strange, eg. Mats Hummels of Bayern is similar, to compare him to an excellent defender who can bring the ball out and has good vision and positioning. Perhaps he would be more comfortable in a defence of five.
VALVERDE SAID IT
The coach said that Mina "is without a pre-season to adapt" and "very young, with time he can get used to Barca's style". Effectively the coach knew that Mina was not ready to come straight in. It means the person or people who decided he was able to come in and replace Javier Mascherano - instead of signing Inigo Martinez - were to blame.
FUTURE
Club staff now have to decide what to do with Mina. It seems the best thing for him will be a loan away from Camp Nou and its pressure and focus. With minutes and regular football, Mina can reinforce his qualities and work on reducing his deficiencies. Pep Segura will be in charge of what happens to him, in conjunction with Ernesto Valverde.
Topics with the letter
