All children in the world are born to be center forwards. It is not serious, unless they die convinced that the world, hostile and unfair, prevented them from achieving goalscoring glory. FC Barcelona caresses one of the Leagues that it needed the most in 93 years of competition. Perhaps for this reason, it is convenient to dignify what makes it feasible: the goalkeeper, the defense and the self-sacrificing spirit of some midfielders.
The most Italian League in the history of Barça? I would say yes. So what?
Although it may seem a lie, FC Barcelona has had a record season. It is the team with the fewest goals conceded in the seven major European leagues. And Ter Stegen is heading for records such as the clean sheet in the most games in a season or the number of goals conceded (9 in 30 games).
As football takes on the dimension of a spectacle and stadiums like the Camp Nou fill up with tourists bent on living an “experienceâ€, devoid of base instincts and African hatred towards competitors, winning thanks to defense can seem demeaning. Almost unsportsmanlike!
The lack of understanding towards a defensive Barça is not an exclusive defect of this club. Our society, for example, demands security and is very prone to despise the police who guarantee it.
Unlike other times, the defenders no longer prevail based on the distribution of firewood at home and away –one of the virtues of legendary FC Barcelona defenses such as Rifé, Torres, Gallego and Eladio–. Puyol and Piqué have marked an era but eclipsed by brilliant forwards and the deity of Messi. This season, little orphans in everything, we have succession. Xavi Hernández has managed to curdle a defense starting from Ter Stegen and the authority of the Uruguayan Araújo (finally a jewel at a good price!), to which teammates have been added (the only not good news is the irregularity of Koundé, that does not finish putting on the gallons).
Defenders are the supportive characters of football. The editors and proofreaders of the books signed by others, the authors. The anonymous firefighters of the forest fires. They deserve a monument, a monument that we all know – they are the first – will never come.
Egoism is expected from the center forward, from the defender everything that allows a group/society to sleep peacefully at night, without fear of thieves. If FC Barcelona wins the League, it will be necessary to modify some tenets of faith. Or deposit them in a drawer waiting for the good scoring days to return. In the meantime, give me bread and defenses and call me a fool.
