Is there a problem of too much concentration on star players? Let's find out!!
(This is an extension version of my original article on Taiwanese Bulletin Board System(BBS) station: FCBarcelona @ PTT.cc)
From the Table below, could we say that, when Messi score more(in total team percentage), we obtain less trophy we should get?
(The statistics are from Wikipedia, which cited the original source with LFP.es: I do double check with the number and they fit. I only use La Liga statistics, no European competition score was taken into account)
"Star player" is a tough title to wear. They usually cost a lot for the team, and the contribution is hard to measure. When they perform well, people will take it for granted; when they perform badly, they usually fall into a rough interrogation of the media.
So, how about Messi, being a star player in FCBarcelona??
On the opening table, it seems that Messi's score dominance did not help the team win the trophy. The most trophy year, 08/09 and 10/11, Messi score rather less than other years.
Could we really make a conclusion like this? How does the overall attacking squad of our team fare over these seasons? Let's find out with more numbers!
Messi : Play as a team, score as a star
One first thing to look at: The assist number, how Messi perform along with other forwards?
In Guardiola era, we could see Messi was a constant deliver of assist. He did not only aim for the goal, he also paid attention on teammate who is also on the score positions. And, such capability is growing, along the year.
As I noted on the title, he is not merely a star player. He score as a star player that astonish we Cules, yet most important of all, he also mingle with the team well. Such player is dangerous, they draw the attention of the defence line of opponent, create space for fellow forwards. It makes opponents difficult to nail down scoring possibilities.
However, we could also spot an interesting situation/problem on Guardiola era: A strong dependence on the right wing: Alves is almost as importnat as Xavi, though 08/09 season seemed to have more balance while Xavi took the rule to control and deliver possible pass for score.
Such heavy dependence could cost Barcelona much. The remedy is the diversity/capability of forwards. We will go into the next table to discuss this.
Better Years, Worse Years:
As I noted from the previous section, if we concentrate the assist from certain direction, the skills of striker therefore are very important. What type of striker we need? Sophisticated! Proven ability on finishing and independent attacking power: The technical team certainly noticed about this, so we brought in: Henry, Villa and Ibrahimovic (and early in Rijkaard period, Larsson)
Henry and Villa fit in very well with the squad, while Ibrahimovic not. Why? It should attribute to his overlapping position with Messi. Ibrahimovic most possess the central part just in front the goal. While Messi is also taking that position, it makes Ibrahimovic has little places to maneuver, therefore it limits his performance on the team.
Second, let's talk about the diversity on attacking line.
In our better year, we see that, on score ranking, the runner-up and the third place could score as much as the leading player. It means that, when the leading foward has a bad day, the replacement could come in for rescue. When leading forward is on fire, we could score even more. Such fire power is particularly unmatched on most competition ground in 2010/11. The famous MVP trio really makes Barcelona the most danagerous team back then.
However, in our worse years, we lacked a consistent second/third fire power. Simply put, when the first cannon is deaf, we do not have another gun to strike down opponent.
Retrospectively speaking, I think we deserved a better 2011/12. A series of bad lucks just struck the team hard. First of all, a strong scoring pillar, Villa, was mired by injury. Pedro did not perform as much as he did. (and in Vilanova's hand, he transformed his rule a bit) Fabregas could have taken up another gun, however, it seems his role on the team is more to deliver assists. Secondly, Iniesta was on and off from time to time for the injury as well. Last but not least, we further losed a few important players on defence line, though they are not the topic for this article.
Not that Messi loved to take the central stage, he had to. Although he scored most on the team, he also delivered the most assist that year. Interestingly, it was Xavi taking up the role to score. He scored more than any other season in his professional career.
Another note from this Table, I do think it is a pity to let go Bojan. He fits the team, he has a constant performancegiven his age/experience. If some day he come back, I believe he could be one of the future stars.
Vilanova era: A balanced team, a full range attacking squad.
If we simply look at the table, we might find the seemingly recurring situation comes back. Messi dominante the total goal of the team. We even have to add up the other four players goal to surpass his score number.
It looks a bit like the replicate of 2011/12, should we start to worry?
The current result suggeest "no" to the quesiton, we are in a good leading position in La Liga and the European competition so far seems fine. How come this year being different?
1. More depth on the field, diversified assistance source:
Going back to assistance Talbe, we find that Vilanova's team have a strong diversity on assist source. If we cannot have a full range of different strikers like our MVP year, at least we can confused the defence line with variety of assist source.
It could come either from center(Fabregas and Xavi) from the left(Alba and Iniesta) or from the right (Pedro) These players also interchage their position to fit the dynamic on fields.
And the diversified assists source actually "free-up" Messi a bit. He no longer has to pay too much attention on his fellow players. All he has to do is score! It may explain why he is totally on fire this season and bring up a huge concentration of team goals on him.
2. Goals from unexpected direction:
From the Table above, who are the runner up scorer? Adriano! Although Adriano has long been criticized on his defence skills, his power cannon certainly deserves him a spot on team, esepcially when we face some formidable defence line.
Xavi remains his good touch from the last year. It seems Vilanova gives the players a good freedom to fire up if they feel it right.
By the way, if any of you watch the game closely, you could see Pique frequently venture into the box and Buesquets also plays on very front position. We have to appreciate key players on defence line to allow them to do so.
3. Villa deserve more, and other players will fire up soon!
Last, and most important thing I would like to talk about on this Table is Villa. I truly believe he deserve more time, and his experience can make our attacking line more dangerous!!!
People sometimes compare Villa and Alexis, and think one should substitute the other. However, I think the co-existence of these two, together with Messi, would be a good trio. Alexis and Villa are two very different kinds of players. Both have good speed, while one has more experience on finishing and the other has more physical strength. How to use them well would be a challenge for Vilanova.
At the end, Happy 2013 for all my readers. Let's expect a good season! And, "Ánimo Tito": get full recovery and see you on field soon!!
Appendix: How Real Madrid perform with "Los Galaticos"
While I took these statistics, I have a look on how Real Madrid played in past seasons. I made a Table, marked a few things. (Don't feel like to write more :P)
They are in third place with a reason, really.
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