Why New Blood is Needed at Barcelona

A golden generation of La Masia graduates were at the core of Pep Guardiola’s side which won 14 trophies in three seasons, but signs are beginning to show that the tiki-taka dominance could be coming to an end.
Two successive defeats in the el Clasico in the space of a week inflicted considerable hurt on the Blaugrana, whilst hopes of Champions League progression remain in the balance following defeat against AC Milan at the San Siro.
Barca have all but wrapped up the La Liga title after stretching out into a comfortable lead at the top of the table, but the invincibility of the Catalonia side appears to be waning.
Managerial difficulties have not helped Barcelona’s cause with current boss Tito Vilanova suffering from a recurrence of his parotid gland cancer back in December. Vilanova’s period away from the club has seem to led to some inconsistency in Barca’s play and the early season dominance Barcelona enjoyed in La Liga is fast being forgotten.
Vilanova’s current crop of stars still consists of many of the graduate class that were essential during Guardiola’s hay-day, but goalkeeper Victor Valdes has uttered his intention to leave the La Liga leaders and David Villa has struggled to return to his previous best since breaking his leg last year.
Stalwarts Carlos Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are all beginning to show signs of the exertions of over a decade of tiki-taka football, so the need for new blood at the Nou Camp continues to gather pace.
La Masia itself continues to be a healthy production line for Barcelona and the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Christian Tello and Isaac Cuenca all seem capable of making the step-up into the first team.
World superstar Neymar has been long since coveted by the Spanish giants, but Malaga’s Isco should be one player, which Sandro Rosell should acquire given the progress made by the Golden Boy this season.
Former Malaga midfielder Santi Cazorla carries all the ingredients to carry out Barcelona’s superb passing game, whilst Athletic Bibao’s Iker Munian is another that could be on the radar given reports that Alexis Sanchez may be on his way out of the Nou Camp.Many football betting tips still favour Barcelona to progress in the Champions League and although the air of invincibility is beginning to be eroded, talk of the death of tiki-taka seem premature.

Big changes are likely to be made to the playing staff this summer and all eyes will be on Barcelona, to see if their period of dominance and invincibility can be restored on the European stage.