Why Alexis Sanchez Had to Go You just can’t have both Alexis Sánchez and Luis Suárez. I’m a little surprised to even be writing this because it’s really rather obvious, but given the cacophony of disbelief, here we go. It comes down to simple math in a way. Suárez is a top five world footballer, Sánchez is a top twenty or thirty. If that’s too simplistic, let’s get into it. Suárez fulfils a need at Barça. Goals are not per se a problem for the club until the team runs into a big shiny immovable bus. All that plan b chatter usually takes the form of getting a big guy to lump crosses into. That’s not a route the club are going to take, and understandably. It’s absurd squad management to go out and spend tens of millions on a player whose sole purpose is come in and attempt to get his noggin on a cross in a very particular game scenario which occurs less than a handful of times a season. Not only that, it’s not even close to a guaranteed solution. Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich huffed and puffed but couldn’t blow down Real Madrid’s steely defensive setup even with a certain Mario Mandzukic, precisely the mould of player said plan b would preach. Furthermore, not only do few of these big forwards exist, few if any are of the technical caliber to not adversely affect Barcelona’s football when played ideally with constant passing and motion at speed. That type of player would become a bottleneck, slowing or breaking down attacks. The other alternative is to acquire nimble dribblers able to beat their man and in doing so break through the lines. Or footballers capable of moments of individual magic that transcend tactics. This was the plan with Neymar and it’s amplified with Luis Súarez. Barça now have four of the best five dribblers in football. Aside from Arjen Robben, nobody is capable of getting past a defender or two (or three) in close quarters better than Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez. The football Suárez has produced at Liverpool the past two seasons, this most recently one in particular, is nothing short of astounding. He’s the craftiness player in the world bar no one. For more on why Suárez is such a glove like fit, please read or re-read my colleague Eric’s assessment here. There’s no need for me to regurgitate what is a flawless analysis. Pay particular attention to the tactical reasoning regarding the decreasing impact of a false nine and his positional mobility. But back to Alexis. Put yourself in an absurdly hypothetical school-yard pick situation where you have to select a football team and for whatever reason your life is on the line. Now forget the biting, and while I obviously cannot call it an anomaly, it has happened three times in 451 professional appearances, so the odds are in your favor. Your choice comes down to Suárez or Sánchez. Who’s most likely to win you a football match? You pick Suárez every time. He’s a better scorer, better passer, better dribbler. Suárez is just a better player. Luis Suárez is one of those rare genuine match winners. Football wise you don’t lose much swapping the two. Suárez himself does a lot of pressing and defensive hassling himself, and certainly isn’t short on competitive drive. The problem at times is he’s got too much of that. The Uruguayan was available now so it was opportunistic to snap him up before another major rival undoubtedly would have. When it comes down to a football match, you want Suárez on your side. Plain and simple. Why not Pedro? For obvious reasons. Firstly, Alexis is a more valuable market asset. Barça made a profit, which is good for the books and UEFA’s FFP, and a higher intake of cash than Pedro would have fetched alleviates Suárez’s fee. With Suárez essentially a trade for Alexis, Barça effectively spent 37 million on the world’s best striker. That is good business. Secondly, Alexis wouldn’t and shouldn’t accept a squad player role. Messi and Suárez are better footballers than Alexis while Neymar has a higher ceiling. With the other three fit and in form, Alexis isn’t starting. Pedro on the other hand is emotionally dedicated to the club and will gladly accept being the stand in to footballers he understands are superior. That is vitally important for team harmony dynamics. Pedro knows he’s got the best gig in the world being at Barça, no situation would put him in a place to play with better players and win more trophies. Pedro is not going to rock the boat and throw tantrums when his minutes inevitably drop. Alexis probably wouldn’t have done that either (not personally at least), but he would have been wasting his immense talent playing understudy to footballers he cannot usurp. Alexis is a starter on an elite team, Pedro isn’t. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Being the next best option at FC Barcelona to Messi, Suárez and Neymar is nothing to get snobby about. Teams can only function with this type of squad player. It’s entirely logical why Pedro remains. It’s a win-win-win scenario. Suárez arrives to the club level he’s meant to be, Alexis joins a wonderful side that will immediately value him and has trophy potential and Barça upgraded from a terrific player to an irreplaceable one at a rather agreeable net sum. And it’s not a waste of money or using it in the wrong place. Barça have plenty in reserve to fulfill the obvious defensive need. The club has expressly stated that a value of 120 million for transfers is within budget and given the net spends of the summer thus far, 75 million remains available. Patience. Alexis’ is my most melancholy farewell since Samuel Eto’o. Personality wise more. I wish him only the best of luck and hope he devastates the Premier League (though he’d have been perfect for Liverpool’s system). It was I defending el niño maravilla when the mob was all too ready to pack his bags. Seems a fair few have changed their tune, some honest reflection may be in store. But in this big-boy world of professional football there’s little room for making football decision on emotive grounds. When a Luis Suárez becomes available, solutions must be found. Alexis was the only one Barça had. It’s not sacrilege; it’s business. Ask yourself if you want Barça to win the Champions League again? If you answered yes, your chances just jumped about three fold with the boots of Luis Suárez.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 21:34:09 +0000
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