Barcelona winning trophies but losing their identity

When Barcelona picked up the Club World Cup in Japan after their 3-0 demolition of River Plate it was, unbelievably, the Catalan club’s 26th trophy of the last 10 years.

Liverpool’s haul under Bob Paisley in the late 1970s/early 1980s comes close but even that great side pales into insignificance when compared with the various Barcelona teams of recent memory.

Of course, this continued success is all well and good when it comes to attracting the best players — but it comes at a huge cost.

One of the pillars of the club has always been La Masia. The world famous academy that has churned out players of the highest quality for years.

Or at least it did.

Real Madrid have always been the club associated with a “Galactico” transfer buying policy but in recent seasons Barca have more than matched them in this department.

Neymar and Luis Suarez have followed Ronaldinho et al through the Camp Nou entrance but their inclusion in the ranks has been at the expense of up and coming youngsters for whom Barca had always held great hopes.

At this particular juncture it seems abundantly clear that any graduates of the academy are more likely to be plying their trade elsewhere than at the club who, for years, nurtured their development.

The need for more immediate gratification has taken precedence over the continued growth of what made Barca great in the first place. It’s youngsters.

Johan Cruyff has made his feelings on the subject known on more than one occasion and, as expected, they were none too complimentary.

The man who is credited with putting those foundations in place has seen all of his good work eroded and the “mes que un club” (more than a club) strapline that Barca profess to live by, shown to be nothing more than a reasonable marketing slogan.

The Catalans would always pride themselves on being different.

Winning with a certain style — the “Barca way” if you like — was high on the list of priorities along with not having a shirt sponsor. The latter was something that truly resonated with the membership.

Even when the first name adorned the Blaugrana it was Unicef, a charity, and Barca paid them for the privilege.

When Louis Van Gaal was in charge in the late 1990s his dream, as Cruyff’s, was an all Masia XI and that dream was realised in 2012 in a 4-0 win against Levante under Pep Guardiola.

Although it was never a long-term solution, there’s simply no chance of ever seeing that type of line up again if the club continue with their current modus operandi.

Yes they’ll keep winning trophies and perhaps they’ll continue to be lauded as the best team in the world in the current era for a little while longer.

But in so doing, Barca have lost their identity and that’s not acceptable.

— The author is an expert on Spanish football