THE RAPHINHA INVENTION
In a Barça team that boasted Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, and Puyol, Tito Vilanova—then Guardiola's assistant—famously declared, "Without Piqué, the whole thing falls apart." Fifteen years later, I wouldn't be surprised if Hansi Flick comes out one of these days and admits that without Raphinha, his team also collapses. His side has lost six matches this season, and the only constant in all of them is the Brazilian's absence.
The disastrous first half in Madrid can, and should, be explained by footballing arguments: Barça played terribly, but a team that has become accustomed to taking to the pitch and waiting for things to happen – with the Atlético match, they've now started 15 games losing – had also become accustomed to reacting, and at the Metropolitano, not only did that not happen, but the best news of the first half was that the score was 4-0… It could have been worse. Barça was a bewildered team, which didn't win a single individual duel and, above all, a team without soul. They lacked leadership, and Raphinha has plenty of that, as he has already demonstrated.
It is assumed that in three weeks, when the second leg is played, Flick will have the Brazilian and Pedri back, and both are the last straw to cling to in order to believe that a comeback is possible. It would also be advisable for the club to finally meet the deadlines so that 62,000 spectators can finally enter the Camp Nou, because the support from the stands will be crucial. And since they're now such good friends with Louzán, they should talk to him instead of whining to the media about Cubarsí's disallowed goal and the disgraceful seven-minute VAR review.
Barça has reason to be annoyed by the refereeing—Giuliano Simeone, for example, overstepped his bounds, to put it mildly—but Flick's self-criticism was lukewarm after the thrashing Atlético gave them, and a public reprimand for his players' attitude wouldn't have gone amiss either, after their worst performance since he took over. The manager stated that the first half had been a lesson for his team, and we'll have to wait until March 3rd to see if they've truly learned it. With Raphinha acting as captain both on and off the field, it seems more likely that this will happen.
