Exclusive: What Barcelona's heavyweights do in times of crisis

Last Monday there were various circumstances that invited a profound reflection spell at Barcelona. Luis Enrique decided to cancel the meeting with his players to analyse the game against Leganes, and then Gerard Pique came out to send a message of optimism to Barcelona fans and remind them that before Lucho arrived the team was “in the shit”.

Pique was referring to the season with Tata Martino where the team won just one Spanish Super Cup and nothing else, losing the league in the final week of the season and getting eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, as well as losing the Copa del Rey final. 

In that context this season is not looking so good either. In the Champions League Barcelona are on the verge of elimination in the last 16, in La Liga they are a point behind Madrid with two extra games played. They have won the Spanish Super Cup and reached the Copa del Rey final

So in the worst case scenario, Barcelona have matched the year of shit (using Pique’s definition). In that season the heavyweights - Puyol, Xavi, Messi, Mascherano, Busquets and Iniesta - decided to take their own measures to avoid the self-destruction wreaked by Tata and his helpers. Evidently Lucho has shown he has more personality and character, but even in his first year after Anoeta he had to give up a lot of ground. We will see what happens in the coming weeks…