Lionel Messi
I'm
considering not writing anything here as it kinda speaks for itself,
but man, it bears repeating. Messi put on one of his best seasons -
arguably the BEST - and dang, is that saying something. He didn't score a
billion goals like he did in 2012, but he didn't need to. Playing as a
right-winger, he became much more willing to help out from a deeper
position and leave some of the scoring and assisting to his mates. In
fact, he defended a lot more often than he was used to, something that
should get more notice. And there were many games in which he didn't
register many goals or assists but was unquestionably the best player by
miles. His masterclass of dribbling against Manchester City is one
example. He also often started attacks with great passes from deep
positions, meaning his contributions were often overlooked somewhat by
the stat line. And yet, his stats were still outrageous. I could keep
going with the accolades, but there's no need. No question, we saw a
masterpiece from the master yet again.
Grade: A
Neymar
It's
easy to assume Neymar was The Chosen One, and he was always going to be
a success, but many predicted he would be a Robinho-esque flop, and
others said he would be good but it would take him a long time to be
great. I don't think Neymar has gotten proper credit for his growth,
which, astonishingly, is still a work in progress. His maturity is still
not all there, and there are proper questions about his mentality. But
come on, that's being nitpicky in the larger context. I hate to use
these examples, but look at the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Cristiano Ronaldo,
who are significantly older. Are they the models of maturity and
serenity? No, but their teams are over the moon they have their quality.
And Neymar banged in 39 goals - yeah, obviously aided by a super team -
but man, 39! It's just 8 shy of OG Ronaldo's non-Messi club record of
47, and it matches or surpasses the career-highs of many greats like
Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o, Robin van Persie, and Didier Drogba. He
more than doubled his tally of 15 in his first season, and has surpassed
monstrous expectations.
Grade: A
Luis Suarez
Suarez arrived at Barcelona
under a lot of scrutiny, not to mention controversy. Without a doubt,
everyone knew he was a special player. Arguably, he was the best player
in the world in the previous season, almost single-handedly taking a
mediocre Liverpool to within a few points of the league title. But he
would be banned for about half the season and would be learning to adapt
to a new system. The early days showed promise, but it took him a while
to bag his first few goals and there was a lot of anxiety that he may
never truly adapt. Of course the drama was a bit overblown, and seems
especially ridiculous now, but it was perhaps reasonable to think that
it would take Suarez well over half a season to regain peak fitness and
fully fit into the system. Instead, he was a monster as soon as he got
up to top speed. His Clasico-winning goal and UCL final goal will go
down in Blaugrana history of course, but it wasn't just his goalscoring.
He was unselfish and made all kinds of sacrificial runs the whole year.
Some would like to think that the MSN trio becoming such an
unparalleled success was a foregone conclusion, but the doubts existed,
and would have probably come true were it not for the sacrifice of the
team, the personality of the coach, and of course, the forwards
themselves. None craved the spotlight, all were unselfish, and all three
seemed to genuinely get on. The Neymar-Messi bromance was
well-documented, so it was all about Suarez making it or breaking it.
I'm sure we know which of the two happened.
Grade: A
Pedro
Pedro
put in another Pedro-like shift. Let's face it, he's pretty unglamorous
compared to the MSN trio, and having such an unremarkable name like
Pedro doesn't help things. Yet Pedro is pretty crazy talented himself,
and it is a luxury to have him on the bench, perhaps one that is
basically over. The Spanish international scored only 11 goals, down
from 19 last year. His main role was acting as a rotation for any of the
main forwards, and giving some energy to the side. Yet, Pedro made some
key contributions even in his cameo roles. His bicycle kick goal
against Real Sociedad was not just a brilliant bit of skill, but it all but sealed La Liga. And then, he fully sealed La Liga by assisting Lionel Messi's
only goal against Atletico Madrid. And there was perhaps no better way
of summing up his season than the fact that his only touch in the UCL
final was an assist to Neymar in the final seconds to seal the win.
Grade: B
Munir El-Haddadi
Munir
is as raw as they come, and many fans grow frustrated at him for that.
But it's part of the learning process, and given his young age, Munir
had a good campaign. His goalscoring return was too poor for a forward
of his quality - only one goal. But let's be fair to the kid. He's still
just a teenager, and his experience prior to last season was beyond
limited. He had just made his Barcelona B debut a few months before
being thrust into Lucho's system, and hoping he would have anywhere near
the impact of Luis Suarez is basically impossible. This season was all
about growth for him, which is fine - as long as it goes somewhere in
the coming years.
Grade: B-
Sandro Ramirez
Sandro
may not have as much potential as Munir, but he's much more of the
finished article at the moment. His return - 4 goals in 12 appearances -
was by no means spectacular, but it was good. And he did score a very
important goal in a 1-0 win over Villarreal.
Unlike Munir, Sandro spent a whole season at Barcelona B before
2014-15, and it showed. Let's not sell Sandro short either, he's also
quite young and only likely to get better. An encouraging start.
Grade: B+
Adama Traore
Adama
brings a lot of excitement, especially because of his physique and
dribbling ability. He's got potential by the bucket, though of course he
is also quite unpolished, like Munir. He only made 2 appearances,
though he did score his first goal of his first-team career. Lucho
either doesn't quite trust him yet or thinks he's better served by
getting more regular playing time away from the first team, and a loan
may beckon.
Grade: No grade, incomplete
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