For Barcelona's future defence, it is Bright as Bartra

FC Barcelona: The Future Is Bright. The Future Is Bartra.

When the transfer window was open, fans around the world hoped and prayed for a centre-back, befitting the Barcelona style. The Catalans bought Brazilian sensation – Neymar, but fell short when it came to a defender. Starting from Daniel Agger to Vincent Kompany to David Luiz and a host of other stars, Barcelona did not make the cut – for some it was the price, for others it was age, injuries and other aspects. Nonetheless, the club may not have stepped up their pursuit for a defensive cover when it mattered the most.

Then entered Tata Martino with his perspective of football, which was slightly different from the home-grown Barcelona managers. And then the club gradually decided not to invest in a centre-back and trust the options that had conceded 7 goals against Bayern Munich over 2 matches.

Carles Puyol, in the twilight of his career is no longer a reliable option over a span of about 50 matches. Age unfortunately has caught up with the captain and against fast players he is susceptible to a quick counter-attack. Gerard Pique too has failed to recapture his Champions League winning form, and Mascherano, despite the good work, is a makeshift defender, at the end of the day.

Marc Bartra, the 22-year old, 6-feet defender has been struggling for sometime to make the cut, but the persistence of the respective Barcelona managers with Javier Mascherano denied the youngster the chance to showcase his talent. However, the injury to Mascherano finally presented Bartra with a chance to step-up and prove his mettle.

One aspect that separates Bartra from the rest of the centre-backs in the squad is his pace – not the fastest, but faster than what Barcelona senior team has at their disposal. His benchmark performance against Celtic at the Celtic Park did allay fears about the future of the Barcelona defense. In fact, at the hostile Glasgow stadium, Bartra stood out and looked more at ease than his partner Gerard Pique. According to Squawka, Bartra had a pass success rate of 92% that night – more than Xavi and Iniesta. Only Sergio Busquets had a better rate than the young centre-back.

The ability to adjust to the quintessential Barcelona style and also the Rafael Marquez-esque direct style, gives Barcelona and Tata Martino a player who can contribute to the offense, directly from the defensive third of the pitch. His pace also enables him to move up the pitch and add to the numbers in the midfield, which reduces the propensity of the Barcelona midfielders to pass backwards to release the pressure. With Bartra in midfield, he can easily relieve Busquets and Xavi of the pressing by opposition and his pace also enables him to negate most of the counter-attacks, if not all – one aspect which Pique, Puyol, Busquets and Mascherano have failed at.

Marc also has the proclivity to move towards the right flank, where he can also assist Alves and perhaps Montoya in the future to build up the attack. His passing is as good as the usual Masia graduates and will enable Barcelona to add another dimension to their build-up game.

Standing at six feet, Bartra is good in the air and with age will only get stronger physically to combat the bullish offensive players. It is likely that with the arrival of Puyol and Mascherano, the La Masia graduate might just find himself at the sidelines a little too often, but Martino’s rotation policy should ensure that he gets enough time to develop into a fine defensive prospect for Barcelona for years to come.

In fact, Martino should also consider pairing Bartra with Puyol, once the latter regains full fitness. Playing a competitive match beside Puyol will me more of a learning experience for Bartra than playing with either Pique or Mascherano.

Bartra’s mental strength has been a huge asset for the team. It is reported that he has had life-coaching for the last three years and the results are there for everybody to see. He did not lose his composure or get frustrated (a la Thiago Alcantara) at the lack of opportunities. “They also serve who only stand and wait” – John Milton. Bartra perhaps is a perfect manifestation of this. His contract ends soon (1st January, 2014 to be precise) and it should Barcelona’s prerogative not to lose one of their stars, yet again.

However, this certainly does not mean that the club should stop looking for a proper backup should Bartra succumb to any injury. While rumours have it that the club is tracking Colombian defender Eder Alvarez Balanta of River Plate, should they conclude the deal anytime in future, Bartra should still remain Barcelona’s first preference – perhaps even ahead of Pique.

River Plate are open to offers for the 20-year old Balanta, and have placed a price tag of €15 million on the Colombian. No matter how much he costs, Marc Bartra should get his due for his patience, perseverance and potential. It’s high time the Catalans start managing their academy products with the care that they deserve. Otherwise the day is not far when they will have to follow the model of Real Madrid and other nouveau riche clubs like PSG, Chelsea, Monaco, et al.