Thursday, December 9th, 2021
Big trouble for defenders
A laugh that shakes Barcelona
–
Barcelona defender Clément Lenglet puts his arm around Robert Lewandowski after the Spaniards 0-3 in Munich. And thus attracts the annoyance about the end in the Champions League. “The image of shame,” headlines the media in Spain.
In football there are good losers who do the right things and there are good losers who do something that nobody wants to see. Losers who trample on the honor of their club, who laugh at the wrong moment and who get in a lot of trouble afterwards. The 26-year-old Frenchman Clément Lenglet from the Spanish giant FC Barcelona is one of them. He might want to do the right things, but he couldn’t. A simple laugh, a friendly gesture shakes the proud FC Barcelona. Makes the fans of the club angry, the media escalate.
What happened? After the 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich, the defender put his arm around Robert Lewandowski. They shared how to do it, and they laughed the way one laughs. Too much joy after too much trouble. “I never want to see him in the Barca shirt again,” said the legendary and questionable TV man Josep Pedreol on the show “El Chiringuito TV”. He took up the mood of many Barcelona fans. The defeat and the associated qualifying round in the Champions League seemed too painful for them. As it is at the time when social media act as an amplifier, transporting the displeasure of fans out into the world and inflating it further and further. “A picture of shame” was the headline of okdiario.com, an online publication that repeatedly attracts attention with wild exaggerations and violent personal attacks.
Lenglet was not even the main culprit for the defeat in the Allianz Arena. Although he could not prevent Thomas Müller’s header, the Frenchman was otherwise one of the better players in what was once again a disappointing team. However, Lenglet, who has been under contract with Barcelona since 2018, has long been the subject of criticism. After a weak pre-season, the European Championship last summer turned into a debacle for him. In his only appearance, the knockout round of 16 defeat against Switzerland, he was substituted at half time. And this season, too, he commutes between the bench and the starting line-up.
The long way down
“After the 3-0, which relegated Barcelona to the Europa League next year, the defender joked and laughed with Lewandowski,” wrote “Sport”, noting that Lenglet’s record in the past 18 months was one of horror. “The scenes will cause a stir,” commented “Marca”, followed by quotes from the angry coach Xavi Hernandez, who hardly wanted to calm down and accused his team of poor attitudes. “One thing is clear,” said the paper: “Xavi expects a different attitude from his players and Lenglet’s behavior after the game certainly did not match the mood of his coach after the final whistle.”
For Barcelona, plagued by a sporting crisis and plagued by a massive financial crisis, the Europa League is now on. A deep fall for the club that shaped European football so much over the past decade. A deep fall for the club that produced Pep Guardiola, one of the most influential coaches in recent decades. A deep fall for the club, which until last summer had what was probably the best player of all time under contract with Lionel Messi. A deep fall for the club, which has been in a downward spiral at first slowly, then faster and faster since its last win in 2015 and may still not have reached the end.
“Barca are returning to the gloomy times of more than two decades,” wrote “AS” and “El Pais” resigned: “This Barça is not worthy of the Champions League.” Lenglet’s laugh with Lewandowski is nothing more than a symbol for the monumental fall of the giants.
– .
