Barcelona and mediocrity are two words football stakeholders won’t normally associate with one another. The Spanish outfit had in not so distant past, ruled the world with their exciting and bewitching brand of football, collection of the finest players in world football, and an insatiable thirst for trophies that were matched with the number of titles they lifted on a regular basis. 2008 – 2012 was the truly golden moment for La Blaugrana as Pep Guardiola’s men ruled European football, winning a grand total of 14 trophies out of an available 19.

These days, Barcelona can be found in the backwaters of best usa online casino, struggling to compete with the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and even Sevilla, and its time the passionate fans of the Catalunya outfit accept the fact that it would take some time for their club to be seated back among the top echelons of European football. Barcelona’s beloved son, Lionel Messi bade bye to the club at the end of last season, bringing an end to what has been one of football’s greatest alliances.

The club could not afford to pay his huge wages because former president, Jose Maria Bartomeu, and the board had plunged the club into huge debts because of a number of poor economic decisions. Gone are the days Barcelona could afford to pay top dollar for the best players in world football. Now, they have to look inward towards their famed academy, La Masia to provide talents that the fans would hope can establish themselves in the first team.

The likes of Gavi, Nico, and even Pedri represent the biggest young talents at the club, and manager and club legend, Xavi in charge at the dugout, the fans can expect to slowly integrate into the tiki-taka model that served them well in the past but had been shunted by the likes of Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman. If Xavi can be given enough time to build the team in his model and put his blueprint on the team and club as a whole, there are suggestions that the team can find a way to the top in the nearest future.

However, the fans must understand their situation is a bit different from the glory years that Camp Nou witnessed. They must support the manager and team and have the patience to see the bigger picture. It will take time, but Barcelona will be back. They are, after all, more than a club.