The difficult months for Vermaelen

Last monday, Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen arrived in the city after being operated on in Finland where he underwent a surgery on his semitendinosus muscle in the right hamstring and now will have to undergo four to five months of recovery.

He thanked all the fans and also the rest of the team for their support during his time out of the pitch, not knowing that his teammates will wear shirts in support of him during the 5-1 victory against city rivals Espanyol.

He told to Barcelona TV that he knew nothing and it was a big surprise, he was grateful to all his teammates for their support with the shirt and has given him strength to cope with the next hard few weeks.

He also pointed out that the last few months have been very difficult, as he wasn’t able to recover and that’s why he was forced to operate. Now his only focus is to recover as soon as possible.

Also on Monday, FIFA denied an special permission to sign a new defender to substitute Vermaelen.

Barcelona asked for a emergency signing under “exceptional situations” in Spanish federation rules, despite being banned to sign new players.

FIFA told Barcelona that the disciplinary committee did not conceive and exception for signing outside of the official periods.

FIFA ban was imposed after Barcelona broke rules on international signings of young players and will take place in January, pending an appeal presented to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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Bartra, the new Carles Puyol

During the last Champions League match, Marc Bartra reminded a lot to his childhood hero, Carles Puyol. He was all over the place, going down to defense and up to support, refusing to give up and let a ball pass.

When Marc put for the first time the Barça shirt he was eleven and unlike other kids he didn’t imitate a forward, he wasn’t interested to become the new Kluivert or Rivaldo. He went straight to the center back position, doing his best to imitate his hero, Carles Puyol.

But, unlike Carles Puyol, he is more calmed and doesn’t posse the same kind of discipline as Puyol but formed at La Masia since he was 11, he is much more technical player than Puyol was.

But apart of their differences, there is also a lot of similarities like their love for the FC Barcelona and to never give up on the field. Un example can be seen when playing against Real Madrid in Copa del Rey 2014. Bartra pushed to be in the pitch from a muscle injury and even during the game he never stopped fighting even if the injury got worse.

Bartra isn’t Puyol, but the admiration for Puyol has made them very similar. After eight year at Barcelona, Bartra entered Barcelona’s first team alongside Puyol, who quickly become his mentor, in and out of the pitch.

Even when he had lucrative offers to leave Barcelona, he only listened to one person, and Puyol told him to stay, work hard and he would reach his goals and stay in the club for many years.

On Wednesday against PSG, Marc Bartra put again all his heart in the pitch with a brilliant performance and showing that he will do everything for the club emblem on his chest.

There is a long way still to reach his full potential, but with his mentor by his side he will get there sooner or later.

Even though he is not Carles Puyol, this is most likely the closest thing that Barcelona will have to a new Puyol.

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Neymar improves

Two summers ago, Barcelona announced that they have signed the Brazillian giant Neymar, bringing the unthinkable pairing with Lionel Messi.

But during the first Neymar season at Camp Nou, he didn’t match the expectations surrounding him for the last years and he was unable to find the rhythm.

But now in his second year it's very different, he is the player that everybody expected, so, what has changed?

First is the different kind of football played in Europe and South America, and he needed time to learn Barça’s system. The Brazilian struggled with a new football culture and identity.

Also he arrived in a club where he wasn’t the undisputed leader of the team, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are well known and are the faces of Barcelona. For someone that is used to be the center of the team, this is very difficult to undergo.

Despite all of the above, from time to time some football talent shine through the fog. He ended the season with ning goals and eight assists in La Liga and four goals in the Champions League, good stats of a footballer, but far from what Neymar could do.

But everything has changed this season. The 22-year-old has scored 13 goals in the first 17 La Liga fixtures, not even halfway the season.

Now he understands how European Football works and also how to play with a team like Barcelona, and not only that, he also understands his position inside the team.

Neymar is no longer just one more player into the team, he is now a player that can lead and make an impact. He probably is not yet a face of Barcelona, this still belongs to Messi and will last long, but he is one of the leaders and most likely will continue his improvement as a footballer with an unlimited potential.

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