By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent
Barcelona recently started their "We Give Everything" campaign to show the team's commitment to FC Barcelona thus inviting the supporters to fill the Camp Nou every game. Pedro, Iniesta and Messi will be the first group of players to feature in the ad campaign. What might be a more fitting campaign is "we'll give everything for another Xavi". It's funny how quickly Barca-nation has jumped into a frenzied pursuit of the eventually heir-apparent for the 30 year-old master playmaker due to him missing a few games and slow-ish start to Barcelona's 2010-11 season. This obsession rivals Sméagol/Gollum's desire for "the ring" in The Lord of the Rings.
There seems to be a hyper-sensitivity to finding an apprentice for Xavi since Barcelona's failure to sign their youth-academy product and Arsenal captain Cesc Fŕbregas during the summer's transfer period. There could be a one year wait-and-sell plan between Barcelona and Arsenal, but I don't' buy it. Even if Barcelona had the money that Arsenal would want, which this past summer's audit said they didn't, President Sandro Rosell is in no place public relations-wise to make such a high-priced purchase with the financial witch-hunt the current Barca regime have put the club through. Spending €40-50 million on a single player may be political suicide even for bringing Barca's prodigal son back home.
So if not Cesc, then who? This past week, there was talk of Palermo' s Javier Pastore and PSV Eindhoven's Ibrahim Afellay. Both fine players that would be fit in the Barca-mold and would cost a pittance compared to Fŕbregas' potential price-tag. Pastore's possible future at Barcelona may lie in the hand's Lionel Messi. Messi spoke often of his desire to play with fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano. Mascherano is a player not of the Barca-style and is learning the trade. Any pull that Messi could possible have at Barcelona is little talked about or not all. Any future Pastore could have at the Camp Nou would need "The Messi-ah's blessing. Ibrahim Afellay? A potentially great signing for the squad, but an apprentice for Xavi at age 24? I'm not sure.
The saddest thing for the Blaugranes is that the club failed to sign two players that now, not later, would not only be adequate help for Xavi, but are already contributing to their teams in impactful ways. The first and most obvious is Mesut Özil at Real Madrid. This stings twice being that he signed with Madrid and signed for half the price of Mascherano. I am not going to belabor this point because anyone following World-Football knows the steal of a signing that Özil was for Madrid.
Up to his year, you would only know the second player that slipped through Barcelona's fingers if you read and listened to Tim Vickery or followed Brazil's domestic league. Lazio's Hernanes has been on Barcelona's radar for a couple of years. However, Barca balked and Lazio stepped-up and signed him. Don't get me wrong, not signing Hernanes is not like Barcelona missing-out on Alfredo Di Stéfano, however, Hernanes play-making and short-passing game would be a very close like-for-like exchange for Xavi. Lazio sits atop the Serie A table and are benefitting from Hernanes hitting his prime at age 25.
At this point, I am done with Cesc-gate and Lord of Xavi's Rings (and he has a lot of them). Barcelona will never replace Xavi. The best Barcelona can do is to continue to develop players and spend wisely and frugally.
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