A lonely goal from Koke gave Athletic Madrid all what they needed to knock out Barcelona from the Champions League. This is the debut season for Gerardo Martino and even though it has gone fairly well, recently he has been getting hit with criticism concerning whether or not he is the right man to follow the legacy which was left behind by Pep Guardiola.
Now that Barcelona is eliminated from the premiere European competition it gives them the opportunity to focus on the Kings Cup and the Spanish League.
Even though Athletic Madrid took out Barcelona from the Champions League, there are complaints that rise every single time the Spanish club suffers defeats and this time around is no different as the Brazilian defender Daniel Alves criticized the state of the pitch on the Vicente Calderon.
Daniel Alves said: “It wasn’t a matter of desire; they play with their weapons and leave the field very, very dry. They know that hurts our game because it slows the match down a lot. And for their plan, this was perfect because they knock the ball long, fight and counterattack.”
This is a complaint that the Barcelona players often say after suffering negative results. A clear cut example of this occurred way back in 2012 when Barcelona had to settle with a 2-2 draw against Ac.Milan on the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
“We adapt to everything. But it’s clearly a problem for the game as a spectacle.” Guardiola said after the conclusion of the match.
Whether or not the pitch does meet the requirements of the Barcelona players, Martino’s future as the head coach of the Spanish coach will be depending mostly on what happens on the remainder of the season.