Barcelona cockfight: Antoine Griezmann v Ousmane Dembele

Anyone who has felt like a footballer (to a greater or lesser degree of professionalism and dedication) knows the feeling you have when things don’t work, the coach decides to sit you on the bench, your team wins brilliantly without you and your replacement thrives. All those who have been, or are players of any sport feel that feeling that is no doubt close to selfishness. We would almost say that we wish things were going wrong when we’re not there. Yes, as you can guess we are referring to the situation of Antoine Griezmann yesterday at the Camp Nou.

For the first time this season the Frenchman did not start. After a series of games in which Barça had been somewhat stuck, unable to click, Valverde decided to bench Griezmann and give a chance to the wayward and unpredictable Dembele. The result could not be more satisfactory for Barça (4-0 against a major rival, beyond whether they deserved it or not) and harmful to Antoine, whose status as a starter in the luxury attacking trident is beginning to crumble. Of course, a single game cannot serve as a pretext for any substantial change.

But few remembered Griezmann at the Camp Nou beyond the initial surprise of not seeing him at the starting line up. Ousmane wants to succeed at Barça, too. And under pressure to leave the club this summer he stayed. No matter the astronomical offers from PSG. The truth is that few have more faith and personality than he does.

Are there doubts around the MSG? There are. That neither the team nor Valverde have yet managed to get juice out of Griezmann is evidence. Nothing alarming when we have barely started the season, but the problem is that at Barça if you do not offer almost immediate performance you quickly enter the ‘discussion’ phase. If you get to winter without convincing, the doubts begin.

Dembélé played a great game. He lost the ball (as always), but he did not stop trying and little by little he was succeeding until he reached those extremes of lucidity that only a few can reach. It seems that Suarez and Messi accept him as he is and trust him quite blindly to bear the weight he is allowed to have in offensive actions. And that, friends, at Barça is decisive. The jink in the third goal was delicious. He has started a cockfight ’between two friends, two players who have a great relationship and share a dressing room for club and country. A struggle between two Frenchmen. Two roosters in a pen with room for only one.