Cañizares backs Barça in title race despite recent wobbles
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares believes Barcelona remain strong favourites for La Liga despite defensive concerns and losing top spot.
Despite Barcelona’s recent slip-ups and loss of the top spot in La Liga, former Spain goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares still sees them as the team to beat in the title race.
”Crisis? What crisis?”
Speaking on Radio MARCA’s ‘Despierta San Francisco’ show, Cañizares was quick to dismiss any talk of Barcelona being in trouble. The ex-goalkeeper reckons their attacking prowess means they’re still in the driving seat for the championship.
“This isn’t a crisis,” Cañizares explained, pointing to Barça’s continued ability to create chances as evidence they’re still ticking along nicely. What’s giving him the right hump, though, is their defensive frailties.
Defensive woes need sorting
Cañizares didn’t mince his words about Barcelona’s backline issues:
- He believes they have Champions League-winning quality in attack
- But defensively they’re simply not at the races
- He questioned why a club of Barça’s stature has a goalkeeper who’s constantly overworked
Flick’s philosophy gets thumbs up
The former Valencia stopper is a proper fan of Hansi Flick’s attacking approach. He rates Barcelona’s midfield and forward line as “among Europe’s best” but reckons the German gaffer needs to find more balance.
Rather than changing his philosophy completely, Cañizares suggests Flick should:
- Maintain the attacking ethos
- Adjust the system to improve defensive solidity
- Teach the creative players to pull their weight defensively
No excuses mentality
What really impressed Cañizares was Flick’s refusal to blame officials when results haven’t gone their way. Unlike some managers who go on about the ref being a right “bubble bath”, Flick has maintained his dignity.
Cañizares highlighted how Flick brilliantly summed up a recent poor performance with the quip that “the referee was at the same level as us: bad” – showing his character as someone who looks for solutions within rather than making excuses.