A popular train of thought says that since we are losing to teams who are more athletic than us, our model is outdated.

The model is great, but its execution is very, very difficult. And, spoiled as we are, we must take into account that success is never guaranteed.

Over the course of 8 seasons, Johan Cruyff's dream team won 4 leagues, a Copa del Rey, a Cup Winner´s Cup and a European Cup.

Since Cruijff, we have followed his blueprint and kept winning and winning and winning.

But two of those leagues were won because M*drid lost their final game of the season. Cruyff's era also featured a humiliating 4-0 CL final loss and his final two seasons were trophyless.

Which is to say, even the person who gave us the blueprint of the success on which Guardiola built his famous "cathedral" ultimately ended his era in failure.

Which is normal, because after prolonged success comes failure. This is sports. You cannot win every game or season.

When Guardiola (the player) retired from Barça, he lamented that his position was being taken over by more athletic players. Midfielders such as Vieira and Davids were, in addition to being faster and stronger than Pep, also very good footballers.

The notion that Barça cannot compete because players at other clubs become more athletic while also possessing the technical skills of players you would associate with the ones raised at La Masia is extremely flawed.

The problem is not that our model is outdated. The problem is that some of our players are getting old and some of our other players over the years have not been good enough or not even compatible with each other and/or the model.

It is insane that people point at the results of the last 5 years and claim our model is the problem when the problem is precisely that we strayed away from the model!

When we drop points in almost every match in which Andre Gomes plays at CM, the problem is not the model, it's that you put someone in the middle of the pitch who cannot execute at the required level.

When you play Juve in Turin and replace Busquets with Mascherano at DM and get outplayed in the first half because we cannot play the ball out from the back, the problem is not the model, it's setting up a game plan that screws our model.

Pep lost to Hercules (!) with Masche at DM! Masche is only compatible with our model as a CB.

When Suarez and Messi do not defend, an aging Iniesta and Busquets are surrounded by Rakitic and Semedo and Umtiti and Alba play like a punks - you lose 3-0 to Rome. And you will lose regardless of any model.

When you sign Dembélé for the wing and Coutinho for midfield, I am not sure what model you are following but if you then have them compete for the same position, there is no model. It is the opposite of a model, so don't tell me that Cruijff's blueprint doesn't work.

When you beat Liverpool 3-0 but miss all your scoring ops in Anfield and lose your nerve completely in the 2nd half, the problem is the execution, and probably by now the fact you have been moving away from our blueprint so hard that you cannot fall back on it.

When we leave Riqui Puig on the bench and get killed by Bayern, why do we blame the model?

If we do not execute our positional play and keep players past their prime and get our asses handed to us, we cannot say:

"our model is not ATHLETIC enough."

You can take the best recipe in the world, but if you shit in the food it is going to taste like shit!

Our model has never been "let's find 11 Busquets and let them pass the ball to each other forever." Which is why the notion of our model not being athletic enough is complete garbage.

Let's not forget that Pep had athletes. Puyol was a warrior. Henry / Eto'o / Pedro never stopped running. Dani Alves was a machine. Abidal was an athlete. Messi was faster. But it doesn’t mean we need physically superior athletes at every position.

The 2019 Liverpool midfielders are amazing, both physically and tactically, but how many players of that team would have would improve our gala xi in 2009-11?

Bayern's 2020 best midfielder was Thiago, a prototype Masia midfielder. Goretzka is good but would be another Paulinho at our club. Müller is smart not fast. Perisic would not start for Barcelona.

PSG's best midfielder is Verratti and he is not physically more imposing than when we beat PSG 6-1 four years ago or when we beat them home an away in 2015.

Manchester City is on track to yet another EPL title, a league of men with hair on their chest who do not stop running and bully each other in the air.

City is doing this with the likes of Foden, Gündogan, KdB, Rodrigo, Bernardo Silva...

These are not some kind of super athletic specimen built in a secret lab of an evil superpower (we are not quite there...yet).

Heck, Eric Garcia started for City last season and now there are voices that say he is too slow and not athletic enough for Barça!

Our model is great and we must believe in it. Araujo is compatible. As is Garcia. And Pedri. And Puig. And De Jong. And Fati. Griezou would be compatible if we weren't such a shitshow now. Dest and Dembélé can be essential players for our success if they keep improving.

The future is bright as long as we believe in our blueprint. It does not guarantee success but it represents our best chance at success.

Because the blueprint that Cruyff left us is the blueprint of football. Football doesn't have an expiry date.