Barça makes the signing of Oriol Romeu official. Profile and analysis of the midfielder

2023-07-19 07:45:13

BarcelonaOriol Romeu is the new pivot of Barça. The footballer from Ulldecona, a pillar of Girona this past season, returns to the Blaugrana team 12 years later. He has signed for three seasons with a 400 million release clause. In between he has had experiences at Valencia and Stuttgart and has accumulated more than 200 games in the Premier League with Chelsea and Southampton. He will be 32 at the end of September and arrives to fill the void left by Sergio Busquets. It won’t exactly be an easy task and any comparison will be odious, although Romeu could be valuable to the collective functioning of the team. In wich way?

At the outset, one of the characteristics that Xavi had pointed out when drawing the robot portrait of the new midfielder should be mentioned: that he wins duels. Oriol Romeu wins. He does it for physical strength, aggression and forcefulness, but above all for placement and experience. In this sense, he has a good perception of his surroundings and tends to interpret well when he can jump to press (because his back is protected) and when it is more advisable for him to save the position. This is one of the things that Xavi does not see in Nico González, which is why he does not quite believe in him as a pivot.

With the ball, Oriol Romeu can collaborate in the exit from the back. He positions himself well in the field and this means that he often has time and space when he receives the ball. Here, when it comes to thinking and executing the next action, Barça’s new pivot will not exhibit the same mental agility as his predecessor. Nor will he find the same technical resources, especially in the opposite field and in small spaces. Regarding the tactical approach, the signing of Romeu allows Xavi to have a rigorous positional pivot.

This role is very important so that the other midfielders can express their footballing nature more calmly. Especially Frenkie de Jong. It is not advisable for the Dutchman to be a single pivot in Xavi’s system. De Jong prefers to look for the ball very close to the teammate who has it and thus feel like the protagonist of the entire offensive sequence instead of practicing a more calm positional football. Ajax School Even if it doesn’t seem like it, it’s very different from Barça’s positional game.

Oriol Romeu allows Xavi to maintain the system

So, the new signing will allow the option of continuing to bet on the system with which Xavi finished the season: two players at the root of the midfield and two interior ones higher up. As basic midfielders, the coach will have the main alternatives of Romeu and De Jong (the Dutchman always with company to be able to fly) and even Gündoğan. The former City player, an interior with capacity to arrive and a big one timing treading the area, he could also act as a pivot, accompanying Romeu or De Jong depending on the match and the opponent. If Gündoğan plays with Romeu it is likely that he can maintain some numerical impact in the last third. If he does it with De Jong, on the other hand, he will surely be in charge of playing a more positional role so that the Dutchman can gallop and drive. The form of each and the requirement or profile of the opponent will determine the pivot pair.

If Xavi recovers the classic 4-3-3 with three midfielders and two wings, Oriol Romeu could act as the only four (this position is called five a l’Argentina i sis in Germany, for example, but in Can Barça it is the four). Romeu will not be Busquets and he will certainly not know how to find the connections with the interior with the same agility and lucidity as Badia, but it also makes sense to think that his intelligence (personal and football), his maturity and the understanding he has of the game will ensure a good harmony with the rest of his teammates.