It’s hard to know why Barcelona coach Franck Rijkaard has relegated little Javier Saviola to the bench — and in some cases, the stands — yet again. The Argentine striker’s goals all but carried Barcelona during its goal-scoring crisis in January and February, when both Leo Messi and Samuel Eto’o were injured. Now that they’re healthy again, Saviola is a forgotten man again, despite the Catalans’ poor form.
The unsettled striker spoke with FIFA.com about his future, which inevitably lies away from Barcelona. While Saviola’s performances in Januar won him many suitors, including Real Madrid and Juventus, he’d prefer to stay in Barcelona, although he admits, “The situation could be better, to be honest. If you look at the stats and the goals I’ve scored, I think I’ve played an important part.” If anything, he’s disappointed Barcelona officials went back on their word about renewing his contract. “If there’s something, I’ll always remember when I go,” he says, “it’s how great the fans have been to me.”
It’s a shame, too, because Barca’s current form would indicate that a Saviola is exactly what the team needs at the moment. The Catalans have been playing like a team of individuals recently, which is a shame considering that Barca’s success was built on a beautiful short-passing game. These days there seems to be an overreliance individualism, underscored perhaps by a string of brilliant but largely fruitless displays from Leo Messi (notwithstanding those two goals he scored against Getafe). Ronaldinho is certainly not getting done, while the link-up men, Eidur Gudjohnsen and the still-rusty Eto’o, haven’t sufficiently filled their roles, either. Saviola, meanwhile, is capable of both scoring and making goals, yet there he is rotting away on the bench.