Barca’s triple threat ensures favourites tag

There are three reasons why Barcelona are favoured to defend their Spanish league title.

They are as concise as they are convincing: Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and new arrival Neymar.

Known for their passing style, Barcelona can now field three of football’s most confounding and creative dribblers in the same starting 11 after Neymar joined the champions this offseason in exchange for $76 million, the eighth most expensive transfer in history.

Looks perfect on paper. So what could go wrong?

Shining stars

The soft-spoken Iniesta has always been happy to relinquish the leading role to Messi. But will Neymar, the bright and shining star of Brazil, be able to do likewise after being idolised as the next coming of Pele at Santos?

The 21-year-old Neymar insisted repeatedly the day of his presentation that he had “come to add my part so that Lionel Messi continues to be the best player in the world.”

Weeks later, after his first friendly in Barcelona’s burgundy and blue, he repeated his mantra of being happy to play second fiddle.

“(Messi) is a marvellous person. We talk every day. There won’t be any problems,” Neymar said.

“The atmosphere on the team is better than I even hoped for. I knew that they were good, but when I arrived here I realised they were much better than I had thought.”

“I’m fulfilling a dream of my childhood by playing beside Messi, Xavi (Hernandez), Iniesta, (Carles) Puyol,” he added.

“I’m trying to adapt as quickly as I can.”

Yet Neymar, who Pele said could surpass the almighty Messi one day, will have to learn Barcelona’s playing style, which until now has only let Messi and Iniesta freelance one-on-one against backpedalling defenders.

And if Neymar does stay true to his word, Messi will still need to share enough of the ball- and shot attempts – with Neymar to let him reach his full potential.

Messi is known to be the real boss of the Barcelona juggernaut that won 14 of 19 possible titles under Pep Guardiola from 2008-12 and then tied a Spanish-league record of 100 points en route to the title last season under Tito Vilanova.

Big shoes

Messi, who turned 26 in June, is already Barcelona’s all-time goal scorer.

Last season, he scored 46 goals in the league and was well on pace to break his own record of 50 goals from the previous campaign when he injured his right hamstring.

The four-time world player of the year has outlasted a list of strike partners including Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and now David Villa, with whom he openly argued on the pitch about in-game decision-making before the Spain striker was sold this summer to Atletico Madrid.

Neymar, however, is different from these other big names.

For the first time since Messi became their centrepiece, Barcelona have brought in a player who could represent their future in a distant post-Messi era.

For that reason, the two standouts will need to understand one another, or it will be a real problem for Barcelona after they invested major money in bringing the two together with Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas.

The task of making sure the two stars, one firmly established as among the best in history, the other striving to join him, get along will ultimately fall to new coach Gerardo Martino. The Argentine replaced Vilanova after Guardiola’s former assistant unexpectedly stepped down in late July to focus on treating his recurrent throat cancer.

“I can’t imagine (Messi and Neymar) not being able to play together,” Martino said at his presentation.

“And if they can’t play together it won’t be their fault but rather a defect of the coach.”

The bottom line: If Martino can keep Messi and Neymar happy – and happy means piling up impressive goal tallies – then the rest of the Primera Division should beware.