Barcelona recently appointed Gerardo Martino as the replacement for Tito Vilanova, who had to step down from his managerial job due to the difficulties from his cancer treatment resurfacing once again. Vilanova missed large chunks of last season due to cancer treatment, and a reappearance of the disease has meant that he would have had to do the same this season as well. Barcelona were not at their imperious best last campaign and it was primarily due to the constant changing of managers. Barcelona decided to hand over the duties to assistant manager Roura when Vilanova was absent.

Barcelona only managed to win the league title last campaign, but it was largely viewed as a hollow victory because it was mainly down to the lack of a challenge from Real Madrid. During the Guardiola era, Barcelona were one of the strongest teams in the world. The decimated their opponents by playing a style of football that was so intense. Defender Dani Alves has said that the club is close to recapturing that intensity under the regime of Martino, who has been overseeing the training in the last few weeks.

Barcelona also recently brought in Brazilian striker Neymar from Santos for around £ 50 million. He is expected to reduce the burden on Lionel Messi.

“Tata Martino is a good coach. He’s given us that intensity that we perhaps lost over the years. With this spirit we will once again be able to do great things. The fans can get excited about this team because the players are ready to give it their all,” said the Brazilian defender on the official site of Barcelona. Barcelona recently managed to win 8-0 against Brazilian club Santos in a friendly match. They will be playing against Levante in the opening game of the season at home.

The Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has said that there could still be departure from the camp Nou before the end of the transfer window. Barcelona have already sold a number of key players in the transfer window, while they have also lost Keita on a free transfer. Even though they have been quite active in the transfer window bringing in the likes of Jordi Alba and Alex Song, Andoni Zubizarreta has said that the club needs to balance the books by selling a few players before 31 August. Some of the players who have been linked with a move away from the camp Nou include the likes of Ibrahim Afellay, Jonathan dos Santos, and Marc Bartra.

While confirming that some of the players could leave the club, Zubizarreta also has said that he does not expect the club to sign any more players between now and the end of the transfer window. Jordi Alba was signed by the club for around £ 13 million, while Alex Song was signed for around £ 15 million from Arsenal a few days ago. Barcelona began the process of reclaiming the title from Real Madrid with a 5-1 win over Real Sociedad during the weekend. Tello was one of the outstanding players in the match.

“We like our squads to be fairly compact. Until the market closes, we have some interesting options to look into. We are working with some agents to see if we can find the best places for some of the players to develop their careers. As for further signings, we don’t have any plans. We have the squad we want. The renewal of Puyol is well-advanced. Both parties want to come to an agreement,” said the Barcelona sporting director in a recent press conference. Has also expressed his confidence about getting Tello to sign a new contract.