As his team prepares to defend its place at the top of La Liga, Barcelona boss Tata Martino admits he is concerned Neymar’s state of mind might be affected by the ongoing furore surrounding his summer transfer to the Nou Camp.
Barca face a tough encounter at in-form Real Sociedad tonight, but the headlines in the last couple of days have been dominated by the news that the club has been formally charged with fraud and faces a court case over alleged irregularities in the Brazilian’s contract.
Although Martino accepts the sideshow as an inevitable part of life at one of the world’s most highprofile sporting organisations, he acknowledged the saga could have a detrimental effect upon Neymar’s psychological well-being.
“I can only judge from what I have seen in training and in games, and he looks fine,” Martino began. “But these things can run deep, and sometimes you can feel a high level of injustice or surprise.
“I don’t spend 24 hours a day with Neymar to know how he feels. From what I can tell, he appears normal. But it’s certain that everything happening around him isn’t normal.”
The Argentine boss also admitted that even he is having to make a conscious effort to ensure he does not become affected by the controversy, saying: “It’s not normal for a sporting institution to have the departure of its president and then everything that is happening.
"I’m not surprised, but it doesn’t pass me by unnoticed either. It’s something I’ve already become accustomed to here, and I don’thave to give an opinion. It’s an abnormal situation but I focus on football, which is the thing that gives us the most satisfaction.”
The greatest boost Martino could provide to the club’s fans is another victory to keep the team at the top of La Liga, but today’s outing will not be an easy task against an in-form Sociedad team who have climbed to sixth place in the table with a run of nine home games without defeat.
Tonight’s meeting will be the third encounter between the two teams in the space of three weeks following their recent Copa del Rey semi-final, which saw Barca progress to the final but held to a 1-1 draw in the second leg at the Anoeta.
Martino is keen to avoid his team lapsing into complacency in the wake of Tuesday’s impressive Champions League victory at Manchester City, reminding his players: “It’s only three weeks since we lost at home against Valencia. Since then we’ve got back the leadership of La Liga and it would be foolish to give a bad performance in San Sebastian.”
The Argentine did admit, however, that he was delighted with his team’s display at the Etihad Stadium, hinting that he will continue to approach big games by selecting a midfield-heavy line-up containing Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi all in deep roles.
“The ‘small guys’ guarantee a similarity to Barca’s best epoch,” he said. “With three genuine forwards, we have to run more and it’s more difficult to control the game.”
Martino also played down reports that he is set to agree an extension to his existing twoyear deal at the Nou Camp, saying: “Coaches are conditioned by results and we haven’t held any meetings about next season.”
