Still Got it? Thomas Vermaelen Has Pre-Season to Show Barcelona He Can Wind Back the Clock

Barcelona injury-prone defender Thomas Vermalean

It ended up being among the most ill-fated articulations of the year. "We have most likely about [his] wellness," pronounced by then Barcelona Director of football Andoni Zubizarreta at the presentation of Thomas Vermaelen last August. Sitting on the left of Zubizarreta was a capable defender, however his disclosing had rapidly turn into a protective activity. The Belgian had touched base with a thigh injury got at the World Cup, a competition that had return on the of a season generally spent on the seat at Arsenal. The season before that was greatly blended. At 28, and with a sketchy wellness history, his £15 million sticker was strong.
Still, Vermamlen himself marked his turn to Catalonia as a "fresh start" when tested on his injury-tormented past: "I need to look forward not back and the longing is there to play a ton of games." But that wasn't what it would be; the fresh start turned into a false first light a further plunge into obscurity. It's right around a year since Vermaelen was revealed at Camp Nou. In that time, Barcelona have gone from protective powerhouse to club in emergency and from club in emergency to club in bliss. They've won a treble, scored 175 goals and played in 60 aggressive games. Like whatever remains of us, Vermaelen has sat and watched it develop. Up to this point, £15 million has purchased Barcelona 63 minutes of playing time—63 minutes in a dormant group experience with the title effectively secured. It's very nearly £250,000 every moment. Wounds to semitendinosus muscles are extravagant. Vermaelen, subsequently, is just about an unknown figure in the landmass' finest outfit—a player associated with something noteworthy however not a piece of it. Preseason speaks to the beginning line in a mission to change that, and the time is ticking on a profession that has halted and begun and stays unfulfilled.

Like it was at Arsenal, the thought of a completely fit Vermaelen at Barcelona is an enticing one. Educated at Ajax, reared in the Barca mold, the Belgian is a prototype Blaugrana defender. He's adaptable, quiet with the ball at his feet, open to advancing and snappy to recuperate. He has fresh passing, quality noticeable all around and senses to guard through assault. There have been times when he's undermined to end up really first class.

Weapons store's 2011-12 Premier League season will everlastingly be Robin van Persie's year, when the Dutchman scored 30 goals as a solitary trooper in the Gunners assault. Be that as it may, close onlookers in north London will let you know that group worked best when Vermaelen came back from injury in late October 2011, controlling an outfit from the back through aggressiveness and power. It's the reason he was conveyed to Camp Nou. Barcelona saw a defender who, with the specialized quality to fit in, could give Luis Enrique's group an alternate edge—an adjusted composition at the back.

Yet in that lies the issue: Barcelona need that Vermaelen, the 2011-12 edition.

In front of the 2015-16 battle, the now-29-year-old hasn't played consistent football for over two years, a shocking execution in the north London derby in March 2013 breaking his hold on a beginning position at the Emirates Stadium. Structure issues and injury have following handicapped him, scratching an once-expanding notoriety and bringing on numerous to overlook what he was. On the other hand is it what he is? It is safe to say that he is still that player? It's difficult to know.

It's hard to conceive Vermaelen maturing like John Terry. While the Englishman's amusement is characterized by his keen, the Belgian's has been characterized by instability. When you picture him taking care of business for Arsenal, you picture a middle back who might put in a crunching tackle, begin a move with the ball he'd won and after that rush into the container to pound home a shot header. That is the Vermaelen who changed games. That was three seasons back, however. That kind of diversion obliges wellbeing and congruity. Also, it requires young imperativeness. Presently he's 29 and with basically no football behind him, attempting to make the hop from Barcelona Lite (Arsenal) to the genuine article. Remaining in his direction are Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Jeremy Mathieu and Marc Bartra. Rivalry for spots is furious at Camp Nou, particularly in focal protection. To pick up a spot in front of three individuals from that quartet, Vermaelen must be the player Barcelona thought they were getting. The capable, luxurious, energy fuelled and all-activity defender. Basically, in preseason, Vermaelen needs to twist back the clock. 
His undertaking would certainly be to Prove to Barcelona that the player he once was is the player he still is