Sometimes the pressure and demands of a club like FC Barcelona can become too daunting. Many greats have worn the Blaugrana colors and faltered to the expectations of the Catalan club. To succeed at Barcelona, in particular, excellence of the highest degree must be provided consistently.
One player who undoubtedly gets told this a lot must be Joao Felix. A forward from Portugal, and currently on loan at Barcelona from Atletico Madrid, the 24-year-old is undeniably a talented footballer. However, his inconsistency has been the factor that has defined him the most this season.
This has even been highlighted recently by SPORT. Gradually, despite initially being a locked-in starter for Xavi, he has lost his place within the team. The trend took its start against Almeria, where the Barcelona coach made the decision to take off Felix right at half-time.
Uncharacteristic of Xavi at the time, but quite the effective strategy. Once again, Felix saw himself be of less importance against Las Palmas as well. Benched from the start in that game, he appeared only briefly near the end of the match.
He returned to the starting eleven again when Barcelona took on Barbastro in the Copa Del Ray. However, that appearance was against a much weaker opponent, and was Barcelona attempting to field a rather weaker version of themselves as well.
Now, against Osasuna in the latest game, Felix was a substitute once again. However, it seems that he is no longer willing to just sit and take this role of a bench warmer or rotation player as his reality.
In his latest performance, he once again showed the version of himself that attracted the likes of Atletico Madrid in the first place.
However, consistency will once again be key. Despite the many setbacks he has faced this season already, showcasing his best level at a consistent rate would solve all his problems. For this reason, Barcelona and Felix need to sort out those inconsistencies once and for all.