Paulinho: Laughing stock to vital cog - why Barcelona hope he will be fit to face Chelsea

Paulinho: Laughing stock to vital cog - why Barcelona hope he will be fit to face Chelsea

Many sniggered when Barca spent so heavily on the Brazilian, but Paulinho is proving that he who laughs last laughs longest.

UNTIL recently not many Barcelona fans, and definitely very few Tottenham supporters, would have predicted Paulinho as a key tactical figure as the Catalans visit Chelsea for Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg.

The Brazilian's €40 million arrival from Guangzhou Evergrande last summer was not welcomed by many skeptical blaugrana supporters, then reeling from Neymar's shock exit for Paris Saint Germain. While at Real, there was a broad welcome for transfer business which seemed to symbolise how their main rivals Barca had lost their way.

“To change Neymar for Paulinho is a declaration of principles,” former Madrid player, coach and sporting director Jorge Valdano enjoyed tellling AS. “That means they have lost not just goalscoring, but also magic and attractiveness.”

Paulinho was regularly compared [unfavourably] with departed blaugrana talisman Xavi Hernandez, and ageing playmaker Andres Iniesta. But recently installed coach Ernesto Valverde was not wasting time or effort thinking about recreating the midfield from Pep Guardiola’s already mythical period in charge at the Camp Nou.

Much of the noise against the Paulinho signing came from pundits who don't regularly watch Chinese football, but remembered him as a Tottenham reject. The now 29-year-old explained to the Daily Mail in December that he had not really been understood by any of his Spurs managers – Andre Villas Boas, Tim Sherwood or Mauricio Pochettino.

“My first game with Pochettino I played in my position,” Paulinho himself told the Daily Mail last December. “But after that I played in every single position but mine. If you are not playing in your position in a league as competitive as England then it is difficult. We are not going to compare one player to another but my way of playing is a lot more [Frank] Lampard than [Sergio] Busquets.”

10 goals and seven assists in 67 Tottenham appearances was not actually such a bad return, statistically, especially as the £17 million signing was being used out of position. His two trips to Stamford Bridge brought late substitute runs in 3-0 and 4-0 defeats which were definitely not his fault. But few Spurs fans were disappointed in June 2015 when he left for Guangzhou for £10m - and many in England presumably thought that was the last they would see of him.

In South America however they recognised the value of a player who had never taken the easy path, through challenges at FC Vilnius in Lithuania as a teenager, then Polish side Lodz and Brazilian semi-pro outfit Pao de Acucar, before coming to prominence in his mid-20s at home town club Corinthians of Sao Paulo.

“You cannot compare him to Xavi, [Andrea] Pirlo or Xabi Alonso,” Brazil legend Tostao said in El Pais earlier this season. “He does not make great individual plays, but he is very efficient at winning back the ball and going on the attack. He has strength and passion.”

Current Brazil coach Tite kept bringing him back from China to play for the national side. Leo Messi also was clearly a fan, if we believe the story he tapped up his opponent out on the pitch during a friendly against Argentina last summer.

On arrival at Barca, Paulinho also showed character to quickly make himself very useful. In his third substitute appearance, a typical burst forward brought the winner in a 2-1 victory at Getafe in mid-September. That earned him a first start for Barca, when he notched a goal and assist in a 6-1 at home to Eibar.

By December’s Clasico at Real he was an important cog in Valverde’s system, playing a hybrid right-wing / attacking midfield role. In the game's key moment he was only denied a goal by Dani Carvajal’s diving save, with Messi thumping in the resulting penalty.

“Paulinho’s ability to surprise is his fundamental asset,” said Valverde that evening. “We don’t know exactly how, but he arrives in the right place. He is different than others we have, and very valuable for us.”

That ‘difference’ is the point of Paulinho at the moment, and means that even if €140m Philippe Coutinho or €110 million Ousmane Dembele were available or fully fit they would not start against Chelsea. Especially as Valverde will surely look to pack midfield for a game likely to feature a lot of bodies concentrated in central areas of the pitch.

The only slight doubt is around a persistent toe injury, which has reportedly lead to some tension with Barca’s medical staff, and Brazil team doctor Caio Mello flying to Catalonia to help out. Since receiving an injection to play at Real Betis in January, his last eight appearances have brought zero goals or assists, with five of these as a substitute. At Eibar on Saturday he started and lasted 74 minutes, but made little impression in a pretty fortunate 2-0 win.

The irony now is that blaugrana fans and pundits are crossing their fingers that their much maligned summer signing will be fit enough to start on Tuesday night. Neutrals might still argue that Valverde's super-efficient side lack the “magic” of previous Barca teams, but nobody now doubts Paulinho's value to their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals.

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