I suppose you gradually refresh the squad which, in general, we have done. Alba, Song, Alexis, Fabregas with a mixture of hungry youths like Tello, Thiago etc.
No-one makes a semi-final unmotivated.
We looked unmotivated in every big match I've seen this season except for the home legs for all of the matches. It seems like it takes the cheering of 80,000 fans in Camp Nou to motivate the players. In the away leg of Milan, Munich, and even the games against RM, the team just seems like it's playing at 50 % without really caring much for the result.
Messi just stands there waiting for someone to pass the ball to him, Xavi passes sideways or back (the whole midfield actually except for Iniesta), and THERE'S NO SENSE OF URGENCY. Even when Bayern were 2-0 up, there still was not a sense of urgency at all from the players. Munich closed down and cut passing lanes because all of the players were just standing around and jogging. With all the crap that Alexis and Pedro get, they were working their butts off and in one occassion Alexis made an amazing run with no defender marking him and Xavi didn't see him/didn't want to pass to him.
I said it before and I will say it again, motivation is the big issue here. This team is good enough to win 3 champions league titles in a row, but you need motivation. This is why Pep was such a perfect fit for Barcelona. The squad was there for him, the main thing he needed to do is to bring a sense of urgency to the players. Remember the heroic videos he showed before each CL final to the squad? That's how focused Pep was on motivating the squad.
Can Tito be the same type of a motivator? I highly doubt it. Tito is more of the Riijkard mold. He's a calm guy who's very passive and lets the players show their qualities out their on the field without restricting them too much.
