Having won six trophies in 2009, Barca have endured a difficult start to 2010, losing to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey in January and then producing a string of poor performances in recent weeks, most recently Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Almeria.
Catalonia manager Cruyff, who played for Barca from 1973 to 1978 and managed the side from 1988 to 1996, believes a number of players have now abandoned the footballing philosophy that made the team so successful and has urged the underperforming stars to examine their own performances.
“The players were warned and they do not learn,” he wrote in El Periodico. “Atletico, Racing, Stuttgart… after three bad games, they put in a good performance against Malaga.
“On that day, they were all willing to run. They all were all willing to hold onto the ball and to play in our traditional way. Their positional work was good in that game and they moved the ball around quickly, and all this work created a lot of space on the pitch.
“If they want to, they can play one or two levels higher than they are at present. As things stand, there are a few players who are not giving their all. I would invite them to look in the mirror and to examine what they have been doing and what they are doing now.
“It is a question of individuals but it impacts on the whole team. There is time to return to the top, but everything depends on the players looking at their own performances. If they do not recover their original philosophy and apply it on the pitch, there will be more performances like Saturday.”