Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen endured a nightmare 12 months following his move to the Spanish club.
He made only one appearance for the Spanish club last season, as he continued to struggle with a lot of injuries. Last season was almost an identical replica of the 2010-11 campaign with Arsenal when he featured in only five games throughout the campaign. Vermaelen, though, has claimed that he is determined to put this bad season behind him and become an important player for the Catalan club. In his absence, manager Luis Enrique has found a stable partnership at the back for Gerard Pique.
It remains to be seen if Vermaelen will get back into the first-team fold straightaway. The player himself has acknowledged that he cannot deserve a first-team spot at this position. Barcelona will be taking on Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup. They go into the match as the Champions League winners while Sevilla have just completed yet another Europa league victory. Vermaelen has no time to lose since he is soon going to enter into the 30-year-old mark. The former Arsenal defender was signed by Barcelona for £ 15 million in what is now seen as a very good deal by Arsene Wenger.
"I got a medal, but you don't feel like you have won the treble.I was very happy for the team, but it's not like I contributed a lot for the cups we won. I am very happy and very pleased to be back. There's nothing better than to feel fit.Last year was terrible. It was a nasty injury, a very difficult one and I am very happy that the feeling in the legs is perfect again, like it should be. I feel 100 per cent now. We just started pre-season so I am adapting still,” said Vermaelen.
