Soccer-Barca squad to undergo close season overhaul - Laporta

By Simon Baskett

MADRID, June 18 (Reuters) - The Barcelona squad will undergo a major overhaul in the close season after the players failed to show the required levels of commitment and professionalism, club president Joan Laporta said.

"This season we played with fire and got burned," Laporta was quoted as saying in the Spanish media on Monday. "The time for analysis has now come and I have to admit that we have all made mistakes."

"We need to carry out a thorough renewal of the squad in terms of professionalism, commitment and enthusiasm."

Strong favourites to win a third successive league title at the halfway point in the season, Barca let the opportunity slip from their grasp and surrendered the championship to arch-rivals Real Madrid.

They suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Getafe in the semi-finals of the King's Cup and also failed to live up to expectation in the Champions League when they went out against Liverpool in the first knockout round.

"I detected a certain lack of commitment because the players were saturated," said Laporta. "But it's understandable given the successes we've had in recent years."

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