Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona Recap, Video Highlights: Why Barcelona Lost

Barcelona hit a new low on Wednesday when it was eliminated by Atletico Madrid from the Champions League. It was the first time since 2007 that the club failed to reach the semifinals of the tournament.

A lot of credit must be given to Diego Simeone and his troops for a job well done. The team pressed Barcelona incessantly and played with speed and confidence throughout. The defense managed to shut down the passing lanes and even when Barcelona managed a moment of passing brilliance and created a scoring chance, goaltender Thibaut Courtois was there to make a great stop.

But the real problem here is Barcelona. Blaugrana just looked completely spent and unimaginative throughout the meeting. The passing was wasteful and full of mistakes and the team often resorted to questionable tactics. At one point Dani Alves decided that he was going to constantly cross the ball into the area; Barcelona is notorious for lacking height and that move was doomed to fail from the start.

Coach Gerardo Martino made a poor decision to put superstar Lionel Messi on the right wing in hopes of pushing the attention onto him and potentially opening up space in the middle for Barcelona's attack. In essence, the plan seemed to attempt to eliminate some defenders by using the team's top striker as the sacrificial lamb. A year ago, Barcelona foundered against Munich without its top star; why would Martino think it wise to get rid of Messi's offense in such a key game where a goal was absolutely necessary? The plan certainly worked; at least half of it did. Messi was completely invisible for most of the game, save for a few moments of inspired brilliance. But Atletico manager Diego Simeone would not be fooled and did not cede any space in the middle.

Another poor choice by Martino was the decision to take out Andres Iniesta with 20 minutes remaining. After Messi, Iniesta has been the team's most creative and efficient attacker all year long. In such a crucial game, why would his creative vision be sacrificed? Martino went with Alexis Sanchez, Pedro, Neymar and Messi as four forwards in the closing minutes, but it predictably faltered without an additional creative force to find the few seams that Atletico allowed.

The defense was also atrocious for Barcelona. Jose Maria Pinto continues to be a hindrance in net while the defense simply looked disorganized. Atletico could have easily pulled a Bayern and won this game 3-0 or 4-0. David Villa hit the post a few times and some other chances also glanced off the bar. Luck did not give the game to Atletico; luck kept Barcelona alive until the final whistle. That Los Cules failed to take advantage of those breaks falls solely on them.

So what next? The team is clearly in need of a rebuild, but the current FIFA ban will undoubtedly make that impossible moving forward for Barcelona. Martino claimed that he would reinvent the style of the team, but what was on display on Wednesday was an extreme adherence to the traditional passing game. Martino may not be the right man for the job. As was the case with Pep Guardiola, a man with clarity and vision that is adamant about implementing his style is essential if this team ever plans to go back to being an elite squad in Europe.