FC Barcelona: The Giants Rule Again
Is the current Barcelona team the greatest ever? That's the question that is being asked by fans and experts across the world after the Spanish giants completed a second treble in their history.
- NDTV
- Updated: June 07, 2015 09:27 PM IST
FC Barcelona are once again the best football team in Europe. Arguably, the best club team in the world. For just the second time in their history, Barcelona have won a treble of titles (La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.) Amidst the celebrations, the trophy photographs, the praise for players and manager, and the party in Barcelona that will go on for many days, what one must not forget is the incredible turnaround in fortunes that the Catalan giants managed to pull-off.
The 2014-15 season began with long-time captain Carles Puyol retiring in May last year. The same month, Luis Enrique was appointed as the new manager, replacing Gerardo Martino after a season with nothing to brag about for the Spanish giants. The new season, under the new manager though didn't begin well.
In October last year, Barca played the first El-Clasico of the season, going down to Real Madrid 3-1. In November 2014, Barcelona lost to Celta Vigo - their first defeat of the season at the Nou Camp. They had slipped to 4th in La Liga standings.
The new year was marked by a 1-0 away loss to Real Sociedad. Lionel Messi, Neymar, Dani Alves and Gerard Pique were left on the bench. Jordi Alba scored an own goal to highlight the fact that nothing was going Barcelona's way.
Barca were in crisis mode. What made matters worse were reports of a rift between Enrique and star players Messi and Neymar. Reports of Enrique being given 2 games to save his job began to do the rounds.
As fans prayed for a turnaround in fortunes, things began looking up for the Catalan side. Their 3-1 win against defending champions Atletico Madrid in La Liga in January this year was a catalyst of sorts. Enrique claimed that the win had revitalised the team. After all, Barcelona had failed to beat Atletico in 6 attempts last season. Â
A huge factor in Barca's form revival was Lionel Messi coming into his own. In September, the Argentine scored his 400th professional goal. He now holds the record for the most goals in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. Luis Enrique went on record to say, "It's like Messi was touched by a magic wand." Some time later, Gianluigi Buffon took the praise to another level saying, "Messi is an alien that dedicates himself to playing with humans."
However, it wasn't just Messi. The power-packed front-line of Messi, Neymar and Suarez began to work together as a well-oiled machine. By the time the Champions League final was played on Saturday, the trio had scored 120 goals in all competitions between them.
Barca became champions of La Liga for the 23rd time this season. The next target was the Copa Del Rey title and thanks to some Messi magic in the final, Barcelona clinched their second trophy of the season, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-1. Barca were Spanish Cup champions for the 27th time.
One of the biggest wins for the team was beating pre-tournament favourites, Bayern Munich in the semis of the Champions League. That is when fans began to feel that another treble was possible. The dream finally came true on Saturday. For the second time in their history, Barca had completed the treble.
Their masterclass in the final versus Juventus that helped them win their 5th European Cup title, has now stirred a new debate in footballing circles across the world - is this the greatest Barcelona team ever?