Barcelona is a city of emotion. It is known as the epicenter of art. The football club belongs to this city is no different from it. FC Barcelona is famous for its artistic football. They are the first team to introduce Tiki-Taka football, a popular Spanish style of play with short and eye-soothing passes, maintaining possession and showcasing occasional individual jaw-dropping skills. It is a Basque originated phrase, which means "taking quick, light steps." The style was first adopted by the club-legend Johan Cruyff during his managerial tenure in Barcelona from 1988 to 1996. It was continuously nurtured by his successors, Louis Van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard. It is the backbone of their academy, La Masia, which produced world-class players like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro. The club reached the new height of success after they took their game to a different level under Pep Guardiola, another legendary figure of the club.
The juncture was very crucial. It was 2008 when he was announced as the new Barcelona senior team's manager. Although they won the UEFA Champions League just a couple of years ago under Frank Rijkaard, their reign under Rijkaard fell like a house of cards after they surrendered the league to their arch-rival Real Madrid. They suffered the bitter defeat in the El Clasico after was forced to give the guard of honor to their opposition. On arrival, Pep revealed that some senior players like Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto'o are not part of his future plan, which took the entire world to a shock. Although, due to his commitment and dedication, Eto'o earned back the trust of Pep and managed to stay in the club. However, some big names were offloaded to the different clubs as a part of the overhaul of the squad. To reinforce the defense, he secured some crucial signings like Dani Alves and brought back La Masia graduate Gerard Pique. Apart from new signings, he promoted Sergio Busquets, Pedro, and Jeffren to the first team.
They started the season with a couple of easy wins in the Champions League. Although they stumbled heavily in the opening match of the in La Liga against the newly promoted Numancia, they propelled to be crowned as the champion riding on an undefeated streak of over 20 games. They snatched the La Liga title from Real Madrid. The major feat which this team achieved was humiliating their rival in their own backyard by beating 6-2. La Liga was the second silverware which followed the victory in the Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao by 4-1.
The season, which started with an embarrassing defeat, ended up with a heavenly victorious journey in the Champions League. The late winner from Andres Iniesta against Chelsea in the away leg of the semi-final took them to the final showdown in Rome. It was an absolute thunderbolt from outside of the D-Box to the top corner. The match was full of controversial decisions which caused agony and pain in Chelsea supporter's mind. The goal from Iniesta put the flaming spear into the heart of Chelsea to the end of the horror show for 'The London Blues.' Despite all these disputes and arguments, you can't take the credit away from the team who achieved everything in that season. They floored the 'Red Devil' from Manchester in the final where Pep's initial reject, Eto'o scored the opening goal, and Messi's astonishing leap helped him to score from a gravity-defying header to seal the deal. It was arguably the finest season in the history of the club.
In continuation of the last season, they secured Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup, which helped them to achieve historical 'Sextuple' in the year 2009. In the following season, they repeated their performance in the domestic league. However, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-final by Inter Milan, managed by former Barcelona player Jose Mourinho. It was a painful night for the Cules who witnessed their former club hero, Mourinho ran across the pitch to mock the home crowd and finally was calmed by Victor Valdes. Despite their elimination from European competition, they set up their standard so high that people were expecting treble every year. It was like FC Barcelona is the undisputed champion of all the competitions and they being knocked out of the competition was a major upset.
Their purple patch continued in the next season, where they finished at the top of La Liga again. They owned the El Clasico in Camp Nou when Real Madrid danced in their tune through the process of a humiliating 5-0 defeat. FC Barcelona displayed a fascinating show of Tiki-Taka football led by the artistic trio, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and well supported by Pedro and David Villa. They had a memorable night in London where they floored Manchester United at Wembley in the final of the Champions League, and Messi again haunted the opposition to secure the Man of the Match. The famous picture of Eric Abidal lifting the trophy after beating cancer twice is still very prominent in the heart of the fans.
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The team which was going through a fairy tale suddenly felt that they are not unbeatable in the next season. Although they secured 4 major trophies, they missed out on coveted La Liga and UEFA Champions League. The legendary coach Pep Guardiola bid adieu the club before joining FC Bayern after a year in sabbatical, and his deputy Tito Vilanova was given the patron to keep the legacy alive. They had an incredible run in La Liga. We witnessed prime Messi, who went on a ridiculous 21 match scoring streak, which is unlikely to ever be matched again. He netted the ball 91 times in the year of 2012, which is still a record. But they were brutally thrashed in the Champions League by FC Bayern, where they conceded 7 goals over two legs. The magic seems to be diminished gradually after they went trophyless in the 2013-14 season under Gerardo Martino.
The former club footballer, Luis Enrique, was appointed as the manager who brought back their glory days in his first season in charge by winning the treble for the second time, which was unbroken for five years. The deadly trio of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez was scoring at their will. Their co-ordination was so beautiful that it seems they can spot each other with their eyes closed. They eventually took revenge against Bayern in the semi-final of the Champions League, in which Messi floored Boetang and scored against Neuer with an audacious chip. They continued their outstanding performance in the next year by securing 4 major titles, including La Liga and Copa Del Rey. The performance again started to dip once the opponent began to decode the famous trio. They surrendered the domestic league to Real Madrid, and there was no significant trophy apart from Copa Del Rey and the season opener, Supercopa de España. Despite the dramatic comeback in the second leg of Round 16 against PSG and winning the encounter by cutting down 0-4 deficit, the season ended up on a disappointment.
With a new manager, Ernesto Valverde, in charge, they started the season well by winning La Liga and Copa Del Rey. But the sign of worry began to show when they bottled a three-goal advantage to Roma in the away leg and get knocked out of the Champions League. The next season was no different. Even after winning the La Liga, they again surrendered a three-goal advantage to Liverpool in Anfield. The away league started to haunt them. The way of conceding goals was indeed reflecting their broken mentality and lack of winning attitude. The bell started to ring. Valverde was sacked, and the club tried to go back to their old school of Johan Cryuff's philosophy.
The former Real Betis manager, Quique Setién, was appointed. The season suddenly halted due to the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19. The team was leading in the domestic league until the break, although it was not looking very promising. There seems to be a lack of clarity and pace. The players became deadwood with no idea of creating the play. Everyone was looking for Messi to pass the ball and waiting for him to show some magic. The burden on him was too much. It was inevitable that the team will collapse someday. The exact same happened after the restart. Playing games on almost every alternative day made them physically and mentally tired. The heads were not clear. The legs were too heavy. As a result, they lost the path and started dropping points match after match, ultimately surrendered the La Liga to Real Madrid. The final nail on the coffin was the one-legged quarter-final against FC Bayern where they conceded 8 goals. There was no communication between the players. The links were broken. The manager seems to be out of the idea. Hence, Bayern ran riot and thrashed Barcelona. With this, the golden era, which started with a horrible defeat against Numancia, ended with an even more dismal performance against FC Bayern.
With the next season knocking on the door, the club faced a considerable challenge when Messi conveyed to leave due to a lack of future prospects. He is a champion and already in the last phase of his career. He definitely wants to end his unmatched career on a high by winning trophies. In his interview, he clearly stated that the club had no sporting projects for the last 2-3 seasons, and they are just plugging holes here and there. After a tussle of contractual clauses, Messi finally decided to stay back for this season and see if there is any meaningful project under newly appointed manager Ronald Koeman.
FC Barcelona is a team that came back time after time in their history. It is a team that witnessed the iconic scene of Johan Cryuff kissing the captain arm-band when being taken out by police in a match against Malaga, which signified Catalan resistance to dictator Francisco Franco's government in Madrid. It showed his love for Catalonia and emotions for the club. In contrast, they saw the horror show where they were tamed and murdered by the opponent when Bayern mercilessly scored unbelievable eight times. The club has a romantic affair with artistic football and never intends to abandon it. Sometimes they had to pay for it. But this is the essence of their playing style. Hopefully, it will flourish again under Koeman.
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4 Comments
In depth analysis and well presented facts👍
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DeleteNice collection and very well presentation.
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