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Spanish Inquisition: How The Liga Was Won And Where It Got Barcelona
Goal.com's James Walker-Roberts reflects on Barcelona's first Liga win since 2006...
17-May-2009 4:17:36 AM
“I thought that it would go well, that we would have a good year, but I did not imagine this”. The words of Pep Guardiola over a week ago not only reflect the immense modesty of the Barcelona coach, but also the huge surprise factor in the success of his now double winning team. With the Copa del Rey lifted in mid-week and La Primera won at the ONO Estadi this weekend, all that remains to cap off a truly remarkable year is the Champions League in Rome on May 27. And to think how badly it all started off in Soria last August…
Sorry In Soria | Barcelona start off with a shock defeat
Certainly few watching Barcelona’s opening game of the season at Los Pajaritos would have predicted that nine months on they would be on the brink of becoming the first ever Spanish team to win the treble. Battered and bruised, the Catalans returned home with nothing to show from their match against the newly-promoted rojillos, but with the consolation that their next game would be the first of the season in front of their adoring fans in the Camp Nou.
Unbelievably, it was the same story though, as Barcelona knocked on the Racing Santander door all evening, only to eventually break through from the penalty spot and be pegged back minutes later by an equaliser. With just one point from their opening two matches, many coaches might have been tempted into a change of tactics, but Barcelona and Guardiola stuck to their guns, and over the next few months they were to reap the rewards.
A 6-1 thrashing of Sporting Gijon didn’t instantly restore confidence in the Catalans, considering the defensive frailties of the newly-promoted team, but when they hammered Atletico Madrid by the same scoreline a few weeks later, Spain stood up to take notice. In the months of October and November, only Getafe and Basel managed to hold Barcelona to draws, whilst every other side was swept away by an exciting brand of all-out attacking football not seen since the Galatico era.
Attacking By Numbers | Atletico Madrid reap the whirlwind as Barca hit stride
Even the so called ‘tests’ against Sevilla, Valencia and arch-rivals Real Madrid were passed with consummate ease, as the Catalans racked up nine goals against their three fellow title contenders, and conceded none. By the end of the year they stood a massive ten points clear at the summit of La Primera and, even when they didn’t start 2009 with the same swashbuckling form they ended 2008 with, they still managed to rack up win after win, both in the Copa and in the league.
A dogged and determined 3-2 win in Pamplona was the highlight of January and by the end of the month many were wondering if this side, which by now was drawing comparisons with the great ‘Dream Team’ of the 1990’s, would ever slip up. Lionel Messi dug them out of a hole in Santander when they trailed in the second-half and they followed that up with a comfortable win over Sporting Gijon at home, but the following week they were in trouble in Seville, as Real Betis led by two goals within half an hour.
Racing Ahead | Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry formed a formidable duo
It was the moment that not only Madrid, but all of Spain had been waiting for, and even though Samuel Eto’o saved their blushes with a brace to draw the match, this was to be the beginning of the worst run of the season for Barcelona. The weekend after their trip to Betis, they faced Catalan rivals Espanyol who, at the time, could not have been further away from their big-brothers as they propped up the Primera table, and had not won at the Camp Nou since 1982.
The world watched on, expecting an almighty backlash from Barcelona after their dropped points in Seville, but instead, they got a shock of the highest order, as an Ivan de la Pena inspired Espanyol won their first league match since early November to stun the Azulgrana. After the dust had cleared and the plentiful bruises from Barcelona shins disappeared, Guardiola and his troops prepared for a trip to Madrid, with their dreams of winning La Primera seemingly in tatters, according to the capital-based press anyway.
Within 30 minutes at the Vicente Calderon everything seemed to have been put right, as Barcelona led by two and looked relentless in their demolition of a fragile Atletico team. In what was to be the match of the season though, Atletico fought back, first from two down to level it, and then after going behind again they came back to win it at the death thanks to Sergio Aguero, the man who had ripped Barcelona apart just a year earlier.
By the end of an enthralling contest, Barcelona looked shell-shocked, and a draw with struggling Real Mallorca in the Copa del Rey did not vanquish those looking to pounce. Just like earlier in the season though, the Catalans stuck to their guns, and within weeks of losing to Atletico, they were thrashing Malaga by six, beating Bayern Munich and Sevilla by four and were within touching distance of the title with El Clasico approaching.
All Guns Blazing | Barcelona's 100+ goal tally came thanks to results such as those against Sevilla, led by Iniesta
With Real Madrid just four points behind and in seemingly unstoppable form, it was billed as the ‘game of the century ’, ‘the title decider’, and the most important Clasico for years. Barcelona came into the match after draws with both Chelsea and Valencia, but soon showed who were the rightful kings of Spain, as they humiliated Madrid in the Bernabeu; inflicting a 6-2 defeat which some Madridistas derided as the worst in the club's history.
2-6 | The immortal scoreline - Barcelona sacked the Bernabeu
The win reopened a seven point gap at the top of the table and when Madrid failed to recover from the Clasico defeat the next weekend and were thrashed by Valencia, Barcelona had the chance to seal the title at home against Villarreal. Unfortunately for thousands of fans in the Camp Nou, Joseba Llorente was on hand to spoil the celebrations as he leveled the game in the dying moments, leaving Barcelona needing just one point from their remaining three games to finally seal the league title.
In the end, they didn't even need that point, for Real Madrid were to lose out against Villarreal the next week to render the title race well and truly over: Barcelona had it wrapped up with three two matchdays to spare. It is the nineteenth time that Barcelona have won La Primera, the first time since 2006, and no one could deny that over the course of the season they not only deserve to be champions of Spain, but also kings of the Copa, and possibly the rulers of Europe.
Sorry In Soria | Barcelona start off with a shock defeat
Certainly few watching Barcelona’s opening game of the season at Los Pajaritos would have predicted that nine months on they would be on the brink of becoming the first ever Spanish team to win the treble. Battered and bruised, the Catalans returned home with nothing to show from their match against the newly-promoted rojillos, but with the consolation that their next game would be the first of the season in front of their adoring fans in the Camp Nou.
Unbelievably, it was the same story though, as Barcelona knocked on the Racing Santander door all evening, only to eventually break through from the penalty spot and be pegged back minutes later by an equaliser. With just one point from their opening two matches, many coaches might have been tempted into a change of tactics, but Barcelona and Guardiola stuck to their guns, and over the next few months they were to reap the rewards.
A 6-1 thrashing of Sporting Gijon didn’t instantly restore confidence in the Catalans, considering the defensive frailties of the newly-promoted team, but when they hammered Atletico Madrid by the same scoreline a few weeks later, Spain stood up to take notice. In the months of October and November, only Getafe and Basel managed to hold Barcelona to draws, whilst every other side was swept away by an exciting brand of all-out attacking football not seen since the Galatico era.
Attacking By Numbers | Atletico Madrid reap the whirlwind as Barca hit stride
Even the so called ‘tests’ against Sevilla, Valencia and arch-rivals Real Madrid were passed with consummate ease, as the Catalans racked up nine goals against their three fellow title contenders, and conceded none. By the end of the year they stood a massive ten points clear at the summit of La Primera and, even when they didn’t start 2009 with the same swashbuckling form they ended 2008 with, they still managed to rack up win after win, both in the Copa and in the league.
A dogged and determined 3-2 win in Pamplona was the highlight of January and by the end of the month many were wondering if this side, which by now was drawing comparisons with the great ‘Dream Team’ of the 1990’s, would ever slip up. Lionel Messi dug them out of a hole in Santander when they trailed in the second-half and they followed that up with a comfortable win over Sporting Gijon at home, but the following week they were in trouble in Seville, as Real Betis led by two goals within half an hour.
Racing Ahead | Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry formed a formidable duo
It was the moment that not only Madrid, but all of Spain had been waiting for, and even though Samuel Eto’o saved their blushes with a brace to draw the match, this was to be the beginning of the worst run of the season for Barcelona. The weekend after their trip to Betis, they faced Catalan rivals Espanyol who, at the time, could not have been further away from their big-brothers as they propped up the Primera table, and had not won at the Camp Nou since 1982.
The world watched on, expecting an almighty backlash from Barcelona after their dropped points in Seville, but instead, they got a shock of the highest order, as an Ivan de la Pena inspired Espanyol won their first league match since early November to stun the Azulgrana. After the dust had cleared and the plentiful bruises from Barcelona shins disappeared, Guardiola and his troops prepared for a trip to Madrid, with their dreams of winning La Primera seemingly in tatters, according to the capital-based press anyway.
Derby Woes | Ivan de la Pena comes back to haunt his old side.
Within 30 minutes at the Vicente Calderon everything seemed to have been put right, as Barcelona led by two and looked relentless in their demolition of a fragile Atletico team. In what was to be the match of the season though, Atletico fought back, first from two down to level it, and then after going behind again they came back to win it at the death thanks to Sergio Aguero, the man who had ripped Barcelona apart just a year earlier.
By the end of an enthralling contest, Barcelona looked shell-shocked, and a draw with struggling Real Mallorca in the Copa del Rey did not vanquish those looking to pounce. Just like earlier in the season though, the Catalans stuck to their guns, and within weeks of losing to Atletico, they were thrashing Malaga by six, beating Bayern Munich and Sevilla by four and were within touching distance of the title with El Clasico approaching.
All Guns Blazing | Barcelona's 100+ goal tally came thanks to results such as those against Sevilla, led by Iniesta
With Real Madrid just four points behind and in seemingly unstoppable form, it was billed as the ‘game of the century ’, ‘the title decider’, and the most important Clasico for years. Barcelona came into the match after draws with both Chelsea and Valencia, but soon showed who were the rightful kings of Spain, as they humiliated Madrid in the Bernabeu; inflicting a 6-2 defeat which some Madridistas derided as the worst in the club's history.
2-6 | The immortal scoreline - Barcelona sacked the Bernabeu
The win reopened a seven point gap at the top of the table and when Madrid failed to recover from the Clasico defeat the next weekend and were thrashed by Valencia, Barcelona had the chance to seal the title at home against Villarreal. Unfortunately for thousands of fans in the Camp Nou, Joseba Llorente was on hand to spoil the celebrations as he leveled the game in the dying moments, leaving Barcelona needing just one point from their remaining three games to finally seal the league title.
In the end, they didn't even need that point, for Real Madrid were to lose out against Villarreal the next week to render the title race well and truly over: Barcelona had it wrapped up with three two matchdays to spare. It is the nineteenth time that Barcelona have won La Primera, the first time since 2006, and no one could deny that over the course of the season they not only deserve to be champions of Spain, but also kings of the Copa, and possibly the rulers of Europe.
Champions | Barcelona's 19th La Liga title and 20th overall
James Walker-Roberts, Goal.com
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