Editorial

CL Debate: Are Barcelona On The Verge Of An Early Exit?

As the European champions prepare to take on Inter in a match they cannot afford to lose, Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal asks whether the Catalans could be knocked out of the Champions League at the end of Matchday 5.....

Nov 23, 2009 12:40:00 PM

Captain fantastic as Carles Puyol completes Barcelona's treble trophy haul by lifting the 2009 Champions League

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Captain fantastic as Carles Puyol completes Barcelona's treble trophy haul by lifting the 2009 Champions League

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Reach out back into late April and early May and recall a similar murky situation for Barcelona. They had failed to score at Camp Nou for the first time in 2008-2009 having been held to a rather critical and controversial 0-0 draw against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals.

They had El Clasico up next with Real Madrid just four points behind them and genuinely looking like booting their way to a victory at the Bernabeu. Chelsea were the favourites for the second leg and suddenly nine months of unalloyed galactic football were about to be exhumed in just nine days. Gone in 60 seconds? Gone in nine days, more like.

The reigning Spanish and European champions's situation at the moment, although not as dramatic, is quite similar. Again we have those cursed nine days and again there are three key games. One of them - against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames - has already been played and now the Catalans have only two more to worry about. Only two, but those two could perhaps wreck their 2009-2010 campaign.

Losing to Real Madrid in the biggest game in the universe on Sunday would push them four points off the pace but that wouldn't necessarily be catastrophic since there would be more than a third of the league season remaining and certainly Madrid would drop points especially if they qualify for the latter stages of the Champions League. What would be a disaster is losing to Inter at home on Tuesday, a result, which when combined with Rubin Kazan's potential victory over Dynamo Kiev in the other game in Group F in which Barca are third, would throw the European kings out of the competition that they won so gracefully just six months ago.

Permutations And Combination

The last time a defending champion failed to progress beyond the initial stage of the European Cup was way back in 1980-1981 when Nottingham Forest lost to CSKA Sofia in the first round. Before that it was Liverpool who bowed out against Forest in 1978-1979. In fact, only on three other occasions - Real Madrid in 1960-1961, Celtic in 1967-1968 and Feyenoord in 1970-1971 - have the defending champions suffered first round exits in Europe's top tier club competition.

No, no one is really suggesting that Inter will vanquish the Catalans on Tuesday - after all, the Nerazzurri would qualify for the last 16 even if they lose to Barca provided they defeat Rubin at home on Matchday 6 - but there is a certain sense of nervousness about the whole situation.

No Messi, No Zlatan - No Victory?

If Barcelona lose to Inter and Rubin defeat Dynamo at home, then Pep's 'Dream Team' are eliminated. If Barca draw with Inter and Rubin gain a victory, then they would still remain third. If Barca lose and Dynamo win, then they would slip to the bottom of the group; if Inter win, then the Nerazzurri would qualify with a game to spare. But if Barcelona gain maximum points at Camp Nou, then they would climb to at least second spot.

Of course, it might seem like decimating Barcelona's chances - and indeed, even without that 22-year-old bloke who hardly ever speaks and who has done everything except walk on water and turn it into wine the Blaugrana remain arguably the strongest side in Europe - but Inter's slyness and almost annoying habit to get results even when they don't deserve to cannot be underplayed.

The Big Grass Snake

Jose Mourinho's team haven't looked very convincing in certain games in Serie A and neither have they played breathtaking football, yet they are five points ahead in pole position. In Europe, Il Biscione were bottom of their group at the start of Matchday 4 and were there until the 86th minute of their game against Kiev in Ukraine, but then they scored two quick goals and suddenly they were top of their group. Against Rubin in Kazan Inter were by far the second best side, yet they escaped with a point. Inter, it seems, have 'the luck of the Devil and have God on their side'.

Will Eto'o Return To Haunt Barcelona?

As for Barcelona, Lady Luck certainly wants to get paid more to bestow her blessings on them. In La Liga they would have won against Osasuna but for a last minute own goal from Gerard Pique and in the Champions League Pep Guardiola's side should count themselves unlucky both times against Rubin.

And frankly, the European champions have had just one bad result in Europe so far, and that was the home defeat to Rubin. Their 0-0 draw with Inter at San Siro gains more credit when one realises that there was one team who were playing away from home and one team that was playing as if they were away from home. A 2-0 home victory over Dynamo followed but then came the shock defeat to the Tatars at the Camp Nou. On Matchday 4 they did atone somewhat for it when they came away from Kazan with a draw but combined with the failure on Matchday 3, it effectively made two bad matches for the Blaugrana.

Which has now sucked them into a quagmire. Just like last season. And yet, we all know how it ended then. The question is: will history repeat itself?

Subhankar Mondal, Goal.com

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