With the dust long since settled on Barcelona’s Champions League elimination, the immediate grumbling and belittling of the Europa League is diminishing.
Many supporters who insisted they would rather be eliminated straight away from the secondary European competition have changed their tune ahead of Thursday’s clash with Napoli at Camp Nou.
It helps that the Italians are visiting, creating an attractive tie, a Maradona derby that actually means something, unlike Barcelona’s trip to Saudi Arabia to face Boca Juniors in a friendly earlier this season.
However, there are plenty of good reasons Barcelona will take winning the Europa League seriously on their debut in the competition, beyond this undeniably glamorous match-up in the play-offs.
Following Xavi’s Champions League, Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey losses, the coach won’t want to squander a fourth shot at a trophy after little more than 100 days at the helm.
“Losing brings consequences,” warned president Joan Laporta last summer, and Xavi has made it clear he has one aim.
“We are Barca and we have to win, win and win,” he said, bluntly.
That has not been the case so far in his reign, with the situation at the club improving, but slowly.
Getty/GOALAfter 17 consecutive seasons reaching the Champions League knockout stage, the humiliating sting of demotion can only be soothed by triumph in their new hunting grounds.
Winning the Europa League would also guarantee them passage to next season’s Champions League, something that is not assured in La Liga.
The sparkling victory over Atletico Madrid to help Barcelona climb into fourth place for the first time since the third week of the campaign was followed up by a more disappointing draw at Espanyol.
Luuk de Jong’s strike deep into stoppage time ensured Barcelona remain in fourth, level with Atletico on 39 points, behind third-place Real Betis on 43, and some way off Sevilla on 50 and leaders Real Madrid on 54.
Real Sociedad and Villarreal are in hot pursuit of the Catalans and they will have to fight until the bitter end to hold on to their spot.
"Our main aim is to get back in the Champions League next season and there are two ways to do that: finish in the top four in La Liga or win the Europa League,” said Xavi.
The extra games also give the coach more chances to decide what works moving forward, looking ahead to next season and beyond.
While the Napoli games will see Barcelona tested to their limit, should the Catalans progress there may be chances in subsequent rounds to experiment, perhaps with a double pivot system that could be an alternative to Sergio Busquets, or trying Eric Garcia in midfield.
Getty/GOALJanuary signings Adama Traore, Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have all been registered and the matches will also give them more time to click and work together upfront.
The latter also needs matches to get fit after being frozen out at Arsenal for two months.
Aubameyang scored his first European goal against Napoli, for Borussia Dortmund in 2013, and he will be hoping to net his first in Barcelona colours against the Italians too.
Playing in the tournament will be a useful and formative experience for the likes of Gavi and Nico Gonzalez, for example, to play at the Maradona Stadium on a European knockout night, and feel the pressure that comes with it.
Even Pedri, despite the maturity with which he plays and speaks, is still a teenager and will gain vital experience.
“We’re going into the Europa League with a lot of desire to compete and to win,” he said on the eve of the match. “They have a great midfield, I know Fabian (Ruiz), it will be a beautiful game.”
Barcelona’s ‘golden generation’ has lost its nerve on this kind of occasion in recent years – Rome, Liverpool, Lisbon – so teething the youngsters early is no bad thing.
And if they go all the way and lift the trophy, it may be the first of many for the youngsters.
They might get a taste of success and decide they like it. Perhaps the next great Barcelona team starts here.