Barcelona have successfully defended their Primera Division crown after a comprehensive 4-0 win over Real Valladolid on the final day of the season handed the Catalan giants the 20th league title in their history.
With La Liga's championship race doing down to the wire this season, Pep Guardiola side had to overcome Valladolid in Round 38 to mathematically secure the title ahead of Real Madrid.
After trading blows with Los Blancos at the top of the table for almost the entirety of the campaign, Barca entered the final five games of the title race holding a marginal one-point lead over their arch nemesis, although a superior head-to-head record effectively gave them an extra point's advantage.
But they still needed to win all their remaining games to ensure a comfortable enough finish ahead of Madrid, and they passed the challenge with flying colours, winning 12 out of the last 13 league games of the term.
Business As Usual
Barcelona essentially began the 2009/10 season in the same fashion they had finished the last, instantly adding two more trophies to their recent collection by winning the Spanish Supercopa and the UEFA Supercup, and they continued to swoon fans around the world with their breathtaking football.
The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to replace Samuel Eto'o as their No.9 raised eyebrows, while coach Pep Guardiola's insistence to rely on his inexperienced but talented canteranos also became a cause for concern.
But none of that showed on the pitch once the campaign kicked off. Barca strolled to six wins in their first six La Liga games, scoring 17 goals in the process, and Ibrahimovic would find the net in each of his first five matches, setting a new benchmark at the club for a player making his Blaugrana debut.
They found life slightly tougher in the Champions League, however, as a goalless draw against Inter in their opening group game was followed by a laborious 2-0 home win over Dynamo Kiev.
Their first stumble in La Liga, a 0-0 draw with Valencia was preceeded by one of the shocks of the season when they were humbled 2-1 at the Camp Nou by unfancied Rubin Kazan in Europe's blue ribbon club competition. That would be the start of a testing October month, as a 1-1 draw with Osasuna and subsequently Athletic Bilbao in the league saw them drop points, forcing them to head into El Clasico at the end of November behind Real Madrid in the standings.
But a scintillating 2-0 win over Inter at home in the Champions League duly boosted their morale and a 1-0 victory over Los Blancos, with the winning goal scored by Ibrahimovic, gave them the perfect springboard to head to Abu Dhabi for the FIFA Club World Cup two weeks later.
Barca lifting their sixth trophy of 2009
A comeback 2-1 win at Dynamo Kyiv in the final group game of the Champions League allowed them to finish top of the pile, while they were also at the summit of the standings in La Liga, giving them the peace of mind to focus fully on the intercontinental tournament.
Barca easily swept past Atlante 3-1 in the semi-finals, although they had to rally from a goal down, which they again had to do in the finals against Estudiantes. The Blaugrana were on the verge of defeat until Pedro popped up with the equaliser in the 89th minute, sending the encounter into extra-time. And who should score the winning goal for them 110 minutes into the game but Lionel Messi, a goal that officially crowned the Catalan juggernauts the best club side in the world as they became the first football team ever to win six trophies in a single year.
Messi would go on to pick up the Golden Ball at the Club World Cup, an accolade that went nicely with the 2009 Ballon d'Or award. And he would complete a treble of his own when he was also honoured as FIFA's World Player of the Year.
Record-Breakers
Just 13 days into the new year, any hopes or emulating the 'sextuple' was dashed when they were eliminated by Sevilla in the Copa del Rey.
But having one less competition to worry about only rejuvenated Guardiola's gladiators, who by their own admission were struggling to reproduce the kind of vibrant, untouchable attacking football they exhibited last season.
February would prove to be another challenging month for Barcelona. They suffered their first and only La Liga defeat this season when they went down 2-1 at Atletico Madrid. A 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart in the last-16 of the Champions League sparked an argument that the Blaugrana were starting to lose their lustre.
A 2-2 draw with Almeria in early March only served to fuel the debate as Barca surrendered top spot in La Liga to Real Madrid for more than just a one-week span for the first time in the season.
Back On Song
A mere four days later, they returned to the driver's seat in the Primera Division title marathon thanks to a 2-0 win at Real Madrid in El Clasico. It was a record fourth straight victory over their arch nemesis and one of the most important in recent memory as it allowed them to leapfrog Los Merengues back to the top of the table, a position they would never relinquish again for the rest of the campaign.
But just like it was at the start of the season, Barca failed to translate their domestic supremacy to Europe. Guardiola's heaviest defeat as the Blaugrana's first team coach, a 3-1 loss to Inter in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, ended their reign as the kings of the continent as a 1-0 win in the return leg was not enough to reverse the deficit and their dreams of entering another illustrious chapter into the history books, to become the first club to successfully defend their Champions League title, was extinguished.
Despite a record-breaking 99-point haul in La Liga, they were unbelievably pushed all the way to the last day of the season by Real Madrid and they finished just three points ahead of their rivals from the capital.
Barcelona may have failed to retained the Copa del Rey and the Champions League to complete yet another unprecedented treble, but lifting another Primera Division title will give Guardiola and his valiant troops plenty of fire, motivation, desire to embark on another six-trophy haul in the near future.
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With La Liga's championship race doing down to the wire this season, Pep Guardiola side had to overcome Valladolid in Round 38 to mathematically secure the title ahead of Real Madrid.
After trading blows with Los Blancos at the top of the table for almost the entirety of the campaign, Barca entered the final five games of the title race holding a marginal one-point lead over their arch nemesis, although a superior head-to-head record effectively gave them an extra point's advantage.
But they still needed to win all their remaining games to ensure a comfortable enough finish ahead of Madrid, and they passed the challenge with flying colours, winning 12 out of the last 13 league games of the term.
Business As Usual
Barcelona essentially began the 2009/10 season in the same fashion they had finished the last, instantly adding two more trophies to their recent collection by winning the Spanish Supercopa and the UEFA Supercup, and they continued to swoon fans around the world with their breathtaking football.
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Head-to-Head with Real Madrid
29 Nov 09 Barca 1-0 Madrid Ibrahimovic 56' 10 Apr 10 Madrid 0-2 Barca Messi 33', Pedro 56' |
But none of that showed on the pitch once the campaign kicked off. Barca strolled to six wins in their first six La Liga games, scoring 17 goals in the process, and Ibrahimovic would find the net in each of his first five matches, setting a new benchmark at the club for a player making his Blaugrana debut.
They found life slightly tougher in the Champions League, however, as a goalless draw against Inter in their opening group game was followed by a laborious 2-0 home win over Dynamo Kiev.
Their first stumble in La Liga, a 0-0 draw with Valencia was preceeded by one of the shocks of the season when they were humbled 2-1 at the Camp Nou by unfancied Rubin Kazan in Europe's blue ribbon club competition. That would be the start of a testing October month, as a 1-1 draw with Osasuna and subsequently Athletic Bilbao in the league saw them drop points, forcing them to head into El Clasico at the end of November behind Real Madrid in the standings.
But a scintillating 2-0 win over Inter at home in the Champions League duly boosted their morale and a 1-0 victory over Los Blancos, with the winning goal scored by Ibrahimovic, gave them the perfect springboard to head to Abu Dhabi for the FIFA Club World Cup two weeks later.
Barca lifting their sixth trophy of 2009
A comeback 2-1 win at Dynamo Kyiv in the final group game of the Champions League allowed them to finish top of the pile, while they were also at the summit of the standings in La Liga, giving them the peace of mind to focus fully on the intercontinental tournament.
Barca easily swept past Atlante 3-1 in the semi-finals, although they had to rally from a goal down, which they again had to do in the finals against Estudiantes. The Blaugrana were on the verge of defeat until Pedro popped up with the equaliser in the 89th minute, sending the encounter into extra-time. And who should score the winning goal for them 110 minutes into the game but Lionel Messi, a goal that officially crowned the Catalan juggernauts the best club side in the world as they became the first football team ever to win six trophies in a single year.
Messi would go on to pick up the Golden Ball at the Club World Cup, an accolade that went nicely with the 2009 Ballon d'Or award. And he would complete a treble of his own when he was also honoured as FIFA's World Player of the Year.
Record-Breakers
- Barcelona 2-1 Estudiantes: Messi Leads Blaugrana Into The History Books With Extra-Time Goal
- Lionel Messi Wins Ballon d'Or 2009
- Barcelona Striker Pedro Delighted After Completing Historic Scoring Record
- Barcelona 4-0 Valladolid: Pep Guardiola's Side Clinch Second Successive Liga Title
Just 13 days into the new year, any hopes or emulating the 'sextuple' was dashed when they were eliminated by Sevilla in the Copa del Rey.
But having one less competition to worry about only rejuvenated Guardiola's gladiators, who by their own admission were struggling to reproduce the kind of vibrant, untouchable attacking football they exhibited last season.
February would prove to be another challenging month for Barcelona. They suffered their first and only La Liga defeat this season when they went down 2-1 at Atletico Madrid. A 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart in the last-16 of the Champions League sparked an argument that the Blaugrana were starting to lose their lustre.
A 2-2 draw with Almeria in early March only served to fuel the debate as Barca surrendered top spot in La Liga to Real Madrid for more than just a one-week span for the first time in the season.
Back On Song
- Barcelona President Joan Laporta Insists Blaugrana Deserve League Success
- Barcelona Captain Carles Puyol: Real Madrid Pushed Us All The Way
- Barcelona Coach Pep Guardiola Praises 'Unique' Players After Primera Liga Success
But just like it was at the start of the season, Barca failed to translate their domestic supremacy to Europe. Guardiola's heaviest defeat as the Blaugrana's first team coach, a 3-1 loss to Inter in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, ended their reign as the kings of the continent as a 1-0 win in the return leg was not enough to reverse the deficit and their dreams of entering another illustrious chapter into the history books, to become the first club to successfully defend their Champions League title, was extinguished.
Despite a record-breaking 99-point haul in La Liga, they were unbelievably pushed all the way to the last day of the season by Real Madrid and they finished just three points ahead of their rivals from the capital.
Barcelona may have failed to retained the Copa del Rey and the Champions League to complete yet another unprecedented treble, but lifting another Primera Division title will give Guardiola and his valiant troops plenty of fire, motivation, desire to embark on another six-trophy haul in the near future.
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The summer of 2009 was an awkward period for the club. Erik Gerets had departed the dugout after the board showed insufficient decisiveness to tie the popular Belgian coach down to a new contract, but the leaders of OM then played something of a trump card by luring back Deschamps. A favourite during his playing days in Provence, the captain of the famous 1993 Champions League winning side – the last OM team to pick up major silverware before this term – would prove equally successful in the technical area.
With the arrival of Deschamps, a whole new era began with les Phoceens. The squad was flushed out to a remarkable degree, with as many as ten new faces in the first team squad introduced from other clubs. Signs came in the form of grand additions, such as record acquisition Lucho Gonzalez from Porto, but also by way of the bargain basement, with former Lorient midfielder Fabrice Abriel a terrific example of a valuable squad player picked up relatively cheaply.
Initially, it would be the bargains who shone through, with Abriel the team leader in the early weeks of the campaign. While the Parisian midfield was pulling the strings in the OM offence, Lucho was having a harder time of it, struggling to adjust to the French life due to the language barrier and also because of injury problems that made it impossible for him to feature in the early weeks of the campaign.
Marseille were handed a tough start to the league campaign, but they coped impressively, hinting better was to come. Having tiptoed by Grenoble on the season’s opening day, Lille were defeated 1-0 at Stade Velodrome before commendable draws against Stade Rennais and Girondins de Bordeaux.
Late September brought with it the first truly testing period of the campaign as les Phoceens would suffer back-to-back defeats against Valenciennes and Monaco. As fortune would have it, OM would not suffer such ignominy over the remainder of the season – to this point, at least.
With the arrival of Deschamps, a whole new era began with les Phoceens. The squad was flushed out to a remarkable degree, with as many as ten new faces in the first team squad introduced from other clubs. Signs came in the form of grand additions, such as record acquisition Lucho Gonzalez from Porto, but also by way of the bargain basement, with former Lorient midfielder Fabrice Abriel a terrific example of a valuable squad player picked up relatively cheaply.
Initially, it would be the bargains who shone through, with Abriel the team leader in the early weeks of the campaign. While the Parisian midfield was pulling the strings in the OM offence, Lucho was having a harder time of it, struggling to adjust to the French life due to the language barrier and also because of injury problems that made it impossible for him to feature in the early weeks of the campaign.
Marseille were handed a tough start to the league campaign, but they coped impressively, hinting better was to come. Having tiptoed by Grenoble on the season’s opening day, Lille were defeated 1-0 at Stade Velodrome before commendable draws against Stade Rennais and Girondins de Bordeaux.
Late September brought with it the first truly testing period of the campaign as les Phoceens would suffer back-to-back defeats against Valenciennes and Monaco. As fortune would have it, OM would not suffer such ignominy over the remainder of the season – to this point, at least.