Barcelona Football Club: End of an Era, or the Beginning of the Road to Redemption?
Barcelona Football Club: End of an Era, or the Beginning of the Road to Redemption?
They have surrendered the league title. They are out of the Champions League. The manager has announced his resignation. Crisis? Or just a minor blip in the Barcelona juggernaut, that has steam rollered European football in the last four seasons? Barcelona's recent losses, to Chelsea in the Champions League, and Real Madrid in the Spanish league have had many questioning whether their reign as kings of football is over. Pep Guardiola's subsequent statement that he will resign at the end of the season did little to quell these debates, but is it the end of an era, or the beginning of a road to redemption for Barcelona?
It would be a mistake to say Barcelona's season has been a failure. They have still won the European Super Cup, the World Club Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, and are hot favourites to win the Copa Del Rey. Most sides would be delighted with a season in which they won four trophies. But this Barcelona side has set such a high bar to be judged by, winning thirteen trophies in the past four seasons, including a peak in 2008-2009, where they won every competition they entered.
Guardiola's reign at the Nou Camp has been marked by some of the greatest footballing displays the world has ever seen. Lionel Messi has gone from being a precociously talented prospect, to being the best player in the world, and arguably the greatest of all time. The likes of Xavi Hernandez and Andreas Iniesta are recognised as being some of the finest midfielders of their generation. Compliments have been pouring in, only for many to quickly retract them on the back of the end of this season. Although the mantra of 'you are never as good as they say you are when you win, and never as bad as they say you are when you lose' holds true, the manner of their defeats will have raised questions even within the Nou Camp itself.
Guardiola's resignation at the end of the season may be seen by many as an acceptance of defeat. Even if this is the case, (something I highly doubt), this does not necessarily mean the end for Barcelona's dominance. The key players are all still there. In Tito Villanova, they have a new coach who understands the players and the philosophy which Guardiola has instilled in them. The pain of losing the title to arch rivals Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho will burn within the hearts of their loyal servants, as will being defeated by another old enemy, Chelsea in the Champions League. These losses will sting, and players such as Victor Valdes, and Carlos Puyol will be desperate to avenge them.
This, coupled with the wealth of talent coming through the youth set up, courtesy of La Masia ensure that the future still looks bright for Barcelona. The likes of Montoya, Muniesa and Jonathan Dos Santos are all regarded as hot prospects for years to come, whereas Tello, Cuenca and Thiago Alcantara have all been given first team opportunities this season, with their involvement likely to increase next season in a bid to combat the exhaustion suffered by many of their players, due to the hectic nature of the season and their international commitments. In any case, this mix of youth and experience mean that they will certainly be in the hunt for glory next season.
Comments
Great post, James! I don't support Barca but they are a good team and they have the world's best player. I wonder how the new coach will get on!
Jonathan (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
barcelona is a great team but i m a crazy fan of milan ilove that team
I'm a great Barca fan.
I love Messi so much. For me, he is the best football player in this world. He looks like a humble person and cool. Wish him and his team all the best.
I agree with you 20sep_fm....
i love barcelona but messi is ugly!!!;-)
Barcelona is the better ekip in the word .... Messi is a super Player !!!
/\__/\ ! - ! /\__/\ !"-"!
I agree with you redi...
Inter is the best ekip in the world. . . . .
My favourite football team is MILAN...
And BARCELONA too
My favourite team is Milan.
Milan is the best!
My favourite is Milan.
It is the best team
:)
I love Barcelona team ....it's the most talented team in the world .... ^_^
real madrit is the best team while ronaldo the best player.you can say that barcelona is the best team but it isn't.in barcelona team all players play for messi.he isn't a good player
Barcelona is a gopd team but i support MILAN i love it
Real Madrid is the best team. I like very much the players as Christiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria. I think that and Milan has a better team but no as Real Madrid.
I love barcelona it's a perfect team ..i hate milan i cna not stand it.....
My footballteam is Milan <3
Milan Forever
<3 Real Madrid <3 and JUVENTUS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My favorite team is Barcelona.Is the most beautiful team in the world with amaizing players.I love Barcelona <3.Barca forever..............
I like football clubs as Juventus, Dortmund, Manchester United, Barcelona .... Barcelona is one of the best clubs in the world...
I agree with you dona.Barcelona is a big club
I like barcelona club,my best friend Dona is a crazy fan about this team
I hate barcelona team especially LIONEL MESSIN.
RMA always has destroyed the FCB team.
i think that Inter is the best team in the world,but RMA is a wonderful team
I am a crazy fan of <3 JUVENTUSSSSSSSS <3
i am fan of real madrid
i hate barcelona
i cant stand it
especially i don't like lionel messi
he is ugly.
i love cristiano ronaldo and i always see the matches of real madrid especially when plays with barcelona
real always win
i am a winnnnnnnnnnerrrrrrrr
Barcelona is a super team messi is a super player...and if you doesn't like it ,,,it is the best team in the world.. Bracelona/////
I agree in every word that irini has writen.
REAL MADRIT
And JUVENTUS
I like Barcelona. It is a very nice football team.
Barcelona is a super team messi is a super player.
I dont like Real Madrid. Is in not true?
i like bacelona and inter
my favorite team is bayerne
i am a new membre
Hello sada wane.
how old are you?
please..............
My father and I are fans of barcelona . Go on barca you can win the Champions League.
my favourite footbal teams are :JUVENTUS,BAYERN MUNCHEN and BARCA..................There is a challenge between Barcelona and Bayern on Wednesday..........I hope Barcelona wins..........Bayern won once......Now it is Barca's time to show she's not a "loser"
i love Barcelona Lionel messi isn`t very beautyful
but anyway they are a good team.
Hello sailor moon
Yes, I agree with your comments.
Do you like Cristiano Ronaldo?
Do you like him team?
How old are you?
Please...............
hello ellen thank you very much for your comment.
i like christiano ronaldo he`s nice and beautiful too.
Also real madrid is a good team. i am 14 years old and you?
please write me about you!
I dont follow Barcelona's matches,because my favorite football club is Chelsea .However i respect this team, i respect all the players too. Barcelona is one of the best football teams in the world. Every team has ups and downs.Yeah, last season was not lucky for Barca.They had a lot of difficulties. Barcelona has much fans and their support. It makes them stronger. They reached the semi-final of the Champions League, they had won La Liga . Barcelona has the best players. It's a powerful team.No one has the right to insult one of the greatest teams of the present!
I'm a great fan of Barcelona,so I can definitely affirm that this season was just a minor blip in their juggernaut.The last Barcelona's coach Pep Guardiola achieved great results with this team.However,ht did so because there were not so many important injured players.This season was very difficult because of them.The main defender,moreover the captain Carles Puyol didn't play amost all the season.Team's spirit was injured too.Later,another one defender Javier Mascherano was injured by his partner Jordi Alba.What about their trophies,they won only La Liga.But it is very honourable too.In Champions League they coudn't fight against such great teams like Bavaria Munich,because this "german car" destroys everyone.Finally,there are thousands fans of Barcelona fround the world who support them till the end.I am sure that Barcelona will certainly be in the hunt fo glory next season with the best players in the world like Xavi Hernandez,Andreas Iniesta and "the footbal god" Lionel Messi of course.VIVA BARCA!
I think that it´s time to do some changes for Barcelona, buy some young and fresh players and sell some older players like Villa, Valdes and also players like Alexis. When Alexis came to Barca he was a player with big confidence and he liked to dribble but now he has very low confidence and he just pass the ball directly when he get the ball
Hello sailor moon
My favorite team is ~Barcelona~
I am 15.
Where are you from?
What English songs do you like? And movies?
What is your name sailor moon
if it isn't secret
Please answer.....)))))
hello ellen
i`m happy we like the same team
i`m from italia, roma. my favourite singer is
justin bieber and i love his songs.i like movies like
~step up revolution~ i can`t say my name.
please, i`m so sorry. what about you???