In the end of the 2007-08 footballing season FC Barcelona lay bruised and battered, finishing 18 points behind rivals Real Madrid in the league and dumped out of the domestic and European Cup semifinals, the worst season in the Laporta era. A change was needed, the old guard had lost its hunger and had to go. So went Frank Rijkaard and club talismans Ronaldinho and Deco, who had dragged the club out of a six year title less streak and had made the club virtually invincible two years before under club president Joan Laporta, before it all fell apart.And in stepped Josep 'Pep' Guardiola as the new head coach, the man given the task to be the new messiah, to remind the world what Barca was all about, to usher in a new age of greatness.
But was it really such a good idea? Guardiola was a mere 37 years old then, his only experience of coaching having been one season in the youth squad. Was it really the wisest move in giving one of the most high pressure footballing jobs in the world to such an inexperienced manager? Granted, Guardiola was a club legend, who grew up in La Masia - the youth academy, became the heartbeat of Johann Cruyff's Dream team and won a host of titles with the club. But such sentimentality does not necessarily automatically a good manager make, nor even an inspiring messiah; just ask Alan Shearer. What the hell was Laporta thinking?
The season gone by has shown the Laporta was completely in his senses, in fact the decision has proved so succesful that no Barca fan can scarcely believe what has happened. FC Barcelona has arguably had his finest season ever, winning the triplete, the Spanish treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. In the process, it has played the most beautiful and dominating footaball in living memory, scoring over 150 goals in the process, which is averaging more than 2.5 goals a game. With a nucleus of home grown players, Guradiola instilled a fantastic work ethic in the team where losing possession of the ball was regarded as worthy of capital punishment, a never say die spirit which made the team fight till the final minute and score many late goals, not least in the Champions League semi final against Chelsea, and an undying commitment to playing the game beautifully and for the fans. There is only one way Barca knew how to win, by keeping to its philosophy of playing the beautiful game and trusting in itself.
This was Guardiola's greatest achievement this season, he had pretty much the same squad as the one which had performed so poorly last season, in fact some would argue that it was weaker after the departure of some of the stars. However, Guardiola instilled in them the beliefs which had become a part of the club since the Cruyff era and which the team had forgotten, and he did it with an uncompromising disciplinary hand, penalising players for any departure of rules. For this, the biggest credits of the triplete surely belong to him.
Now on to the players. The biggest strength of this team is that it played and won as a team, which is why so many players can claim to have got superstar status from this season. The first to come to mind is obviously Lionel Messi, the Ballon d' Or elect. 38 goals and 24 assists in the season tell its own story (to put things in perspective, Cristiano Ronaldo's recordbreaking last season had 42 goals and 8 assists) but not the complete one. Anyone who saw Messi play recognised that the little guy was having a celestial season above anyone else on the planet and it was simply a matter of formality to anoint him the next World Footballer of the Year.
Or was it? Barca and Spain's midfield heart, the duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, have a strong case to challenge Messi's rise to the throne. The midfield was the fulcrum of Barca's possession football, adn the true reason of its dominance, exhibited so brilliantly in the Champions League final, where Man Utd's midfield was as good as non existent. Xavi has grown into the finest playmaker in the world, and Iniesta the most terrorising. Together, they accounted for over 50 assists and 20 goals between them.
Then we have Samuel Eto'o, who showed once again how it is never feasible to write him off, and no matter what his antics are off the pitch, there is no one more professional on it. He was put on the transfer list by Guardiola but proved to him in pre-season why he should stay with a whole lot of brilliant performances. Guardiola relented into keeping him in the face of such desire, and the decision turned out to the best transfer of the season. Even though he was pipped to the Pichichi (top goalscorer) by Diego Forlan in the league in the last game, by being the first person with Forlan to reach the 30 goal mark in La Liga in 14 years showed his importance.
Ably making the third spike of Barca's attacking trident, Thierry Henry turned back the years and brought a grace to the team which typified his Arsenal days. Popping up with crucial goals in many matches, and capping it with one of his finest performances in the 6-2 mauling of Real Madrid in the Bernebau, his contribution to the season must not be underestimated.
Which brings me to the transfer of the season, the rightback Dani Alves. The only right back in the world who has the attacking instinct to stay more in the opposition's half than the opposition full backs but has the stamina and drive and fall back each time the other team attack and not leave the defence exposed. Alves was the troubleshooter in chief of the team, every time Barca was in trouble, there would be a tendency to pass the ball to him so he could make one of his trademark runs and crosses. He saved many games that way.
Puyol, Pique and Marquez had to shoulder the defensive responsiblities and they did it with aplomb. Particularly, club captain Puyol got back the form to go along with his grit which had defined him a few years ago and Pique, the surprise of the year, became a rock solid defender this season. With Yaya Toure providing invaluable cover in the midfield and being the best water carrier around, the Barca defence is in good hands, although much can still be imporved.
Last but not least, the supporting cast who all stepped up when they were needed, mostly (Hleb was an unfortunate exception). It's not the biggest squad, or the best, but it had the desire and the commitment to be the best, and therefore the club became the best again.
What next? Let us go do it all over again next season. There is still much improvement which can be made, and if they are made, the titles keep coming and the beautiful football keeps flowing, this class of Barca will have to be recognised as one fo the greatest teams ever.
