It's not a surprise as Barca won this season's liga as they ran through the league from the very first round. So much was there quality this season that were just about to become Spain's first invincibles but just fell short of that losing 4-5 away to Levante. But overall domestically this had been a wonderful season for Barca winning the domestic double i.e. Liga and Copa del Rey. Let's look into the main talking points of their campaign this season.
Messi Magic continues...
The main man for Barca this was, no doubt, Lionel Messi. The greatest footballer on earth, Messi spearheaded 34 goals this season and deleivered in all important matches when they required most. Most notably when Barca were trailing to Sevilla away, Messi came off the bench to score and keep their invincibles hopes alive. He was also pivotal in both the El Clasicos, most notably in Bernabeu where there were some moments where Messi seemed to just toy around the Real Madrid players. His presence was felt in the loss to Levante which ended their invincibles hopes.
The invincibles bid?!
So great was Barca's consistency that they appeared to be on track for becoming the first invincibles in Spain's domestic league history. The draw at Camp Nou against Real Madrid in Round 35 almost made the bid possible and the win against Villareal in the next round made it so certain that Barca didn't play Messi in the next round against Levante, so sure of winning that match too. But maybe destiny wasn't with them to go unbeaten whole season and they lost 4-5. Even Coutinho and Suarez could not save Barca. Of course fatigue had to play a part there as they were playing 3rd match in 10 days.
Iniesta departs!
You have to bow before him! He can be considered the greatest midfielder the world has ever seen. He is also the most humble player on the pitch. Iniesta is a hero figure in Spain given that his goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final saw Spain win the title for the first time. He is often admired by rival supporters, even Real Madrid fans stand up to applause him. Iniesta is a role model of young footballers. His tiki-taka along with partner Xavi brought huge success to FC Barcelona. With Iniesta gone, Barca must find a way to replace him although it would not be an easy task.
Are we going to see a new kind of Barca next season?
In the last few seasons, we can see that Barca are no reliant on La Masia graduates. Barcelona are heavily investing in transfer market to land best players in the world. With Iniesta departing, Barca have only three senior players from their academy Pique, Busquets and Messi. With Pique entering 31, we are starting to see a new form of Barca. Even Messi is turning 31 this June. But Messi ,being Messi, is not human and still has a long career from now. But it would be interesting to see how Barca plays in the next season with foreign talents like Coutinho, Dembele and other new signings.
For more posts on FC Barcelona, please visit this blog
For more posts on FC Barcelona, please visit this blog
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