Campions 08/09

Second title in four days

Four days after lifting the King’s Cup, Barcelona have won their 19th League title to complete the double. That means this season has already been a resounding success and there is still the  Champions League final in Rome to come.

There are still three games to go but this Saturday night Barça are now mathematically the League Champions for the 2008/09 season. It’s a reward for good football and attacking play involving keeping possession and moving the ball around fast. Apart from the players, it is also the League for those who took the risky decision to choose Guardiola and for the manager himself, who made clear on his appointment that he was pledged to skill, work and commitment. Those are all features of this Barça double team. 

Record breakers 

With 86 points from 35 games, the team has smashed records. It had 50 points at the halfway stage, has beaten the record for home wins in a row (9), was unbeaten from game 2 to game 24, scores almost three goals per game on average, has the players who so far are the top goal scorer (Eto’o) and the best keeper (Valdés) in the competition, won 2-6 at Bernabeu and beat sides like Valencia and Seville 4-0 at Camp Nou; a side that can do that could only be the champion. Because it is a team that is insatiable, that has always attacked and has never had enough irrespective of what the scoreboard says. 

Bouncing back from the lows 

This Barça has only had its doubts twice this season; firstly when it only managed to pick up one point from its first two League games, and then secondly after consecutive defeats by Espanyol and Atlético Madrid when the League was going into the home straight. On both occasions the players and coach bounced back as only the great sides can by putting together a run of incredible performances. The team is now unbeaten in 17 in three competitions and previously went 22 games without losing in the League. In the process it racked up a 12-point lead over Madrid, who this Saturday lost at Vila-real to hand the Catalans the title on a plate. 

Only Rome to go 

This historic season will bring at least the double , the fifth in the club’s 110-year history. But Barça can still do more and win the treble, something it has never done before and which few teams have had the chance to achieve in Europe. Now with both the Cup and the League in the bag, this third title is just 90 minutes away on 27 May against Manchester United in the Champions League final. Yet whatever happens in Rome, this season will have been a dream come true for nine months.