(ESP-ENG) Campeones Blaugranas!
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
It was a matter of time because mathematics does not fail, Xavi's Barcelona can say that they are champions of La Liga after a somewhat stormy period of time where things did not go as expected. Yesterday in the Catalan derby against the team from the same city, Espanyol, the blaugrana took a comfortable 2-4 victory over their neighbors in what would finally mean the 27th League of FC Barcelona. A League in which they have surprisingly lost only three games, because it has not finished yet, and tied four games. The truth is that I have to confess that I was very surprised by the performance since after the mess in Europe many thought it would be another season to forget.
14 points of advantage, so far, is what they got from the difference against Real Madrid, if you ask me, it is a quite wide and unusual margin between these teams. What is the reason for this? - I think there are a couple of things. The first is that, being out of any European competition, they decided to focus fully on the league, putting all their effort and commitment in seeking the feat and the second, and with this I do not seek to demerit the work of Culé, is that both Madrid and Atletico have had a somewhat intermittent season, which in the long run allowed Barca to consolidate their lead.
Talking a little about last night in Cornellà, it is very noticeable that Barca knew what was at stake because the level of play was very good and optimal. A double from Poland's Lewandowski to consolidate his position as La Liga's top scorer, a top performance from Alejandro Balde who is gradually establishing himself as a key player in the team, De Jong was also at his best and decisive and yes, the other fullback, Kounde, was another player who made a difference. In all its lines, Barcelona was balanced, fast, finding gaps and spaces and, above all, forceful. It has helped a lot the fact that those called to be the stars have been recovering little by little, Pedri who yesterday left with a nice assist, we are already talking about the Dutchman in midfield, Christensen in defense and Dembelé who is also slowly recovering his form.
But the road to get to the present day when everything is a party and celebration was certainly not easy, it was one where they had to suffer and have a hard time to get to where they are today. Xavi arrived at Barcelona in November 2021 and found a broken and lifeless team, to such an extent that in his own words he said that rebuilding the team would take a couple of years at least. At first those phrases seemed distant and impossible but today we can say that, although work is still needed, the road to that transformation is getting closer and closer. This club has to rely on its youth, it knows that Busquets is leaving, most probably Jordi Alba will do the same and with the unknown of the arrival of Messi that will be nothing more than something sentimental because in sports I do not know if it will help at all.
As I was saying, Barca's past was not the best and that is something I think they should keep in mind for next season. We remember that in the Champions League they were eliminated in the first round in a group that was certainly very complicated with an unbeatable Bayern and Inter, the Culés left with a win, a draw and three defeats. I remember that people kind of expected those results because of what was said before, "this Barca doesn't have the team to compete in the Champions League", these were not the exact words but Xavi said something like that. This set off alarm bells because people began to doubt the coach's abilities, but not to the point of firing him but simply because of a confidence issue. Xavi has never been in danger of leaving, the confidence from above is full in him.
After finishing third in that group, they fell into the Europa League and here I think many people got their hopes up a bit because in those round of 32 they would face Manchester United, another team that at that time was going through some turbulent times. I remember that the first match was a draw and the second leg was a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, another bucket of ice water for the culé fans. The impressive thing is that this was just three months ago, three months from being sunk to being on a bus touring the city streets as the new La Liga champions. This is why I always use a phrase that Valdano once said "soccer is a state of mind", how much reason there is behind those words.
In short, the road to the return or consecration of a European great was complicated and hard, there were many moments of uncertainty that this fan had to live through to get to last night and what will be today. As a soccer lover, I always hope to see the greats at the top of the table displaying their best version, their most competitive game and I believe that this League will be the "rebirth" of Barca in Europe. All clubs go through dark stages, I think that the Blaugrana's is slowly passing. Now if I confess something and this is a very personal opinion, I don't like Xavi as a coach. He was critical at times, but at other times he went off on a tangent looking to avoid responsibility with statements that were out of place and not very responsible. I suppose that time will make him grow in this profession and with it will come a better wisdom and management of blame.
If Barcelona wins the 4 remaining matches they could reach 97 points, a score that has not been seen in ten years and which would not be bad considering how the season has been going. We'll see what happens but at the moment what we need is for all the blaugrana fans to celebrate a well-deserved League which is the product of adjustments, dedication and never stop believing.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos leemos en la próxima!
Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!
La verdad ganaron los partidos al comienzo de la temporada y al finalizar tuvieron su peso en la tabla de posiciones, espero ver mejor competitividad de este Barcelona que en lo personal tiene sus futbolista sobrevalorados, sin embargo, son campeones de liga, saludos y gracias por tú análisis amigo.
Gracias a ti por la visita amigo!
Al igual que tu espero ver a un Barca peleando por más cosas, creo que tiene plantilla para hacerlo, de hecho y con sus excepciones el once es de los mejores de la Liga, solo les falta un poco más de recambio en el banco porque allí si que puede que estén un poco escasos.
Tampoco veía una distancia de puntos tan grandes, incluso, ni los veía como campeón. Pero tienen gran plantilla, no sorprende que puedan ser campeones de liga, y muchos menos en estos momentos que ha bajado tanto el nivel de competencia en ella.
Es que ese es el tema, la Liga ha bajado de nivel estrepitosamente al punto que ni el propio Madrid muchas veces no es un rival a temer. Yo lo dije y lo sigo manteniendo, el Barca es campeón por sus méritos si, pero también porque los que estaban llamados a pelear no lo hicieron como se suponía.
Y si, la plantilla es muy buena, unos cuantos cambios y les queda un equipo más top de lo que ya lo tienen.
Que el Barcelona haya quedado campeón con tanta holgura es un punto notable para ellos, supongo que hay una doble felicidad para los cule, pues son campeones y le llevan mucha distancia Madrid, sin embargo lo único que muestra eso es la poca competitividad interna que tiene la liga a nivel general.
Si, la Liga no es ni la sombra de lo que era hace unos años, equipos como el Sevilla, Valencia que antes peleaban campeonatos a lo largo de esta temporada estuvieron y están abajo luchando por no caer en zona de descenso. Algo está pasando que la diferencia con la Premier es absoluta en todos los sentidos, hasta con la misma Bundesliga.
Y por fin lo consiguieron. El equipo de Xavi decidio ir a por todas en la Liga y han obtenido su recompensa. Incuestionable rendimiento, durante pocos partidos se pincho, y la mayoria de los partidos los gano por la minima. Una de las cosas mas cuestionables del Barca en los ultimos años era su deficiente defensa, durante esta temporada hubo un poderio defensivo enorme. Bravo por la defensa, Ter Stegen y demas.
Ahora, toca subir el liston y volver a subir escalones para competir en competencias europeas.
Así es, al estar fuera de Europa todas las fuerzas las concentraron en la Liga y lo consiguieron. A pesar de todo siento que con el pasar del tiempo poco a poco se han engranado mejor, Chistensen llegó para ayudar a Araujo y la verdad es que los dos hacen una buena dupla y bueno Ter Stegen que en más de una vez ha salvado a este Barca.
Espero que la próxima temporada sea mejor y más competitiva para ellos por el bien del deporte!