FC Barcelona fans are all anticipating a spectacular Champion’s League run from Barcelona this season. Fans have been deprived from the feeling of lifting this trophy for over ten years at this point.
Last season, Barcelona had what seemed to be an amazing Champion’s League run, and it looked like this would finally be the season they won this very desired trophy. In the 87th minute of the second leg of the semifinal, it looked as though they would be making it to the final game, just minutes away from playing a Champions League final. Attacker Raphina had just scored what appeared to be a game winning goal that would send the Champions League final. However, this dream was cut short by Inter Milan player Francesco Acerbi, who scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute. This goal sent the game to extra time where both teams kept trying to find the goal that would send them to the final. The team to do this was Inter Milan. In the 99th minute, Davide Frattesi scored the game winning goal. This was a devastating loss for all FC Barcelona fans, and it is still a hard game to talk about. Barcelona’s head coach, Hansi Flick, has stated that the day they lost the semifinal against Inter Milan was the worst day he’s had with the team so far.
They had an incredible team that season, and they had previously won two other trophies: the Supercopa de Espana against Real Madrid and later the Copa del Rey also against Real Madrid. After their unfortunate Champions League loss, they went on to win La Liga. Additionally, they won every El Clasico they played; they played two in La Liga winning the first one 4-0 and the second 4-3. And as previously mentioned they won the Supercopa 5-2 and Copa del Rey 3-2. These are all extremely important games because of the fierce rivalry that they have with Real Madrid. These victories were significantly important, because prior to this season, Real Madrid had been dominating almost every game that played against Barcelona. Casa student Rose Galvan Simpson (11) said that she thinks that “this really shows how are starting to come back, and I think that the fans’ reactions demonstrate who are true Barcelona fans and who are just glory hunters.” Barcelona losing the Clasicos is something that had been going on for years, and it was almost exhausting for Barcelona fans to lose every game they played against their biggest rival, so these wins were a breath of fresh air and a potential sign that good things are on the horizon. And although their Champions League run was unfortunately cut short, fans hoped that this year would finally be the year where they won the most important soccer trophy at club level.
However, as always there would be, the team experienced many hardships following their loss against Inter Milan. Various vital and important players left the club at the end of the season, and adjusting to playing without them was difficult to say the least. This is an issue that Barcelona has been faced with over the past few years. They are currently in a lot of debt which has often forced them to let go of essential players, or to not be able to sign players who arrive on a loan. One of the most important players to have left was defender Inigo Martinez. He was one of if not the best defenders at FC Barcelona last season. He left enormous shoes to fill and even now Barcelona continues to struggle with their defense.
Not all bad news is related to players leaving; some indispensable players have gotten injured throughout the season — one of the most notable being Pedri Gonzales. Pedri is considered by many Barcelona fans to be the best and most important player on the team. His injury occurred recently, but that does not eliminate the fact that this injury could have a significant negative impact on the team, since when Pedri had been injured previously the team would constantly struggle. Pedri is one of the most influential players on the team, as he contributes both offensively and defensively. His injury forces shifts in lineups, placing a physical burden on players who have to fill in Pedri’s place in the Barcelona midfield.
Unfortunately, Pedri is not the only player who has been injured throughout the season. Lamine Yamal, one of the star players, has had a chronic injury called Athletic Pubalgia, a sports hernia. This injury has forced him to be out for multiple games spaced out throughout the season. Ronald Araujo was also out for a few months; however, this was not due to a physical injury. He decided to take a break for his mental health after facing severe backlash from Barcelona fans after being sent off in a Champions League match.
Thankfully, not everything is bad news at FC Barcelona, and Araujo recently came back from this break and seems like he had recovered and is ready to prove fans wrong; in his very first game back, he ended up scoring a game winning goal. Yamal has been doing much better, and in the last two games that Barcelona has played, he has scored two goals. Barcelona has also had some very important and exciting new arrivals such as Marcus Rashford, who was an extremely important player at Manchester United who has been doing fairly well at FC Barcelona. Another exciting player who Barcelona has signed recently is none other than Joao Cancelo. He was at Barcelona a few years ago on a loan, and his inevitable departure was heartbreaking for many fans, so his return is very exciting. Additionally, Barcelona has signed Joan Garcia, a goalkeeper who has become extremely well loved by pretty much every Barcelona fan.
Even though Barcelona has been struggling defensively, he has made sure that the team feels secure during the advances of the opposing team. Additionally, Barcelona has already acquired one trophy this season after they beat Real Madrid in the Supercopa with a score of 3-2. Barcelona has also been top of the league in La Liga for the majority of the season.
Although Barcelona has unfortunately been faced with numerous hardships, they have also had multiple small victories that gives them the hope that they so desperately need to be able win the Champions League. This year in the Champions League they have won five games, tied one, and lost two. They ended the first round in fifth place meaning that they automatically qualify for the next round in which they have faced Newcastle United. Barcelona was able to walk away from the first leg with a draw after a last minute goal from Yamal. The second leg was at Barcelona’s home stadium. Barcelona won this game with a dominant score of 7-2 over Newcastle.
There are high hopes and high expectations for the next games since everyone is anticipating a Barcelona win. Barcelona player Marc Bernal said in a recent interview with BeIN Sports that they “are going to give [their] lives to reach the semifinals…we showed who we are as a team and what our DNA is. We have to be proud.”
It is important that they don’t get too overly confident for this upcoming game. There is still a long way to go until we have a Champions League winner, but it would be preposterous to not have FC Barcelona as a main candidate. They have already overcome various adversities and they continue to strive for that desired trophy that they have been deprived of for over a decade. Even though they were faced with a catastrophic elimination in the previous Champions League, they have demonstrated that they have the capacity to come back from all kinds of hardship, and because of this, it would be absurd to underestimate them and undermine them in this Champions League.
