Ever since the Champions League era came into being in 1992, no team has gone on to win the coveted competition two years in a row. This amazing Barcelona team looks the most likely candidate to break this jinx. What has prevented teams which were best in Europe only a year back to not go ahead and win Europe’ premier club competition again?
There are quite a few reasons. The most simple reason being that the Champions League is the best club competition in the world and it is no easy task for a team to be crowned champions in successive years. However, many teams come short the following year because most of them fail to reinvent themselves.
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Some teams meanwhile fail for keeping faith with the same team when they are clearly past their prime. The best example of this being the famous Inter side which won the treble under Jose Mourinho. Inter who won the Champions League in 2010 with an ageing squad failed to replace them suitably and Inter fell away spectacularly under Rafa Benitez.
Also, teams which are Champions become automatically more targeted and the entire world tries to find chinks in their armours and exploit them. Despite all this, what makes Barcelona the favourites to win the Champions League this time?
Average age of the Barcelona squad is 27.6 years
It is widely accepted throughout the world that football players reach the peak of their careers roughly from the age of 26-29. The average age of this Barcelona squad shows that most of the players are at the peak of their careers.
Many people thought that once Xavi’s influence on games would wane, Barcelona would struggle. However, the Croatian Ivan Rakitic has been a superb replacement for the Blaugrana legend. Rakitic joined Barcelona from Sevilla in 2014 and in his very first season he helped Barcelona capture their 5th Champions League title even scoring the opening goal in the final against Juventus.
Rakitic has slotted in wonderfully with Iniesta in midfield and although Xavi has now left the club, Barcelona’s midfield remains one of the best in the world. Iniesta who took over the captaincy from Xavi has maintained his high standard of play causing opposition defences headaches with his incisive passing and skilful dribbling.
Iniesta, Mascherano and Dani Alves are the only players who are above 30 years of age in the first eleven with the former two aged 31 while Dani Alves is 32. With a team full of players at their peak, Barcelona are certainly a force to reckon with.
Sergio Busquets – Supreme Midfield enforcer
A major reason for Barcelona’s supreme attacking play over the past few seasons, Busquets is the unsung hero of this Barcelona side. The Spaniard often does the dirty work in the middle of the park without which Barcelona cannot play the beautiful football they are renowned for.
Busquets is known for the pivotal midfield anchor role that he plays for both Barcelona and the Spanish national side. A hard-working player, he excels at breaking down opposition plays due to his positional sense, defensive attributes, tactical intelligence, and ability to read the game. He is the reason Barcelona can play flawless tiki-taka without moving into their defensive half.
The importance of Busquets to the team can perhaps be best summed up by Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. In spite of the rivalry and one incidence of a red card earned due to Busquets' play acting, this is what Sergio Ramos had to say about him: "There are a number of players I like, but the one we perhaps need is Busquets."
Barcelona look much more threatening and assured when Sergio Busquets plays and keeping Busquets fit and away from suspensions will be key for Barcelona’s Champions League hopes this season.
Comfortable lead in La Liga
With 10 games remaining, Barcelona have built up a comfortable lead at the top of La Liga. 8 points ahead of their nearest rivals Atletico Madrid and 12 points ahead of Real Madrid, Barcelona can afford to rest some of their key players in the La Liga and avoid fatigue.
Many of the teams participating in the Champions League will be under pressure domestically as well to win the title, however, Barcelona thanks to their supreme consistency have all but wrapped up the La Liga title.
With Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal also being allowed to play since January, Luis Enrique has some quality backup options if he chooses to rest his main players for certain matches in the La Liga.
Best attacking trio in the world – MSN (Messi, Neymar and Suarez)
There have been so many things written and said about the celebrated trio that almost everyone on this planet knows the effectiveness of the devastating trio.
The trio have been in stunning form this season and they have already scored 100 goals this season. We all know Messi’s brilliance but coupled with Suarez’s tenacity and Neymar’s dazzling skills, MSN is almost impossible to defend against.
Not only are they each brilliant individually, they also have a wonderful camaraderie with each other.
Messi who was absolutely sensational against Arsenal in the Champions League said that friendship between MSN is what makes them so successful.
Messi speaking to the official website of UEFA said: "It's wonderful playing with them. We get along really well on and off the pitch.
"We really are friends and that is really important to enable us to play this kind of football."
With am amazing front three, Barcelona will be confident of outscoring any opponent in the continent.
Champions League Draw
With the round of 16 having some very competitive matches in the Champions League, at least 2 teams capable of challenging Barcelona’s supremacy will get eliminated in this early stage itself. PSG vs Chelsea and Bayern vs Juventus will see 2 of the best teams in Europe getting eliminated leaving Barcelona with a slightly easier draw to navigate in the remainder of the Champions League.
Threats – Shaky defence and Fatigue
The only possible weakness in this superb Barcelona side has been their inability to keep clean sheets. The defensive pairing of Pique and Mascherano have been solid for most of the time, but they are prone to making costly errors which lead to goals on some occasions.
Also, Barcelona have played more matches than any other team in the La Liga having already made the Copa Del Rey final as well. Winning a treble is never easy and winning it twice in a row is possible only for this stunning team.
The stress and fatigue of participating in this competitions is not only physical but, it is also mental requiring players to maintain their calm and composure in the most testing of situations. Also, with their great rivals Real Madrid completely focussing only on the Champions League, Barcelona will know that the road to glory is a long and winding one.
Opportunity – Cement their place as one of the best club football teams in history
Barcelona are in a stunning run of form lately and they are unbeaten in 36 matches. With big stars like Messi, Neymar and Suarez firing on all cylinders, Barcelona might just do the impossible and win the Champions League and treble again.
If they do that, we can safely say that Luis Enrique’s Barcelona side will go down as one of the best in history eclipsing even Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona side.
