2016-17 was not a vintage season for many top European clubs in general. The Manchester clubs were out of the title race by March. PSG lost out on the Ligue 1 title to AS Monaco after four successful seasons. Bayern Munich, despite their domestic success, failed to crack the European code yet again. Borussia Dortmund huffed and puffed their way to third place. Arsenal finished outside the top four after 20 seasons.
But if there was a contest for the most disappointing team of 2016-17, Barcelona would win it hands down. For a team that won the treble just two seasons ago and a domestic double the previous season, it would rankle sorely to hold aloft just a Copa Del Rey trophy.
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The notion of success simply goes far beyond that for Barcelona – a club whose manager could face speculation about his future because he did not win the treble.
Here are 5 reasons why Barcelona were the biggest disappointment in 2016-17:
#5 Lack of quality squad depth
Just outside the strongest 11, Barcelona's second string midfielders and attackers - the likes of Arda Turan, Rafinha, Denis Suarez and Paco Alcacer - fared poorly when compared to their Real Madrid counterparts - James Rodriguez, Mateo Kovacic, Lucas Vasquez and Alvaro Morata. While Real's second string players managed a tally of 26 goals and 20 assists in La Liga, Barcelona's fringe players managed only 16 goals and 11 assists.
The summer signings have been largely disappointing – Samuel Umtiti aside, the rest of the arrivals hardly challenged for a spot in the first 11. Lucas Digne and Andre Gomes looked particularly out of depth.
If Barcelona are to make a strong comeback next season, the upcoming summer signings are going to be key; they can't afford to lose more ground to Real in terms of squad quality.
#4 Managerial uncertainty that cast a shadow over the season
With all the furore that persistently surrounded him, it can be easy to forget that Luis Enrique won nine trophies out of a possible 13 during his three seasons as manager. Even so, Enrique hardly ever enjoyed unanimous love in Camp Nou. Irritable press conferences, animated touchline gestures and frequent insinuations about the internal politics that plagued Barcelona did not endear Lucho to everyone.
Going into the final year of his contract, speculation about their manager's future threw a dark cloud over Barcelona's season. As Arsene Wenger would readily attest, such uncertainty is not the best of environments to nurture a winning squad.
The eventual separation may have been 'mutual' – but it is clear Enrique did not receive the respect he deserved.
#3 Frustrating losses at inopportune times
Barcelona's early season home defeat at the hands of Alaves proved far too costly at the end of the season. Having lost out on the title by just three points, Barcelona would inevitably look back with regret upon the finer points – Sergio Ramos' umpteenth stoppage time equaliser at Camp Nou in December would taste sour too.
Whenever it seemed Barcelona were on a sublime run of form that could salvage their season, they went on to draw or lose a game, derailing all the momentum that had been carefully built.
Barcelona did not win more than two successive away fixtures after September until the penultimate day of the season, when a win at Las Palmas ensured a third away win in a row.
#2 Failure to seize the initiative after a miracle comeback against PSG
If there was any instance that perfectly encapsulated Barcelona's aforementioned tendency to go missing at the most inopportune times, this was it. Barcelona had just won 6-1 against PSG; the greatest European comeback in history. Ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga by a point at the time (having played a game more), Barcelona seemed destined to turn their season around at that point.
Two days later, they lost away to Deportivo in the La Liga. There it was, all the optimism was quashed, the old woes still glaringly on the surface, a thumping crash down to Earth after their historical achievement.
Barcelona never really recovered from that; the feeling of invincibility had been irreparably damaged. Barcelona owed themselves and their fans at least a run to the semifinal stage after the PSG miracle but a strong Juventus side stopped them from doing that as well.
#1 The success of Real Madrid
Ultimately, it came down to this. It wouldn't have hurt as badly if the league and Champions League success had belonged to, say, Atletico Madrid – but it feels bitter for any Barcelona fan that Real Madrid just enjoyed one of the most successful campaigns in their history while Barca was left to look on and applaud.
Real Madrid won their first league title in five years. They won only the third European Cup and league double in their history, the previous ones being in 1956-57 and 1957-58. They became the first team to retain the European Cup since it got rechristened to 'Champions League' in 1992.
It was not just a bad season for Barcelona, it was a historic one for Real – all the more why it hurt as badly as it did.
