BARCELONA – Barcelona from the emergency department left Sevilla very lively, engaged again, it remains to be seen for how long, with the dream of fighting for the title and linked his fifteenth unbeaten game in the League (12 wins and 3 draws) that apart from football sensations, they represent a balance worth taking into account. Koeman’s songs are ready to discuss all mistakes, all criticism and any arguments on the sidelines.
A victory of both prestige and confidence, a victory that catapulted him to second place in the league and two points from the lead (although he has two more games than Atlético de Madrid) and took the ghosts off the podium … now to think that that draw in Camp Nou against Eibar and Cádiz FC could weigh too heavily on him.
Injured Gerard Piqué, Ronald Araújo and Pedri in the worst news of a perfect afternoon (“I feel very proud of the team,” Piqué revealed), Barça made it clear that in the middle of a rollercoaster they have the ability to grow, compete and to believe. “Competition, certainly yes, because there is still a lot left,” the veteran said centrally, recalling that the past is the best prelude to thinking that the season has yet to be decided.
MEMORIES AND LEARNING
In the 2003-04 season, Rijkaard’s first on the Barça bench, Barça who survived a match on the wire to end the first round (after conceding a 3-0 in Santander it was 12th in the standings, 20 points behind the leader Real Madrid), was transformed under the magic of Ronaldinho and the energy of the newcomer Edgar Davids to catapult himself in a great way: he linked 17 matches without losing, 14 wins and 3 draws, making him even up to three dates for the title they eventually fell in Vigo 1-0 against Celta Vigo.
But that was the presentation of what was to come in the following years. The confirmation of Víctor Valdés and Xavi Hernández, the leadership of Puyol, the performance of Oleguer, the growth of Iniesta … And the knock on the door of the young Lionel Messi. Different from the current one? Probably. But with data to consider when it comes to the wardrobe.
Koeman’s Barça has introduced Pedri and Araújo, entrusts his future to Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati, keeps an eye on Ousmane Dembélé, guarded by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen or relying on Sergiño Dest … and maintaining himself with Piqué or Sergio Busquets has in Messi the leader responsible for connecting past and future. It may not be enough to immediately lift titles, but it is still a long-standing plan.
Since the 23 matches he had without a defeat in the 2018/19 season (18 wins and 5 draws that made him the champion with three dates in advance), the Barça team did not enjoy as much a streak as the current one, colored by three matches. play in Camp Nou (Valencia, Eibar and Cádiz) which weigh as a block in the standings, because without those mistakes Koeman’s group would be comfortably leader today (certainly with two games more than Atlético) of a League than the coach of Barça which he insists on keeping it open.
The calendar that stays ahead of the favorite, still Atlético, and the aspirants Barça and Real Madrid, perhaps even Sevilla FC, invites us to consider that the League still has plenty of turns. It will be necessary to see how far Simeone’s team is able to overcome the latest setbacks, to know if the pandemic of victims is not dragging Zidane’s men, and to monitor the response of Lopetegui’s men. .
And, in a Barca key, stick to a rollercoaster of thrills and results until the end of the season. With or without titles, with better or worse feelings … But thinking, going back to the past, that this season should probably be the start of a new stage.