FC Barcelona: Kings of La Liga in 2012-13.
Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Tito Vilanova’s men won their 22nd Liga in the club’s history on Saturday, as Espanyol drew against Real Madrid.
This may sound weird, but thanks R. C. D. Espanyol. Much appreciated.
By the way, you still need to give us the guard of honor in a few weeks time.
As far as Real Madrid is concerned, let me actually thank them for not being good enough to beat Espanyol on Saturday. It took the pressure off Barcelona, and that is always appreciated.
After the game, Jose Mourinho actually congratulated Barcelona on their title win.
“Congrats to Barcelona for the winning the Liga, to the coaches, the players, the directors, and the fans.”
No, we thank your inept team on giving us the title, Mou.
But as much as I poke fun at Mou and his comments, I do appreciate Jose congratulating the entire club, and its fans.
FC Barcelona did not make it easy at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday, as Barcelona won 2-1 against Altetico Madrid.
After a boring first half of play, I wasn’t sure that Tito’s men were going to be able to get a win, as the team looked a bit sluggish out on the pitch. Perhaps it was the fact that they knew the game didn’t mean much, but still, that shouldn’t be an excuse. This team should have come out better for the game.
Speaking of coming out for the game, classy move by Atletico Madrid for doing the guard of honor before the game.
Courtesy of FCBarcelona.com
It was tough to see Lionel Messi come out the game with an injury. He’ll have further tests on Monday on what appeared to be a thigh injury.
I would just shut Leo down for the rest of the season. Maybe he can play in the final game against Malaga, but only for a few minutes. Messi has done enough for this team, and he deserves to rest.
But after Messi came off the game, the team suddenly found a good groove, and were able to get the equalizer when Cesc Fabregas teamed up with Alexis Sanchez for the equalizer. Nice tribute by Alexis and having “Te Amo Mama” underneath his kit.
And let’s lay off Cesc Fabregas, please? Sure, there are moments where he’s been inconsistent, but let’s not pretend that he’s been a complete bust. I don’t know about you, but I want Fabregas at FC Barcelona for a long time.
Barcelona took the lead in the 80th minute thanks to an own goal by Gabi. But credit must go to Cristian Tello who worked his way to get an open pass to David Villa, and el guaje’s shot was deflected in by Gabi for the 2-1 lead and eventual win.
Now that I look back at the season, it truly wasn’t meant to be for this team to win the UEFA Champions League. Messi would have been hurt going into the Final, and this defense is not strong enough to win a European title.
With La Liga wrapped up, look for bench players to play most of the time for the remaining three games. I’d like to see Marc Bartra, Sergi Roberto, and Gerard Deulofeu get plenty of playing time, as it’ll be important for them to have playing time in Liga games–especially Deulofeu.
Alexis Sanchez has really turned it up these past few weeks. Take a look at this stat by @barcastuff:
“With 5 goals and 5 assists since April, Alexis Sanchez has taken part in 10 of Barcelona’s last 16 goals in the Liga.”
Am I 100 percent sold on Alexis Sanchez coming back to FC Barcelona next season? Not 100%, but I feel he’s earned his way to not being loaned or sold this summer. He’s 24 years old, and he will only get better.
Only if Juventus or Inter Milan make an offer too go to pass up is the only time I’d sell Alexis.
I am so proud of this FC Barcelona team.
It really did feel like they have been through two seasons in one.
The first season was the winning streak, the dominance, and the Messi goals.
Then, Tito had to leave for health purposes, and the team managed to get through, but not without going through a few rough patches along the way.
Finally, Tito came back to see his team disappoint in the Champions League, but wrap up their 22nd Liga in club history.
While most want to look ahead to possible transfers this summer, let’s just take our time, and celebrate this Liga title.
Winning La Liga is never an easy thing, and for FC Barcelona, they worked hard to reach this moment.
Let’s make the moment last as long as we can before moving on to thinking about 2013-14.
Fourth Liga title in five years!
Visca Catalunya!
Visca el Barça!
Champions of La Liga BBVA 2012-13!
The crown is back with it’s rightful owner!
Vamos!
Xoel, The Voice of FC Barcelona
