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Barcelona Still Hungry
La Liga: Change of Guard in Sight
Barcelona holds the records...but are they still hungry enough?
Ozren Podnar
Over two months into the new Spanish season, Barcelona are still unbeaten both on the domestic front and in Europe, but cracks are appearing in the play of the Josep Guardiola's team. While Barca are still winning with handsome margins against lesser opponents, they are finding it increasingly difficult to break the resistence of more serious rivals.
It's either a big win or no win for the current European champions, crowned for the fourth time last May in London in the final against Manchester United. Villarreal, Osasuna and Atletico Madrid in La Liga, BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League and Napoli in the traditional summer Joan Gamper trophy have all been dealt with ease and hammered with scorelines ranging from 2-0 to 8-0 (5-0 has been Barca's favourite, recorded four times this season).
However, Real Sociedad, Valencia, Sevilla and Milan managed to hold the Catalans to draws, as well as Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup in mid-August (2-2 has been Barca's favourite, registered four times since the ball re-started rolling in Spain).
So many draws mean that Barca has been knocked off the top spot in La Liga by Madrid and in Europe they will likely have to beat AC Milan at San Siro in order to achieve the seeded status in the draw for the round of 16. Guardiola, reluctant to sign an extension of his contract for another season, insists that his players are still hungry for trophies, but why would he have to make that point in the first place if something weird were not brewing in his locker room?
Winners' fatigue
It is difficult to maintain a winning run for several seasons, with all those powerful rivals around. And Barcelona have been collecting silverware in seven of the past eight seasons, including the one underway. Last August Barcelona even managed to set new team, Spanish and European records that may have further blunted the players' edge. Talk about the winners' fatigue.
By beating Porto 2-0 in the European Supercup, the claret-and-blues achieved their 15th major continental trophy, overtaking Milan, with whom they had been level at 14.
The European and the Spanish Supercup, snatched from Real Madrid, mean that Barcelona have also overtaken their Castillan rivals in the overall trophy count by 74 to 73, although Madrid's Threeumphs arguably carry more weight, since they include nine European Cups/Champions Leagues and 31 Spanish league titles.
Mellowed by triumphs?
At the same time, Josep Guardiola became the winningest Barcelona's coach with 12 titles, one more than his former teacher Johan Cruijff, and the skipper Xavi Hernandez emerged as the most sucessful player in the club's history with 18 honours, having surpassed Guillermo Amor of Cruijff's Dream Team, stuck at 17. And, let us not forget that nine of the present team won last year's World Cup in South Africa and that in January Leo Messi was crowned the best world player for the second year in the row.
All these historical and recent achievements may have made Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Villa, Messi etc. just a bit less angry and mean than before. In the meantime, Real Madrid, whose last trophy dates back from August of 2008, has grown more and more impatient, frustrated and - hungry. Could this be the season when Barcelona's magic evaporates and Spain and Europe witness the coronation of a new king?
Europe's most successful clubs: Which European teams have won the most continental trophies
1. Barcelona (15)
Four Champions Leagues, four Cup Winners' Cups, four Supercups, three Intercity Fairs Cups
2. Milan (14)
Seven Champions Leagues, two Cup Winners' Cups, five Supercups
3. Real Madrid (12)
Nine Champions Leagues, two European Leagues, one Supercup
4. Liverpool (11)
Five Champions Leagues, three European Leagues, two Supercups
5. Ajax (9)
Four Champions Leagues, one Cup Winners' Cup, one European League, three Supercups
6. Juventus (8)
Two Champions Leagues, one Cup Winners' Cup, three European Leagues, two Supercups
7. Bayern (6)
Four Champions Leagues, one Cup Winners' Cup, one European League
8. Valencia (6)
One Cup Winners' Cup, one European League, two Supercups, dva Intercity Fairs Cups
9. Manchester United (5)
Three Champions Leagues, one Cup Winners' Cup, one Supercup
10. Porto (5)
Two Champions Leagues, two European Leagues, one Supercup
Notes
1. Champions League includes European Cup, as the same competition
2. European League includes the UEFA Cup, as the same competition
3. Intercity Fairs Cups was the forerunner to the UEFA Cup, but is considered as a separate competition since it was not organized by UEFA
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