A great challenge for the Barcelona (Yahoo)

Though being superior and even winning their match in the Stadium of Sánchez Pizjuán vs Sevilla, Barcelona had to confront with an experience not much recalled: to remain eliminated in a contest, in this case the King’s Cup in the eight-final what can constitute a mark for the months left of this season. It is the moment that the Group conduced by Josep Guardiola should show all their courage and that they continue in force at the highest level of World football.

What happened in the lockers room the following minutes to the elimination vs Sevilla, with all kinds of fury, objects that flew with the rage accumulated and even desperate cry of their maximum star, the Argentine Lionel Messi, accustomed to win everything in the collective and individual, though with a final of union of the team and swearing to win the Spanish and Champions Leagues, what gives a special touch to a different team from those that appear from time to time but remain in the collective memory.

Barcelona is not only making history by their game, what is now undeniable, but also by a good amount of healthy attitude that should be imitable by those who really propose to form part of a football of high quality in all aspects.

In posterior days of the elimination vs Sevilla (that arrived only because Barcelona needed to mark two goals and won by a minimum difference though had great quantity of possibilities and also shots in the sticks), their coach Guardiola, with all the wisdom that characterize him, remarked that the team will continue playing in the same manner and though he met with some defensive problems in the central part (because Chygrynsky did not yet adapted himself and because Milito returns after an absence of over a year due to injury), he is not of the idea to kick the balls far to any place, but to continue coming with the ball dominated to give it a major game to the group. In other words, the idea of game deepens even in the defeat because there is a philosophy behind the project.

The elimination of Barcelona by Sevilla, may operate in the spirit of the team due to different causes. One of them is that they will not be able to repeat the triplet of the last season, something on the other side very difficult to obtain for any team of the World in their respective competitions, and just for the same reason in the season 2008/09 is just heroic, but it will be also important how Guardiola reconducts many of the juniors coming out from the quarry that counted with many minutes to show themselves in the King’s Cup and that now should enter in the game field in very short moments. At any rate, it is clear that Guardiola counts with many of them, since the view point of having reverted to Jeffren, of not much experience, in the decisive moment vs Estudiantes de La Plata in the World Championship of Clubs.

If we base in the previous experience, each defeat or elimination of Barcelona meant in the last years a spiritual push for the team. In fact, this is the first fall after fourteen consecutive eliminations won vs Spanish or European teams since October 28, 2008.

In the passed Spanish League, Barcelona started losing 1-0 visiting the Numancia and afterwards tied in the Camp Nou vs Racing of Santander and since then obtained nine consecutive triumphs as well as the defeat for the Champions League vs the Shaktar Donesk (2-3) determined that they won afterwards six consecutive matches, or a great period of won matches, after the defeat vs the Espanyol (1-2) for the League and the same occurred in 2009 after the unexpected defeat vs the Rubin Kazan for the Champions League (1-2) with sixteen matches without losing (twelve triumphs and four ties).

The reaction of Guardiola was also important with regard to the renewal of his contract (something that all the Barcelona awaits), what was in a doubt because mid of the year there will be election in the institution and their current president, Joan Laporta, will be not able to enter into the re-election.-

Many involved Guardiola with different projects and that is why it is wise the decision of the coach to cool the situation, not to speak of it in this moment. But to clear up that he has no problem to renew, thus calming the complicated instance.

It seems incredible that the Barcelona generates all this due to have been eliminated from the King’s Cup for a difference of one goal, after having won everything in the passed season and to be leader, at the same time, and in a definite manner, of the Spanish League and being classified for eights of the Champions, when for example the Atletico Madrid lives in glory for having remounted in the same phase the Recreativo coming to the quarters in the only competition in which they count with real chances, but so is the football.

The Barcelona is now in front of a great challenge to run the page, taking it as a fortuitous matter and going in advance. The champions are also when they learn from a fall and use same in their favor.