By EDIALE KINGSLEY
THERE was no title parade on Saturday night as Barcelona won La Liga at Granada, but there was still plenty for Luis Enrique’s side to celebrate — not least the 18 million euros (4 billion naira) in bonuses the players reportedly pocketed as they claimed the 24th league title in the club’s history.
A Bruce Springsteen concert and the Spanish Grand Prix contributed to security concerns, and that meant the proposed open-top bus tour through the Catalan capital was put on ice for the moment. That did not stop fans of the club getting dressed up in blaugrana and heading to Canaletes at the top of La Rambla, though. Also did not stop them toasting another title, which further enhances their claim to being the best club of the 21st century.
Clasico rivals Real Madrid were named the team of the 20th century almost two decades ago, now, but since then it has been Barca who have enjoyed almost blanket domination of Spanish football.
The win in Granada on Saturday will earn them their eighth league title in the last 12 years, dating back to the 2004-05 season when Frank Rijkaard guided them to their first top place finish since 1999. Crunching those years down to eight, three points at Granada’s Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes will lead to the club’s sixth triumph in the last eight years. In that same time period, capital clubs Real and Atletico Madrid have sat atop the Primera Division after 38 games just once each.
That’s clearly something to be proud of; something to celebrate. But despite that, an opinion has emerged that winning La Liga may not be enough this year if Madrid win their 11th Champions League title in Milan later this month. It’s an opinion which has grown in some sections of the Catalan press, although it’s one which should be shown the cold shoulder.
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At a news conference on Thursday, Luis Suarez was even asked about what Los Blancos winning their second Champions League of the century would mean — Barca have won four since the turn of the millennium. The Uruguayan rightly pointed out that the only thing he wants to evaluate is his own club’s success.
And their own success has been astounding. If they clinch the title this weekend, it will be the sixth trophy of the Luis Enrique era. The seventh could follow next weekend when they face Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final.
It’s not just the sheer number of trophies they’ve won, either, but the way they have gone about winning them. Former manager Gerardo Martino, who failed to win La Liga during his lone season on the Camp Nou bench, said he wouldn’t have wanted Lionel Messi’s disallowed goal to stand against Atletico Madrid on the final day of the season, thus stripping the title from Diego Simeone’s men, as Barca had not played with the right style throughout that campaign.
There have, of course, been ups and downs this season, with April’s untimely dip in form almost costing the Catalan club their place at the top of the table, but few would argue that they are not worthy champions if they get over the line.
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Against Celta Vigo on Feb. 14, for the final half hour, they were absolutely sensational in scoring five goals. They’ve scored four or more goals on 14 occasions, including once at the Santiago Bernabeu. They’ve scored six goals in four games and they slammed eight past Deportivo La Coruna when their season was close to being tipped off the edge of a cliff. Between losses to Sevilla and Madrid, they went 23 games unbeaten, winning 12 in a row at one point. People wondered if they’d ever lose again.
Suarez has scored 37 goals — including 11 in his last four — and created 16 more; Messi has contributed with 26 goals and 16 assists despite missing two months due to injury; and Neymar, despite being singled out, perhaps deservedly so, for some sloppy displays of late, is set to end the campaign with 24 goals. He’s set up another 11, too, and could still add to that tally this weekend.
Behind those three South America predators, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano have all had their moments as well. The list could go on and on and with the season wrapped up, we can’t wait to see who else will join the club in the summer.