The Road to the Treble Is Painted Blaugrana: Barça’s Dream Lives On
Barça celebrates and soars, albeit without the exuberance seen before the break, less brilliant and overwhelming, just as competitive and winning. The Seville final has entered the Olympus of Barça triumphs , especially enjoyed by the opponent and the way they achieved it, coming from behind and with epic results, a traditionally white medicine, adopted for some time now by Flick’s Barça, who are five games away from the treble, three in the Champions League and two in La Liga , because by winning the Clásico in two weeks they are virtually champions.
Victory at this Barça has many factors , as is logical in structures like the Blaugrana’s. Starting with the president, through Deco and ending with the coach, Hansi Flick , praised by Víctor Valdés in a way that makes you think . Along the way, another handful of people in charge: Julio Tous and Pepe Conde in charge of physical preparation; the legal department that managed to get Olmo and Pau Víctor registered; all those involved in the recruitment and training of the ‘made in La Masia’ who populate and fill the locker room with energy; those who help the levers; Xavi and his faith in those he gave their debuts during his mandate … Countless if we go into detail, because every grain of sand counts when you get this far.
As for the squad, we don’t have to go back too far to find the figure of Mateu Alemany , another key figure in the season’s unraveling, despite having been watching the world from Palma de Mallorca for the past year and a half. Connected, of course, between fishing and golf, he’s waiting for a worthwhile project after having one foot in Atlético and the other in the Federation . From here on, not just any office will do to get back to work.
Without straying further from the topic, the Copa del Rey night in Seville was a delayed vindication of ‘Padremany,’ as he was affectionately nicknamed when he was Barça’s general manager and juggling to balance the books while simultaneously strengthening the team. Mainly due to three personal bets of his, unequivocally his: Koundé, Iñigo Martínez, and Ferran Torres. The signing of the Frenchman was a battle by Mateu to snatch him from Chelsea. It’s ironic that he’s playing his best football from right back when he precisely turned down Tuchel for not looking like a second. Iñigo’s move, a trademark move, anticipating and securing his arrival at zero cost. A leader for a dressing room in need of leaders. And Ferran’s, surely the one for which he was most criticized. Torres’s problem was his price (55 million in December 2021) . But it was a reasonable bet, both in football terms (he was as deep as few others and scored goals) and in terms of youth (he was 21). It took him a while to reach his potential, but the Cup final, a huge one in his case, is confirmation of a great season for him. And, by extension, the bet on the day.
Beyond the performance in the Seville final (where, curiously, in 2019, Mateu and Marcelino’s Valencia defeated Messi and Valverde’s Barça), the Barça season also shows that a technical direction like Flick’s has raised the performances of players who didn’t shine under Xavi to these levels. Alemany also brought in Eric García for free from City, who, although a secondary player, is proving very necessary at key moments, and especially Lewandowski, whose 50 million transfer for a 34-year-old striker had its risks. 99 goals later, no one doubts the deal. Raphinha also arrived with him, although in this case the credit goes more to Deco, who comes out much stronger this season .
Pedri and Araujo were brought in by Ramón Planes. And Abidal brought De Jong, and Ter Stegen brought Zubizarreta… More of the fathers of today’s Barça. But this season is proof that Mateu’s eye and his efforts were well-aimed, and all that was needed was a coach to optimize them. On Saturday in Palma, he was sure to toast a title that bears his seal of approval.