FC Barcelona: The Guardiola Era (2008-2012)

Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola began his playing career in FC Barcelona’s La Masia academy, between the ages of 13 and 19. Aged 19 he began making first team appearances, before becoming a familiar face in Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona side that went on to win La Liga as well as the 1991-92 European Cup. He went on to make 479 appearances in 12 seasons, in which he achieved 16 titles. He was also named club captain in his spell with his boyhood club, before he eventually left for Italian outfit Brescia in 2001. Seven years later Guardiola was reunited with his beloved Barcelona when they offered him the managerial role to replace Frank Rijkaard, who parted ways with he club on mutual terms. Rijkaard had won two league titles as well as the 2005-06 Champions League in his five seasons at the club. Guardiola had big shoes to fill, especially as his managerial career prior was a stint at Barca Atletic in which he earned them promotion to Second Division B. Pep Guardiola announced himself to the top tier of footballing management when he said, “I can’t promise you silverware, but I can say that we’ll keep on battling to the end and you’ll be proud of us”. Guardiola brought the possession based 4-3-3 formation that he played in under Johan Cruyff. Guardiola was well aware that with the players at his disposal, accompanied by his philosophy and meticulous attention to detail, that this side could conquer all that football has to offer.

2008/2009

Guardiola kick started his first league campaign for Barcelona in despicable fashion, with the side losing 1-0 away to Numancia. From there on they didn’t look back, a disappointing draw at the hands of Racing Santander at the Camp Nou then began an undefeated run of twenty matches. A run that they won seventeen matches and drew three, which left them sitting comfortably atop the La Liga table. This run of form included some footballing master classes such as the following flawless performances. 6-1 victories over both Gijon and Atletico, a 5-0 victory against Almeria, the 6-0 decimation of Valladolid, a 4-0 win against Valencia and a 5-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna as well all on home soil. Barcelona capped off this impressive run of form with a 2-0 victory of Real Madrid in Pep Guardiola’s first El Clasico as a manager. Barcelona’s second and third defeats in the league followed promptly in a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Espanyol, before the 4-3 humbling away to Atletico one week later. Barcelona then went on to all but secure themselves the La Liga title with another unbeaten run, this time of ten games, which included impressive 6-0 and 4-0 victories against Malaga and Sevilla. Their most notable victory was the humiliation of their greatest rivals Real Madrid, 6-2 in front of their own fans. Barcelona then lost two out of their last three games, but from then it was too late. They finished the season on 87 points, 9 points ahead of second placed Real Madrid. Barcelona went on to also win the Copa del Rey, Spain’s most lucrative cup tournament beating Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the final. Pep Guardiola found himself staring down a potential treble winning season in his first year in charge of Barcelona.

Kick starting their Champions League campaign, Barcelona topped a fairly weakened group featuring Sporting CP, Shakhtar and FC Basel, finishing up with round of 16. After two tough legs which finished 1-1 and 5-2 Barcelona progressed through 6-3 on aggregate. Barcelona subsequently drew Bayern Munich in the quarter final, but made light work in dispatching them 5-1 on aggregate over the course of the two legs. For the semi final they drew Chelsea FC, the runners up from the previous season. After a goalless draw at the Camp Nou both sides went to Stamford Bridge on the 6th May with everything to play for. It proved to be a memorable fixture that delivered incredible drama up until the final whistle. Only nine minutes in Michael Essien delivered Chelsea the lead with a sumptuous volley that left Victor Valdes grasping at thin air. The tie then went down hill for Barcelona with Eric Abidal sent off mid-way through the second half as a result of a dubious refereeing decision. From there Chelsea saw numerous penalty appeals waved away before Andres Iniesta sunk the dagger through Chelsea hearts with a 93rd minute winner to send Barcelona through to the Champions League final. In Rome, Barcelona had their date with destiny after Manchester united sent them crashing out of the Champions League semi-final the year prior thanks to a stunning Paul Scholes strike. This time around there would be no such fairytale for Manchester United. The English side appeared on the front foot in the early stages before a Samuel Eto’o goal ten minutes in, sent shockwaves rippling through the Stadio Olympico. Barcelona soon took charge, dominating the better end of the possession and chances before soon to be Ballon D’or winner Lionel Messi rounded off proceedings with a towering header over Rio Ferdinand in the 70th minute thanks to a pin point cross from Xavi, who would be awarded man of the match. With that, FC Barcelona had completed football’s most difficult triumph, the treble. Guardiola impressively managed to do so in his first season in charge of the Catalan club.

Barcelona begun the following season the same way they began, winning The UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club world Cup as well as Supercopa De Espana to round off something that had never been seen before in football, the sextuple. Accompanying the team’s efforts their highest scorer across all competitions, Lionel Messi went on to win the FIFA Ballon D’or, crowning a golden year for both him and FC Barcelona.

2009/2010

Barcelona’s season of 2008/2009 was going to be a tough act to follow, and it showed in 2009/2010. Guardiola’s Barcelona rose to the occasion again in the league, with a ground breaking season finishing with 99 points, managing only 1 loss in 38 games. Barcelona managed out do themselves from the year prior notching up a 21 game unbeaten run before finally going down 2-1 to Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. From there Barcelona got back into their stride and went another 16 games unbeaten, 14 of which they won. Just like that they had lifted their second successive La Liga crown and had done so in spectacular fashion. They finished 3 points above second placed Real Madrid as well as having a +6 goal difference on their eternal rivals. Barcelona’s defence of the Copa Del Rey didn’t fare quite as well with Sevilla knocking them out on away goals in the round of 16.

In the 2009/2010 Champions League FC Barcelona topped their group yet again. They finished up ahead of Inter Milan, Rubin Kazan and Dynamo on 11 points. The knockout phase saw them draw VFB Stuttgard in a tie which they saw themselves comfortably through 5-1 on aggregate thanks to their youthful attacking force of Messi, Pedro and Bojan. Barcelona then found themselves up against Arsenal in the quarter-finals, which began with a tight fought 2-2 draw at the Emirates, leaving everything to play for at the Camp Nou. If Arsenal thought this could be their year, Lionel Messi had other ideas, scoring 4 goals in the second leg, much to the astonishment of the footballing world. It was one of the great Champions League performances and Messi was displaying exactly why he had been voted the best player in the world 4 months prior. After their quarterfinal heroics Barcelona was to finally be undone by eventual champions Inter Milan. After going down 3-1 in the semi final first leg Barcelona had to muster up something special to get them across the line. An 84th minute strike from centre back Gerard Pique was too little, too late and Inter Milan was through to the final. Although winning the league in emphatic fashion, by the astronomically high standards Barcelona set upon themselves it was a disappointing season, but Guardiola was just getting started and Barcelona would be back with a vengeance the following year.

2010/2011

In 2010/2011 Barcelona picked up where they left off, a disappointing loss in their second league game of the season at home to Hercules was the turning point for this side. They then kicked off an astonishing 32 game unbeaten run in the league, managing 28 wins and 4 draws to spearhead their side atop La Liga. During their unbeaten period Barcelona produced some immaculate performances. Some of those include an 8-0 thumping at home to lowly Almeria as well as 5-0 victories over Sevilla, Real Sociedad and most notably Real Madrid. The 5-0 El Clasico will always be remembered as one of Barcelona’s greatest performances, not just under Guardiola, but also of all time. Early goals from Xavi and Pedro had Barcelona in the drivers seat from the get go. Barca displayed incredible ball retention letting the ball do the work and leaving Real Madrid chasing shadows. Within 12 minutes of kicking off the second half David Villa bagged himself a brace and Barca were 4-0 up. Just before the final whistle, in the 91st minute Jeffren scored the crowning goal for FC Barcelona rounding off proceedings 5-0. Come matchday 34 Barcelona finally dropped points in a 2-1 loss to Real Sociedad but by then the damage was done. Barca finished the season 30-6-2, accumulating 96 points in the process as well as a staggering +74 goal difference, leaving them 4 points ahead of 2nd place Real Madrid. The third season in a row Madrid lost out in the title race to their Blaugrana rivals. Barcelona’s Copa Del Rey campaign saw them looking firm favourites leading into the final. In their round of 32 tie they progressed comfortably 7-1 on aggregate against Ceuta. In the round of 16 they found a much tougher opponent in Atletico whom held them to draws in both legs but got knocked out on away goals following a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. From there Barcelona made light work of Betis and Almeria striding past their opponents 6-3 and 8-0 on aggregate respectively. The final proved to be heartbreak for Guardiola’s side when Cristiano Ronaldo towered over Adriano to score a thumping header.

Barcelona drew a weakened group in Guardiola’s 3rd Champions League campaign in charge, featuring Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos. They finished the group stage undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws amassing 14 points to see them comfortably through to the knockout stage. The knockout stage saw Barcelona forced to dig deep in order to achieved their desired results, suffering a 2-1 loss at the hands of Arsenal. They came back to the Nou Camp looking a determined side with a 3-1 win thanks to a Lionel Messi brace as well as a goal from Xavi, created by a trademark run from Iniesta. With Arsenal proving to be a formidable force in the round of 16, Shakhtar would prove to be no such challenge. A 5-1 win at home as well as a comfortable 1-0 victory away from home saw Barcelona waltzing into the semi-finals. The Semi-Final draw saw an El Clasico final, which promised to be an incredible spectacle for both sides. The battle of the Bernabeu as it was dubbed lived up to all expectations. A tightly fought contest with tensions eventually boiling over saw Madrid manager Jose Mourinho banished to the stands. In the 76th minute Ibrahim Afellay wrong footed Marcelo, before hitting a low-driven pass into the path of Messi’s near post run which he converted clinically. With 5 minutes remaining Messi left fans stunned as he’s done time and time again. He picked up the ball from Sergio Busquets about 40 yards away from goal before going on a run that completely bamboozled Madrid’s back four. He took off like a jet before side stepping Lassana Diarra, out pacing Raul Albiol, shrugging past Marcelo, leaving Sergio Ramos for dead and then dinking the ball past a hapless Iker Casillas. A goal that could only be described as breath taking, which left Madrid’s home fans simply shaking their heads as they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. Both sides went to the Nou Camp on the 3rd of May but Barcelona proved stable enough to hold Madrid to a 1-1 draw and earn themselves a place in the UEFA champions League Final.

On 28th May 2011, the two most successful football clubs over the past decade went head to head in a repeat of the 2008/2009 Champions League final for club football’s most lucrative trophy. Manchester United v FC Barcelona was a fixture that had Wembley stadium filled to its maximum capacity in what promised to be an exciting, flowing football match for the 87,695 fans who bought a seat. The first half was dominated entirely by Barcelona, with the Catalan side retaining 68% possession. Their dictatorship of the game paid dividends in the 27th minute when Xavi’s well threaded through ball played in Pedro who made no mistake from just inside the area, leaving United keeper Edwin Van Der Sar flat footed as he watched the ball sink into the bottom corner. To Barcelona’s astonishment the lead only last 7 minutes. Rio Ferdinand cut out an Eric Abidal throw in, the ball subsequently dropped to Rafael and from that point United caught them on he break. Some nice build up between Rafael, Carrick and Rooney found Rooney with some space in the middle before playing a 1-2 off Ryan Giggs and burying the ball into the top left corner. The second half proved to be more of the same with Barcelona controlling the tempo and creating the better end of the chances as well. In the 54th minute Messi found space on the edge of the area before driving the ball into the bottom right corner, and his celebrations showed just how much that goal meant to him. 15 minutes later David Villa curled in a majestic finessed shot from 20 yards out to end the game as a contest and send Barcelona fans into overdrive. Barcelona won their second Champions League in 3 years and the elation couldn’t be contained. Man of the match was awarded to Lionel Messi who showed exactly why he was the current holder of the Ballon D’or trophy for 2 successive years. Manchester United manager at the time Sir Alex Ferguson announced in his autobiography released in 2014 that Guardiola’s Barcelona side of 2011 was the greatest team he ever faced, period.

2011/2012

The 2011/2012 campaign would be Guardiola’s last in charge of FC Barcelona, a spell that had delivered 3 La Liga titles, 2 UEFA Champions Leagues and 1 Copa Del Rey to the Catalan club. They began the season positively by winning UEFA Super Cup and Supercopa De Espana. They also went on to win the Club World Cup shortly, having qualified from their successes of the previous season. Barcelona kicked off their league campaign just as strong as in previous years, except this year Real Madrid kept up the pace. Undefeated in their first 13 games Barcelona looked reminiscent of the formidable force they had become over the past few years before a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Getafe sent them crashing back to reality. Barcelona swiftly pulled their heads back in and managed 6 wins and 2 draws from their following 8 games, including a vital 3-1 win over title contenders Real Madrid. Barca then suffered their second setback of the season at the hands of Osasuna. Not to be marred by the defeat they came back stronger notching up 11 straight wins to put them back in the mix leading into the final El Clasico for the season which promised to be crucial in the title race. Real Madrid came into the Clasico full of confidence, which showed with Sami Khedira putting Los Blancos ahead within 17 minutes thanks to a mix up in the penalty area. The game maintained a steady pace before Alexis Sanchez equalized for Barcelona right on the 70-minute mark. The goal sparked Barcelona back to life with all the belief they can push for a winner. Barcelona’s intentions would come back to bite them as less than two minutes later an immaculate through ball from Mesut Ozil drifted perfectly into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo’s run before dispatching the chance as he does all so often. With that Madrid extended their lead atop La Liga to 7 points with 4 games remaining and diminished any hope of Barcelona retaining their crown.

After a disappointing league campaign Barcelona were able to keep their heads high after losing out to their rivals in the league, thanks largely to a strong showing in the Copa Del Rey. Barcelona made light work of their first two opponents in L’Hospitalet and Osasuna sinking them 10-0 and 6-1 on aggregate. In the quarterfinals they would yet again be drawn with Real Madrid, which proved to be just as competitive as their race for the league title. Barcelona took a 2-1 lead into the second league thanks to unlikely goal scorers Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal. The second leg proved to be just as dramatic with Pedro and Alves putting Barcelona 2-0 up following a red card to Madrid’s often erratic centre back Sergio Ramos. Madrid pulled two goals back through Benzema and Ronaldo but Barca held out and saw themselves through to the semis. The semi-final saw them pitted against Valencia but they proceeded, winning 3-1 on aggregate with 2 solid performances. A 1-1 draw and a 2-0 victory were enough to land them a place in the final. On 25th May 2012 with the league already handed to Madrid, Barcelona bounced back and looked a side that couldn’t be touched with a strong 3-0 victory securing them their second Copa Del Rey title under Pep Guardiola. Barcelona brought the game to their opponents Athletic Bilbao and they did it early putting themselves three goals up within 25 minutes. Pedro scoring a brace on either side of a Lionel Messi goal as well, and like that they were cup champions again.

Barcelona were drawn to a group which they comfortably saw themselves through in the Champions League. Finishing the group stage 5-1-0 against the likes of Milan, Viktoria Plzen and BATE Borisov. Once through to the round of 16 Barcelona swept their opponents Bayer Leverkusen away going through 10-2 on aggregate. A man of the match performance from Alexis Sanchez following his brace had them 3-1 up after the first leg. The second leg at the Camp Nou belonged to Lionel Messi who hit the back of the net a record 5 times in a Champions League game. The quarterfinal had Barcelona drawn against Milan, who they had already faced twice in the group stage, managing a draw and a win against the Italian outfit. The quarterfinal proved to be no different, Milan held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in a tense first leg. In the second leg Barcelona took the game to Milan with Messi scoring two penalties on either side of a Nocerino goal for Milan. Soon after Andres Iniesta rounded off proceedings by grabbing himself a goal in the 54th minute. The semi-final proved to be Chelsea’s best opportunity for retribution, drawing Barcelona in the same round, which the Catalan club controversially knocked them out back in 2009. The first leg proved to be all Barcelona, other than Didier Drogba’s goal on the stroke of half time, which sent Chelsea to the Camp Nou with a precious 1-0 lead. Just like in the first leg, the second leg began with Barcelona stacking the pressure on Chelsea who looked to absorb as much of it as they possibly can. In the 35th minute after some well worked build up play, Sergio Busquets gave Barca the lead with a simple finish. Less than two minutes later it all appeared to be crumbling for Chelsea after John Terry was sent off for an apparent stamp on Alexis Sanchez. 43 minutes in and Barcelona appeared to have a stranglehold on the game with Andres Iniesta putting them 2-1 up on aggregate after a well measured finish past Petr Cech. 2 minutes into first half stoppage time and a sumptuous through ball from Frank Lampard found Ramires in space who displayed immaculate composure to loft the ball over Victor Valdes, as it stood Chelsea were going through on away goals. The second half provided frustration after frustration for Barcelona, missing an abundance of chances including Lionel Messi sending a penalty rattling off the crossbar. Into second half stoppage time and with Barcelona still trailing after more wasted possession and missed opportunities they sent everyone forward for one last roll of the dice. Branislav Ivanovic cleared the ball and Fernando Torres found himself completely isolated, like that he was through on goal before he rounded Victor Valdes who was left clutching at the grass as Torres ended Barcelona’s dream of winning a third Champions League title in four seasons.

4 years later, Pep Guardiola had written himself into the Barcelona history books. He amassed 14 trophies, more than any other manager in the club’s history and statistically left the club as their greatest manager of all time. Guardiola’s reason for leaving was simple, tiredness and stress, which came with being at the helm of such a big club. One last ceremony for Guardiola was held at the Nou Camp, the players hoisted him into the air as they did so often in their title winning campaigns. A short speech, consisting of a thankyou and a goodbye, before making his way off the pitch, and just like that, FC Barcelona said goodbye to their greatest ever manager.