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Five years ago, Barcelona gloriously defeated Juventus in the UEFA Champions League final in Berlin. Barcelona's 2014/15 season is one of the most illustrious campaigns of football ever achieved by a club. Former Blaugrana player Luis Enrique guided Lionel Messi and co to an unprecedented second European treble.
The Catalan giants ripped apart opposition defences for fun on both domestic and European fronts. This was largely down to their star-studded attack of Luis Suárez, Neymar Jr and Lionel Messi. The trident of devastating attackers, referred to fondly as 'MSN', is considered one of the best front lines in football history. Together, they wreaked havoc and demolished teams with their scintillating ability to pick sides apart at ease.
On the other hand, the season also had its fair share of tense and controversial moments. Enrique and Messi had a spat between them which saw the Argentine being dropped by the Spaniard away at Real Sociedad. However, the season had a historic ending with Barcelona achieving success across all competitions. It was a truly spectacular season for the Blaugrana faithful as their club played some of the best football witnessed in the 21st century.
Records galore for Barcelona
The Catalan giants broke a host of different records en-route completing this historic season. Here, we take a look at ten such surreal achievements during the 2014/15 season.
1. First team to win two trebles
Only nine times in the history of European football has a club managed to complete a domestic treble. Out of those nine instances, only five have occurred since the turn of the century. Barcelona have won two of those five.
Barcelona are the first club to have achieved this feat on two separate occasions in Europe. The first came in the legendary 2008-09 season under former manager Pep Guardiola. The second was during the 2014/15 season.
2. All-time record for European doubles
Barcelona's treble saw them win the European Cup/Champions League as well as the LaLiga in the same season for the fifth time. This is an all-time record across Europe, with Ajax and Bayern Munich their next closest contenders.
3. All-time records for domestic doubles
Athletic Bilbao held the record for the most number of domestic doubles — LaLiga as well as the Copa del Rey — having won them five times in the same season. However, the treble-winning Barcelona side broke the Basque club's record as they achieved that feat for the sixth time, setting a new record in Spanish football. Only Bayern Munich (ten) have more in Europe's top five leagues.
4. Most decorated club in Europe's top five leagues
With the three trophies achieved by Barcelona in 2014/15, it took their official trophy tally to 86 — which was the highest figure in all of Europe's top five leagues at the time. They still hold this distinction with a staggering 91 trophies as of 2020, with rivals Real Madrid just one behind.
5. Only Spanish club to score 175+ goals in two seasons
In Pep Guardiola's final year in Spain, Barcelona scored a jaw-dropping 190 goals across all competitions, setting the record for Spanish clubs. The treble-winning 2014/15 season saw them come close to this record tally but ultimately fell short, albeit only by just 15 goals. This made them the only Spanish club in history to breach the 175-goal barrier in a single season. On the second occasion, Lionel Messi alone contributed to 58 of them, setting up a further 28.
Also read: 5 Most baffling transfers conducted by Barcelona
6. Best win rate in Barcelona's history/most wins by a Spanish club
In the 2014/15 season, Barcelona played a total of 60 official games across all fronts. They went on to win 50 of them, which amounts to a win rate of 83.3 per cent — the highest figure ever recorded in Barcelona's trophy-laden history.
Their figure of 50 wins is also the highest-ever number of wins registered by a club in the history of Spanish football.
7. Most clean sheets in a single season
Barcelona managed to shut out their opponents on 33 separate occasions during the 2014/15 season, a record tally for any Spanish club. 17 of those came away from home while 16 were at the Nou Camp. Chilean veteran Claudio Bravo managed 23 league clean sheets and broke the all-time Barcelona record held by Victor Valdés and Andoni Zubizarreta, with 20 apiece. Bravo also conceded just 19 goals in 37 games during the historic campaign.
8. Most away victories in Barcelona history
The Catalans registered a stunning 23 wins away from the Nou Camp in 2014/15, the highest-ever figure in Barcelona's history.
9. Most away goals in club history
Barcelona registered 78 goals of their 175 away from home, setting a new club record for the most number of away goals scored in a season.
10. First squad with three players to score 40+ international goals
Never has it happened in the 21st century where a club has had three players (in this case, of different nationalities) among their ranks to have over 40 international goals. Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar are all football icons for their respective nations and have registered over 40 goals for their countries. Messi is currently the highest scorer for Argentina, and so is Suárez for Uruguay. Neymar is yet to break Pelé's record tally of 77.
Also read: 5 Managers who won the UCL in their first year as manager at a club
