Despite winning their 24th La Liga title and their sixth in the past eight years, Barca’s season has been somewhat of a disappointment for the fans, having been knocked out of the Champions League by domestic rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals despite being favourites to retain the trophy. The Catalan giants also came close to being robbed of the League title as Real Madrid closed in on an 11-point gap, but in the end saw the season through in style.
Speaking to the club’s TV channel while celebrating the La Liga triumph, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique made a jibe at Madristas and urged the fans to bask in the victory, saying “We have to celebrate this league with a victory parade. We're not used to this. We need to celebrate it.”
“Other teams would love to be in our position, winning six out of the last eight league campaigns. The league is benchmark for what you have achieved throughout the season.”
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Barcelona suffered a shock exit from the Champions League in April when they lost to Atletico 2-0 in the second leg of the quarter-finals, despite being tipped to clinch the title again by fans and rivals alike. Defending his team’s performance in Europe, Enrique added “The Champions League depends more on specific moments: who you get in the draw, and having luck in the ties, than having a poor game away from home which could leave you out of the competition.”
The Catalan club will hope to end the season with yet another addition to their trophy cabinet when they play Europa League champions Sevilla on Sunday in the Copa Del Ray final. Expressing the team’s desire to compensate the fans for the UCL exit, he continued, “The Copa del Rey is similar [to the Champions League]. We’re really up for it and very excited about it, but what reflects your season-long performance is how you do in the league.”
A League and cup double would be a perfect round up of Barca’s season, and the manager was quick to hail the effort his players have put in, “This is a team made of champions. You only need to look at what these players have won. The players who have been here before and those who have only recently arrived have all been keen to do things well. We have to savour this league triumph even though we still have other objectives".
A win on Sunday would make Barcelona the first club to successfully defend the title in 17 years, but Sevilla will be high on confidence after their impressive win against Liverpool in Basel to lift their third consecutive Europa League trophy and could spoil the Spanish Champions’ celebrations.
