The Catalan giants have succeeded in defending their league title and will end the season on a high note despite losing in the Champions League semi-final to Inter and being eliminated from the Copa del Rey earlier in the season.

One of the main catalysts behind the successful defending of la Liga title has been the play of midfield schemer Xavi Hernandez yet the hero in the eyes of the fans is undoubtedly Lionel Messi who managed to score a double in the 4-0 demolition of Valladolid. Barca ended the season three points clear of rival Real Madrid who failed to beat Malaga managing only a 1-1 draw.

The Catalans managed to win 31 out of 38 league games and have suffered a single defeat in la Liga throughout the current campaign. Messi finished the season with stunning numbers having scored 34 goals in 35 la Liga appearances and assisting on 13 other goals. In total the Argentina star managed to score 47 times and dished out 14 assists in 53 matches in all competitions. The 47 goals this season are an improvement on last campaign’s total of 38 strikes which is a remarkable achievement for the Argentina wizard.

No doubt Barca deserved to be crowned la Liga champions after successfully defending their title and beating their main competitors Real Madrid twice in the league. Despite falling short in Europe this will remain a successful season in Barca’s history having fended off Real’s serious threat to the league title.

La Liga leaders Barcelona escaped with a 3-2 win from Sevilla after what appeared to be a rout at one point turned into a nerve-wracking end to an entertaining match. On the other hand, Real Madrid dismantled Athletic Bilbao 5-1 to keep the pressure on leaders Barca with one point separating both sides. The title’s destination will be decided next weekend when the Catalans host Valladolid and Los Galacticos travel to play Malaga with two sides expected to win convincingly against the struggling sides as Valladolid and Malaga are fighting for survival with clubs placed 18th and 16th respectively in the league.

Despite the two clubs being at risk of relegation the firepower of Barca and Los Galacticos along with their defensive line ought to be more than capable of seeing off the two strugglers. The Catalans will once again rely on the goals and inspiration of Lionel Messi who opened the scoring against Sevilla while Los Blancos will look to their record signing Cristiano Ronaldo to provide the goals and added impetus to the club’s attack. Ironically, the Portuguese star also opened the scoring for Real and the two stars have duelled in the last two season over individual honours while this season has seen them go head-to-head on two occasions and compete over la Liga title.

Both title challengers are firing on all cylinders with Barca putting behind their disappointing Champions League exit at the hands of Inter to dismantle Villarreal 4-1 and record a precious 3-2 win against Sevilla while Real inflicted the third home defeat on Mallorca in convincing manner following a 4-1 romp. While Los Galacticos have the best attack led by Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain who have combined for an impressive 51 goals in the league, Barca have the league’s best defensive record and their star player Messi has managed to score 31 la Liga goals.

The fact Real are still within a point of Barca is quite remarkable considering the Catalans have taken the six points from their two duals in El Clasico this season. Next weekend will witness the crowning of the league champions and it would be hard to bet against the Catalans retaining their title considering their stunning home form and the weak attacking record of the visitors who have scored a measly 37 times to rank as one of the league’s weakest attacking sides. Likewise, Los Galacticos will unlikely face difficulty in overcoming a Malaga side with 15 defeats in the current campaign and suffering from inconsistent form at home.

The title will go down the wire but unless Valladolid can spring a shocking result then the destination of the winner will be a mere formality as Barcelona will likely end up winning the match and celebrating a second consecutive la Liga championship at the Camp Nou.

The Camp Nou will be the venue when Barcelona host Inter in the second-leg of the Champions League semi-final. In Milan, Inter were able to score a fantastic 3-1 win after trailing 1-0 against the European champions. One player who has been instrumental for the Nerazzurri in Europe is Wesley Sneijder yet the Dutch playmaker might miss the return leg in Spain due to injury.

While Inter will predictably sit back to soak Barca’s pressure the absence of Sneijder cannot be underestimated because he provides so much to the Nerazzurri in terms of vision, passing, keeping possession and assisting on goals. If he does indeed miss the clash then Inter will start with a disadvantage despite their 3-1 lead. It will be hard for the Italian club to contain Barca at the Camp Nou and Lionel Messi will likely want to erase memories of the bruising first-leg defeat.

Josep Guardiola will be depending on decisive duo Xavi Hernandez and Messi to lead the line and create scoring opportunities for their teammates. The one concern for Barca is the status of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and whether he can play the full 90 minutes as he appeared lacking in fitness when the two sides met in Milan. Ibrahimovic did feature and actually scored against Xerez in la Liga but Inter are a much more dangerous team with quality strikers such as Diego Milito and former Barca hero Samuel Eto’o.

The main battles will be between Guardiola and Jose Mourinho off the pitch as their tactics and the choice of players will play a major role in the outcome of the match and consequently deciding who advances to the final to be played in Madrid. Another battle will be fought in the middle of the field with Xavi aiming to orchestrate Barca’s attacks and maintaining the tempo he desires and deems suitable to the Catalans. To counter the supreme Xavi, Mourinho will entrust his midfielders with restricting the space available for the Spaniard and the one player who will be charged with leading the midfield for Inter is Esteban Cambiasso. Winning the midfield battle will be key to the outcome of the match as Xavi’s passes usually pave the way for Barca’s attackers to score goal.

Inter’s goalkeeper Julio Cesar must return to his form or at least perform close to his best if Barca are to be deterred. The Brazilian custodian has been below par in recent matches and his drop in level will hurt Inter considering they will have to defend for a considerable portion of the match. It will be interesting to see how Mourinho will start the match and the instructions he will give to his team while the performances of both Xavi and Messi will determine to a large extent how effective Barcelona will be and whether they will overturn the deficit to play in Madrid.

Los Galacticos were able to defeat Valencia 2-0 courtesy of their two top scorers Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid have been heavily dependent on the duo to deliver the goals and achieve victories. When the two are having a relatively subdued match, Real tend to struggle as witnessed against Barcelona.

With the win Los Galacticos have cut the gap with Barca to a single point. Barcelona were able to manage a draw against Espanyol despite having a player sent-off. Dani Alves was given his marching orders after receiving two yellow cards. Barca have to play Inter in the Champions League and this could cause extra distractions for the Catalan club.

The remaining fixtures for both clubs reveal a tougher schedule for Barca because the Catalans have to travel to play both Villarreal and Sevilla while Real’s toughest match will be away to Mallorca. Can Ronaldo and Higuain help Los Galacticos stage a comeback after the disappointing El Clasico to claim la Liga title? The title is still Barca’s to lose and if Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez play to their best then it would be hard to see the Catalans throw away the title even with the tricky remaining schedule.

At the moment the answer would most likely be a resounding “Yes” considering Lionel Messi’s torrid scoring run and his great form. However, one would only need to look at Argentina’s matches to see how the talented Messi who is widely regarded as the best player in the world becomes just another good player. In fact the Barcelona version of the player can be considered as unplayable and near impossible to stop while the Messi who plays for Argentina is still a quality player but one who can be somewhat restricted.

Messi’s form for Barca puts him alongside some of the best players in the world in the last two decades including Zinedine Zidane and the Brazilian Ronaldo (when healthy and at his peak). Messi will surpass both and perhaps be considered one of the best ever if he can lift the World Cup trophy in South Africa 2010. At the tender age of 22 he has already won the Spanish la Liga and the Champions League not to mention the historic sweep of all titles available the last campaign. This is in itself a great achievement which cannot be underestimated but for him to be considered amongst the best ever, Messi must win the World Cup with Argentina.

This season Messi has already scored more goals than he did last season in all competitions and his 27 goals in la Liga are more than the 23 he managed last season in the domestic league. Messi’s form with Barca does not translate to his caps with Argentina where his performances are deemed as less impressive and not as great. The main reason is the fact Barca have a better structured team with more talented players and a vastly superior coach in Josep Guardiola. Diego Maradona might be one of the best players to ever grace the football field but he was never admired for his character and his limited coaching skills leave a lot to be desired. Guardiola took over as a young coach but proved he had the tactical knowledge but more importantly he knew how best to use Messi and the current talent at his disposal. The fact Guardiola spent the majority of his career at the Camp Nou helps as well while Maradona had limited coaching experience prior to taking over Argentina and has shown he is clueless when it comes to bringing the best out of Messi.

Argentina have quality players and are not a bad team but Maradona has failed to surround Messi with the right players and has not been able to employ the proper system which turns Messi into the focal point in the national team. In Barcelona Messi can rely on the talented and underrated Xavi Hernandez to thread in pinpointed passes and provide incisive assists. Xavi was one of the main architects behind the triumph over Real Madrid and he is by far one of the most reliable and effective midfielders in the world. Messi also has the likes of Andres Iniesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Daniel Alves who provide ample support in terms of passing, assists and diversion to free up the Argentine genius and give him more space to roam freely and operate.

The answer to the question why Barca’s Messi performs much better than the Messi who represents Argentina could be simply down to the one way to stop the young star: Hire Maradona and make sure Messi is not surrounded by the appropriate squad. Could the main obstacle preventing Messi’s rise to claim the crown of one of the best ever be none other than Maradona (a former great and the current Argentina coach)? Some believe Maradona’s ego and desire to safeguard his status as Argentina’s best ever is behind Messi’s shortcomings while others simply attribute this to Maradona’s utter incompetence as a tactician.

Will Messi carry Argentina all the way to the final and help his country claim a third World Cup title to cement himself as not just this generation’s best player but one of the best ever to play in the history of the game? Only time will tell and barring any injury Messi has about three chances (World Cup 2010, World Cup 2014 and World Cup 2018).

Barcelona emerged victorious from ‘El Clasico’ after beating Real Madrid 2-0 in Madrid. This was the first home defeat for Los Galacticos in la Liga and might signal the end of Real’s challenge to wrestle away the league title from the Catalan club.

Real’s defenders  looked shaky not only because of Lionel Messi’s movement but also due to midfielder Xavi Hernandez who dissected the capital side’s defensive line with his incisive passing and pinpoint assists. In fact Messi could have had a hat-trick as he missed two other golden opportunities created by the midfield maestro who was in supreme form. While Messi was being referred to as unstoppable prior to this match, Xavi went about his business in a calm, assured and effective manner without much fuss. Messi is certainly the world’s best player at the moment but Xavi could be considered a close second on the evidence of tonight’s performance and his priceless contribution over the course of the season.

Real Madrid were missing Brazilian Kaka and despite his failure to meet expectations in his first season in Spain, the former Milan hero was still sorely missed because he could have created more options for Los Galacticos and one moment of magic from him would have sufficed to create a scoring opportunity. Barca showed they do have the edge because of the familiarity between the players and the way they work for each other. Real’s players are still not on the same page and too dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo. Spain’s number one Iker Casillas was also to thank for limiting the magnitude of the result as he performed two impressive saves to deny Messi from scoring more goals.

With seven rounds remaining from la Liga it would be wrong to assume Barca have won the title and Messi was one of the first to insist there is a lot to player for. On the other hand, Real’s record signing Ronaldo stressed the race for the league title is not over yet in a clear move to keep the morale in the Madrid camp from collapsing even further.

The Barcelona win basically paves the way for the Catalan side to retain la Liga title provided they remain focused and avoid being complacent in the last seven matches. Barca have the talent and the depth to win all the remaining fixtures while Real have realistically handed the title to their rivals and will now have to keep winning and hope Barcelona begin to drop points.

Last weekend’s defeat was inevitable given the Catalans were likely to suffer a loss sooner or later with the congested fixture list. The main concern was whether Barcelona would be able to recover after succumbing to Atletico Madrid or if the loss would signal the beginning of a mid-season slump.

Barca’s answer was emphatic as the players ensured the club returned to winning ways and in impressive manner. Barca’s players dismantled the opposition while hitting the back of the net on four occasions signalling their intent to not just retain their la Liga title but to do so with style.

Barcelona have so many weapons to simply yield after a single defeat but to any critic the manner with which the club responded must have left all those doubting the squad’s abilities in disbelief. Josep Guardiola made sure the players remained focused and put behind their first la Liga defeat in order to regroup and achieve victory.

Earlier today Barca achieved a precious 1-1 away draw in the Champions League which gives them the upper hand in the tie against Stuttgart. A win this coming weekend against Malaga at the Camp Nou will surely show the defeat to Real Madrid’s city rivals was a mere blip in an otherwise positive season. In January the Copa del Rey loss was avenged with a crushing victory over Sevilla to show the players were simply unlucky and perhaps taking matters lightly in certain matches. After losing to Ateltico in la Liga, Barca once again reacted in the correct manner to emphatically win their following match. On the long run Guardiola has the suitable players to respond to any drop in form. He can also count on the best player in the world in the shape of Lionel Messi.

Despite the return to winning ways, Guardiola must be concerned with Real Madrid’s strong surge and the fact Los Galacticos are a mere two points behind in the standings. The clash between the two sides might actually determine the destination of the title this season. In the meantime supporters of Barca and even football fans in general ought to enjoy the entertaining displays put on by the club’s players. Messi often glides and weaves his way through a number of defenders while talented Spaniards Xavi and Andres Iniesta complete the core of a spectacular midfield. The embarrassment of wealth at the Camp Nou is perhaps best exemplified by how Frenchman Thierry Henry cannot even nail a starring role in Guardiola’s lineup.

French star Franck Ribery was a wanted man during the summer yet he ended up staying with Bayern Munich. Ribery was wanted by a number of elite European clubs with Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona all reportedly after his services.

Ribery is going through a frustrating season plagued by injuries which have limited him to just nine league appearances. Bayern started the season in frustrating fashion but have gradually improved to climb the league standings while still competing in the Champions League. Ribery insists he wants to win trophies and while he believes the Bavarians are a big team, he feels they are not up to par with the likes of Barca, Real Madrid and Chelsea.

The Frenchman even hinted his compatriot Thierry Henry who plays for Barca would like him to join the Spanish giants. The intriguing question would be if Ribery joins the Catalans then who would make way? The starting lineup for Josep Guardiola’s team against Getafe included the world’s best player Lionel Messi along with key midfielders Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Seydou Keita. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic also started while  Henry did not feature.

Do the Catalans really need Ribery or would he disrupt the current telepathic understanding built by a team whose stars are familiar with each other? Ibrahimovic has settled in fairly well while Henry has managed 13 appearances in la Liga this season and could be on his way out in the summer. Signing Ribery could imply a hefty sum paid to Bayern Munich for a quality player who might really not be needed considering the presence of a number of difference makers such as Messi and Iniesta.

Interestingly, Barca’s eternal rivals Real Madrid could stand to benefit more if they signed the Frenchman considering Brazilian Kaka has struggled so far to leave his footprints at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

The Blaugrana continued their steady march towards retaining la Liga title after defeating Getafe 2-1 at the Camp Nou. The Catalans had two players sent-off as Gerard Pique received his marching orders after 26 minutes with the score 1-0 in Barca’s favour.

The star for the Barca side was the magical Lionel Messi who scored the opening goal and assisted on the second one as he made sure Getafe could not take advantage of Barca’s numerical inferiority. The home team conceded a late penalty converted by Roberto Soldado after Rafael Marquez was sent-off. The league table shows Barca have won a stunning 17 out 21 matches played without suffering a single defeat.

The Catalans are clearly one of the best teams in Spain and across Europe. It could be argued the side assembled under the guidance of Josep Guardiola is one of the best in the last 20 years. The Real Madrid team which was led by Zinedine Zidane to Champions League glory and the Milan team which dismantled Barca 4-0 in the 1990s are perhaps the two other contenders for such an honour (Manchester United treble winning team was also special).

There is no doubting the abundance of talent in the Barca team with Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all capable of walking straight into any of the European elite club’s starting lineup and making a telling contribution.

It looks unlikely that Real Madrid can halt Barca’s path to maintaining the la Liga title in the Catalan city. Perhaps a victory for Los Galacticos when the two teams meet in Madrid can give hope for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka to win the league title in their first season in Spain. If Barca do retain both the la Liga and the Champions League titles then this team could be considered as one of the best ever in the history of club football. Can anyone argue with that notion considering the quality and flair being displayed by the side while winning in such a convincing manner?

Barcelona have yet to suffer a defeat in la Liga and will complete half of their season’s fixtures this weekend. In 18 matches played, the Catalans have won a remarkable 14 matches and drawn the remaining four games. Barca have the best defensive record with a mere 10 goals conceded and have scored a league high 46 goals.

A quick glance shows Barca have really no glaring weaknesses and if there are any minor deficiencies then the talent of Lionel Messi, the class of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, the leadership of Carles Puyol and the contribution of the others will likely compensate for it. The club exited from the Copa del Rey after losing on aggregate to Sevilla (1-2 loss in the Camp Nou followed by a 1-0 win in Sevilla) but took revenge with a 4-0 hammering of the Sevillistas in la Liga. 

The Catalans also lost once in the Champions League to Rubin Kazan so obviously they are not immune to dropping the occasional match but the question remains whether they can finish the league season without a defeat.  If there are no major injuries (particularly to Messi) and everything goes as expected then it would not be shocking to see the club end the season without suffering a single defeat. It will also depend on whether the Coach Josep Guardiola rests some of his stars during the remaining fixtures of the season. It is quite difficult to accomplish such a feat but who can argue against the quality of this entertaining side?