FC Barcelona: A Season to Relish

Yes, I know what I am saying and No, I am not drunk. Before you guys move your cursor towards the back button please go down a few lines more. Maybe, two months back articles with similar topics were a ray of hope but now they just feel like the examination paper where you have attempted 30 marks and hoping for a 35 to just pass. 10 points, whew… that’s a lot. I have not checked the stats but last season we were 5 or 7 points above at this stage. Looking at this Madrid side, to win this year’s Liga it will truly require a Marvelous Miracle to take place.

Now enough of the part you did not want to read. Somehow I am finding this season enjoyable even with the huge gap difference. A quick flashback to last year. Which match do you remember being 2 goals down? The first or maybe the only one to come in mind is the game at the Camp against recently promoted Hercules. When did you see the ball in our half (Except the passes given back to Valdes so that he does not get bored). And if you travel back to the previous seasons, best of luck, memory lane would not have stored them.

Being an optimist, I really like looking at the brighter side. First of all, our defense is being tested to the maximum and they are doing quite a good job (many of you may not agree but if you replay the Classico’s , the Espanyol derby and many more you will see for yourself). One thing which we have been lacking is our counter attacks. Teams specialize in them so that a quick goal can be obtained. With much of trial and error done I personally feel our counter attacking skill has improved a mile. Speaking of counter attacks we actually have forwards, playing as forwards. The introduction of Tello and Cuenca. One is Flash while the other one is Bolt. Pure wingers, can cut inside, cross the ball well and also stick to our traditional tiki taka style. It’s a delight to watch them running with the ball. Cuenca can be considered as the cross guy while Tello is more direct: ‘I have the ball, there’s the goal, now catch me if you can’. If the crosses are good you cannot neglect the headers. Cesc Fabregas , Carles Puyol , Lionel Messi all have netted quite a few. Not only Tello and Cuenca have shined but also the likes of Thiago and Jonathon Dos Santos have provided a fresh feeling in the game.

In the game against Osasuna, where we were 2 – 0 down, to be honest I had almost given up. Not because I didn’t have faith in them but I had rarely seen us in a situation like this in the past seasons. These were not counter goals, these were well created goals. We were quite unlucky to lose the match 3 -2 and not taking away credit from Osasuna, because the way they played they deserved to win it. Summer signings Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez have shown excellent character.

‘Alexis, you truly stole our heart’ – Pep Guardiola

’s a joy to watch them play now. There is a great satisfying feeling you get when you continue to stand by your team and players when they are not winning. Not only about the support but there is a different feeling when your team makes a lovely comeback (Referring to Valencia). The team has shown us spirit which makes me proud to be a Blaugrana faithful. They showed character when Madrid won the Copa del Rey, they showed character against Osasusna as well as Sevilla. As I said I am an optimist, I do not want to say that I have lost hope of the Liga this season. Making a 10 point leap with second half of the season already on, will be like climbing the Mount Everest with an avalanche. Hoping the team unfolds the Blaugrana flag on the top .And if they don’t maybe this will be a motivation for the next season. Visca Barca.