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Can Elche Stop Barcelona from Winning the Title Again?

You may not know, but this Sunday looks a lot like 37 years ago. Will history repeat itself?

David Ramos

Sunday, May 11th, 2014. Elche CF vs FC Barcelona. Barça visits Elche two victories away from winning the title. Barça is in second place in the La Liga standings, and needs to win to have a chance against Atlético Madrid on the last round of the season.

Sunday, May 15th, 1977. Elche CF vs FC Barcelona. Barça visits Elche two victories away from winning the title. Barça is in second place in the La Liga standings, and needs to win to have a chance against Atlético Madrid on the last round of the season.

Sunday, May 15th, 1977. Atlético Madrid didn't score a goal and had a 0-0 draw against Real Madrid. So all Barcelona needed was a win. They had Johan Cruyff, one of the best ever. They had Manuel Clarés, who scored 22 goals that season.

The result? 0-0. Draw. Atleti wins the title. Barcelona is stunned. They can't believe they couldn't beat Elche, 11th on the standings that season.

So we're back to Sunday, May 11th, 2014. Barcelona will face Elche and needs a win to have the chance to beat Atleti for the title at Camp Nou. Barcelona has Lionel Messi, one of the best ever. They have a great team, and Elche is fighting to not be relegated. This shouldn't be hard.

Well, this day and age, it is. How crazy it is that we're actually concerned that Barça might lose a game like this? But here we are, hoping that the season ends with something nice for us to talk about.

37 years ago, Elche gave Atleti the Liga title. This Sunday, they can do it one more time.

Will it happen? We hope not. And we hope Barça doesn't let it happen.

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