Barca have claimed Europe's most prestigious prize on four occasions in the last decade, putting los Blancos' Decima triumph in the shade in a one-sided rivalry recently
It is a trophy that used to be synonymous with Real Madrid more than any other team. Los Blancos have claimed the European Cup 10 times in their illustrious history but Barcelona have been catching them up in recent years.
Madrid famously won the first five European Cups between 1956 and 1960 before adding another in 1966 and, even though Barcelona finally got their hands on the trophy in 1992, Real reclaimed the prestigious prize in its new format as the Champions League in 1998, 2000 and 2002.
The last of those arrived in the midst of the Galactico era and, with a star-studded team plus a seemingly endless amount of money to attract the world's finest footballers to the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid looked odds-on to dominate European football for years to come and extend their 9-1 advantage in European Cups over Barcelona.
Instead, however, the Catalan club have ruled the roost in the last decade. As the Galactico era crumbled, the Lionel Messi era was about to begin - and in it Barca have claimed four Champions League titles to Madrid's one.
Messi made his Champions League debut in 2004 against Shakhtar Donetsk, Madrid's opponents on Tuesday. Barca won La Liga that season with Ronaldinho the main man at Camp Nou but fell short in Europe as they lost to Chelsea in the last 16. Madrid, meanwhile, were also eliminated in the second round (by Juventus).
The following season, Messi ended up a winner in the competition for the first time but missed the latter stages after he was injured against Chelsea in the last 16 as Barca progressed this time and went on to claim the title by beating Arsenal in Paris.
The heroes in that match were goalscorers Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti along with Henrik Larsson, who emerged from the bench to set up both goals in the 2-1 win. The Swedish striker had been preferred to Messi (now recovered from injury but short of full fitness) for the last place among the substitutes by coach Frank Rijkaard.
The two remaining years of the Rijkaard reign saw Barca lose out to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2006-07 and then fall to Manchester United in the semi-finals the following season. By this time, Ronaldinho was fading fast and Messi had established himself as an important player at Camp Nou - and the Argentine would play a key role in the coming campaigns.
Pep Guardiola took over as coach at Barca in 2008 and soon turned them into a formidable force, with Leo at the heart of it all as Ronaldinho left the club. Alongside Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry, Messi marvelled in a tremendous team with Xavi and Andres Iniesta behind him.
That side sealed the treble in 2008-09 and missed out narrowly to Jose Mourinho's Inter in the Champions League semi-finals the following season as Madrid crashed out to Lyon in the second round. For the sixth successive season, los Blancos had failed to make it beyond the last 16.
Inter won the trophy at the Bernabeu and Florentino Perez had made up his mind - he saw Mourinho as the man to change the team's fortunes in the Champions League and quickly signed up the Portuguese to replace Manuel Pellegrini.
Real's luck did change as they ended their last-16 jinx, qualifying for the semi-finals in the next three editions of the Champions League, but Mourinho had no answer to Messi and the Argentine stole the show as the two teams met in the last four in 2011, scoring two goals (including one sensational strike) in a 2-0 win for Barca at the Bernabeu.
The Catalans went on to win the trophy by beating Manchester United in the final for the second time in two years, with Messi on the scoresheet at Wembley just as he had been at Stadio Olimpico two years earlier.
Semi-final defeats to Chelsea (in 2012) and Bayern Munich (2013) saw Guardiola and then his successor, Tito Vilanova, miss out on another trophy as Madrid also ended up empty-handed, losing in the last four to Bayern in 2012 and Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
And with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, Real did claim their holy grail the following season, la Decima, as they beat city rivals Atletico in dramatic circumstances in Lisbon, levelling in the 93rd minute through Sergio Ramos before winning comfortably in extra time.
But just when it looked like Madrid might build something special once more, Barca again reacted to claim another treble in 2014-15 and confirm their dominance in the Messi era. Since the Argentine's debut in 2004, the Catalan giants boast a 4-1 advantage in Europe's premier club competition and in the past decade, the Champions League has now become much more synonymous with Barca than Real Madrid.
Messi has a lot for which to answer.
No comments:
Post a Comment