Barcelona: It is very rare for FC Barcelona to end without a trophy in a particular season. However, so far they have been on the wrong side of things in the 2016-17 season – finishing second in the La Liga and being knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Come Saturday, manager Luis Enrique will have the chance to end his coaching stint with the Catalan giants on a high if Barcelona can defeat Alaves in the final of the Copa del Rey (also known as King’s Cup) at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in Madrid. If they win, it will be third successive time that Barcelona have won the title under Enrique.
Enrique has had a mixed outing with Barcelona since he took over approximately three years ago. The first year he achieved the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League titles; in the second he missed out on the Champions League and in his third season he has been without a trophy so far. Saturday’s final provides him with the ideal opportunity to go out on a high.
In spite of a trophy-less season still, it has still been an unforgettable season, with Barca beating their previous goals record in the league by scoring 116 times and overturning a four-goal deficit against Paris St Germain in the Champions League by winning 6-1.
“It hasn’t been a failure, although it’s not the season we would have wanted,” defender Gerard Pique told reporters Friday. “Saturday’s game offers us the chance to win another trophy to add to the Spanish Super Cup, and every trophy we can win and put in our museum is good for us.”
But it won’t be easy though. Alaves are one of the few teams to have beaten Barcelona in La Liga, this they did last September when they won 2-1 at the Nou Camp. In the return game they lost 0-6, but that came when they had already qualified for the Cup final.
Enrique’s side are strong favourites to win the final, however, which would deliver a ninth trophy overall for him as Barca coach, even though he will be without striker Luis Suarez and right-back Sergi Roberto through suspension. In the absence of Suarez, skipper Andre Iniesta is expected to play an advanced role besides Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Alaves, coached by a former Barca player Mauricio Pellegrino, spent the season’s first half hovering above relegation places but ended the campaign strongly, winning three of their final four games to finish ninth in the table.
“We’re a difficult team to face, we have a very competitive squad and a group of players who are very persistent,” Pellegrino told Spanish daily ‘Marca’. “We’re a team that’s going places and do the simple things very well. We’re humble but we’re capable of taking teams on and competing by playing to win,” he added.
Agencies