08/14/2020 - 17:49
- Clarín.com
- sports
The Spanish League escaped into the hands of Real Madrid. And now the Champions League, his remaining goal, vanished in Lisbon for Barcelona with a historic 8-2 at the hands of Bayern Munich. Thus, in less than a month, it was sentenced that Lionel Messi was left without a title in the season for the second time in his career .
There are 16 campaigns that La Pulga has added to Barça and the number of titles rises to 35. The first celebration was the local league from 2004/2005 and the last, the domestic tournament last year, led by Ernesto Valverde.
In 2005/2006 he had won the League, the Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League. And in 2006/2007, another Spanish Super Cup. But there was a season in which Messi and his teammates did not get almost anything and they ran out of celebrations: 2007/2008.
What would come later would be a revolution: the dismissal of Frank Rijkaard to hire Pep Guardiola, that man who, according to the British press, could return to Catalonia.
Lionel Messi, crestfallen in Lisbon, AP Photo
The 2007/2008 season, Messi's only one so far without titles, was tumultuous. The Dutch Rijkaard's wardrobe had gotten out of hand and the successful cycle came to an end after 5 years. The leaders trusted Guardiola, coach of the subsidiary team, for renewal. Pep's pulse did not tremble and the first measure he took was to do without Ronaldinho, leader and figure of the squad.
And there was more: the Sampedor born gave Messi the number 10 shirt and allowed him to travel to China to play the Olympic Games, where he hung the medal in Beijing. Messi and Guardiola is perhaps the most extraordinary marriage in the history of football.
Since then, with and without Guardiola, Messi did not stop crowning : 3 titles in 2008/2009 (League, Champions League and Copa del Rey), 4 in 2009/2010 (League, Club World Cup, Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup) ), 3 in 2010/2011 (League, Champions and Spanish Super Cup), 4 in 2011/2012 (Copa del Rey, Club World Cup, Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup), 1 in 2012/2013 (League), 1 in 2013/2014 (Spanish Super Cup), 3 in 2014/2015 (League, Champions and Copa del Rey), 4 in 2015/2016 (League, Copa del Rey, European Super Cup and Club World Cup), 2 in 2016 / 2017 (Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey), 2 in 2017/2018 (League and Copa del Rey) and 2 in 2018/2019 (Spanish League and Super Cup).
Lionel Messi raises his arms against Alphonso Davies Photo: AFP
In the current season, Real Madrid was Spanish champion, in the Spanish Super Cup they were eliminated by Atlético de Madrid in the semifinals and in the Copa del Rey they fell against Athletic Bilbao in the quarterfinals.
Messi's last hope was the Champions League, the most difficult tournament. And that if he won it, it would give him the chance to play the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup, on September 24, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
But it could not be. And Lionel Messi went home at the end of the season of his career without a title. Quite a sign.