Barcelona players arriving at Celtic Park 1 10 2013

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FC Barcelona B youth manager Pep Guardiola took over Frank Rijkaard’s duties at the conclusion of the season.[61] Guardiola brought with him the now famous tiki-taka style of play he had been taught during his time in the Barcelona youth teams. In the process Guardiola sold Ronaldinho and Deco, and started building the Barcelona team around Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey Final, winning the competition for a record-breaking 25th time. A historic 2–6 victory against Real Madrid followed three days later and ensured that Barcelona became La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season. Barça finished the season by beating the previous year’s Champions League winners Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to win their third Champions League title and completed the first ever treble won by a Spanish side.[63][64][65] The team went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao[66] and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk,[67] becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup,[68] and became the first football club ever to accomplish the sextuple.[69] Barcelona accomplished two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and won the Spanish Super Cup trophy for a ninth time.[70][71]

After Laporta’s departure from the club in June 2010, Sandro Rosell was soon elected as the new president. The elections were held on 13 June, where he got 61.35% (57,088 votes, a record) of total votes.[72] Rosell signed David Villa from Valencia for €40 million.[73] and Javier Mascherano from Liverpool for €19 million.[74] In November 2010, Barcelona defeated their main rival, Real Madrid 5–0 in El Clásico. In the 2010–11 season, Barcelona retained the La Liga trophy, their third title in succession, finishing with 96 points.[75] In April 2011, the club reached the Copa del Rey final, losing 1–0 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla in Valencia.[76] In May, Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League Final 3–1 held at Wembley Stadium, a repeat of the 2009 final, winning their fourth European Cup.[77] In August 2011, the La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas was bought from Arsenal and who would help Barcelona defend the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid. The Supercup victory brought the total amount of official trophies to 73, matching the number of titles won by Real Madrid.[78]

Later the same month, Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup after defeating Porto 2–0 thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fábregas. This extended the club’s overall amount of official trophies to 74, surpassing Real Madrid’s total amount of official trophies.[79] The UEFA Super Cup victory also marked another impressive achievement as Josep Guardiola won his 12th trophy out of 15 possible in only three years at the helm of the club, becoming the all-time record holder of most titles won as a coach at FC Barcelona.
In December, Barcelona won the FIFA Club World Cup for a record second time since its establishment, by beating the Brazilian 2011 Copa Libertadores holders, Santos, 4–0 in the final thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi and goals from Xavi and Fábregas.[81] As a result, the overall trophy haul during the reign of Guardiola was further extended and saw Barcelona win their 13th trophy out of 24 possible in 4 years, continuing their high-quality performance in recent world football competitions.[82][83]

In the 2011–12 season, Barcelona lost the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League against Chelsea. Right afterward, coach Pep Guardiola, who had been on a rolling contract and had faced criticism over his recent tactics and squad selections,[84][85] announced that he would step down as manager on 30 June and be succeeded by assistant Tito Vilanova.[86][87] Guardiola finished his tenure with Barça winning the Copa del Rey final 3–0, bringing the tally to 14 trophies that Barça had won under his stewardship.

Comments

Kieran Lynch says:

we are the fenians always hav bn always will be Glasgow Celtic???

essexnto says:

Why do these halfwits wait outside grounds to watch some tracksuits step off a bus and walk past?

AIDENO 67 says:

Sub to me and I'll sub back please

Jose A. Bibiano Florentino says:

????

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