Myrmecophile
Mr. Japes
Ahead of what will prove to be a decisive week in this season, I thought I'd look at the defeats the team has suffered under Pep and how many were irrelevant matches (i.e. after qualification had been secured in the CL groups or after a title had been won) and see just how many times Barca has lost over the last four years when it has truly mattered.
2008/09
1. Wisla 1-0 Barcelona - ostensibly irrelevant due to 4 goal advantage from first leg.
2. Numancia 1-0 Barcelona - first league game of the Guardiola era, an odd match where their goal was peppered with attempts without reward.
3. Barcelona 2-3 Shakhtar - dead rubber in the CL, 6th game of the group stage and qualification had already been secured. Weakened team put out.
4. Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol - dubious first half sending off for FCB but a game that Espanyol basically deserved to win.
5. Atletico 4-3 Barcelona - probably the only time Pep's Barca has been out-gunned by the opposition. Forlan and Kun doing their usual stuff against us in a venue that it would take Pep three years to conquer.
6. Mallorca 2-1 Barcelona - league had already been won and even then Eto'o missed a penalty in the 90th minute that could have drawn the match. Weakened team put out.
7. Barcelona 0-1 Osasuna - as above. League over, weakened team.
So for his first year it's 3 defeats when it mattered vs. 4 when it did not.
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2009/10
1. Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan - similar to the Numancia game of the first year, a strange match where the opposition got fairly lucky. I'm not excusing it on that basis but it's one of those matches that happens a couple of times a year. Still, the match mattered and there were some concerns about our performance in the CL in this year's group stage.
2. Barcelona 1-2 Sevilla - First game back after the winter break with a slightly weakened team. Proved to be costly.
3. Atletico 2-1 Barcelona - curse of the Calderon once again but Barca were missing 3 of their usual back 4 due to injury/suspension.
4. Inter 3-1 Barcelona - no need to go into this one, everyone knows the circumstances surrounding the match.
All four defeats were important games, especially the latter three.
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2010/11
1. Sevilla 3-1 Barcelona - team made up of b-teamers for the most part as the others had been on/would be going on international duty.
2. Barcelona 0-2 Hercules - weakened line up because of the international break that preceded this match.
3. Betis 3-1 Barcelona - weakened line up, fairly irrelevant due to 5-0 victory in first leg.
4. Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona - some dreadful refereeing to disallow a legitimate goal and deny Barca a penalty but also a rare instance of Pep making a mistake in his subs.
5. Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid - relatively poor performance from the team but still could have won the match on another day.
6. Real Sociedad 2-1 Barcelona - league had already been won, weakened team.
4 losses when it mattered, 2 when it did not.
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2011/12
1. Getafe 1-0 Barcelona - poor performance from the team and management alike.
2. Osasuna 3-2 Barcelona - disastrous first half from the team/management again but somewhat rectified in the second half.
Both losses were important.
So overall it's 13 losses when it mattered and 6 when it did not. So Pep is averaging about 3 losses a season when results are relevant and even then the league losses (outside of this season) have proved not to matter.
In all cases outside of the Atletico defeat in his first year and possibly the Madrid Copa final defeat last year, there are extenuating circumstances and reasons why the team lost or did not perform.
More than that: Barca have never lost a match that the home-grown core of the squad (Valdes, Pique, Puyol, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi) have started together.
Summary:
2008/09
1. Wisla 1-0 Barcelona - ostensibly irrelevant due to 4 goal advantage from first leg.
2. Numancia 1-0 Barcelona - first league game of the Guardiola era, an odd match where their goal was peppered with attempts without reward.
3. Barcelona 2-3 Shakhtar - dead rubber in the CL, 6th game of the group stage and qualification had already been secured. Weakened team put out.
4. Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol - dubious first half sending off for FCB but a game that Espanyol basically deserved to win.
5. Atletico 4-3 Barcelona - probably the only time Pep's Barca has been out-gunned by the opposition. Forlan and Kun doing their usual stuff against us in a venue that it would take Pep three years to conquer.
6. Mallorca 2-1 Barcelona - league had already been won and even then Eto'o missed a penalty in the 90th minute that could have drawn the match. Weakened team put out.
7. Barcelona 0-1 Osasuna - as above. League over, weakened team.
So for his first year it's 3 defeats when it mattered vs. 4 when it did not.
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2009/10
1. Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan - similar to the Numancia game of the first year, a strange match where the opposition got fairly lucky. I'm not excusing it on that basis but it's one of those matches that happens a couple of times a year. Still, the match mattered and there were some concerns about our performance in the CL in this year's group stage.
2. Barcelona 1-2 Sevilla - First game back after the winter break with a slightly weakened team. Proved to be costly.
3. Atletico 2-1 Barcelona - curse of the Calderon once again but Barca were missing 3 of their usual back 4 due to injury/suspension.
4. Inter 3-1 Barcelona - no need to go into this one, everyone knows the circumstances surrounding the match.
All four defeats were important games, especially the latter three.
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2010/11
1. Sevilla 3-1 Barcelona - team made up of b-teamers for the most part as the others had been on/would be going on international duty.
2. Barcelona 0-2 Hercules - weakened line up because of the international break that preceded this match.
3. Betis 3-1 Barcelona - weakened line up, fairly irrelevant due to 5-0 victory in first leg.
4. Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona - some dreadful refereeing to disallow a legitimate goal and deny Barca a penalty but also a rare instance of Pep making a mistake in his subs.
5. Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid - relatively poor performance from the team but still could have won the match on another day.
6. Real Sociedad 2-1 Barcelona - league had already been won, weakened team.
4 losses when it mattered, 2 when it did not.
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2011/12
1. Getafe 1-0 Barcelona - poor performance from the team and management alike.
2. Osasuna 3-2 Barcelona - disastrous first half from the team/management again but somewhat rectified in the second half.
Both losses were important.
So overall it's 13 losses when it mattered and 6 when it did not. So Pep is averaging about 3 losses a season when results are relevant and even then the league losses (outside of this season) have proved not to matter.
In all cases outside of the Atletico defeat in his first year and possibly the Madrid Copa final defeat last year, there are extenuating circumstances and reasons why the team lost or did not perform.
More than that: Barca have never lost a match that the home-grown core of the squad (Valdes, Pique, Puyol, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi) have started together.
Summary:
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