Those were such different times that Xavi and Ronaldinho Gaúcho were still playing for Barcelona. The 2003/2004 season was the last time the Catalan team played a match in the “second division” of European competitions.
This Thursday (17), for the Europa League, Barça faced Napoli and drew 1-1 at Camp Nou.
Zielinzki opened the scoring for the Italians in the 28th minute of the first half, after a rebound by Ter Stegen. At 13 of the second half, Ferrán Torres equalized for Barcelona, from penalty.
The return match will be played next Thursday (24), at 5 pm, at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium.
Almost a decade ago, Barcelona played the Uefa Cup (which later became the Europa League) after a bad Spanish Championship in the 2002/2003 season.
The club had finished in sixth place and decided to rebuild: it fired coach Louis van Gaal and brought in reinforcements such as Ronaldinho, Rafa Márquez, Ricardo Quaresma and Edgar Davids, in addition to the promotion of Andrés Iniesta to the first team.
On this Thursday, it can be said that the story is similar, although the revamped team was not caused by the results on the field, but by the management off it.
Deep in debt, Barcelona had to let go of Lionel Messi, who headed to PSG, and started the season with a poor performance, eliminated already in the group stage of the Champions League.
To try to rebuild itself, the team also changed the coach. The idol Xavi came, under the proposal of enhancing the talents of young players, adding these names to the arrival of punctual reinforcements, such as the Brazilian Daniel Alves, who is not registered in the Europa League.
On account of the results, president Joan Laporta went to the market and brought in other players, such as Aubameyang and Adama Traoré, coming from Arsenal and Wolverhampton, respectively, both from the Premier League.
If the reconstruction of 18 years ago can bring any encouragement, it’s that the results started to come in the first season. Barcelona were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Uefa Cup, it’s true, but they were Spanish runners-up and returned to the Champions League the following year, starting a period that would take them to four European titles in almost ten years (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015).
The 2022 team is one of the favorites within the Europa League and is in 4th place in the Spanish Championship.
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
