Now that the Liga title is already in the bag for FC Barcelona, they’re now just two wins away from having another treble. They’re the favorites to win in their Copa del Rey final against Athletic and the European Cup final against Juventus. If they could win both of those final matches, they’ll be the first club in Europe to have a treble twice.
The Blaugrana have had their first treble in 2008-09 season under the leadership of Pep Guardiola. Like Luis Enrique, Guardiola was just in his first season as manager of the club when they achieved it. Most of the key players of that team like Messi, Xavi, Pique, Iniesta, Alvez, Busquets and Pedro are still part of the first team today. If they can have another treble this season, they’ll surely have a legendary status among football fans especially Barcelona supporters. Let’s have a quick look at their upcoming final matches to see what their chances are.
On May 30, they’ll face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. This match will be a home affair for Barca because it will be played on Camp Nou. They’re seen as the top favorites to win this match because they have a good record against Athletic. They also won both of their meetings in the Liga against this club during this season. Their first meeting ended 2-0 and in the second, they thrashed Bilbao at home 2-5. Many expect this to be an easy match for Barcelona.
A week after that, they’ll play against Juventus in the final of the UEFA Champions League June 6 in Berlin. Although many experts also see Barca as the favourites here, this match could be very tricky for them. Their last meeting with Juve was way back in 2000 in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The first leg of that series ended in a 1-1 draw in Turin.
They lost the second leg in Barcelona also ended in a 1-1 after 90 minutes of action. But Juventus was able to score another goal in extra time and the match ended in a Barca loss. The final score of that match was 1-2 and Juve advanced to the semis on away goals. The match against Juve will surely be toughest test for Barça and the last hurdle in achieving another treble.
