Testing times for Barcelona

VALENCIA — Barcelona’s painful 2-1 defeat to arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday has left them facing their first season without major silverware in six years, and reignited talk of the team’s decline.

A week ago, the Catalans were on course to repeat their record treble of the Spanish Primera Division, Champions League and King’s Cup from 2008-09 but are now likely to finish the season with just the season-opening Spanish Super Cup.

Dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid last Wednesday, they then suffered a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Granada on Saturday that left them four points behind leaders Atletico with five games remaining.

“I am in profound pain because of the defeat and for the people who support us,” Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said after Gareth Bale’s brilliant 85th-minute winner for Real in the latest “Clasico” between the Spanish giants at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium, in which Barcelona’s Marc Bartra cancelled out Angel Di Maria’s opener for Real.

The defeat to their biggest rivals will heap even more pressure on Martino and the players.

Even before Wednesday’s defeat to Real, Barcelona’s Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta has been accused of failing to sufficiently bolster the squad, particularly with ageing centre-back Carles Puyol, who turned 36 this week, leaving at the end of the season.

A FIFA ban from the transfer market for the next two windows could also complicate life for the Spanish champions if their appeal against the sanction, over a breach of rules on the transfer of foreign under-18 players, is unsuccessful.

Earlier this week, former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff, a revered figure with the club’s supporters, told El Mundo the club need current Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola, who won 14 trophies in a four-year spell until 2012, back at the Camp Nou.

“The best thing for Barcelona would be for Guardiola to come back. If Joan Laporta became president again, I’d tell him that the best thing he could do is sign Pep and, as an intelligent person, I’m sure he would,” said Cruyff.

The Dutchman also defended Lionel Messi, who has been criticised for his recent indifferent form, and believes Barcelona’s current management under caretaker President Josep Maria Bartomeu — he succeeded Sandro Rosell who quit in January after he allegedly misappropriated funds from the £49 million (S$103 million) signing of Brazilian star Neymar from Santos — are also responsible for the club’s problems.

“When Laporta was president, he let the people who knew football get on with it, first (former sporting director) Txiki (Begiristain) and (former coach Frank) Rijkaard and then Pep,” he said. “Anyone can make mistakes, but they knew football and made their decisions based on that, while Laporta stuck to being the president and protecting them. That’s why it worked.”

Martino, in his first term in charge at the Camp Nou, was defiant after Wednesday’s defeat to Real and suggested he intends to see out his contract, which runs to the end of next season.

The Argentinian’s immediate task is to lift the players, starting with Sunday’s match at home to fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

“The league is not going in our favour but we have to fight to the end because we have a right to, that’s what the maths says, but we cannot deny it has been a hard week,” said Martino. “When you lose, it is very difficult to single out players. I want to focus on the football the team played.” AGENCIES