Barcelona win La Liga: 10 key factors behind their revival

After a rare trophy-free season in 2013-14, Barcelona took their first step towards the treble when Sunday's 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid secured Spain's La Liga title.

Luis Enrique's side, who meet Juventus in the Champions League final and Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey showpiece, are two matches away from becoming only the second Spanish side to win all three trophies in the same season.
How have they done it? Here we take a look at the factors behind Barca's resurgence from no silverware to potentially three trophies.

1. Messi's magic

By his own unique standards, 2013-14 was a disappointing campaign for Lionel Messi, who still posted impressive numbers but exerted a significantly lesser influence on the action - especially in the most important games - than he had in the past.
But the Argentine has roared back to his best now, with his performances since the turn of the year, in particular, rivalling anything he has ever produced over the course of his spectacular career.

Messi's return to his best
	Games	Goals	Assists
2013-14	46	41	14
2014-15	54	54	27

Notably, the Argentina captain's new position on the right wing is allowing him to add an astonishing number of assists to his equally outrageous output of goals.
He is looking fit, motivated and prepared to work within a team structure. All those things were lacking this time last year, but he is now once again capable of imposing his will upon a game at any given moment and more or less making this year's Ballon d'Or vote redundant.

2. Suarez's liberating effect

Messi's rejuvenation is partly explained by the liberating effect provided by the presence of Luis Suarez, whose contribution during his first season at the Nou Camp must be measured by far more than the 24 goals he has scored.
More important than the statistics is the fact Suarez's relentless work-rate and excellent, intelligent movement provide a constant challenge to opposing defenders, who regularly find themselves stretched and dragged out of position by the Uruguayan's perceptive running.
In turn, this creates space for Messi and Neymar to cut inside from their starting positions on the flanks and wreak merry havoc in and around the penalty area.
Suarez, who arrived in a £75m deal from Liverpool in July 2014, has provided Barca's attack with a focal point that had been missing for the past few years.
The end result is that he, Neymar and Messi have fulfilled their awesome collective potential by combining for a ridiculous total of 115 goals this season, including 79 in La Liga

3. A consistent new style

During the first few months of the season, even though Barca were winning games, they were rarely producing convincing and coherent performances, relying more upon the individual quality of their players than an effective team structure to gain results.
The clearest example, perhaps, was the home derby against Espanyol in December, when Barca were horribly disjointed for much of the first half and trailed 1-0 until Messi took over to spark a 5-1 victory which really did not reflect the game's overall pattern.

In 2008-09, Pep Guardiola led Barca to become the first Spanish side to win La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in the same season

Although they mostly got away with it, Barca were dropping sufficient points against modest opposition - Malaga, Celta Vigo, Getafe, Real Sociedad - to seriously undermine their title challenge.
Since January, however, they have been transformed, with manager Luis Enrique settling upon an established strongest XI and consistently implementing a new style of play which is based upon the strengths of the front three rather than the midfield-heavy passing game employed for the previous few years.
The difference is subtle but distinct, and, now it is understood throughout the team, it has allowed the development of an effective unit which truly plays as a team rather than as a group of talented but disconnected individuals.

4. Set-piece transformation

Last season, free-kicks and corners were Barca's Achilles heel. They never looked like scoring when they had them and always looked like conceding when they faced them.
Then-manager Tata Martino would just shrug his shoulders and say "We've got small players", apparently believing that frailty was simply something they would have to live with.
New boss Enrique has rubbished that defeatist attitude, however, by transforming his team into set-piece experts at both ends of the field.
Bayern Munich's opener in last week's Champions League semi-final second leg was the first goal Barca had conceded directly from a corner or free-kick since October, while Gerard Pique, who has netted seven times, has enjoyed the club's best goalscoring campaign for a defender in nearly two decades.
Even Messi scored with a diving header from a corner to set up an away win at Eibar.

How Barcelona have scored their 108 goals in La Liga this season

5. Taming Atletico

A mark of Barca's vulnerability during their trophyless campaign last season was that they faced Atletico Madrid on no fewer than six occasions in all competitions and could not even beat them once, scoring only three goals - a sequence including a final-day draw at the Nou Camp which secured the title for Atletico.
In January, however, they well and truly buried that hoodoo by convincingly defeating Diego Simeone's team three times in the space of two and a half weeks - once in La Liga and twice in the Copa del Rey.
Those successes came at exactly the time Enrique's men were starting to find their rhythm, and provided unshakeable confidence that this new-look Barca could prevail over anyone, anywhere - not just opposition whose style of play suited their own.
It was fitting, then, that the title was clinched with yet another victory over Atletico on Sunday, neatly encapsulating just how far Barca have come in the past 12 months.

6. Successful signings

Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic arrived from Sevilla last summer and made 31 La Liga appearances as he eases into the role of apparent heir to Xavi

Last summer Barca acknowledged their deficiencies in several areas by making a raft of signings, and almost without exception they have proven highly successful.
Claudio Bravo has been solid and assured in goal, making only a handful of major mistakes, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen's impressive Champions League displays providing strong competition to prevent Bravo lapsing into complacency.
Jeremy Mathieu has settled quickly in defence, contributing well when regular starters Pique and Javier Mascherano have been rested or injured - his goalscoring display in the Clasico victory over Real Madrid being the prime example.
In midfield, the dynamic Ivan Rakitic has been the perfect introduction for Barca's more direct and forceful new style, while Suarez's success in attack has already been described.
Let's just not mention Brazilian right-back Douglas… 

7. Clean sheets

Naturally, much of the attention focuses on Barca's outstanding goalscoring exploits, but they have been just as proficient at the other end of the field.

Barcelona have conceded 19 goals and kept 23 clean sheets in their 37 league games

Individual excellence has been a major factor behind their defensive stinginess, with Bravo's quiet competence particularly well supported by the outstanding Pique, who has recovered from a self-professed slump in form to re-establish himself as one of the world's finest central defenders.
Right-back Dani Alves - perhaps motivated by the lure of a potential new contract - is another who has come back to his very best, while left-back Jordi Alba's non-stop energy and Mascherano's unwavering commitment complete a fine back four.
More important than personal performances, though, Enrique has the whole team functioning as an effective unit, with their defending starting up front through Messi, Suarez and Neymar's willingness to close down opposition, making it very difficult to develop attacks against Barca in the first place.

8. Luck with injuries

Over the past few months, Real Madrid have been forced by a succession of injuries at various times to cope without Luka Modric, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Pepe.
Barca have been much more fortunate, with Enrique heading into the final stages of the season with his entire squad available - even Thomas Vermaelen, who has finally recovered from the thigh injury with which he arrived from Arsenal.
Enrique would argue, no doubt, that this lack of injuries is not lucky at all, but the logical outcome of his carefully planned rotation strategy which has kept everyone fit and firing throughout the campaign.
Whether by design or fortune, having everybody fit nearly all season has undoubtedly made Barca's task in challenging on all fronts much more manageable.

9. Failings in Madrid

In three of the past five La Liga seasons, Barca's likely final points total of 96 would not have been enough to win La Liga, but on this occasion they have been helped by the lack of a challenge from the capital.
Although they are still a very good team, Atletico Madrid have been unable to retain the ruthless consistency which made them champions last season.
And Real Madrid's season peaked in December, when they were crowned Club World Cup champions at the end of a 22-game winning run.
Since then, Carlo Ancelotti's men have gradually but steadily deteriorated, making Barca's task in winning the title more straightforward than they might reasonably have anticipated.

10. Enrique - is he the real leader?

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, who played for the club between 1996 and 2004, returned to the Nou Camp to replace Tata Martino last summer

Normally, you would expect a new manager who has led his team to the title in his first season in charge to feature much higher than number 10 in a list of this nature.
That is not the case with Enrique, however, because there is significant support for the theory (including from within the dressing-room) that Barca's successes have come this season despite their manager, not because of him.
Specifically, there are ongoing rumours that the team's real leader, and the instigator of the tactical changes which turned their season around in January, is Messi, not Enrique, and that the duo share a decidedly frosty personal relationship.
That uncharitable viewpoint is an exaggeration and over-simplification - no manager could enjoy sustained success over many months without exerting a strong degree of control and authority in the dressing-room.
And although there might be a lack of warmth in the relationship between Enrique and many of his players, that goes to prove the old adage that managers do not need to be popular to be successful. Barcelona would be glad to see their darling team win a treble again, and maybe six trophy at the end of the year.

Top 10 Smoking Football Managers

10. Sam Allardyce It is no secret that Big Sam always enjoyed a puff on the bench. Fans even claim to have seen him post-match in the hotel, wearing nothing more than a bath robe while smoking a big cigar with a glass of red wine in his hand at the time.9. Zdenek Zeman He’s managed 19 clubs, mostly in Italian football, and most of his players would vouch for the fact that Zeman barely opened his mouth while on the sidelines; well except to smoke another cigarette. Zeman looked less like a manager and more like that kid at school who hung around in the shadows, dragging on a crafty roll up and mumbling on about Nick Cave.8. Gianluca Vialli While on one hand, Vialli does admit to the evils of smoking; on the other, he also claims that it’s a healthier alternative to getting drunk every night.During his playing career, Vialli was caught smoking many-a-times after being substituted. It is also rumoured that during the 1990 World Cup, he was spotted trying to smoke sneakily next to the bench.7. Ricardo Lavolpe Lavolpe’s smoking habits came into the limelight during his term as Mexico’s manager. He was warned by FIFA for smoking during Mexico’s 2006 World Cup opening game against Iran. Lavolpe responded by telling FIFA that he’d rather give up football than smoking.He did, however, quit smoking and began tucking into donuts instead. He candidly described how much he enjoyed it, adding that if he was drinking on the job it might affect his managerial skills, but that no-one has been dismissed for being “smoked-out and disorderly”6. Slaven Bilic Low-life Mafia style suits, chain-smoking on the touchline and member of a thrash metal band called Rawbau – Slaven Bilic is probably one of the coolest managers ever.He was even issued a warning by the Turkish Football Federation after being caught smoking inside the football stadium, despite the no-smoking ban.5. Marcello Lippi Lippi has been smoking since his mid-teens, and it doesn’t seem as if he would be kicking the habit anytime soon. Cigarettes have now paved the way to cigars, and Lippi was seen chomping on a cigar after winning the 2006 World Cup final.4. Carlo Ancelloti Ancelloti began smoking at the age of 25, and he hasn’t managed to kick the habit as yet. He was even reprimanded for smoking on the bench when he visited Celtic as manager of AC Milan in 2007.“Until three years ago in Italy you could smoke on the bench,” he explains.“I used to like that, although I remember one time, when we were playing Ajax in the Champions League quarter-final in 2003, we scored in the last minute, and Gennaro Gattuso jumps off the bench and grabs me from behind. I nearly swallowed the thing.”3. Joachim LoewThe Germany manager had critics hounding him for smoking during Germany’s 3-2 victory over Portugal.“What can I say? That’s my personal business. I sometimes smoke a cigarette or have a glass of red wine in the evening. That is nothing outrageous,” Loew said.2. Johan Cruyff“Football has given me everything in this life; tobacco almost took it all away.”Cruyff smoked 20 cigarettes a day until he underwent a double heart bypass surgery after the cigarettes and stress caught up with him. To help him give up on smoking, Chupa Chups Group, a Barcelona-based confectioner, sent him a box of lollipops.1. Diego Maradona Maradona has been caught on camera smoking several times. Even after kicking his drug habit, Maradona has made the headlines a number of times.But be it cigars or cigarettes, it doesn’t seem as if this football legend will be giving up on his smoking habits anytime soon.

Top ten smoking footballers

There are many smoking footballers around the globe, but here is a shortlist of the top 10 smoking footballers;
Mesut Ozil
Smoking clearly hasn’t hampered Mesut Ozil. With five assists and a goal in his first five games for Arsenal, he seems to be doing okay. Ozil also ran 11.63 kilometres in the Gunners’ UEFA Champions League victory over Napoli – the third most of any Arsenal player.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has regularly been pictured smoking, and the Manchester United forward has often been accused of not being at peak fitness for a footballer of his level.

  Robert Prosinecki
The former Croatia international was famous in his homeland for being a heavy smoker. He was as well known for his ability to chug away on more than 40 ciggies a day as he was for his midfield prowess. When he joined Portsmouth in 2001 word is that he cut down to 20 a day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he lasted just one season at Fratton Park.

Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov is probably the worst role model out there in terms of dissuading people to start smoking

Zinedine Zidane
Another Frenchie caught with a salmon between his lips was Zidane, who was snapped puffing away ahead of France's 2006 World Cup semi-final against Portugal. The thing is Zizou fronted an anti-smoking campaign in 2002. Doh!

  Maradona
Maradona, one of the most prolific footballers in history, began to smoke after he retired from the game. He spent 10 days in intensive care in 2004 with breathing problems, which was probably down to smoking.
  Johann Cruyff
Cruyff was smoking 20 cigarettes a day, prior to heart surgery in 1991, at a time when he was coaching Barcelona. He was also often seen lighting up in the RFK locker room as he talked to reporters. Nowadays, the legendary Dutchman fronts a campaign by the Health Department of the Catalan autonomous government against smoking. And to think, it only took him a double heart bypass to see the error of his ways.
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli has always been somewhat of a maverick, a loose cannon who Jose Mourinho described as unmanageable.
The Italy international also enjoyed a cigarette on plenty of occasions, which former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini wasn’t a huge fan of, but would allow if he found the back of the net consistently.

  Fabien Barthez
The Frenchman was a high-profile smoker during his time in the Prem. After a game for Man United against Southampton in 2003, defeated manager Gordon Strachan was furious when he returned to his non-smoking office and found cigarettes stubbed out in an ashtray. It seemed that the injured Barthez had been in the room after being stretchered off in the second half. Strachan later quipped that he "must have been taken off for smoker's cough".
  David James
The Portsmouth and England stopper confessed to a 15 year 20-a-day smoking habit in a newspaper column in 2008. "I spent most of my career puffing away on fags: after training,before matches and after.     Other notable football smokers are ashley cole, socerate paul gascogine, teddy sherigham,jack wilshere. many believe lionel messi is also a smoker, but the claim was wrong as he was spotted with a stick candy .

Africa’s best XI in the history of the Uefa Champions League

African players have been ever present in the Uefa Champions League over the years with a sizeable number of them including Sulley Muntari, Didier drogba, Abedi Pele, Michael Essien Mikel Obi, Seydou Keita and others winning the trophy.

GOALKEEPER

Vincent Enyeama

(Hapoel Tel Aviv, Lille Metropole)

Enyeama scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers for Hapoel TelAviv. The current Nigeria No. 1 moved to French Ligue 1 side Lille on a three-year contract from Israeli side Hapoel TelAviv in 2007. He made his debut on 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 Uefa Champions League group stage, where Inter managed a 1–0 victory. He played a couple of games for Lille in Europe before heading back to Israel again to join Maccabi Tel Aviv on loan.

DEFENDERS

Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal, Galatasary	Samuel Kuffour (Bayern Munich)	Noureddine Naybet (Deportivo La Coruna)	Celestine Babayaro (Aderlecht, Chelsea)
Emmanuel Eboue, who now plies his trade with Turkish Champions Galatasary, made all the headlines in the Uefa Champions League during his stay with the Gunners. Eboue played key roles for Arsenal in the 2005-2006 Uefa Champions League campaign which included games in the knockout stage against Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal and also featured in the finals against Barcelona. He moved to Galatasary in 2011-2012 season and became an integral part of the team scoring his first Champions League goal for them in their 3-2 win over Real Madrid on April, 9, 2013. Samuel Kuffour: The former Ghana Black Stars defender is undoubtedly the most decorated African player in the history of European football having won every major trophy. Kuffour is the African player with most appearances in the history of the Uefa Champions League (65). And also holds the record of being the youngest defender in the history of the competition (18 years, 61 days) when he scored for Bayern Munich during their 2-2 draw with Spartak Moscow on November 2, 1994. Kuffour was also part of the Bayern team which lost to Manchester United due to two late goals in the 1999 Uefa Champions League final despite putting the brakes on Andy Cole, and Dwight Yorke. He also won the champions league in 2001 with Bayern Munich who beat Valencia in the finals. Noureddine Naybet: One of the best defenders ever in the history of the Spanish La Liga, the Moroccan was the heartbeat of Depotivo La Coruna during his eight-year stay and was always a dominant figure in their Uefa Champions League campaigns. Naybet made his greatest career run with Spanish first division team Deportivo La Coruna, winning one league title, one Copa de Rey and two Spanish Super Cups. Naybet also earned 115 caps for the Moroccan national team, scoring two goals. The unyielding guardsman will be best remembered for putting the breaks on Andriy Shevchenko, Filipo Inzaghi and co. as Deportivo recovered from a first leg 4-1 defeat to Milan at San Siro to beat them 4-0 in the return leg in Spain during the 2003-2004 Uefa Champions League. Celestine Babayaro: The left-back joined Belgian giants Anderlecht in 1994 as a teenager but quickly established himself as the club’s first-choice left-back playing in all their Uefa Champions League campaign as well as domestic games. After moving to Chelsea in 1997, Babayaro continued his impressive part and played key role as Chelsea reached the Uefa Champions League round of 16 in 2000 before losing to Barcelona at Nou Camp after extra time and also played a part when they reached the semi-finals in the 2003-2004 season in which coach Claudio Ranieri rotated him and Wayne Bridge.

MIDFIELDERS

Michael Essien (Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid)	Yaya Toure (Barcelona, Manchester City)	Abedi Ayew Pele (Marseille)
Michael Essien: He played in the Uefa Champions League for the first time during the 2003-04 season when he was at Olympique Lyonnais and scored against Bayern Munich and a host of other clubs. When the man nicknamed “The Bison” moved to Chelsea, he played his first Champions League game for the Blues against Real Betis where he was phenomenal and went on to became one of the kingpins of the Chelsea team in Uefa Champions League campaign. The midfield extraordinaire who played in the final with Chelsea during the 2007-08 season will be fairly remembered by fans for his thunderous volley at the edge of the box against Barcelona and also running with the ball from right-back position to set up Didier Drogba for Chelsea’s second goal as the London-based club drew 2-2 with Barcelona at Camp Nou during the 2006-07 season. He was also part of the Chelsea team which won the trophy last season and has also being efficient for Real Madrid in their Champions League campaign. Yaya Toure: The Ivorian midfield dynamo was very essential for Barcelona in their 2009 and 2011 Uefa Champions League victory where he played a number of positions in midfield and in defence. Toure scored his first Uefa Champions League goal for Barcelona against Schalke 04 in the 2007-08 Champions League quarter-finals. Since joining Manchester City in 2010, Toure has been superb in their Champions League outings though the team is yet to reach the knockout stage in the history of the competition. Abedi Ayew Pele: Abedi Pele was one of the first African players to grace European football and he really carved a niche for himself in the French Ligue 1 where he represented clubs such as Lille Metropore, Lyon and Marseille. It was really Marseille that the maestro shot into the limelight by helping them to win the Uefa Champions League in 1993. The former Ghana skipper mainly played behind striker Basile Boli or on the left wing for Marseille and in the Champions League final against AC Milan in which he won the best player award it was his cross which Boli headed into the net to secure the trophy.

FORWARDS

Samuel Eto’o Fils (Barcelona, Inter Milan)	George Weah (PSG, AC Milan)	Didier Drogba (Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasary)
Samuel Eto’o Fils: Eto’o netted six times for Barcelona during the 2005-06 Champions League title which included a goal in the finals and was awarded by Uefa as the best striker in the Champions League that season. Eto'o scored the opening goal in the 2009 final against Manchester United. Barcelona went on to win the final 2–0, thus becoming the only African to score in two Champions League finals. The Cameroonian striker joined Inter Milan in 2009 under Jose Mourinho and scored against Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 game in London on March 16, 2010 and also played an important part as the Nerazzuris won the trophy which made him the first African to win the trophy thrice. George Weah: Weah became the top scorer of the Uefa Champions League in 1994–95; and AC Milan (1995–1999), with whom he won the Italian league in 1996 and 1999. In 1995 he was named European Footballer of the Year and Fifa World Player of the Year. As successful as he was at club level, Weah was not able to bring over that success to the Liberian national team. He has done everything with the squad from playing to coaching to financing it, but failed to qualify for a single World Cup, falling just a point short in qualifying for the 2002 tournament. Didier Drogba: Drogba scored five goals in 2003-2004 Uefa Champions League group stage games for Marseille which included strikes against Liverpool in Anfield though the Stade Velodrome outfit could only place third in the group. During his eight years spell with Chelsea the Ivorian hitman saw it all in the Uefa Champions League, he netted five goals in his first campaign for the Blues in which they reached the semi-finals. In the 2005-2006 season where Chelsea reached the last 16 he scored only once. In the subsequent season he scored six in the Champions League including a 93rd-minute equaliser against Barcelona at Camp Nou and also propelled Chelsea to the finals a year later in which he scored some fantastic goals including a double against Liverpool but in the finals he was sent off in the 117th minute for slapping Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic and Chelsea went on to lose 6-5 on penalties. Various dodgy paths followed Drogba in the Champions League until he broke the jinx by solely winning the trophy for Chelsea in his last season for the club. At Galatasary where he is playing now, Drogba was instrumental in their Champions League quarter-finals berth where he scored a sublime back-heel in their game at home to Real Madrid in which they won 3-2 but failed to qualify. Other notable mentions include; Emmanuel adebayor, Emmanuel emenike, Joseph yobo... And many more others.

Why Arsene Wenger must not be sacked

Arsene Wenger's position has come under scrutiny, but sacking him will not bring success to the Emirates

Arsene Wenger has come under heavy fire recently, having suffered defeat on the opening day of the Premier League season and failing to bring in any new faces except French U20 Yaya Sanogo.
Despite that, I believe that dismissing the Frenchman will not bring success to the Emirates.
Criticism has fallen so heavily on the long-serving manager of late that some Arsenal fans now want the team to lose matches in order to instigate change. Wenger also had to endure chants of 'you don't know what you're doing' and 'spend some f****** money' from the home support last Saturday.
However, the 'Wenger out' brigade are mistaken if they believe that sacking their most successful manager ever will bring trophies to Arsenal.
At the moment, there are no suitable alternatives to replace him – there were many managerial changes at the start of the summer, but fewer top quality gaffers are knocking around at the moment now that everybody has settled in for the forthcoming season.
Also, people must not overlook the fact that Arsene knows how to win trophies. Since his arrival at Arsenal in 1996, he has led his team to three league titles and four F.A. Cups.
Arsenal fans do not need to be told again that they are still suffering an eight year trophy drought from 2005, but their lack of success has, in part, been down to the fact that the Gunners' ability to spend on the transfer market has been hampered by the move to their new stadium.
And despite the fact that Wenger had not been able to spend big for years, he was still able to make the top four every year.
Free of the financial restraints, Arsenal should have brought in marquee signings and pushed for the title this year. Arsene Wenger has yet to spend a penny, but the criticism levelled at him may be unfair given that the transfer window has yet to close.
In the final weeks of the market, clubs are desperate to shift unwanted players at a lower price, meaning Arsenal could pick up some excellent players at lower prices.
In fact, sacking Wenger could only cause a downward spiral. It is highly likely that the successor, whoever he should be, would not hit the ground running from day one. If he were to bring some bad results early on, unrest would continue and all stability at the club will have been lost.
Of course, if Arsene Wenger has not spent enough by the end of the transfer window, then he will have to answer some serious questions.
Until then, however, I think that he must be given the benefit of the doubt and time to add to his squad. Dismissing him will certainly not help Arsenal escape the crisis that they are currently trapped in. After the Frenchman victory in turkey, he has quickly make inquiry about real Madrid's Karim Benzema. If the deal should go through, this will be a relieve for the gunners after missing out on Higuain,

and many other transfer suspect like Suarez.