Makes eight months Barcelona received in Lisbon at the hands of Bayern Munich one of the most painful defeats in its history by falling in the quarterfinals of the Champions 2-8. Since then, the club started a process of Recovery that although it has not served him to be playing the Champions League, it has led him to fight for LaLiga and play on Saturday the final of the Copa del Rey against Athletic Club de Bilbao.
A final that faces Barcelona and more specifically its coach, Ronald Koeman, faced with a dilemma: offer the rematch to the bulk of players who signed that debacle or use this ending to give a new look to the team from the hand of younger players that represent the future of the entity.
With the recovery of Pique and of Sergi Roberto, who have been injured the last few weeks but are in time to play the game, Koeman could perfectly play the final on saturday with eight players what they were in lisbon against Bayern: Ter Stegen, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Sergi Roberto and De Jong plus Griezmann, who entered the second half. The the only ones who can't line up are the three that they changed club this summer: Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal and Nelson Semedo.
On the one hand, this final against the Athletic club represents an opportunity for these players to make up for what happened in Lisbon and also of what happened in January in the final of the Spain Supercup against the same rival who will be measured on Saturday. But on the other hand it shows that eight months later, Barça is still in the hands of the same players. The appearances of Mingueza, Dest, Araújo or Ilaix could be left for an emergency, since only Pedri Y Dembélé They seem to have options to play the final from the beginning. The first arrived at Barça this summer and the second could not play because he was injured.
It asks the veterans a new service to the club in a final that can mark the immediate future of the Blaugrana entity. To begin with, that of his coach. Koeman has been reconfirmed by active and passive by Joan Laporta, the new president, in statements, but allor the world knows in Barcelona that a defeat on Saturday would leave the Dutchman very touched with a view to a future project.
In addition, the party is also a challenge for Messi. His future at the Camp Nou is in the air and raise a glass could be a determining factor to make a decision in one way or another. It does not seem that the Argentine is to bear more disappointments.