The final embrace of ecstasy between Luis Enrique and Ivan Rakitic, after Neymar dial 3-1 against the Juventus in Berlin, was the definitive image of happiness on June 6, 2015. This Saturday marks the fifth anniversary of Barça's second triplet in history: League, Cup and Champions. The trident triplet. “The Three friends”, as they baptized in England. The MSN, as it became known in LaLiga. Messi, Suárez and Neymar added 122 goals in the 2014-15 season and his image, hugged and held in the direction of the camera after a goal by Atlético de Madrid, It went around the world and became iconic in the three seasons they shared in Barcelona.
Luis Enrique's Barça signed the treble in a devastating final stretch of the season. And he did it in the most unsuspected way. After I was about to break into my pieces. A direct confrontation between Messi and Luis Enrique days before playing the first game of the year 2015 in Anoeta almost ended with the dismissal of the Asturian. Xavi and Mascherano sewed a tight stage, which had thinned over the months. Of that there were collateral damages, comor the dismissal of Andoni Zubizarreta and the Puyol march. But Bartomeu kept the ship afloat and the team, directly, fired when the most normal thing was to jump through the air. In the Cup, after taking Elche out with one stroke, he eliminated Atlético and Villarreal. The final will always be remembered for Messi's museum goal with the Camp Nou with his hands on his head.
In The league, and after a good start, Barça went into crisis in October, just when Suárez returned to the fields after the injury in the world. Two consecutive defeats, in the Clásico (3-1) and against Celta (0-1), raised doubts about the project and Luis Enrique. Time cleared them. Barça finished putting LaLiga back on track with 2-1 to Madrid in the Clásico back, with a great goal from Suárez after a fantastic pass from Daniel Alves. Then, Barça held Madrid's pulse and ended up winning the championship at the Calderón. A year after Godin If he gave LaLiga to Atlético at the Camp Nou, Barça gave him the coin and grabbed the title after a fantastic goal from Messi, who surely played his most complete season. The Argentine signed 43 goals and 18 assists in LaLiga.
In Europe, Barça was a rammerto from eighths. He beat Manchester City in the first great European night of Suárez and with Messi giving a soccer recital; razed in Paris with another magic match from the Uruguayan and, in the semifinals, he took out the wild card of Messi, who signed two goals, one of them unforgettable after a dribble to Boateng that went around the world when virality already existed. In the final, Rakitic, an important player throughout the season, Suárez and Neymar finished signing the second triplet in the club's history. Maybe not with the brilliance of that Barça Guardiola, but yes with plasticity and, especially, with forcefulness.
That Barça was a devastating team from the goal. Bravo and Ter Stegen made a healthy competition which improved the performance of both. Despite having a strictly professional relationship, they became better goalkeepers for each other. Daniel Alves He had lost spark but was still a competitive and reliable player. Sunrise He began to be Messi's new partner in the other sector of the field. Piqué and Mascherano they played almost the entire season. Busquets and Iniesta They were essential in the center of the field, although Luis Enrique took the Excel to walk with the manchego. He wanted to refresh it and he succeeded. Iniesta was voted best player in the Berlin final. Were the last days at Xavi's Barça, displaced by the vigor of Rakitic, who played a simply brilliant second half of the season. Player back and forth, arrival, but with tactical sense to cover the climbs of Alves, became essential for Luis Enrique. Xavi sensed it and decided that he would leave. Before, however, he took the pleasure of lifting everything as captain and saying goodbye several times to the Camp Nou, where he is a legend.
Luis Enrique played a fundamental role in the success of his team. Flattened as he was since the departure of Guardiola, saddened by the outcome of Titus and exhausted in the project Martino, the Asturian shook the cocktail shaker when the most pessimistic were already writing about an end of the cycle that has not yet ended these days. With Luis Enrique, Barça won two Leagues, three Cups and a Champions League. And when he saw that he couldn't take it anymore, three years later, he left.
The second treble in Barça's history, then completed with the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup (the Spanish Super Cup was lost after an insufferable trip back from Tblisi that conditioned Athletic's 4-0), had a direct impact on the presidential elections. After being in a position of absolute weakness, Bartomeu shielded himself thanks to the sporting result. “Trident, triplet” was his electoral message. A reductionist message that detracted from fundamental players such as Iniesta, Busquets, Piqué or Alba, but which fell silent and gave him the presidency. On June 6, 2015, Barça did it again. The second triplet. An impressive feat.