2011/12: FC Barcelona to face a season full of challenges

Barcelona (FCB).- The players, coaches and backroom staff will begin work on July 18^th with a complicated objective ahead of them – to match or even on improve on the work done over the last few years. Some of the challenges will be: challenges - to become the first team to retain the Champions League trophy, match the 4 successive Spanish League titles of the Dream Team and try and equal the historic six trophies of two years ago, as well as some others at individual level.

One of the biggest challenges will be to try and become the first team to retain the Champions League – something that they came close to doing a couple of years ago when they missed out on the Madrid final after going out to Inter in the semis.

Four Spanish Leagues

Another objective for the team will be to match Johan Cruyff’s legendary Dream Team who won four Spanish League titles on the run between 1990 and 1994, after Guardiola’s fantastic achievement in guiding them to the title for the last three seasons.

Six Trophies

This will also be the fourth time that Barça have gone for six titles in a season  - something they managed to complete successfully in 2009, when they won the  Spanish Cup, League, Champions League, Spanish and European Super Cups and the World Club Cup, but weren’t able to in the 92/93 and 06/07 seasons.

Individual challenges

As well as the challenges for the team, there are also a number of possible records for the individuals involved: Josep Guardiola could match the 11 titles won by Johan Cruyff as coach between 1988 and 1996 –indeed he has 10 already and if the team take the Spanish Super Cup in August, the World Club Cup could see him pass Cruyff’s record.

Víctor Valdés and Antoni Ramallets

Valdés also has a chance to match a famous Barca legend, he has already won four of the Zamora Trophy awards as the best keeper and could match the only play to make it five –fellow Catalan Antoni Ramallets.

Pedro Rodríguez will also be aiming to keep up his goal scoring feats and match his feat of scoring in all six competitions –something he achieved in 2009/10.

More records

Finally, the team will be trying to beat their astonishing figures from last season, when they won 16 games on the run, took 52 points from the first half of the campaign, scoring an amazing 61 goals in those 19 games. They’ll attempt to better the 46 points from their away games – and scoring in every game on the road and with a small squad of 23 players try and match the record of scoring –between the first team and the reserves – in every round of games.