Complacent, exhausted Barca ran out of time

The life of a great football team is brief: as the great Hungarian coach Bela Guttmann observed, “the third season is fatal”.

The fourth proved so for Barcelona. The end was surprisingly rapid — three games in the space of a week, all of which could have been won, none of which were — followed three days later by the announcement of the resignation of Pep Guardiola. Barcelona still have fine players, and the appointment of Guardiola’s assistant, Tito Vilanova, as his successor should ensure a continuity of philosophy, but this won’t be the same side.

Guardiola’s Barcelona lasted four years, the last of which, even if they win the Copa del Rey, will be judged a failure.