With all this talk about changes and players leaving, there is one player who deserves a second chance with Barça after winning a second chance at life. Barça’s biggest Achilles heel this season was poor performance by their defensive back four.  Those poor performances stemmed from the absences of Puyol and Abidal. Abidal has had a difficult year ever since he had to fight his battle against cancer. Now that he is back, there is talk that he won’t be brought back for the upcoming season. However, with all that this club went through this season, Abidal deserves a chance to win a spot on this team for the upcoming season.

FC Barcelona presented today next season’s home and kits. The home kit saw the club revert to the traditional Blaugrana stripes. However, the away kit will be based on the red and yellow colors of the Catalan flag “Senyera” for the first time in the club’s history.

FC Barcelona officially celebrated capturing their 22nd league title with a fireworks display at the Camp Nou following their 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid.  Barça took the lead in the 21st minute courtesy of Pedro scoring from a superb Xavi through ball. Barça then doubled their lead three minutes before the interval when Valiente scored an own goal during a corner kick. Barça would not add to their tally and Valladolid managed to grab one goal after Perez scored from the spot. Replays showed that Montoya actually made contact with the ball first but the penalty did not dampen the team’s spirit. The club celebrated the title when league president Villar handed the trophy to Puyol on the Camp Nou pitch. Puyol then immediately invited his teammate Abidal and manager Tito Vilanova to hoist the trophy in front of the fans which commenced the celebration festivities.

Barça celebrated their league crown by coming back and defeating Atlético Madrid 2-1 after being a goal down. Falcao opened the scoring in the 51st minute after both sides played to a scoreless first half draw. Barça were facing an uphill battle by being down a goal when they had to play the rest of the half with 10 men after Messi left the match with an injury. All the substitutions had been used prior to that injury but Barça kept on fighting and grabbed the equalizer in the 72nd minute courtesy of Alexis.  Seven minutes later, Barça took the lead for good when David Villa’s effort on goal took a slight deflection from Gabi for the own goal game winner. Messi rejoined the bench and no word yet on how severe the injury is. Players began celebrating on the Calderon pitch after the final whistle blew. This was the club’s 22nd league conquest with three league matches to go with a home encounter against Real Valladolid next weekend.

FC Barcelona inched closer to capturing their 22nd Spanish league title after defeating Real Betis 4-2. The victory came down to another performance from Messi who entered the game when it was 2-2 and scored two goals to ensure the victory. Betis delivered an early sucker punch to the Blaugrana in front of their fans at the Camp Nou when they took the lead after two minutes. Pabón gave his sides the lead after he latched on to a long ball that Song missed while Adriano and Pinto were caught in no man’s land, which allowed the Betis player to slot it past Pinto. Barça would equalize five minutes later when Alexis headed in Iniesta’s cross. Betis would recapture the lead two minutes before the break when Rubén Pérez scored an amazing goal from way outside the box. Barça though would perform better in the second half and Villa scored the equalizer in the 55th minute when he headed in Dani Alves’s cross to make amends for his missed chances in the first half. Messi would then replace Villa a few moments later and give his side the lead for good at the hour mark with a superb free kick goal and then score the much needed insurance goal eleven minutes later following some ball movement that resulted in Messi scoring from close range. This victory ensured that Barça maintained their 11 point lead atop of the standings and could clinch the league crown if Real Madrid falls to Malaga on Wednesday. If not, then Barça get their chance to clinch the title in Atletico Madrid’s Calderon stadium next weekend.

Bayern Munich completed their dominance over FC Barcelona with another one sided performance following their 3-0 victory at the Camp Nou.  After a scoreless first half, Arjen Robben gave Bayern the lead in the 48th minute before an own goal from Pique made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute. Thomas Muller then scored the third and final goal of the evening a few minutes later. Barça’s Wembley dreams went from being shattered to being obliterated after a 7-0 aggregate that did not see Messi feature at all in the second leg. Barça will now have to try to put this humiliating defeat behind them and focus on Real Betis when they come to the Camp Nou this Sunday.

The shocking 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich rocked the foundation of FC Barcelona last week. Sure, there had been hiccups along the way this season but this was a colossal wake up call for the Blaugrana. Issues have to be addressed from the top all the way down to the players on the pitch. Changes have to be made with regards to transfers and the change of guard with regards to the veterans at the club. By no means am I saying this is the end of era but perhaps the cycle has run out and the club needs a transformation.