Reaction to setbacks always positive

Guardiola’s Barça have always reacted to setbacks with pride and a strong fightback – below we look at the three most difficult moments the team have overcome since 2008.

With 13 trophies won out of the 16 they have contested, it’s clear that Guardiola’s team haven’t given the fans too many disappointments. The defeat against Madrid will of course be one, but if we look back at the way the team have reacted to bad results in the past, the omens are positive for this week’s game against Chelsea.

Saturday night’s was just the second defeat to Madrid under Guardiola- the first came in the 2010/11 Spanish Cup final, after which the team reacted positively with a 2-0 win over Osasuna and a 0-2 win in Madrid in the Champions League semi final that paved the way to last year’s historic European and domestic double.

Barça’s defeat in the 2009/10 Champions League semifinal was followed by a run of four league wins that sealed the title, with the first one perhaps the most significant – a 1-4 win at Villarreal. That win was followed by victories over Tenerife (4-1), Seville (2-3) and Valladolid (4-0) and another League title, won with an amazing 99 points.

After taking the six cups in 2009, Guardiola’s team first tasted disappointment when they were knocked out of the 2009/10 Spanish Cup by Seville in the last 16 round. The response from the team was impressive, beating Seville 4-0 in the league and then running up three more wins that went a long way to ensuring the league title. (via FCBarcelona.com)