What Are the Chances FC Barcelona Femení Three-peats the UWCL?

For all their success, FC Barcelona Femení have not ran out of milestones and accomplishments. The best team in the world is still to win three champions league titles in a row, among other things, like going unbeaten in an entire UWCL tournament. That is because the competition is hard, and only the best teams get a chance. Barça is certainly one of those. So, what are the chances of winning the UWCL for the third time in a row, this season? Let’s go through it.

Good teams get lucky. The best teams make their own luck.

I will start by saying that if anyone can do it, it’s Barça Femení. For the past four seasons, they are the team that has demonstrated the most consistency. Four finals in four seasons. Winning three of those. We all know the statistics. Alongside Barça, has been Lyon, Chelsea and occasionally, Wolfsburg. In addition, PSG, Bayern München, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester City and most recently AS Roma have crashed quarter-finals and/or semi-finals at one time or the other. 

Until last year’s final, Lyon had always beaten Barça in finals with somewhat embarrassing score lines. The 2 – 0 win in Bilbao was a welcome change. It came after a revenge mission-esque Barça semifinal win at Stamford Bridge.

All the teams mentioned above have one thing in common: they love to win and they will stop at nothing. Even if it means coughing up world record transfer fees or building more than adequate rosters. This season is no different, and fans would expect nothing less.

Slow start.

Barça’s start in Liga F was typical but their Champions League start was something strange. They came surprisingly short in a match that was Barça’s tempo marker for the season. Everyone was quick to notice and dish out comments as Barça went back home to regroup. What’s more, they ended the match goalless. The gravity of that point hits home harder when you factor in the fact that they left everything on the pitch. In hindsight, a lot of factors contributed to the loss, among them wrong tactics and approach.

Pere Romeu is a great coach, no doubt. But there’s an ‘it’ factor that only comes from managing a team through big games especially in the UWCL. Being a recent appointee, we culés can only hope he doesn’t need it too soon.

Going for Pere, is that this squad is well-oiled and they are slowly settling to his way of play. Almost always, they only need guidance and management. There is a good balance of veterans and youngsters. Even though certain parts of the team leave something to be desired at times, it is a winning team.

One foot in front of the other, all the way.

As things stand, Barça Femení has a first team roster of 21. Assuming no departures or incomings, that is a relatively small roster. Compounding that, is the fact that Liga F runs for 30 games. Not to mention the other three competitions. Why did I bring this up? There are two reasons; firstly: it won’t be easy to three-peat the Champions League and secondly: if Barça were to win, the management would have to be out of this world – so to speak. Compared to a lot of the competition, Barça’s roster is small.

Winning the fourth, while not far fetched, is still a tall order. All the ingredients are ripe for la teoría de cuatro. But we’re a long way out. For now, it’s one match at a time, one step at a time. Like that, all the way. We all know that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of fight in the dog. Small roster or not, Barça always makes it work.

There is maximum confidence in this team and they have demonstrated that they can get it done when it counts. Like I said at the beginning, if any team can three-peat the UWCL, Barça Femení is willing and able. As challenging as it is, and can be. Let’s keep in mind Lyon did win 5 times in a row. The precedent has been set. It is not a utopian dream.