Remember the last time we won La Liga at Camp Nou?
The Liga title could be FC Barcelona’s if things go right against Levante on Saturday (8.45pm CET), and even if they don’t should Atlético Madrid lose to Real Valladolid on the same day.
There’s nothing unusual about seeing Barça clinch domestic championships in recent years. This would be the eighth title in eleven years.
But we have to go all the way back to the 2009/10 season to find the last time they actually did it at the Camp Nou. The five victories since then have all been mathematically decided away from the iconic stadium…
- In 2010/11 Barça won the league at the Ciutat de Valencia, home of Saturday’s opposition, Levante.
- In 2012/13 a draw between Real Madrid and Espanyol meant Barça won the title without playing.
- In 2014/15 Barça clinched the league at the Vicente Calderón, home of Atlético Madrid.
- In 2015/16 Barça again secured the title on the road, this time in Granada.
- And in 2017/18, Barça were confirmed as champions away from home once again, this time with a win at Deportivo La Coruña on the penultimate weekend.
Real Valladolid, last time at home
The last time Barça won the league on home turf was nine years ago, when they thumped Real Valladolid 4-0 on 16 May 2010 with two goals from Leo Messi, one from Pedro and an own goal. That was the season that Pep Guardiola led the team to the trophy with an incredible haul of 99 points.
Real Madrid finished runners-up that season, just three points behind, while Valencia were a long way off in third on 71 points. That was also the year that Leo Messi won the Pichichi and Golden Show awards for topping the Spanish and European goalscoring charts (both the first of five wins, and likely to be extended to six this term), while Víctor Valdés won the Zamora award for only letting in 24 goals.
It was a memorable day at the Camp Nou as the title was confirmed, and we can only hope that we get to enjoy similar scenes this coming Saturday. Bring it on!
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