With the traditional Joan Gamper trophy, celebrated on Sunday at the Camp Nou, Futbol Club Barcelona has officially declared open the 2022-23 season, with the aim of returning the team to the international elite and having the potential to be a contender for all the trophies in which it participates and, above all, the Spanish Liga and the Champions League. Xavi Hernández has a clearly competitive squad to bring back the fans to Camp Nou and put an end to the drought of recent years: Barça's last Spanish trophy dates back to the 2018-19 season and the last Champions, that of the 2014-15 season with Luis Enrique as coach and the Messi-Suárez-Neymar trident in attack.
A bewildered Barça under the presidency of Josep Maria Bartomeu squandered millions to build a squad that never produced the expected results and, even more gravely, entered a situation of insolvency that the club management was unable to rectify. It was not all the fault of the pandemic, but a cluster of bad decisions complicated the accounts and seriously threatened the future of the organization. We can't yet be sure that the danger has disappeared, because the investments of this season - which were, indeed, necessary - will be measured on the results they bring.
Because of all this, the pressure for a good season will be more intense than in recent years and, above all, more than the last one, when the apathy of the players perfectly matched that of the fans right from the start and it was taken for granted that the team's goal was to enter Europe. This horizon has changed and Laporta and Xavi know that this year a large part of their credit is at stake, because the commitment made is significant and Barça, with a delicate economic situation, is one of the clubs that have spent the most money on signings with funds that have been obtained by giving up a portion of future profits.
The thrashing of the Mexican Pumas (6-0) and the excitement that took hold on Sunday in the stadium has not been seen for years. It will be from next Saturday, when La Liga kicks off and Barça debuts in its own stadium against Rayo Vallecano, that the season will start its journey. If the results are as expected, Barça will have passed its crisis point and avoided the poisoned inheritance that Joan Laporta received from Josep Maria Bartomeu. Because what is at stake is the future of the organization and the maintenance of the current club philosophy, as an organization in which the members are the owners.