The start of the 2022-23 Spanish football league has certified, after three official matches - two at home - and a couple of friendlies, the Joan Gamper trophy and the charity match for ALS against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, that the fans of FC Barcelona have come back to the stadium, after several years in which the pandemic and the poor results had dissuaded some culers from taking their seats. It is clear that, especially at this stage of the season, football is a state of mind, and the signings that have been made, perhaps at the cost of economic investments that are at the limit of the club's possibilities, have had a cathartic effect and the connection between players and fans is that of the good times, that of the years when titles are won.
The attendances at Camp Nou, of around 80,000 spectators per match, and the fact that these levels have been seen in the month of August, reflect the hunger of the supporters to see how far this team can go, with a squad featuring several decisive footballers, but as this season kicks off, none like Lewandowski. For the fans, the Pole is a combination of what the Messi-Suárez duo once represented: he leads, he scores and he imposes hierarchy. It's only been a few games, but already no one remembers what he cost and this is the best sign of the result he offers on the field, where he is seen enjoying himself with an intensity unusual for a 34-year-old.
This state of mind will be very important for the imminent opening rounds of the Champions League, a competition that has been particularly elusive for FC Barcelona and where this season the club has high hopes, while knowing perfectly well that its team is not among the outright favourites. The luck of last week's group draw has made things particularly difficult for Barça, because in its group of four the team finds itself alongside a couple of especially hard nuts to crack: Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. One of those two will have to be left out if Barça is to make the cut and continue to dream of being in Istanbul next May and bringing back to the Camp Nou trophy room a title that has eluded the club since the 2014-2015 season, when the team commanded by Luis Enrique prevailed in Berlin against Juventus by a resounding 3 to 1.
Eight seasons have gone by since then, years puntuated by too many moments of tragedy, not only or even fundamentally on the field of play, to remember them all now. The most important thing, though, is that, for the first time, breaking the club's ceiling of five Champions League trophies in the display cabinet is possible if the communion between team and supporters is maintained, if the players continue to demonstrate the hunger for victories seen so far, if injuries are kind to the squad, if coach Xavi Hernandez finds the key to putting together a competitive team in which everyone pulls together, and if the players in the team take on the roles expected of them, in a season which is all or nothing.
It's not at all a small challenge, nor an easy one. But it does seem one that is possible.