2008–09 FC Barcelona season

2008–09 FC Barcelona season

In 2008–09, FC Barcelona started a new era with a new manager, former captain and Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola, who led the team to the first treble in Spanish football history. After selling off high-profiled players such as Deco and Ronaldinho, Barcelona played scintillating football throughout the season, winning the Copa del Rey, La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League. This team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in football history.

Players

Squad information

<table><thead><tr><th>N</th><th>Pos.</th><th>Nat.</th><th>Name</th><th>Age</th><th>EU</th><th>Since</th><th>App</th><th>Goals</th><th>Ends</th><th>Transfer fee</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>Víctor Valdés (VC)</td><td>27</td><td>EU</td><td>2002</td><td>260</td><td>0</td><td>2010</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Martín Cáceres</td><td>22</td><td>Non-EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2012</td><td>€16.5M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Gerard Piqué</td><td>22</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2012</td><td>Youth system</td><td>Bought from Manchester United for €5M</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Rafael Márquez</td><td>30</td><td>EU</td><td>2003</td><td>200</td><td>8</td><td>2012</td><td>€5M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Carles Puyol (captain)</td><td>31</td><td>EU</td><td>1999</td><td>270</td><td>4</td><td>2010</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Xavi (VC)</td><td>29</td><td>EU</td><td>1998</td><td>288</td><td>28</td><td>2014</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Eiður Guðjohnsen</td><td>30</td><td>EU</td><td>2006</td><td>72</td><td>13</td><td>2010</td><td>€12M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Andrés Iniesta (VC)</td><td>25</td><td>EU</td><td>2002</td><td>211</td><td>17</td><td>2014</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Samuel Eto'o</td><td>28</td><td>EU</td><td>2004</td><td>108</td><td>78</td><td>2010</td><td>€27M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Lionel Messi</td><td>21</td><td>EU</td><td>2004</td><td>109</td><td>54</td><td>2014</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Bojan</td><td>18</td><td>EU</td><td>2007</td><td>54</td><td>12</td><td>2013</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>José Manuel Pinto</td><td>33</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>2010</td><td>€0.5M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Thierry Henry</td><td>31</td><td>EU</td><td>2007</td><td>59</td><td>31</td><td>2011</td><td>€24M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Seydou Keita</td><td>29</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2012</td><td>€14M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Sylvinho</td><td>35</td><td>EU</td><td>2004</td><td>92</td><td>3</td><td>2009</td><td>€2M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Gabriel Milito</td><td>28</td><td>EU</td><td>2007</td><td>27</td><td>1</td><td>2011</td><td>€17M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Dani Alves</td><td>26</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2012</td><td>€29M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Alexander Hleb</td><td>28</td><td>Non-EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2012</td><td>€15M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Eric Abidal</td><td>29</td><td>EU</td><td>2007</td><td>40</td><td>0</td><td>2011</td><td>€15M</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Yaya Touré</td><td>26</td><td>Non-EU</td><td>2007</td><td>32</td><td>2</td><td>2012</td><td>€9M</td><td>Under Bosman ruling</td></tr><tr><td>25</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>Albert Jorquera</td><td>30</td><td>EU</td><td>2003</td><td>17</td><td>0</td><td>2010</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Pedro</td><td>21</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>Undisclosed</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Sergio Busquets</td><td>20</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2013</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Víctor Sánchez</td><td>21</td><td>EU</td><td>2008</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Undisclosed</td><td>Youth system</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

In

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
15	MF		Keita	28	EU	Sevilla	Transfer	Summer	2012	€14M	Barcelona.cat
3	DF		Piqué	21	EU	Manchester United	Transfer	Summer	2012	€5M	Barcelona.cat
13	GK		Pinto	32	EU	Celta de Vigo	Transfer	Summer	2010	€0.5M	Barcelona.cat
2	DF		Cáceres	21	Non-EU	Villarreal	Transfer	Summer	2012	€16.5M	Barcelona.cat
20	DF		Alves	25	EU	Sevilla	Transfer	Summer	2012	€29M + €6M in variables	Barcelona.cat
21	MF		Hleb	27	Non-EU	Arsenal	Transfer	Summer	2012	€11.8M	Barcelona.cat
12	DF		Henrique	21	Non-EU	Palmeiras	Transfer	Summer	2013	€8M + €2M in variables	Barcelona.cat
28	MF		Busquets	20	EU	Barcelona B	Promote	Summer	2013	Free

Out

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
15	DF		Edmílson	31	EU	Villarreal	Contract Termination N	Summer	Free	Barcelona.cat
11	DF		Zambrotta	31	EU	Milan	Transfer	Summer	€9M + €2M in variables	Barcelona.cat
17	FW		Dos Santos	19	EU	Tottenham Hotspur	Transfer	Summer	€6M + €5M in variables	Barcelona.cat
21	DF		Thuram	36	EU	Retired	Contract Termination N	Summer	Free	Barcelona.cat
18	FW		Ezquerro	31	EU	Osasuna	Contract Termination N	Summer	Free	Barcelona.cat
20	MF		Deco	30	EU	Chelsea	Transfer	Summer	€10M	Barcelona.cat
10	FW		Ronaldinho	28	EU	Milan	Transfer	Summer	€21M + €4M in variables	Barcelona.cat
12	DF		Henrique	21	Non-EU	Bayer Leverkusen	Loan →	Summer	N/A	Barcelona.cat
23	DF		Oleguer	28	EU	Ajax	Transfer	Summer	€3M + €2.25M in variables	Barcelona.cat
26	MF		Crosas	20	EU	Celtic	Transfer	Summer	€0.5M + €0.8M in variables	Barcelona.cat

Squad stats

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>Total</th><th>Champions League</th><th>La Liga</th><th>Copa del Rey</th><th>Copa Catalunya</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>No.</td><td>Pos.</td><td>Nat.</td><td>Name</td><td>Sts</td><td>App</td><td>Gls</td><td>App</td><td>Gls</td><td>App</td><td>Gls</td><td>App</td><td>Gls</td><td>App</td><td>Gls</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>V. Valdés</td><td>49</td><td>49</td><td></td><td>14</td><td></td><td>35</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Dani Alves</td><td>52</td><td>54</td><td>5</td><td>12</td><td></td><td>34</td><td>5</td><td>8</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Puyol</td><td>41</td><td>45</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td></td><td>28</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Piqué</td><td>44</td><td>45</td><td>3</td><td>14</td><td>1</td><td>25</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Abidal</td><td>31</td><td>32</td><td></td><td>5</td><td></td><td>25</td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Touré Yaya</td><td>39</td><td>43</td><td>3</td><td>12</td><td></td><td>25</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Xavi</td><td>49</td><td>54</td><td>10</td><td>14</td><td>3</td><td>35</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>A. Iniesta</td><td>38</td><td>43</td><td>5</td><td>11</td><td>1</td><td>26</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Messi</td><td>41</td><td>51</td><td>38</td><td>12</td><td>9</td><td>31</td><td>23</td><td>8</td><td>6</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Eto'o</td><td>46</td><td>52</td><td>36</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>36</td><td>30</td><td>4</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Henry</td><td>36</td><td>42</td><td>26</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>29</td><td>19</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>Pinto</td><td>11</td><td>11</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td>9</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>25</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>Jorquera</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>41</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>Oier</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>M. Cáceres</td><td>16</td><td>23</td><td></td><td>3</td><td></td><td>13</td><td></td><td>7</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Márquez</td><td>36</td><td>37</td><td>3</td><td>10</td><td>1</td><td>23</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Sylvinho</td><td>22</td><td>30</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>15</td><td></td><td>8</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Milito</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>V. Sánchez</td><td>6</td><td>12</td><td></td><td>3</td><td></td><td>7</td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>37</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Botía</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>46</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Muniesa</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Keita</td><td>29</td><td>46</td><td>6</td><td>12</td><td>2</td><td>29</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Hleb</td><td>19</td><td>36</td><td></td><td>9</td><td></td><td>19</td><td></td><td>8</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Sergio B.</td><td>31</td><td>41</td><td>3</td><td>8</td><td>2</td><td>24</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>30</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Vázquez</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>35</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Abraham</td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>44</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Thiago</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>45</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Xavi Torres</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Gudjohnsen</td><td>17</td><td>34</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td></td><td>24</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Bojan</td><td>18</td><td>42</td><td>10</td><td>10</td><td>3</td><td>23</td><td>2</td><td>9</td><td>5</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Pedro</td><td>6</td><td>14</td><td></td><td>5</td><td></td><td>6</td><td></td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>31</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Jeffrén</td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Disciplinary record

<table><thead><tr><th>N</th><th>Pos.</th><th>Nat.</th><th>Name</th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>V. Valdés</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>GK</td><td></td><td>Pinto</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Dani Alves</td><td>8</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Piqué</td><td>10</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Márquez</td><td>8</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Puyol</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>Abidal</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>DF</td><td></td><td>M. Cáceres</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Touré Yaya</td><td>7</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Xavi</td><td>5</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Busquets</td><td>12</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>A. Iniesta</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>Keita</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>MF</td><td></td><td>V. Sánchez</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Eto'o</td><td>9</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Henry</td><td>5</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Bojan</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Messi</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>FW</td><td></td><td>Gudjohnsen</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Source: Competitive matches Only competitive matches = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Club

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Pep Guardiola
Assistant coach	Tito Vilanova
Goalkeeping coach	Juan Carlos Unzué
Physical fitness coach	Lorenzo Buenaventura
Lead fitness coach	Paco Seirul·lo
Field work	Aureli Altimira
Strength work	Francesc Cos

Competitions

Overall

As in nine out of the last ten seasons, Barcelona was present in all major competitions. First division and Copa del Rey in Spain and UEFA Champions League in Europe.

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
La Liga	—	Winner	31 August 2008	31 May 2009
Champions League	Third qualifying round	Winner	13 August 2008	27 May 2009
Copa del Rey	Round of 32	Winner	28 October 2008	13 May 2009

Source: Competitions

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Barcelona (C)	38	27	6	5	105	35	+70	87	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Real Madrid	38	25	3	10	83	52	+31	78
3	Sevilla	38	21	7	10	54	39	+15	70
4	Atlético Madrid	38	20	7	11	80	57	+23	67	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5	Villarreal	38	18	11	9	61	54	+7	65	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round

Results summary

Overall	Home	Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	27	6	5	105	35	+70	87	14	3	2	61	14	+47	13	3	3	44	21	+23

Matches

All kickoff times are in CEST.   Win   Draw   Loss

Group stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Barcelona	6	4	1	1	18	8	+10	13	Advance to knockout phase
2	Sporting CP	6	4	0	2	8	8	0	12
3	Shakhtar Donetsk	6	3	0	3	11	7	+4	9	Transfer to UEFA Cup
4	Basel	6	0	1	5	2	16	−14	1

Record

2008–09 FC Barcelona season

Competition	Won	Draw	Lost
La Liga	27	6	5
Copa del Rey	7	2	0
UEFA Champions League	8	5	2
Friendly	6	0	0
Total	48	13	7