Barcelona - Six years of winning starts in the Copa del Rey - Part 1
The Spanish Champions Barcelona were the side who were victorious in Ceuta on Tuesday. The Catalan giants won the match 0-2 away from home as they defeated the Division 2B club Ceuta. After beating Ceuta, Barcelona have now managed to win all their opening
games in the Cup during the last six seasons. Since 2005/2006 Barcelona have not lost against a Division 2B side in an opening Cup tie.
In the past six years, the Catalan giants have managed to defeat Zamora, Badalona, Alcoia, Benidorm, Cultural Leonesa and now Ceuta. Such games always required a particular brand of humility along with seriousness and concentration. This is not because the
other side is easy to beat but because the Catalan side are a big club and if they are beaten by a club of the second or third tire, the club is going to face humiliation that it cannot tolerate. Such games also give opportunities to players that have not
been provided with a first team opportunity as the club is facing a “lesser” competitive side and this is the perfect time when they can play their young talented stars.
Even though these matches require seriousness, Barcelona have been a side who have always managed to maintain their winning mentality and even though some games are “foregone conclusions,” Barcelona never lost their nerve and played their “keep ball” style
of play in order to defeat the opposition.
The first team that the Catalan giants defeated during these six last wins were the Spanish side Zamora. During the season 2005-2006, the Spanish giants were playing under their legendary coach Frank Rijkaard and while being away to Zamora at the Ruta de
la Plata, the Catalan giants won the game 1-3 as the Dutch left back Gio Van Bronckhorst, the Mexican centre back Marquez and Giuly scored to help the team win the game. When Zamora came to the Nou Camp for the other game, the Catalan giants simply destroyed
them as they won the game 6-0 to qualify for the quarter final.
The very next season, during 2006-2007, Barcelona were drawn against their neighbor side Badalona. Barcelona had been defeated in the UEFA Champions League as Chelsea emerged victorious and won the game 1-0 at the Stamford Bridge. In the Spanish La Liga,
the Catalan giants were defeated 2-0 by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu; however, when the Spanish champions had to face Badalona, it was Gudjohnsen who scored two goals for the Blaugrana wearing side and helped the team win the away leg 1-2 after he
scored a penalty during the 92nd minute of the game. Barcelona then had to face Badalona at their home, the Nou Camp and they won the game 4-0 as they destroyed their opposition and qualified for the next round.
During the season 2007-2008, the Catalan giants had to face Alcoia and during that season, the Catalan giants secured another away win as Thierry Henry, Gudjohnsen and Bojan Krkic made the scorecard and won the game 0-3 for their side. When Barcelona were
hosting Alcoia at the Nou Camp, it was for the first time that year that the Catalan giants drew a game at home as the match ended in a goalless draw.
In the 2008-2009 season, the Blaugrana wearing side started their campaign by being on the right foot. While being away to Municipal de Foietes at the home ground of Benidorm, the Catalan giants won the game with a single goal and it was Bojan who scored the
only goal of the match.
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