FCBARCELONA.CAT

Season on the up

The 2008/09 season saw some tough times right from the start. Nonetheless in both sporting and injury terms Barça battled hard to make a season of it, even though in the end they were unable to win the Cup or the revamped European League.

Taking part in the World Club Championship at Reus changed Barça Sorli Discau’s preseason as it was a last minute inclusion. The number of games the side had to play in the first month of the season was enormous and made revamping team preparation essential.

Despite the ups and downs, including defeats in regular season games in the OK League and the European League and more injuries than hoped for, the hockey first team remained competitive at the crucial times.

First three in the bag

24 hours after losing the World Club Championship to a golden goal by Reus in the final, Barça Sorli Discau lifted the Intercontinental Cup against Argentina’s Concepción.

Then in February Noia were the team to lose out in the Spanish Super Cup Final as Quim Paüls’s men got one hand on the trophy at the Palau and finished the job at the Ateneu in Sant Sadurní.

At Pamplona, Barça and Tenerife went head-to-head in the Continental Cup, with the Catalans running out winners to pick up their third piece of silverware of the season.

No Cup or Final Eight

The key time came in March and April. Barça Sorli Discau reached the final of the King’s Cup after putting out Blanes and Reus. However, their dreams were then shattered by Roncato Patí Vic who had become a major rival for Barça over the course of the season in all competitions.

Indeed it was Vic who reached the European final in a revamped Final Eight before losing to Reus who had knocked Barça out in the quarter finals. Carlos Figueroa’s men beat Barça in a penalty shoot-out.

OK League triumph

The regular season was intense and featured a tough battle for top spot, eventually taken by Barça Sorli Discau five points ahead of Vic. However, the play-offs were a different story.

Barça were in great shape with injured players back in the side and saw off Lleida in the quarter-final, Reus in the semi-final and Liceo in the final to win the OK League for the 12th year in a row and the 22nd time in the section’s history.