FCBARCELONA.CAT

17.06.2009 12:58

Barça treble success reaches Japan

Vanessa Forns

The treble achieved by Barça this season is attracting international interest. The prestigious Japanese sports magazine ‘Number Plus' is devoting 97 pages to the achievements of Josep Guardiola’s team.

The highlights of what is possibly the most important season in the history of FC Barcelona have been brought together in the July issue of the Japanese sports magazine ‘Number Plus'. The 97 pages are packed with photos and information about the Club with special emphasis on the treble.

First the Champions League

Under the headline ‘Barça the Champions, the first part of the magazine focuses on the Champions League, especially the final against Manchester United. The build-up to the match, the match itself in the Olympic Stadium and the subsequent celebrations are the three main sections. The magazine also includes interviews with Xavi, Messi and Iniesta and a description of the rest of the squad with comments from them all.

League and Cup

Next comes a summary of Barça’s progress towards the league title plus a special view of the title celebrations through the eyes of a Japanese journalist. Finally there’s a shorter section on the Kings Cup won on 13th May in Valencia.

Guardiola the key

However, one of the important sections is that devoted to team manager Josep Guardiola. The author, Atsushi Kondo, made a special trip to Barcelona to write the article, which describes Guardiola as the key to the team’s success.

Historical review

In a section entitled ‘1899-2009 Barça Archives' there are a number of background pieces, which include an article on the double of 2006 with interviews of the time with Messi, Iniesta, Valdés and Puyol; another on Johan Cruyff and the Dream Team; another describing the significance of the Camp Nou for Barça fans and lastly an analysis of the importance of the Barça academy based at the Masia.