There were just three games left in Liga 2004/05 and Real Madrid had just drawn with Sevilla when Barcelona’s game at Levante was about to start. A draw would be enough to win the league title. Gio played in that game, which did indeed end in a draw, which meant the league trophy was headed for FC Barcelona. Here he remembers how it all happened.

A hard game

“That same week” remembers the Dutchman, “they had changed managers (Oltra for Schuster) and wanted to win to get enough points to avoid relegation. They were a very physical team. I struggled a lot with Ettien, who was my man, and also Jofre Mateu, who had freedom of movement in the Levante attack. And Levante went ahead in the first half and nearly scored again in the second. Thankfully, Eto'o got an equaliser and it all ended well for us.”

Odd final minutes

Gio also said that “when we drew, we thought they would come back at us and look for another goal, but we noticed that they had decided that a draw was a good result for them too, and so the score wasn’t going to change. Then we saw, much to our disbelief, how Levante lost their last two games and went down to the second division.”

Huge joy

The full back remembers “the cheer when Undiano Mallenco blew the final whistle. We were all running up and down, I hugged all my team mates and even people I had never seen before, because our fans had invaded the pitch. That was our first league title since 1999. The party continued in the dressing room and then on the plane back to Barcelona.”

Open top bus

The man who was at FCB from 2003 to 2007 added that “the moment we got off the plane, we got on an open top bus. We didn’t really think something like that would be needed at three o’clock in the morning, but as we approached the Camp Nou, we found out why. There were people everywhere. It was amazing and not many of us had expected such a response from the fans at that time of night”.

Abidal and Wembley

Gio also mentioned the player that was signed as his replacement, Éric Abidal. “What can I say about Abidal? I don’t think there is anything I can say that hasn’t been said already. I am delighted for him and the team. He has won respect all round the world. He is a winner on and off the pitch and now he’s won the hardest game of all.”

As for the Champions League final on May 28 at Wembley, the man who won the same title in Paris in 2006 said “being favourites doesn’t mean you’ll win. Anything can happen. Barça can move the ball around really well, but watch out for Rooney and Chicharito, they’re the real danger with Manchester”.