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Luis Enrique led Barcelona to their second season winning in 2014-15 with a 3-1 victory over Juventus in the Champions League final in Berlin.
Following success on the national stage – having already triumphed in La Liga and the Copa del Rey earlier in that campaign – Enrique finished a remarkable first year at the Camp Nou dugout in Europe’s elite competition.
Showing class in the second half proved crucial against the Italian titans as Luis Suarez and Neymar adapted the style to score both, making Barca the first team to complete the treble twice.
The current Spanish boss replicated the feat of his compatriot Pep Guardiola, who had delivered the same feat in Catalonia six years earlier.
We took a closer look at what has become of the side that confirmed a heroic feat by beating Massimiliano Allegri’s side in the showpiece’s final in June 2015.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Ter Stegen joined Barcelona in 2014 and has developed into a great replacement for club legend Victor Valdes, who left the club as the Blaugrana’s all-time best goalkeeper.
If it weren’t for the fact that Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer was also German, you would think Ter Stegen would also be a star for his national team.
Under Xaxi Hernandez’s new regime, the 29-year-old looks set to remain a key part of the Spanish giants’ rebuilding plans as the club seeks to return to the trophy-winning ways Ter Stegen was so often involved before.
Dani Alves
The Brazilian fullback played in Guardiola’s revered treble-winning side in the late 2000s and was once again a world-class player in the Enrique squad that delivered the same feat.
Alves recorded 11 assists in 2014-15 – his serve is like what you would normally expect at the Ritz. The 38-year-old made a remarkable return to Barcelona in 2022 after a six-year absence, playing for Juventus, PSG and Sao Paulo.
Even in the twilight of his career, Alves continues to perk up Camp Nou with his attacking skills and entertaining personality.
Gerard Pique
The win in Berlin marked a third Champions League crown for the Spanish international. Pique’s career at Barcelona has been a resounding success since he returned to the Catalan club in 2008 after a rough patch under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
The defender’s honors list has been expanded at both club and international level; he has won almost every trophy there is to win. Despite his strengths dwindling somewhat in Barca’s current crop, the legendary figure remains an important leader for the club.
He may even get the chance to add another trophy to his collection if Xavi leads his team to a Europa League win in the 2021-22 season.
READ: The highs and lows that took Pique from Man Utd outcast to Barca icon
Javier Mascherano
Mascherano made 334 appearances for Barcelona, but this match was probably his most memorable as the former Argentina international looks back on a fruitful stay of nearly ten years in Spain.
As was so often the case with Barca, Mascherano was used by Enrique as a central defender against Juventus. This was a position in which he blossomed following Guardiola’s decision to convert him from the tenacious defensive midfielder we saw at Liverpool.
After retiring in 2020 after a stint in China, Mascherano was appointed Argentina Under-20 head coach in December 2021, where he remains to this day.
Jordi Alba
Like Pique, Alba was another player who returned to Barça. After being deemed “too small” as a youth player, the Spain international joined Valencia before the Catalan side re-signed in 2012.
The left-back has currently won 15 titles at Barca – the Champions League the most prestigious – and even at 33 years old, Alba is still a mainstay in the new look former team-mate Xavi is building at the Camp Nou.
Sergio Busquets
“I would find it very difficult to go anywhere else in Europe and play for a team that is pursuing the same things as Barca,” said the legendary Spanish midfielder in 2022.
The triple campaign under Enrique was just one of many successful seasons Busquets has had since the one-club man broke through to the Barcelona first team in 2008.
His technical prowess is unsurpassed, and this is why the 33-year-old has amassed countless appearances over the course of his ongoing career for club and country.
Ivan Rakitic (Jeremy Mathieu, ’90+1 )
Rakitic scored 37 goals for Barcelona before returning to Sevilla, a club where he first established himself as one of the most talented midfielders in Europe.
But his most important attack in a largely successful spell in Catalonia came in the final win over Juventus. Rakitic opened the scoring in the Olympiastadion in the fourth minute and converted from close range after Andres Iniesta found him in oceans of space in the Juve area.
The Croatian international later fell out of favor with Barcelona but is now a fundamental part of Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla squad.
Mathieu’s career in Barcelona, on the other hand, was a more memorable one. After signing with Valencia, he struggled to settle on the side during his three-year stay before taking on a new challenge at Sporting Lisbon.
“I felt alone in the locker room” [at Barcelona],,Nobody supported me, and to me this is not football”, said Mathieu during his time at Barça.
Mathieu, who has been capitulated by France five times, currently plays in his home country for semi-professional outfit Luynes Sports.
4⃣
ℹ️ Barcelona No. 4 Ivan Rakitić broke the deadlock within 4 minutes against Juventus in the 2015 final ⚽️#UCLadvent pic.twitter.com/UkGm6zIeIr
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 4, 2018
Andres Iniesta (Xavi, 78)
Iniesta is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, having played 669 times for Barcelona over a span of 18 seasons.
The former Spain international made a major contribution to Guardiola’s Champions League-winning team in 2009 when he scored the decisive goal to advance Chelsea in the semi-final. And his assist for Rakitic in the 2015 final was a moment of brilliance, we saw him serve time and time again.
Iniesta left Barca in 2018 to join Vissel Kobe and continues to play for the Japanese side, but may soon return to where he is undeniably adored.
†I would like to return to Barcelona. I would like to help the institution. There are many variables involved and it is difficult to know what will happen in the future,” Iniesta said in February 2022.
xavi made his 767th Barcelona’s final appearance in that win over Juventus. We’re not sure what he’s up to these days though…
READ: ‘A complete team’ – What people said about Xavi’s Barcelona
Lionel Messi
Pretty much everything has been said that could be arguably the greatest player of all time. Surprisingly, Barça’s record scorer didn’t find the target in his side’s win in Berlin, but that was just one of the few times the Argentina international was not the star of the show for the Blaugrana.
It still doesn’t feel right to see Messi don a PSG shirt. It is the first time in his glittering career that his performances are not astonished on a weekly basis.
Luis Suarez (pedro, ’90+6)
Messi called it ‘madness’ when Suarez was let go by Barca to join La Liga rival Atlético Madrid in 2020; a side where the Uruguayan international still shines under Diego Simeone.
The striker scored a whopping 198 goals in 283 games during his six years with Barcelona, leaving the Camp Nou as the club’s third-highest goalscorer.
His partnership with Messi and Neymar at the top was formidable – arguably one of the best strikers we’ve ever seen.
Pedro was forced to play second fiddle at MSN under Enrique – his best time at the club came under Guardiola – and he left for Chelsea in the summer of 2015.
At 34 years old, the Spanish winger now plays in Serie A for Lazio.
Neymar
The Brazil international had a stellar four years with Barcelona, scoring their third goal in stoppage time in the 2015 Champions League final.
He moved to PSG in 2017 to get out of Messi’s shadow, but his time in Paris has yet to expire. His signing would propel the French side to a European title of their own, but this trophy still eludes PSG.
Throwback to Neymar’s goal in the 2015 Champions League final 🤩
The moment Barcelona knew they had done it 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RLSOWdJOKD
— TARGET (@target) April 22, 2020
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