Barcelona have taken their first step towards a treble. Can they do it?

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Jules Kounde had already been one of Barcelona’s best players.

It was extra time in an already intense match. Taking advantage of Ferran Torres’ substitution for Pau Victor, he took a breather. He crouched down and then put his hands on his knees, clearly exhausted. He was spent. So were the three forwards. But he had enough strength left to become the unexpected hero.

He intercepted a pass from Luka Modric to Brahim Diaz — who slipped a second earlier — lifted his head, looked at Thibaut Courtois’ goal and didn’t think twice. He fired a powerful shot from outside the area with all of his soul. The Belgian couldn’t stop it. The Frenchman took off the black band from his head that stopped his dreadlocks from falling on his face and ran towards the corner flag, shouting. It was 3-2 with four minutes to go.

Ronald Araujo headed for the stands, throwing himself onto the fans who had carried them on their shoulders in Seville. He let them catch him. They were on the verge of taking the first step towards their goal: the treble.

Barcelona ended up winning a match in which they were superior in the first half but were overwhelmed in the second after Kylian Mbappe came on. In finals, every team has its moment. When Hansi Flick’s side had theirs, they failed to take advantage and went into the break with only a one-goal lead courtesy of Pedri after great individual play by Lamine Yamal. When Carlo Ancelotti’s side had theirs, they didn’t let up. Mbappe scored the first and Aurelien Tchouameni scored the second. They were pushed on by their half of the stadium.

Kounde celebrates his late winner for Barcelona (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

But Torres scored with six minutes to go, forcing extra time, and the rest is history.

The resilience of this team showed. They never stopped believing and had the ability to overcome a series of challenges, even when they were behind on the scoreboard. This is not the first time they have done that this season. Take the win against Benfica in the Champions League group stage as an example.

After Ronald Araujo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen lifted the cup, amid golden confetti and Queen’s ‘We Are the Champions’, the players paraded around the pitch, each wearing their chosen accessories: Yamal with two pairs of sunglasses and his new blond hair, Marc Casado wrapped in the net in which Kounde scored the goal. Then the loudspeakers played another song.

The first bars of Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida’ rang out and Barcelona’s fans went wild. On the pitch, possibly more than half of the players didn’t know why. Some because they weren’t in Barcelona in 2009, others because they were less than five years old. That Coldplay song was the soundtrack to Pep Guardiola’s treble, and since his departure, it has not been played again.

The message was clear: this Barcelona team has a special aura once again. They won the Spanish Super Cup in January against Real Madrid — who they have scored 12 goals against in three games this season — they have now won the Copa del Rey, they are top of La Liga, and they are in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

We shall find out in the coming weeks what happens in the European competition when they face Inter. In the domestic competitions, they are very well positioned. And what is most surprising is that there is talk of a treble in April, considering that this season was supposed to be a transitional one.

Flick arrived at Barcelona after Xavi Hernandez’s traumatic departure, which was handled poorly by the board, sacking him a month after officially confirming his contract renewal. The German’s presentation press conference did not take place for months because Flick wanted to show respect to Xavi and also calm things down before starting his spell on the Barcelona bench.

This team have not just gone through a few adversities. There have been many summers of financial juggling to alleviate a deep financial crisis that prevented them from signing players at will and even registering those they did sign, summer after summer. Last summer, it happened to Dani Olmo and Victor. And Olmo and Victor were the only players Barcelona were able to sign.

Olmo and Victor could be registered until December because Andreas Christensen was injured, but at the end of the year, they were back in trouble. They were even deregistered from La Liga. It took a precautionary measure from the Superior Sports Council, ratified in March, to get them playing again. There was discontent among other clubs and La Liga itself.

While they watched Real Madrid finally sign Mbappe, they had to face the season with teenagers and those in their early 20s. It was a very talented generation, but a young one with no experience in big games. There was also no concept of whether they were cut out to play in finals, unlike Ancelotti’s team.

While these on-pitch issues have been going on, the team remains in exile at Montjuic, with no clear date set for their return to Camp Nou, which is being renovated.

Barcelona have overcome all these difficulties during the season, displaying some of the best football seen in the city in a long time. When asked, several club sources all point to the same person responsible: Flick. He arrived in Barcelona with very clear ideas and a well-defined working structure. He relieved the players of the heavy pressure they were carrying on their shoulders by reminding them that it is only football, a job, and that they were there to enjoy themselves.

The team enjoys itself on the pitch. That enjoyment is obvious. “We are a family and it shows,” a source in the dressing room, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, told The Athletic after the final.

This squad is imbued with a new spirit. The past and Barcelona’s difficulties in beating Madrid in finals has no place.

“The mentality the players have is fantastic. When I saw how they came back again… It was incredible. Jules did it. It’s a perfect evening,” Flick said at his press conference.

“I told Ronald (Araujo) in the hotel: if they score one or two goals, it doesn’t matter. They can’t beat us this year. We’ve proven it,” Yamal told Barca One after the match, still wearing two pairs of sunglasses with his shirt back to front.

This feeling spread to the fans. Fans who don’t understand shades of grey and are either very pessimistic or very optimistic. For the first time, fans travelled to Seville en masse with widespread optimism.

According to club figures, 26,000 travelled with tickets, but many others without tickets travelled to the city, too.

Yamal wearing his two pairs of sunglasses during the celebrations (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

To win the treble, Barcelona have two tasks ahead of them. One seems more achievable than the other. In La Liga, they are four points ahead of Real Madrid. They have five games left to play, one of them against Ancelotti’s team. El Clasico could add excitement to the La Liga run-in if Madrid win, or it could seal the title for Flick’s team.

In the Champions League, they face a tough semi-final. Inter are a rock-solid defensive team and have qualities that do not favour Barcelona’s style of play. The problems the team have had this season have been against opponents who play like Inter.

Against Madrid on Saturday, the team showed some defensive problems in the second half. They lost Alejandro Balde on the left. The defender is working to return for the first leg, but is an important part of Flick’s plans, not only for his defensive duties, but also for his explosive attacking play. He helps in the build-up play because he is able to break through the opposition’s first line of defence very easily.

Robert Lewandowski is a notable absentee and is expected to return for the second leg in Milan. Torres is performing well and putting up decent numbers this season, but when the Poland international is not there, it shows.

The players are also starting to show signs of fatigue and the team is feeling it.

Flick’s first season is going well, but he still has two difficult challenges ahead of him: winning the league and winning the Champions League. The next two weeks will be decisive. In the meantime, today the team is resting after the celebration party they had at the hotel in Seville with their families and friends, waiting for the sound of ‘Viva la Vida’, which continues to inspire them to achieve their third treble in their history.

The first step has already been taken.

(Top photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)

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