Mestal Stadium, Valencia, Spain.
In the Copa del Rey final, Bara faced off against Athletic Bilbao.
King Juan Carlos and the Queen of Spain were in attendao watch the match. They were also present for the La Liga title award ceremony, whily served to frustrate Juan Carlos, a die-hard Real Madrid fan.
The whole world khat he once joked about betting his throne on Real Madrid.
This season, however, Real Madrid was destio end up empty-handed, uo shake Bara's dominance.
In this Copa del Rey final, the Basque Lions from the north put up a fierce fight against Bara.
Javi Martíruck first with a powerful le shot, breaking through Bara's defense and putting Athletic Bilbao ahead.
Despite his tall and robust frame, the Spanish midfielder was anything but clumsy. On the trary, he had excellent footwork and a knack for shooting from distaraits hohrough Spain's teical football development.
With the early lead, Athletic Bilbao ramped up the pressure, f Bara into unfortable situations and even making them look vulnerable at times.
However, Bara gradually gained trol of possession and began to create dangerous ces behind Bilbao's aggressive high press.
It wasn't until the 31st mihat Yaya Touré, pying as a makeshift ter-ba this match, suddenly surged forward through midfield. He deftly evaded two defenders, dribbled past Bilbao's tral defender Amorebieta, and unleashed a powerful strike from 20 meters out to level the score.
tally, Touré's goal came from almost the exact same spot as Javi Martínez's earlier strike.
No one expected that in a match featuring some of the world's best attag talents, it would be two t defensive pyers who found the back of the first.
The first half ended in a 1-1 draw, but as the sed half began, Bara immediately asserted their dominance.
Messi finally came alive.
The Argentine wizard first dribbled past two defenders before firing a shot on goal. He tio terrorize Bilbao's defeh his dazzling footwork and sharp movements.
Ih minute, Messi delivered a precise pass to the right side of the penalty area. Eto'o's low shot was initially blocked, but Messi reacted quickly, poung on the rebound to score and give Bara a 2-1 lead.
Just four mier, Messi produced another pinpoint pass. This time, Bojan surged into the left side of the penalty area and calmly slotted the ball into the , extending the lead to 3-1.
Then, ih minute, Messi dribbled into the box once again, only to be brought down by Amorebieta. Xavi stepped up and coolly verted the penalty, pushing the score to 4-1.
At that moment, the atmosphere ial shifted.
Bara fans iaed in celebration, vihe title was already secured.
In La Liga, Bara held a-point lead over Real Madrid with just three matches remaining, winning the league ractically a done deal. Now, with the Copa del Rey also in their grasp, the double was officially secured.
But the Bara faithful were not satisfied. Their eyes were now set on an even bigger prize, the UEFA Champions League final!
As Athletic Bilbao realized the match was slipping away, their frustrations grew, and their tackles became increasingly reckless.
The Bara supporters began urging Guardio to substitute Messi, fearing that Bilbao's aggression could lead to an injury that would rule him out of the Champions League final.
Heeding the fans' s, Guardio quickly repced Messi with Hleb, earning appuse from the crowd.
With a anding 4-1 victory, Bara had officially secured the Copa del Rey title!
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Following Bara's triumph, Guardio faced the media in the post-matterview zone.
Meanwhile, far away in Rome's Stadio Olimpiapoli had just defeated Sampdoria to cim the Coppa Italia, bringing them oep closer to their own domestic double.
When Guardio was informed of Napoli's victory, he smiled aended his gratutions to Gao Shen.
"I want to gratute Gao. He and Napoli fully deserve this success. Winning back-to-baestic doubles is an incredible achievement, and Napoli has proven its strength. Gao has also shown that he is one of the best coaches in European football today."
While pleased with Bara's Copa del Rey performance, Guardio aowledged that g a goal was a defensive pse that o be addressed.
I matches, he had been experimenting with Yaya Touré as a ter-back, a decision that had worked well so far. This shift had pushed Puyol into a more flexible role, alternatiween right-bad left-back.
However, Bara was fag a key challenge ahead of the Champions League final. Due to UEFA's yellow card accumution rule, Abidal would be suspended for the final after pig up a booking in the semi-final against Liverpool, a notable blow to their defeability.
Guardio admitted that this absence would have an impact, but he remained fident in his team's ability to adapt.
"I know Gao Shen and Napoli very well. I uand their strength. This is the most important game of our season, and they will be our toughest oppo."
"For the past few weeks, and in the ing days, our entire focus has been on preparing for this match. I have full fidehat we will be in peak dition for the Champions League final!"
"In Rome, we have only one objective, the title!"
"The Treble!"
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Guardio wasn't the only one brimming with ambition.
Bara's pyers Messi, Xavi, Ia, Eto'o, and Yaya Touré all voiced their fidend determination in media interviews.
Each of them shared the same goal: winning the historic treble.
Messi, usually reserved, made a rare bold decration:
"We are determio wireble!"
The Spanish media echoed this se.
Even traditionally Madrid-leaning outlets like AS and Marca put their rivalry aside, throwing their support behind Bara in hopes ing another Champions League trophy to Spain.
However, these same publications also reminded Bara that achieving the treble would not be easy.
After all, Gao Shen and his Napoli were chasing the same dream!
With Napoli's Coppa Italia secured and the Serie A title all but guarahey too were closing in oreble. This parallel battle fueled excitement across the global footballing unity.
It was araordinary moment in football history.
For the first time, both Champions League finalists had already won their domestic league and cup petitions.
Whoever triumphed in Rome would not only lift the Champions League trophy but also bee the first team in their nation's history to plete the treble, ting their legacy.
After rep on Bara's Copa del Rey victory, the Italian media sent a clear warning to Gao Shen and Napoli:
Be careful of Bara. Be especially careful of Messi.
Against Athletic Bilbao, Bara had struggled against intense high pressing aless pressure in the first half. But in the sed half, Messi exploded, dismantling Bilbao's defensive system within ten minutes, directly orchestrating three goals.
There was no doubt about it, Messi was the heart and soul of this Bara team.
Sacchi also gave advice to Gao Shen in his n in Gazzetta dello Sport, believing that in order to curb Bara, Messi must be tained.
The challenge, however, was that Guardio no longer seemed willing to deploy Messi on the wing. Instead, he positioned him trally.
It was simir to how Guardio liked to use Yaya Touré as a ter-back while allowing Busquets to py as the No. 4.
This tactical adjustment made Napoli's task of defending against Messi even more difficult.
…
After returning from the Stadio Olimpi Rome, Napoli had no time to rest, as they immediately faced a crucial Serie A fixture over the weekend, the 36th round of the season.
As long as Napoli defeated Torino in this match, they would secure the league title in advance.
However, the game was not easy.
Torino was currently 17th iandings, just one point above the relegation zone. Desperate to avoid the drop, they were bound to fight with everything they had against Napoli.
Napoli had already pyed two matches within a week, and Gao Shen also had to prepare for the uping Champions League final.
Before the match, Gao Shen made it clear that the team was not fixated on seg the title at home immediately.
What he meant was simple, the championship was already in their grasp. Whether they won it one round earlier or ter made no differeo them, and they would not alter their preparation pn because of it.
As expected, against Torino, Gao Shen fielded an all-rotated lineup.
The match was tightly tested. Throughout the first half, Torino defended resolutely, setting up a pact 4-4-1-1 formation that made it difficult for Napoli to break through.
It wasn't until the 44th mihat Pellè delivered a pass into the middle of the penalty area, allowing Valencia to seize the opportunity and score with a low shot, giving Napoli a 1-0 lead.
After halftime, Napoli pressed fgressively, pletely dominating Torino.
In the 51st minute, Callejón provided an assist, setting up Pellè to score Napoli's sed goal—2-0!
That goal effectively sealed the victory.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Hamsik led a quick terattack, dribbled past two defenders, and finished ically ihe box, extending the lead to 3-0.
Napoli ultimately secured a fortable 3-0 victory over Torino at home.
At the same time, Inter Mied Siena 3-0 with goals from Cambiasso, Balotelli, and Ibrahimovi?. However, their win was meaningless ile raapoli had already secured the Serie A championship with two rounds to spare, successfully defending their title.
With the Coppa Italia already in their hands, Napoli had achieved back-to-baestic doubles for two secutive seasons.
The entire San Paolo Stadium erupted in celebration.
The only drawback was that, due to the uainty before the match, the Italian Football Federation had not sent the league trophy to Naples in advance. As a result, the official title ceremony would be postponed until the 38th and final round of the season.
Fortunately, Napoli would also be pying at home in that match.
After the wiorino, captain Montervino and avaro, carrying the retly won Coppa Italia trophy, led a p of honor around the stadium alongside the entire squad, receiving r cheers from the fans.
Although the Serie A trophy was not yet in their hands, lifting the Coppa Italia served as a symbolient of celebration.
More than 50,000 Napoli fans filled the stadium with deafening ts, urging the team to go oep further to plete the historic treble!
