Barcelona

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Barcelona (巴塞罗那)
Alias(es)	Barça 332
Affiliation	La Liga; UEFA Champions League participant 300 343
Occupation / Role	Professional football club 299
Status	Active 374
First Appearance	Chapter 179 179

Club Identity and Football Philosophy

Extreme possession football

Barcelona's academy-led core developed an extreme possession-and-passing system, recording an average possession rate of 62% in one season. Its players' familiarity from training together since childhood was presented as a major source of the system's cohesion 179.

The club's ideal, referred to as its “truth” system, centers on endless circulation, switching play, collective shooting opportunities, and a decisive final strike 218.

• The system prioritizes control and minimizes risky rapid passing, shooting, and long-ball play 203 296.
• Mateo is its designated exceptional attacker; other players are generally not granted the same freedom to break its patterns 218.
• Barcelona's recruitment evaluations are based on whether a player's traits are useful within this system, rather than their overall market value 296.
• The club's stated recruitment principle rejects “roughneck” players 296.

Dual-core adaptation

Moreira's departure exposed Barcelona's dependence on Mateo as its sole explosive attacking point. Mancini could contribute from wide areas or as a passing outlet, but could not replicate Moreira's support role for Mateo 300.

Lu Yang's arrival changed the structure. He integrated into the possession system while providing an additional individual attacking system, allowing Barcelona to operate with the team system, Mateo's system, and Lu's system simultaneously 306.

• Lu's movement and pressing effectively gave Barcelona an extra attacking participant in its passing network 310.
• His presence gave Ortiz a second major forward threat to supply, reducing pressure on Ortiz to become a more advanced attacking core himself 299.
• The arrangement required Mateo to sacrifice some finishing opportunities and emphasize dribbling in order for the two attacking cores to coexist 347.

History

Academy faction and Moreira's departure

Barcelona's homegrown faction received preferential tactical and public treatment, with Mateo positioned as the club's future king. The group’s influence made it difficult for outside players to fully integrate, even when they possessed suitable technical ability 179 203.

Moreira, Barcelona's previous king and a “Football Elf” attacker, became increasingly incompatible with the club's direction. After Barcelona's heavy Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, the squad and Guardiola recognized the need for another elite attacking threat, but Moreira ultimately left for Manchester City for €37 million 270 296.

His departure damaged Barcelona's attacking chemistry. The club could still dominate weaker opposition in possession, but its attack became more reliant on direct contributions from Hernandez, Ortiz, and Mateo 300.

Lu Yang's arrival

Barcelona signed Lu Yang despite internal resistance to his salary, playing style, and public remarks about the club 297 298. His contract also required Barcelona to cooperate with Chinese football by creating overseas-development channels and sharing youth-training knowledge and courses 300.

Lu initially joined while recovering from injury. His return to training immediately escalated the conflict between the club's homegrown clique and its new signing when he fought captain Mebarak; Mebarak received an internal two-match suspension, while Lu was fined €30,000 301.

Lu made his Champions League debut against Ajax with a hat-trick in a 4–0 win, rapidly shifting public support and weakening Mebarak's standing within the squad 302.

Internal power struggle

Mebarak's injury against Atlético Madrid kept him out for more than four months and removed him from Barcelona's captaincy order. Hernandez became first captain, Ortiz second captain, and Burgos third captain 313.

Barcelona later faced a major dispute over UEFA's Yukrun campaign. Lu refused to play under the associated armband and banner conditions; Barcelona lost 2–4 to Liverpool without him in the first leg, then advanced 5–4 on aggregate after he returned as a substitute 320 321.

The conflict intensified when Lu left the pitch less than a minute into the Juventus quarterfinal first leg after seeing a Yukrun banner at Camp Nou. President Rosemeu subsequently negotiated his return, publicly supported him, and suspended board members and staff who had opposed him 323 324.

Treble-winning season

Barcelona won La Liga by one point after Atlético Madrid defeated Real Madrid with a last-minute winner 339.

In the Champions League final, Barcelona defeated Chelsea 4–0. Lu scored in the eighth minute—the fastest goal in Champions League final history—and later received the captain's armband after Hernandez was injured 342.

Lu lifted the Champions League trophy as captain, completing Barcelona's European triumph 343.

Honours

Competition	Result	Notes
La Liga	Champions	Won by one point over Real Madrid 339
UEFA Champions League	Champions	Defeated Chelsea 4–0 in the final 342 343

Key Personnel

Person	Position / Connection	Notes
Guardiola	Head coach	Built Barcelona's extreme possession system and backed Lu Yang during the club's internal conflicts 297 324
Mateo	Forward; academy focal point	Barcelona's designated future king and principal individual breakthrough threat 189 299
Ecia Hernandez	Midfielder; first captain	A 93-rated controller whose orchestration is central to Barcelona's possession game 299 313
Vale Ortiz	Midfielder; second captain	A 93-rated final-pass specialist who also became a secondary attacking threat 299 313
Mebarak	Centre-back; former captain	Homegrown-clique leader whose conflict with Lu and later injury weakened his influence 298 301 313
Rosemeu	President	Backed Lu during the Juventus crisis and acted against internal opponents 323 324
Beneto	Director; later vice president	Led the later “de-Lu-ification” campaign and gained vice-presidential authority 323 349

Relationships

• Lu Yang — Signed as a second attacking core, transformed the team on the pitch, and captained its Champions League final victory before leaving amid the club's “Pureblood Plan” and de-Lu-ification campaign 297 342 349.
• Mateo — Academy star and intended king of Barcelona; partnered effectively with Lu, though the club's system struggled to accommodate multiple primary finishers 299 321 347.
• Guardiola — Manager who sought to refine Barcelona's extreme possession system and repeatedly supported Lu against internal resistance 301 320 324.
• Moreira — Former king whose departure to Manchester City exposed Barcelona's lack of a second elite attacking threat 296 300.
• Mebarak — Former captain and homegrown-clique leader; his conflict with Lu became the central early-season internal dispute 298 301 302.
• Real Madrid — Primary domestic rival; Barcelona suffered a 5–0 Champions League defeat before Lu's arrival, then later won major league and Champions League clashes during the title run 270 329 332 337.

Decline after Lu Yang

After Lu's departure, Beneto led an effort to remove his image from club trophies and promote a “Pureblood Plan” centered on homegrown control. La Liga rejected Barcelona's request to remove Lu's image from the championship trophy 349.

Barcelona replaced Lu's role by signing Emmanuel Ruberg and forming an Argentina-England-France front line with Ruberg, Mancini, and Mateo 349.

The club's later campaign deteriorated sharply. Its new manager was dismissed following major losses to Real Madrid, while Camp Nou was flooded by Real Madrid supporters for a 4–0 league defeat that damaged Barcelona's popularity and revenues 372 374.