Another year has passed and this is 2012, the fourth year of the Guardiola era at Camp Nou. History tells that in the past 3 seasons, every January in the domestic La Liga tournament for Pep is always as beautiful as the flowers racing to bloom at the beginning of the year. It’s been 3 years, ie 14 games in total in La Liga in January 3 of 2009, 2010 and 2011, Pep-Team has never tasted the bitter fruit of defeat. Out of 14 matches in the first month of the year, the Catalan army only experienced 1 draw and the rest were all 13 wins.

However, if the perfect numbers in January’s La Liga showed a mighty Barça, then in the Copa del Rey, things were completely opposite. January Copa of the Catalan team has an aftertaste of overwhelming disappointment.

Perhaps the most shocking “punch” to Barça pride was the elimination of Guardiola’s side from the Copa del Rey in the knockout round of the 2009-2010 season. On January 5, 2010, Pep-Team had to spend a sad night at Camp Nou home after the final scoreboard of the match showed a 1-2 result for the away team Sevilla. A 1-0 victory at Sanchez Pizjuan then was not enough for Barça to progress because of the away goals rule. Copa del Rey 2009-2010 closed with the final match taking place right at the Camp Nou, making the regret even more persistent (Sevilla won Atletico Madrid).

Barca was eliminated by Sevilla in the King’s Cup on 9-10 in January – Internet Photo

That is not the only bitter fruit Pep’s Barça have to taste in the January days. In another Copa del Rey match of 2011, Barça also suffered a 1-3 defeat to Real Betis at Benito Villamarin. Although this defeat could not knock Barça out of the quarterfinals because in the previous first leg, the Giants crushed the blue-and-white striped team with a bold score of 5-0. But this defeat, against a team then still playing in the Second Division, showed that the King’s Cup matches in January were indeed pitfalls.

Just before that, Barca also had to struggle to overcome Bilbao. The final score was 1-1, and Barca could only go through thanks to an away goal scored by… Abidal. Crushing to Almeria in the semi-finals, Barca went straight to the Final of the tournament. But after the match against Real Madrid in the Mestalla, another Copa del Rey title left Barca. Ronaldo’s header in extra time deprived Pep Guardiola’s side of the chance to win a second treble.

Now, Barça will start their January at dawn next Thursday at Camp Nou, against Osasuna in the first leg of the 1/8 round of the Copa del Rey. But that may not be the biggest challenge in January, because in the quarter-finals, also taking place this month, Barca’s opponent (if they go through, of course), will most likely be Real Madrid. With what has been experienced after 3 previous January journeys, will Pep-Team choose January of which year as a “guideline” in their thoughts and destiny? “Accept” to take risks like 2010, 2011 or erase bad luck to create a miracle season like 2008-2009?

To have a rose road, Barça and Pep must first cross the thorny pass this January!