Yesterday, popular football website Goal.com featured a preview for the La Liga from the point of view of the Barcelona fans in collaboration with totalBarça. Harshawardhan & Faisal (GueRakun), the correspondents from totalBarca, offered their views on the challenges of the new season.

Read on after the jump! Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.

The target: Another Liga and Champions League double

The wind blows the hardest when you’re on top. This adage rings true to every human endeavour and it rings especially true for football. FC Barcelona are currently enjoying the best era since their establishment in 1899, having successfully defended the Liga title against an ultra-competitive Real Madrid and conquered Manchester United at Wembley to bring the Champions League trophy to Barcelona last season. Expecting this amazing team to do anything less would be cynical. If there is one feat Guardiola’s Barca has not performed yet, it is to retain both the Liga and Champions League titles and that surely has to be the aim for this season. Adding the other two trophies Barca are participating in, the Club World Cup and the Copa Del Rey, would be the icing on the cake.

Our thoughts on El Mister

Many say managing a team with such talented players is easy. Well, it is not so by any means. Josep Guardiola was a coach even when he was a footballer – and a brilliant one at that. His understanding of how the possession game should be played to perfection is unparalleled. His tactical understanding is proven through his experimentation with the lineup, most notably using Messi as a false No. 9 and dropping Sergio Busquets back to centre-back. He is constantly motivating and evolving the team to overcome everything that they are up against. Also, he is a great model for the players, especially the younger ones. He is always humble, respectful towards opponents and shuns the limelight. Pep instils in his players that although they may be one of the world’s best teams, they still have to prove it time and again.

Our key man this season

Who else but Lionel Messi? While the squad is full of talent and experience, one cannot deny that the most versatile forward in the game’s modern history is the man who makes the difference. He can score, he can create opportunities for his team-mates and his off-the-ball movement continues to pull opponent defences out of shape. This season, he seems to have worked on his upper-body strength and his free-kicks have improved a lot, too. His ability to score goals as well as assist them will be as important as it has been in past seasons and he will no doubt be ready to up his game yet another notch.

Youngsters to watch watch out for

La Masia’s Martin Montoya (right-back), Marc Bartra (centre-back), Sergi Roberto (attacking midfielder) and Isaac Cuenca (wide forward). All of them should have opportunities to impress this season. However, all eyes will be on the ‘crown jewel’ and newly promoted Thiago Alcantara, who has been at Barcelona since he was 14 and helped Spain win the Under-21 European Championship this summer. Expect him to feature several times, orchestrating play from the midfield. He has a lot to improve still, especially discipline to keep the ball, but he is learning from the best in the business.

A player who must deliver

Cesc Fabregas’ move back to FC Barcelona has arguably been the most protracted transfer saga of all time. Now that the prodigal son is back home, he will be expected to play a key role this season. Difficult as it is to break into the starting XI at Barca, Fabregas has demonstrated an uncanny understanding with his team-mates in the three games in which he has featured so far. While his role initially has been as an impact sub, expect him to grow more and more into the central midfield role. He is an intelligent player who understands the system and will be the one making the runs into the box from midfield as his finishing abilities are top class. Fellow new arrival Alexis Sanchez as well as David Villa will also be feeling the need to contribute to the team.

Our Achilles’ heel

Going into the season with only three specialist central defenders (Puyol, Pique and Abidal) is going to be a gamble. Agreed that Javier Mascherano has been a beast in that position but that leaves the defensive midfield lacking depth. Seydou Keita’s ability to grow into the defensive midfielder position that he has recently been played in will be the key to maintaining that balance. Though cover is available for central defence in the form of Andreu Fontas and Sergio Busquets, it would have been a great relief for the fans if Barca had signed a good back-up defender. However, with Pep’s high risk/high gain plan of renewing our back-line with homegrown players, Fontas, Bartra, Muniesa, and Montoya could be Barca’s future back four.

Fixture we are looking forward to the most

The most awaited fixtures of the season are unarguably the Clasicos against our eternal rivals Real Madrid. While this rivalry goes back ages, it was stoked to unprecedented heights last season. Having four of these high-intensity matches in the space of a couple of weeks was taxing for players in both teams as well as us fans. The mood of those bitter clashes seems to have carried over to this season as well. The two legs of the Spanish Supercopa were exciting games with great football played by both sides. However, the cynical tackle by Marcelo on Cesc at the end and the bench-side brawl that followed left a bitter taste. Let us hope that the tension in the Clasico this season is handled in a more mature manner by both teams. Besides the Clasicos, the most anticipated fixture for us would be against the teams from Manchester, as both United and City have improved a lot and shown early-season promise.

Our toughest opponents will be

Domestically, Real Madrid, who have improved their squad with great buys as well as intense training; Villarreal, who have managed to hold on to Nilmar and Rossi; Valencia and Sevilla, who can always spring a surprise, and finally Malaga under Manuel Pellegrini, who have been most active in the market and have bought great players.

In Europe, Manchester United and Chelsea are looking great and so are Bayern Munich. The Champions League group stage will see us face off against AC Milan, who will prove to be strong opponents. However, it would be a pleasure to see Barcelona take on Borussia Dortmund somewhere along the season. They are an exciting, talented side with amazing players in every position on the pitch.

Person we love to hate

That would be Jose Mourinho. If his antics of last season claiming a conspiracy against himself by Barcelona, UEFA and UNICEF (!) were ridiculous, his behaviour after his side’s loss in the Spanish Supercopa was shameful. His sneaky ‘poke-in-the-eye’ to Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova was behaviour unfit for the coach of a highly successful team like Real Madrid. It is amazing how the vitriol he spews and the mind games he plays only serve to motivate Barça to perform better. Perhaps it is time for another ‘manita’ (a 5-0 scoreline a la November 2010).

Our first choice IX

Goalkeeper: Victor Valdés
Right-back: Dani Alves Centre Back: Carles Puyol Centre Back: Gerard Piqué Left-Back: Éric Abidal
Midfield: Xavi Hernández, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta
Right-Forward: Pedro Rodriguez “False” 9: Lionel Messi Left-Forward: David Villa

Adriano, Cesc and Sanchez would be the first-choice substitutes.

Our verdict

While this season could be the toughest test yet for Pep Guardiola’s merry men with six trophies to contest and with opponents constantly playing an aggressive, pressing style to counter Barcelona’s keep-ball, the talent and the versatility of the squad is the team’s biggest strength. What was lacking last season was a game-changing substitutes bench and that is something the team possesses now. A task tougher than getting to the top is staying at the top and that will be the toughest challenge for Barca this year.

However, smart squad rotation, the unquestionable talent of the team, the availability of reinforcements in the form of the Barcelona B team and the inspiration provided by the new players could see this Barcelona side conquer every tournament they participate in and reaffirm their status as the best team to ever play the beautiful game. Last season’s four Clasicos have shown that Barca are not the kind of team to crumble under intense pressure or heavy challenges. Other teams take note; Barcelona are ready for battle.

You can see the article on Goal’s website here.