The following is a translation of an opinion piece by Albert Llimós. The original can be found here.

When Camp Nou in the moment of the painful defeat, cheers the team, it is the greatest success of Guardiola and his team. After four years, this group of people has managed to achieve something more than good results. There was a sociological change in the “barcelonisme”, deep, sincere, which goes far beyond what the scoreboard shows.

It is true, we should not be unrealistic, we will see if that spirit of being a proud culé will remain if the results fail. But knowing this team, if they don’t betray their values, they will win again soon. At Barça titles, almost always, are the result of a solid project and the firm belief in ideas. With this philosophy, the club has grown from a small entity, losing, to a global benchmark, especially in the last 20 years. Finally, Guardiola has sublimated this concept, the way of understanding the sport.

But, as it was demonstrated last night at the Camp Nou, poetic justice does no exist. And the fans understood this. The important thing is to believe in the ideas until the very end, lifting the flag of football with pride, learning to win and knowing how to lose. And this club has reached maturity. True, Guardiola has lost a battle, but the legacy they leave is much more solid and deep. From now on, Rosell and his board have the challenge of managing this trend set within “barcelonisme”. Some changes are needed, some important within the team, but not the main idea of this project.

Of course the defeat against Chelsea hurts. I will not be hypocritical. But above all that, last night I found a bittersweet aftertaste hard to explain. A strange happiness when we were expecting the players in the mixed zone. The honest response of more than 80,000 spectators who were still in the stands at 92 minutes, I was shaken.

The day is painful, indeed. But on the horizon, if it continues to believe in this brave bet on football, Barça will win.

The club has matured, we will see in future how much.

Image credits: JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images