10 unbelievable records Barcelona broke en-route their historic 2014/15 treble
Five years ago, Barcelona gloriously defeated Juventus in the UEFA Champions League final in Berlin. Barcelona's 2014/15 season is one of the most illustrious campaigns of football ever achieved by a club. Former Blaugrana player Luis Enrique guided Lionel Messi and co to an unprecedented second European treble.
The Catalan giants ripped apart opposition defences for fun on both domestic and European fronts. This was largely down to their star-studded attack of Luis Suárez, Neymar Jr and Lionel Messi. The trident of devastating attackers, referred to fondly as 'MSN', is considered one of the best front lines in football history. Together, they wreaked havoc and demolished teams with their scintillating ability to pick sides apart at ease.
On the other hand, the season also had its fair share of tense and controversial moments. Enrique and Messi had a spat between them which saw the Argentine being dropped by the Spaniard away at Real Sociedad. However, the season had a historic ending with Barcelona achieving success across all competitions. It was a truly spectacular season for the Blaugrana faithful as their club played some of the best football witnessed in the 21st century.
Records galore for Barcelona
The Catalan giants broke a host of different records en-route completing this historic season. Here, we take a look at ten such surreal achievements during the 2014/15 season.
1. First team to win two trebles
Only nine times in the history of European football has a club managed to complete a domestic treble. Out of those nine instances, only five have occurred since the turn of the century. Barcelona have won two of those five.
Barcelona are the first club to have achieved this feat on two separate occasions in Europe. The first came in the legendary 2008-09 season under former manager Pep Guardiola. The second was during the 2014/15 season.
2. All-time record for European doubles
Barcelona's treble saw them win the European Cup/Champions League as well as the LaLiga in the same season for the fifth time. This is an all-time record across Europe, with Ajax and Bayern Munich their next closest contenders.
3. All-time records for domestic doubles
Athletic Bilbao held the record for the most number of domestic doubles — LaLiga as well as the Copa del Rey — having won them five times in the same season. However, the treble-winning Barcelona side broke the Basque club's record as they achieved that feat for the sixth time, setting a new record in Spanish football. Only Bayern Munich (ten) have more in Europe's top five leagues.
4. Most decorated club in Europe's top five leagues
With the three trophies achieved by Barcelona in 2014/15, it took their official trophy tally to 86 — which was the highest figure in all of Europe's top five leagues at the time. They still hold this distinction with a staggering 91 trophies as of 2020, with rivals Real Madrid just one behind.
5. Only Spanish club to score 175+ goals in two seasons
In Pep Guardiola's final year in Spain, Barcelona scored a jaw-dropping 190 goals across all competitions, setting the record for Spanish clubs. The treble-winning 2014/15 season saw them come close to this record tally but ultimately fell short, albeit only by just 15 goals. This made them the only Spanish club in history to breach the 175-goal barrier in a single season. On the second occasion, Lionel Messi alone contributed to 58 of them, setting up a further 28.
Also read: 5 Most baffling transfers conducted by Barcelona