Spanish Inquisition: Why Barcelona Badly Need Three Points From Rubin Kazan

Where there was once a swift and mighty sword and a nearly impenetrable shield, there now appears to be a few chinks in the armour.

Coming off the best season in the history of the Spanish game and shattering records in the process, Barcelona went into this campaign with the possibility of taking home six pieces of silverware by season’s end. With two trophies (the Spanish Supercopa and the UEFA Super Cup) already in the bag, Barca now have the Club World Cup, Champions League, Copa del Rey, and Liga titles for which to contend.

But all is not at its best in the Catalunyan capital. With some unconvincing results of late, the Blaugrana are beginning to look less like the stiflingly unbeatable side that took home the 'triplete' last season and more like a side that is flirting with mortality.

That is not to say that Barcelona have become, by any stretch of the imagination, a weaker team. Still boasting some of the most attractive football in Europe and with players who continue to show superb technique in holding the ball and creating a multitude of chances, they continue to be one of the strongest clubs both domestically and in Europe.

But while Barca’s quality of play may not have changed substantially with respect to last season (aside from the injuries to crucial players like Thierry Henry and Dani Alves), the way opposing teams play the European and Spanish champions has changed.

There seems to be something different in the way teams approach Barcelona compared to the way they did last season. Where last year their opposition seemed tentative, even fearful - often lacking the confidence to calmly play the ball out of the back on a counterattack, looking frightened and panicked when the ball touched Messi’s boots, and almost invariably playing defence on the back foot rather than trusting in their own abilities and playing aggressively - now teams are beginning to grit their teeth and meet the Pep Guardiola juggernaut head on.

Barca continue to dominate their matches with their extended periods of possession and relentless assaults on goal, but what seems to differ this year is that teams are beginning to approach the Spanish giants with the desire of proving themselves rather than the petrifying fear of conceding more than three goals.

As anyone who has played a sport rightly knows, confidence and mental fortitude constitute a significantly large element of success and instilling fear in an opponent is a very effective tactic. Without this psychological advantage, Barca have begun to face rivals who are dead set upon testing the Catalan mettle.

In the UEFA Super Cup, a resilient Shakhtar Donetsk held the Blaugrana at bay for the better part of 90 minutes and extra time and, although the treble champions did eventually secure the title with a solitary Pedro Rodriguez goal in the closing minutes of the match, the Ukrainian side showed that Barca can be made to look like just a formidable force rather than an invincible goliath.

Since then, a number of other teams have taken it upon themselves to take Barcelona to task. Inter, Almeria, and Valencia all played the Catalan behemoths with stubborn determination and while Almeria were beaten by a solitary goal, the Nerazzurri and Los Che were each able to hold Guardiola's Globetrotters to a goalless draw - an impressive feat considering the goalscoring arsenal in the Blaugrana ranks.

But no result came as more of a shock than the defeat to Rubin Kazan in the Champions League two weeks ago (at the Camp Nou no less). On two supremely executed counterattacks and some exceedingly stubborn and well-coordinated defending, the Russian champions were able to neutralise the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi to take home the full three points. And it took just one defeat for the Spanish press to begin speculating that finally the pendulum was beginning to swing away from Catalunya and in the direction of the Spanish capital.

Barca quickly dispelled the notion that the club was in any form of crisis with a 6-1 demolition of Real Zaragoza in the weekend La Liga match, showing that when they want to, they can not only beat teams, but destroy them in that very familiar and typical fashion last season.

But conceding points at the Reyno de Navarra against Osasuna last Saturday has again cast a vestige of doubt on Guardiola’s men. The Blaugrana dominated the match and, to be frank, should have left Pamplona with maximum points. Instead, a last gasp cross from Javier Camunas was inadvertently diverted by Gerard Pique into Victor Valdes' net for an own goal.

Now, as they take on Champions League foes Rubin Kazan this evening in the cold Russian winter (the forecast calls for a temperature minus-10 ºC), Barca must take care to bag all three points or they risk losing their mighty reputation and exposing a vulnerable breastplate that would give their opponents, both on the European stage and in the domestic arena, the hope, confidence and optimism needed to progressively chip away at the proverbial chink in the armour and turn it into a gaping hole.

Winning the 'triplete' does not come without its fair share of difficulties. For Barcelona, that principal hardship seems to have come in the form of a very large target on the back of every player's jersey - one that is being very carefully aimed at by their opponents.

To take home six titles this season, Barca have to expect each and every team on their schedule to play as if they have everything in the world to prove. Such is the burden of a champion.