Barca won its 28th Copa del Rey trophy this past weekend, their fifth trophy of this season's campaign. It was a very different sort of victory because the team went down a player beginning in the 36th minute after Mascherano was justly sent off for a foul on a Sevilla forward right outside the box.
Barca did not have time to feel sorry for themselves and quickly organized into a makeshift lineup whose sole purpose was to defend. Again, it was a very un-Barca performance for a team that is most comfortable attacking with the ball.
The team held out, and the score was 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes. Shortly thereafter, Sevilla had a player sent off for a last-ditch challenge of their own, and then we found ourselves on a level playing field: 10 vs. 10. Barca then poured it on and fought hard to kill the game in extra time in order to avoid penalties. In the first of two overtime periods, Messi sent a beautiful 40 yard ball into the path of Jordi Alba, who was heading toward the goal. Alba deftly slotted the ball home, and the Catalans never looked back. Neymar added another - again set up by Messi - in the dying seconds, and we all breathed just a little bit easier.
It was unconventional. It was uncanny. However, it was also inspiring. This team found a way to overcome the most difficult of circumstances and triumphed once again. While I should not be surprised at this point, I am inspired. It almost seemed like they took a page out of Nicholas' book - resilience, pride, steel. Visca Barca!
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