WORTHY WINNERS

Today, Barcelona won its seventh Spanish League title in 11 years and 23rd League title overall.

Fittingly, today's victory came in the Vicente Calderon Stadium of last year's winners Atletico Madrid. I say fittingly because 364 days ago Atletico Madrid wrested the League title from us by drawing us 1-1 at our stadium, the Camp Nou.

The match was very intense - just as the entire season has been for Barca this year. The Catalans were in attack all game long, and the game was decided early in the second half by Leo Messi. He played a beautiful one-two (give and go pass) with Pedro in the box and then slotted the ball home at the far post past the Atletico Madrid goalie. Thereafter, the Barca coach Luis Enrique used all three of his substitutes. That brought both fresh legs and greater defensive purpose to the game, and we easily saw the match out.

Back in Barcelona, Real Madrid defeated our cross-town rival Espanyol. However, it was for naught. This is because our win today left us with a four point lead with only one game - or three points - remaining.

Barca's title this year was a surprise for many reasons. First, we brought in several new personnel both on the pitch and in the dugout.

The Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was recruited. However, he was forced to miss the first two months of the season while serving a ban for biting an opponent in the World Cup. Further, he was not mentally sharp in the first half of the season and found it hard to integrate into our squad.

Second, we also recruited the talented Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic who took over the spot of the great orchestrator Xavi Hernandez in midfield. At times, we did not seem to have cohesion in the middle of the pitch, and many blamed Ivan.

Finally, we also brought in a new coach - Luis Enrique - who was a former Barca player and coach of the Barca B team. Enrique had coached two other first division sides after leaving Barca B, but he had not achieved much success and had never won a trophy as a coach. His policy of rotating stars and picking a different line-up every week for the first half of the season left fans and players scratching their heads.

Despite all of these adjustments, the team had some noticeable strengths this season. First, they were immense defensively and only conceded 17 goals in 37 matches so far. In fact, Barca did not concede a single goal in 33 of those 37 matches. Further, the attacking trio of SNM (Suarez, Neymar, and Messi aka Show No Mercy) selflessly distributed the ball and shared in the goal-scoring responsibilities. This attacking trident left defenses in their wake, scoring 108 goals in League play to date.

After a trophy less 2014, this League title feels very sweet and deserved. It was truly a team title despite individual greatness that specific players demonstrated in specific games. Importantly, we have two more chances at silver wear in the next three weeks. In two weeks, we play the Copa del Rey final at the Camp Nou. In early June, we also have a chance to win our fifth European Cup when we face Juventus in the Champions' League Final.

For now though, let us savor the League title and these wonderful men. If I had to pick one word to describe how I feel about these Barca players, it would be love. Visca Barca and Visca Catalunya!