THE VITALS:

Team: Barcelona

Brand: Nike

Era: 2013-14

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This vest is nothing short of excellent condition; looking as good as brand new, such is how immaculately it has been kept! The material, Nike swoosh, sponsor decal and club crest are truly pristine! Please bare in mind, there is some slight staining around the underarm area; nothing however that takes away from the shirt quality!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 19.5 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches

Made by Nike in their ‘Dri-Fit’ style which they released in 2013 this vest provides excellent dimensions to create the casual basketball style vest fit for a size small!

DESCRIPTION: 

After 2 seasons of unconventional designs, Nike restored the classic ‘Blaugrana’ stripes to Barcelona ahead of the 2013-14 season, and like the 2010-11 season; equipped the reigning La Liga champions with a yellow collar, albeit this time, it was a v-neck as opposed to a hoop neck. Unlike the t-shirt edition, the vest is sans the two-tone sleeves, however, it takes nothing away from the grandeur and excellence of this fine vest adaptation of the shirt! This season would also be the first to bare the Qatar Foundation sponsor across the front while retaining their relationship with Unicef with a sponsor on the back. With Tito Vilanova sadly having to step down as Barcelona head coach, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino would be drafted from Newell’s Old Boys having just guided the club to the Copa Libertadores. Given the gift of the club’s record signing: Neymar; the club would narrowly win the Supercopa de Espana, however it would be a frustrating season as Barca finished 2^nd in La Liga and runners up in the Copa del Rey. This would be also be the last shirt to be worn by stalwarts such as: Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas, and Alexis Sanchez as they departed ahead of the 2014/15 season.

THE SEASON:

The Football Club Barcelona critics expected a difficult season and a true passing of the torch to Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid ahead of the 2012-13 season with Pep Guardiola moving on and his assistant – Tito Vilanova taking the reins. How wrong could they have been as Barcelona would go on to match Real’s record 100 point haul from 2011-12 to reclaim the La Liga title. Their eliminations to Real in the Copa del Rey and further more damming, to Bayern Munich in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League however, took away some of the gloss from their league exploits, much of which was owed to the deteriorating health of Mr Vilanova, who would be replaced Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino in the dugout ahead of the 2013-14 season.

Before the dust had even settled on the 2012-13 season; Barcelona announced that they had completed the capture of the one of the most prized talents in the sport – Neymar Jr, who they parted way with €57.1 million to make their most expensive ever signing from Santos! He’d be the only acquisition as the club leant on promoting players from La Masia, meanwhile, there would be exits for David Villa, Thiago and Eric Abidal in the close season.

Barca would start the new season in electric form winning 13 of their opening 14 league games to evoke memories of their identical start after 14 games they made in the previous season! Athletic Club would derail their unbeaten start, but it mattered not as Barcelon rallied to win their final 2 league games of 2013. Sadly in 2014, their form would take a nose-dive, and after the leading the way for each of the opening 21 rounds; they would find themselves in a 3-horse race for the title with both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. After winning just 5 out of their first 10 league games of the year; they would rediscover their best form in the spring months as they racked up 7 wins in their next 8 games, including an epic 4-3 El Clasico win over Real Madrid on 23/03/14 to keep the destiny of the title in their own hands, however, draws in their next 2 games meant that they would have to defeat Atletico Madrid at home in the final game of the season to retain the title. They could only draw with ‘Los Colchoneros’ and had to watch on as the visitors became 2013-14 season La Liga champions at the Camp Nou!

They would share a very storied history versus Atleti that season, beginning with the Supercopa de Espana, where Barcelona edged past Atletico Madrid 1-1 on away goals. In the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona would deliver impressive showings to top a very challenging Group Stage that featured Ajax, Celtic (for a second season in a row), and AC Milan with whom they played their 7^th & 8^th fixture against one another in the last 3 years! Barcelona would also eliminate Manchester City in the Last 16, however, they would fall short in the quarter final against none other than Atletico Madrid in the quarter final!

The Copa del Rey was also another source of heartache as the club steamrolled all the way to the final to set up an El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid in the 16/04/14 Finale in Valencia, and with the game poised for extra-time; Gareth Bale would score his now legendary wonder solo run effort to earn Real Madrid the bragging rights in the cup final!

With just one piece of silverware and the nature of the disappointments; the plug was pulled on the Martino experiment with Luis Enrique lined up to replace the Argentine, and this would also be the last season for the quadrant of: Victor Valdes Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas, and Alexis Sanchez.

Sadly, on 25/04/2014, Tito Vilanova would lose his battle with cancer and would pass away aged 45.      

The notable players that season were:

Lionel Messi, Neymar, Alexis Sanchez, Christian Tello, Pedro, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergi Roberto, Ibrahim Affellay, Jonathan Dos Santos, Alex Song, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Cesc Fabregas, Dani Alves, Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano, Marc Bartra, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Martin Montoya, Adriano, Victor Valdes, Pinto