THE VITALS:

Team: Barcelona

Brand: Nike

Era: 2012-13 (Used for the 2012 Supercopa de Espana matches and the 2012-13 La Liga season)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

This article comes to you in mostly very-good condition, albeit, with some small signs of wear, most notably around the hem of the shirt and the discolouring to the LFP emblem on the sleeve.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Large

Pit to Pit Measurement: 21 inches

Shirt Length: 28 inches 

Made by Nike in their ‘Dri-Fit’ mould which they introduced in 2012, this shirt provides excellent dimensions for a size large fitting football shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

After Nike’s daring barcode striped home shirt which they produced for FC Barcelona in 2011-12, they would again push the boundaries of tradition with their offering for 2012-13! You would be forgiven for mistaking this for a Paris Saint Germain shirt as Nike chose to go all navy with a thick red beam that comes down the centre that rivets itself into the navy body, and is accompanied by thick red bands on the sleeves and a thick red hoop collar! In spite of the unorthodox design, this strip was very well received and would be synonymous with Barcelona’s legendary 100 point La Liga title win in what was the late Tito Vilanova’s sole season in charge of the club. This would also be the last home shirt to be worn by the trio of – Eric Abidal, David Villa and Thiago Alcantara.

THE SEASON:

After 4 incredible trophy-laden and record-breaking seasons under Pep Guardiola’s management, his fairy-tale spell in charge of the club would end in 2011-12 with his FC Barcelona side relinquishing the La Liga title to Real Madrid. His assistant – Tito Vilanova would be given the reigns of the club ahead of the 2012-13 season.

The experience of Seydou Keita would be replaced by Alex Song who was signed from Arsenal, and, also arriving, fresh from his role as Spain’s left-back during their Euro 2012 triumph, would be the impressive Jordi Alba from Valencia. The first assignment of the Vilanova era would be the task of defending the Supercopa de Espana against Real Madrid. The animosity and excitement that had come to define this rivalry in recent seasons showed no signs of abating, however, it would be Real Madrid who would prevail on away goals after the two sides drew 4-4 on aggregate.

Putting that disappointment aside; Vilanova would enjoy a 5-1 victory to in his La Liga management debut! The team would go unbeaten in their first 19 league games, winning 18 of those contests! Real Madrid would be the only side to take a point from this rampant Barca’ side when the two sides battled out to an incredible 2-2 draw at Camp Nou on 07/10/2012. When they were finally beaten by Real Sociedad on 19/01/2013, they’d still be 8 points clear of 2^nd place Atletico Madrid.

Sadly, Vilanova would suffer from a cancer for a second time in December 2012 and his assistant Jordi Roura would take over in his absence. Roura would oversee the management of the first team until late March 2013. Vilanova would return to successfully the guide the club to the title with 3 games to spare, and their 100-point return would see them match Real Madrid’s record point haul from the previous season!

While they would pip Jose Mourinho’s side to the title, they would relinquish the Copa del Rey title after being beaten by Real Madrid in the semi-final, and there would also be the disappointment of their embarrassing UEFA Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Tito Vilanova’s continuing health issues would see him abdicate the post as Barcelona head-coach at the end of the season, and he would sadly pass away on 25/04/2014 at the age of 45 due to complications that arose from the cancer he was suffering from.

This would also be the final season in Barcelona colours for the trio of - Eric Abidal, David Villa and Thiago Alcantara. The team would give Abidal the fine gesture of being able to raise the La Liga title in the title winning ceremony following his comeback from a successful from a liver transplant in 2012.             

The notable players that season were:

Lionel Messi, David Villa, Christian Tello, Alexis Sanchez, Pedro, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Alex Song, Thiago, Sergio Busquets, Jonathan Dos Santos, Cesc Fabregas, Sergi Roberto, Dani Alves, Eric Abidal, Marc Bartra, Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Adriano, Martin Montoya, Victor Valdes, Pinto