THE VITALS:

Team: Barcelona

Brand: Nike

Era: 2019-20 (Used for the 2019-20 La Liga season)

Name/Number: Griezmann #17

CONDIION: EXCELLENT

This shirt is in nothing short of excellent condition, with the article displaying very little wear. The name and numbering print, respective sponsors, Nike swoosh and club crest are nothing short of immaculate!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18 inches

Shirt Length: 28 inches

Made by Nike in their ‘Dri-Fit’ style of shirts that they introduced in 2019; this shirt presents almost the perfect dimensions for a size small football shirt!

DESCRIPTION:

Just 4 years after the horizontal striped shirt controversy; Nike would again open Pandora’s box when they released the first ever, and likely, the last ever, Croatia inspired chequered Barcelona home shirt! While indigo and charcoal were used in the 2018-19 season ensemble; the shade of blue this season was restored to the rich hue of navy that was used in 2017-18 and the colour would dominate the strip as it adorned the sleeves, shorts and socks, with red filling in the hoop atop of the socks and of course, half of the chequers on the main body of the shirt. Never to be neglected; Nike would masterfully implement the flag of Catalonia into the collar of the shirt. While many fans were not impressed with the strip, they would be many times more disappointed with the season as the team switched managers mid-season they failed to win a trophy for the first time since the 2007-08 season. This would also be the last home shirt to be worn by Luis Suarez as he was sold to Atletico Madrid to the astonishment of Culers worldwide, while it was also the last season for the likes of: Arthur, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Nelson Semedo and Rafinha.

THE SEASON:

While Football Club Barcelona would win the 2018 edition of the Supercopa de Espana and cruise to a successful 12-point margin La Liga title defence in 2018-19; the way the season ended would have to render it a disappointment by the clubs incredible high standards, as a quadruple dream collapsed in May 2019!

That sensational end to the season where they relinquished the Copa del Rey after having won the title for 4 straight seasons and surrendered a 3-0 1^st Leg lead in the UEFA Champions League semi-final to Liverpool, would demand action in the transfer market at the club and after a year of courting; Barcelona would part way with €120 million to bring Antoine Griezmann to the club from Atletico Madrid, and there would also be the arrivals of the impressive Frenkie de Jong from Ajax, Emerson, Neto and Junior Firpo. Leaving the club would be: Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, Jasper Cilessen and Malcom, while Philippe Coutinho was sent on loan to Bayern Munich just 18 months after his club record transfer from Liverpool.

Raising the curtain of the 2019-20 La Liga season, a Lionel Messi-less Barcelona would stumble to a 1-0 defeat away against Athletic Club, and a tricky start would yield just wins from their opening 5 games. Business as usual would resume shortly after as they won 9 of their next 10 league games to move to the top of the table, and although they would stutter with 2 draws and a win to end 2019; they would enter the new decade of the 2020’s at the summit of the division.

Quique Setien would replace Ernesto Valverde on January 13^th, and although Barca would suffer defeats away to Valencia and Real Madrid; they would sit at the top of the table by 2 points when La Liga was suspended due in early March owing to the Coronavirus pandemic. La Liga would resume in June, however, draws against Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Atletico Madrid would see them surrender their pole position and would ultimately have to settle for a 2^nd place finish as Real Madrid were crowned the 2019-20 La Lia champions.

In the domestic cup competitions, Barcelona would be stunned by Atletico Madrid on 09/01/2020 in the newly reformatted Supercopa de Espana which was held in Suadi Arabia and then they would bow out of the Copa del Rey in the quarter final when they once again came unstuck at San Mames – losing 1-0 to Athletic Club on 06/02/2020.

The UEFA Champions League began with a hellacious group stage drawing alongside: Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Internazionale. Barcelona would masterfully navigate the ‘Group of Death’ by topping the table and going unbeaten. They would meet Napoli in the Last 16 and while the 1^st Leg was played in front of fans in Naples on 25/02/2020; the 2^nd Leg would be played in an empty Camp Nou on 08/08/2020 where they triumphed 3-1 to meet Bayern Munich in the 1 game knock-out tournament which was held in Portugal. On 14/08/2020, FC Barcelona would suffer the ignominy of a humiliating 8-2 defeat at the hands of the eventual winners of the competition to cap off a miserable season for the club,

The fallout of the campaign would see the club look to move on some of their older higher earners and alas, this would be the last season in a Barcelona shirt for the likes of: Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal; meanwhile, losses were cut on Arda Turan, Nelson Semedo, Arthur and Rafinha and coach Quique Setien would also be dismissed as Ronald Koeman was hired to stabilise the ship in 2020-21.

The notable players that season were:

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Ousmane Dembele, Phillipe Coutinho, Arturo Vidal, Sergi Roberto, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Riqui Puig, Frenkie de Jong, Artur Melo, Junior Firpo, Ronald Araujo, Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Nelson Semedo, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Neto