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Barca nab Laureus team of the year award

Comment: 0 February 7th, 2012 by: admin

Spanish powerhouse Barcelona received the award for the year’s best team during the 2012 Laureus World Sports Award, considered one of the highest accolades in the sporting world today.

It was a first win for the Catalan squad, who have previously received four nominations but never received the award.

In receiving the award Barca beat out other globally-renowned teams including the current NBA champions Dallas Mavericks, the Rugby World Cup winners All Blacks from New Zealand, the English cricket team and Japan’s national women’s football team.

This comes as a notable victory for Barcelona, whose mother country Spain nabbed the same award the year before.

The squad received additional acclaim as two of its players, Lionel Messi and Eric Abidal, were nominated for World Sportsmen of the Year and World Comeback of the Year, respectively.

Messi, who recently received his third straight FIFA Ballon d’Or award, lost to tennis giant Novak Djokovic.  Abidal, who recently came out of an operation for a liver tumour and helped Barca claim the Champions League trophy last season, lost to golfer Darren Clarke.

Barca manager Pep Guardiola, who with his team are currently struggling to overtake rivals Real Madrid for the top spot in the Primera Division, beamed at the accomplishment.

“FC Barcelona is more than a club,” he said.  “We have already believed, as Laureus does, that sport is one of the most powerful forces in the world and it can help people, especially children, to improve their lives.  That is why this recognition is so special for us.”

More praises for Barca came from football greats and current members of the Laureus Academy Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Charlton.

“Barcelona are the best team in the world and they are almost perfect,” said Beckenbauer.  “I would put them in the same class as other great teams from the past such as the Real Madrid team of the 1950s.”

Charlton, who recently underwent minor surgery to remove a gallstone, lauded the squad’s playing style that in his opinion other teams should attempt to emulate.

“[Barcelona] have a philosophy and a passing system of play which everyone is expected to do and, unfortunately for the rest of us, they have the good players as well to actually make it happen… [Their success] is going to continue.”

According to Barca president Sandro Rosell, the award and the nominations come as prerequisites for the Spanish team to uphold their playing standards for the coming years.

“[We will] keep on applying ourselves and maintain this level [of excellence] in the coming years,” Rosell was quoted.

“The nominations of Abidal, Messi and the club are an honour, and it will help us keep on working and thinking about how to keep up this level in the future,” he continued.  “It’s very hard to achieve things in life, but it’s harder still to maintain that level.”

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