This year’s success isn’t just measured in trophies. Barça has gotten better since last year and with their attractive style has helped many people enjoy watching the game over the past two years.

This article is a translation of Johan Cruyff’s weekly article in El Periodico. The original can be found here.

A player with good sportsmanship will always congratulate their rivals. Real Madrid had an extraordinary season.  They fought tooth and nail with Barcelona until the last game, and that has lead to a record in the number of points won for both the first and second place team. Having congratulated Madrid, I find myself more and more impressed everyday with this Barça team. Because they won the league? Sure, but their success is measured in other things too.  They enjoyed themselves on the field and football fans enjoyed watching them play. The whole world has recognized your superiority and very few teams have obtained that over the course of history. I’m wowed because the second year is always more difficult than the first. As I’ve said many times, getting to the top is easy but staying there is what is really complicated.