FC Barcelona: 6 Reasons Barcelona Fans Should Not Be Worried About Next Season

In case you just woke up from a nap that started in April, FC Barcelona's club season didn't quite finish the way they were hoping.

A loss in the Champions League semifinal and a runner-up finish in La Liga were on-field setbacks. The real blow, though, came when manager Pep Guardiola decided to leave the club, taking with him his astounding record of results.

Hence, more than any other summer in the past few reasons, there are some legitimate causes for concern amongst supporters of the Blaugrana; on the other hand, there are still many reasons why concern is an overreaction.

Here are the six main reasons why there is no cause for worry in the nation of Catalonia.

Tito Vilanova's Connections with the Club

As awful as it is that Pep Guardiola's leaving his post as Barca manager, it's not like a stranger is getting the position.

Vilanova has been Pep's assistant since Guardiola was the manager of Barcelona B, so he is sure to continue the tiki-taka tactics of Pep and has a good idea of how to implement them in the same way as the departed manager.

Further, his history with this particular side has surely led to his building a relationship with the players and establishing a foundation of respect with them.

One would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable manager for this group of players.

Barca's Superstars Are Still at the Top of Their Games

How can Barcelona go wrong when they have the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi running the show?

The sublime passing of Xavi has continually picked apart the best defenses in Europe, Andres Iniesta has played at his very best in Barca's biggest matches and Lionel Messi—well, he's Lionel Messi.

To make it scarier, Xavi is the only one amongst them over the age of 30, and he hasn't shown many signs of a drop in form at 32 years old.

Expect these three to continue to lead Barca at least into contention in every competition in which they compete.

The Return of David Villa

The loss of David Villa to a broken leg in December's Club World Cup cannot be understated in a discussion of the way Barcelona's season played out.

In 2010-11, Villa was Barca's second top scorer with 23 goals; in 2011-12, the club's second top scorer had just 15.

Further, it was Villa's ability to score with beautiful strikes from outside of the box that lent Barca another dimension that allowed them to break down overly defensive sides (like Chelsea in their CL tie).

If Villa returns in the same form he had before he got hurt, Barcelona could be unbeatable once more.

The Emergence of Young Players

What may be overlooked in the greatness of this Barcelona side is that many of their players are just going to get better.

Look at Pedro, Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Busquets.

All three of those players have established themselves as fantastic players and staples of the side, yet are just 24 and 23 years of age.

Over the next few years, these players will only hone their skills and get better.

Transfers to Make the Team Even Better

This summer, Barcelona will sign one or two big names who will make the side even better.

With the loss of his manager aiding his departure even more, Barca will probably scoop up Gareth Bale from Tottenham to shore up the left-back position that was suffering since Abidal's most recent troubles.

A centre-back will also be signed; perhaps David Luiz or Thomas Vermaelen.

These changes will make Barca better than ever.

They Weren't That Far off Last Season

As bad as it is that Barcelona did not win La Liga or the Champions League this past season, a supporter can take solace in how close they were to both.

In fact, if they had played better in just one week of the season, they could have had a treble this season.

The fact that Barca were at least in contention for every competition makes it easy to imagine that, with a few tweaks and improvements, they can take those final few steps and return to glory.

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