Ranking Barcelona's 2014 Transfer Window Signings on Last Season's Efforts
The 2014/15 season was a truly memorable one for Barcelona, who did the treble of the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey for the second time in their history thanks to their multi-talented squad.
The likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar were the driving forces behind the successes, of course, but several of the summer 2014 additions also played their part, with two finding the net in the Champions League final in Berlin.
Which of those seven was the most impressive, though? And who barely made it off the treatment table?
Let's get ranking.
7. Thomas Vermaelen
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From being a respected figure during his five, admittedly injury-disrupted, seasons at Arsenal, Belgium's Thomas Vermaelen unfortunately became something of a running (or not running) joke during his first campaign after what should have been a dream switch to Barca.
The centre-back was injured for the entire campaign and failed to kick a ball for his new club until the final match of the league season, when he appeared for just over an hour of the clash with Deportivo La Coruna.
Whether or not Barca's treble success in 2014/15 eventually finds its way onto his CV only he can answer, but he'll still be just 29 years of age and will remarkably have four years left on his contract when the next campaign starts—one that he'll be determined to have more of a lasting impact in.
6. Douglas
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It shows you just how bad Vermaelen's debut campaign was that it has elevated the Brazilian right-back Douglas to sixth place and not seventh, with the 24-year-old looking somewhat lost during his first season at Barca after moving from Sao Paulo.
A debut in a goalless La Liga draw with Malaga in September failed to convince onlookers that he was the long-term replacement for Dani Alves, who duly took his place on the right side of defence for the majority of the season.
When he wasn't there Martin Montoya was, reducing Douglas to just three Copa del Rey outings and a cameo on the final day of the season against Deportivo—humorously replacing Vermaelen—as plenty wondered just what he was doing there.
5. Jeremy Mathieu
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Had Vermaelen been at all fit during the season, then Jeremy Mathieu would probably not have managed as many as 41 games for the club in his first campaign since a switch from Valencia. The Frenchman generally did OK and had two La Liga goalscoring moments he'll never forget.
In among all of the household names on the pitch, Mathieu popped up to nod home his first league goal for the club in March's Clasico win over Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, before following that up with the winner 17 minutes from time in a 1-0 success against Celta Vigo the following weekend as Barca look control of the title race.
The 31-year-old Mathieu might not seem to fit in among the glamorous names at the Camp Nou, but he generally did his job well and will be ready to call upon when needed in 2015/16.
4. Marc-Andre ter Stegen
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Barcelona's "Copa keeper" Marc-Andre ter Stegen might rue the injury that kept him out of his side's opening league game of the season and opened the door for Claudio Bravo, but the German was to more than make up for it in the cup competitions.
Despite not featuring for a single minute in La Liga, Ter Stegen played 21 times across both the Champions League and Copa del Rey campaigns, making vital saves in the semi-finals and final of the former competition and underlining his immense promise as a 23-year-old goalkeeper.
In years to come when he's perhaps gone on to keep goal for Barca for a decade, we might decide that Ter Stegen was the best signing of last summer's transfer window for the club, and he's undoubtedly had a promising start.
3. Claudio Bravo
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As starts to your Barcelona career go, breaking a La Liga record isn't a bad one.
Claudio Bravo shattered a 27-year-old record held by Barca's Pedro Artola when he managed to not concede a goal for the first 754 league minutes that he played for the club following his move from Real Sociedad, with a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo in late October finally bringing his run to an end.
Experienced and authoritative, Bravo has proved to be a clever addition by Luis Enrique despite the manager overlooking him for cup duties, and it was no surprise when he became the first Barca 'keeper other than Victor Valdes to win the coveted Zamora Trophy for the lowest games to goals ratio since Andoni Zubizarreta in 1987.
2. Ivan Rakitic
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Squeezing out Xavi was never going to be a nice thing for Barcelona to have to do, but in signing the Croatian Ivan Rakitic last summer, that was effectively what Luis Enrique and the club were doing. It's worked out pretty well so far.
As well as scoring the opening goal in the Champions League final, Rakitic was a calm, measured presence in the Barca midfield, where he featured 51 times in all competitions and grabbed eight goals.
An assist for the youngster Munir El Haddadi on his La Liga debut was a fine way to start, with the opening strike against Juventus in Berlin ensuring that Rakitic had topped and tailed an impressive season in which he had achieved the feat of slotting into the Barca way of playing as though he's always belonged there.
1. Luis Suarez
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It seems hard to believe now but there was a time when people were questioning whether Luis Suarez was regressing following his move from Liverpool to Barcelona, with the forward's bite ban delaying his start to life at his new club and the Uruguayan only scoring once in his first eight games.
That was likely down to rustiness, though, and Suarez soon returned to the lethal form we all know that he's capable of as he struck 25 times in his debut Barcelona season—including, of course, a crucial strike in the Champions League final victory in Berlin.
One of the very best players in the world and perhaps the most lethal "true" striker around, Suarez has begun Barca life typically brilliantly, and he's only likely to get better.
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