Bleacher Report's Alternative Barcelona Awards for 2016/17 Season
Barcelona couldn't quite manage to chase down Real Madrid in La Liga in the end, but the Catalan outfit still end the campaign having won the Spanish Super Copa and have the chance to retain the Copa del Rey, with a final against Alaves ahead.
It has been an interesting and eventful season for the Camp Nou club, who have been involved in some memorable fixtures in 2016/17.
Here we look back at the campaign as a whole and deal out awards to the players most deserving of them—though, in one or two instances, the "awards" might be ones they'd rather miss out on.
Most Improved from 2015/16 Season
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Barca's main stars generally enjoyed another fine season, but goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made the step up from backup to No. 1 and produced an overall tremendous campaign.
There were several games, particularly against lesser opposition in La Liga, where had it not been for his constant interventions, Barca would have ended up dropping embarrassing and needless points.
The German is still eradicating some errors from his game, but overall, his style is perfect for the team, and his reflexes, distribution and general approach are immense.
Best Individual Display
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It's probably not a great surprise that the award for best individual display goes to Lionel Messi, but for him to pick El Clasico for his standout display says as much about his character as his ability.
The No. 10 was mesmerising at times at the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring twice including a last-minute winner and generally being the best, most untouchable version of the bridge between playmaker and chief goal threat he has been all season.
That performance, and win, sparked life back into the title charge—but it wasn't quite to be.
Goal of the Season
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There's a huge list of goals to choose from for Barca's goal of the season, with plenty of stunning long-range efforts, well-worked team goals and a few solo efforts.
We'll opt for Rafinha's immense top-corner effort against Leganes from earlier in the season, which he finished in style after winning the ball on the right, taking on his man and cutting in onto his left foot.
Below are a handful of other candidates.
Leo Messi v Celtic, Champions League
Leo Messi v Celta, La Liga
Luis Suarez v Sporting Gijon, La Liga
Leo Messi v Atletico, Copa del Rey
Carles Alena v Hercules, Copa del Rey
Moment of the Season
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No question on this one.
While Messi's late goal at the Bernabeu meant Barca still had a chance of playing catch-up in the league title race, the goal from Sergi Roberto against Paris Saint-Germain completed an incredible turnaround in the UEFA Champions League.
Needing a mammoth six goals in the end to progress after a devastating first-leg defeat, Sergi Roberto popped up in the fifth minute of stoppage time to hit 6-1, with the Camp Nou erupting in elation, disbelief and euphoria.
It served as quite the reminder that in football, anything is possible.
Most Underrated Player
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There aren't too many Barcelona players who don't immediately give the impression of being excellent, particularly on a technical level, but it can be the case that the biggest stars of the team get so much attention that those who do good work in other areas are overlooked.
That seems to be the case with Rafinha; enjoying a productive first half of season, the Brazilian midfielder showed his great range of attributes, from goalscoring to great work rate, incisive passing and one-on-one skill.
His biggest issue? Fitness. Again he missed much of the campaign due to needing an operation, and he'll start again next season needing to prove his worth to a new manager.
Signing of the Season
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Barcelona spent big in summer, adding to their squad in all areas of the pitch, from goalkeeper right through to the forward line.
The pick of the bunch in their debut season was centre-back Samuel Umtiti, with the youngster proving himself technically and physically capable of contributing to an excellent team who at times leave the defence exposed.
There's more to come from him as he gains experience, but Umtiti looks right at home in the Barca jersey.
Most Disappointing Player
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At the other end of the scale, Andre Gomes had a season to forget after a big-money move from Valencia.
The midfielder slows down play too often to be really effective in this team, particularly with Luis Enrique's tactic of getting the ball to the front three as fast as possible, and it wasn't until the final weeks of the campaign that he finally started to push forward and have an impact in the final third.
Defensively he's weak, positionally he's on a different planet to Sergio Busquets when asked to fill in that role, and overall, he and the team will be disappointed he wasn't able to contribute more.
Best Performer out on Loan
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Among all the signings and stars of the first-team squad, it shouldn't be forgotten that Barca have a number of players out on loan.
The pick of the bunch this season was Munir, playing a big role at Valencia, scoring eight goals across the season from a wide forward position—which isn't awful, given the shambles that Los Che have been for much of the year (or last few years, in fact).
Elsewhere, Cristian Tello was a regular at Fiorentina and Douglas played most of the season for relegated Sporting Gijon.
It remains to be seen if any of the loan players return to the Camp Nou.
Most Deserving of a New Contract
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Five players' contracts expire in the next 14 months or so; Lionel Messi is one of them. Now, obviously he deserves a new deal and the expectation will be that he signs one, so we're leaving him out of the equation.
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Carles Alena made the breakthrough to the first-team scene this term, appearing on the bench a dozen times in La Liga and coming on as sub a couple of times, while also scoring his first goal for the seniors in the Copa del Rey.
The midfielder is direct in his play, has quick feet and can spot a pass—everything Barca treasure in young players. Attitude and continual progression will determine how far he can go, but the signs are good.
Sport reported in April that Alena was in line for a new deal, but nothing has been made official yet.
Super-Sub
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Barcelona's first XI is, generally, the team that either gets a result or ends up frustrated—that has been one of their minor failings this season, that they don't have the depth in all areas that Real Madrid can boast.
That said, Lucho has made impactful substitutions at times, and the pick of the bunch is forward Paco Alcacer, who notched two goals and three assists in 376 minutes off the bench.
Denis Suarez, with one goal and two assists, wasn't too far behind.
Stats Awards: Biggest Defensive Contribution
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To finish up with we've looked at the statistical data from Barca's La Liga campaign and come up with the player making the biggest, or most regular, impact in each half of the pitch. For the defenders, we've combined the average number of tackles, interceptions and clearances made each match.
Central defender Gerard Pique is the winner here, tallying 7.4 per game combined.
Umtiti (5.7), Marlon (5.5, though only over two appearances) and Javier Mascherano (5.4) are next in line, though some distance off the clear winner.
Stats Awards: Biggest Creative Contribution
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In attack, Lionel Messi ended as the league's top scorer with 37 goals, eight clear of nearest rival (and team-mate) Luis Suarez. As the player with the second-highest shots per game in La Liga, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, that's probably not surprising.
But to create those chances, Barca need a constant stream of creativity, players who can open and exploit space—so we've combined average key passes and successful dribbles per game to find their biggest impact in attack.
Neymar takes that award by some distance, with a combined 8.6 per game, with his three key passes and 5.6 dribbles both being the highest tallies in La Liga in 16/17.
Below him, Messi weighed in with 6.0, Suarez 2.8 and Arda Turan 2.7 combined per game.
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