Barcelona won their first Liga title in three seasons at a canter in 1997-98, finishing nine points clear of Athletic Club.
Louis van Gaal led the Catalan club to a domestic double in his first season at the helm, with the team spending all but five weeks at the top of the table. They did all this despite a philanthropic defence that shipped 56 goals in the league alone – with only three teams doing worse in that regard.
CHANGES
The summer transfer market was headlined by Barcelona, who saw Ronaldo leave for Inter Milan at the peak of his powers for a world-record fee of £25m after a sudden breakdown in contract negotiations.
However, the Brazilian spark was not lost at the club, with Rivaldo and Sonny Anderson joining from Deportivo and Monaco respectively.
Atletico Madrid also ensured that the striker market wasn’t a one-way channel to Serie A with the high-profile signing of Christian Vieri from Juventus. Not to be outdone, Real Madrid secured the crafty signing of Fernando Morientes on a free transfer.
Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao splashed the cash on Roberto Rios to the tune of £10.80m – a record for a Spanish player.
Van Gaal’s appointment at Barcelona saw Bobby Robson move upstairs to essentially become the club’s director of football. Elsewhere, Madrid made a managerial appointment of their own, bringing in Jupp Heynckes from Tenerife.
SEASON SUMMARY
Barcelona spent the first 12 weeks in the lead, but a resurgent Madrid overtook them in November, just in time for their first meeting of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu. In one of the more memorable Clasicos of the past few decades, Barcelona regained their authority over the league with a 3-2 win. Giovanni was set up for the winner by Luis Figo, who would also score a belter in the return fixture against his future club, which ended 3-0 to the Catalans.
Under Luis Fernandez, Bilbao, despite only managing 52 goals all season, managed to finish in second thanks to a breakout campaign from Joseba…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-ronaldo-left-for-italy-but-barcelona-still-ruled-la-liga-in-1997-98/90
Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Dan Edwards)
Publish date : 2024-07-19 12:00:00
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