From Clasico heroics to La Liga glory: Barcelona’s five defining moments at Montjuic as Camp Nou comeback nears | OneFootball

The big day is finally here. After years of waiting and months of unending postponement, Barcelona are finally set to return to the Spotify Camp Nou later today as they lock horns with Athletic Club de Bilbao in La Liga.

As many as 45,000 fans will be on the sidelines to cheer Barcelona’s beginning of a new chapter, one for which they have waited a long time.

They are turning towards a new chapter, which irrefutably means another must close and that belongs to Montjuic.

In the Camp Nou’s absence, it was the Estadi Olimpic de Lluis Companys that served as Barcelona’s home stadium for over 900 days.

From Xavi’s highs to his decline to the arrival of Hansi Flick and the transformation of the team under his tutelage, it all unfolded on the grass of Montjuic.

Over the past two and a half years, the stadium has seen many memorable wins for Barcelona, with the team registering 45 wins in 60 games at the venue.

Barça Universal brings you the five most memorable moments from the team’s time at Montjuic as they finally bid it goodbye.

Hansi Flick’s official debut

Hansi Flick took over a challenging role. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Flick arrived at Barcelona at the beginning of last season, looking to start a new project at the club, one that received a lukewarm response at the time of his hiring, given the uncertainty over whether he was the right man for the job.

Over a year down the line and having witnessed what Flick has done to transform the club, it will go down in history that his first home game in charge of Barcelona was at Estadi Olímpic de Lluis Companys.

While Flick lost his first game in charge of Barcelona, which came against Monaco in the Joan Gamper trophy, his first official home game came against Athletic Club at the same venue, which his team won 2-1 courtesy of goals from Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski.

Ironically, his first game in charge of Barcelona back at the Spotify Camp Nou later tonight will come against the same opponent.

The Real Valladolid statement

While Hansi Flick’s project had a promising start, it was a steady progression of events with the team taking some time to adjust to the new normal.

Hansi Flick’s Barcelona thrashed Valladolid. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

From that, to becoming Europe’s most devastating attacking team, there soon arrived a dramatic shift of gears.

That change of gears precisely arrived at Montjuic, and it was against Real Valladolid on match day four of La Liga last season.

On that day, Barcelona were ruthless across the field and showed no mercy, just as Flick asked of them. Goals from Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres helped the team to a 7-0 win, perhaps Barcelona’s biggest ever margin in recent times.

From there on, there was no looking back, and the Catalans made it a habit to hit the three or four goal mark regardless of the occasion or opponent.

Bayern Munich’s hammering

One of Barcelona’s best moments in the UEFA Champions League in recent years arrived when they played host to Bayern Munich at Montjuic last season, for the game went on to announce to Europe that Flick’s Barcelona are a force to be reckoned with.

Barcelona made a statement against Bayern Munich. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)

The dominance that the team displayed against the Germans on the night was staggering, with the forwards pulling off lethal finishes to deliver blow after blow.

From Raphinha’s opener off a lethal counterattack to the ice-cold hat-trick he scored on the night, every small detail of that impressive 4-1 win will be ingrained in the memory of Barcelona fans.

Montjuic, needless to say, will be at the centre of that memory.

The comeback Clasico

Barcelona dominated Real Madrid across all Clasico meetings last season, but only one of them came at Montjuic. That, needless to say, was the most difficult one of them all.

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 4-3 in a potential title decider. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Just days after their heartbreaking defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League, the Catalans played the Clasico at home in a game that could make or break their title hopes.

They even went 0-2 down quite early on the night, with Kylian Mbappe scoring two quick-fire goals.

What followed, however, made the game a historic one as Barcelona scored four goals in just 26 minutes to put down Real Madrid’s hopes, seal the game 4-3 and show them who is in charge.

Lifting the league title

The single-most iconic moment that Montjuic has enjoyed over Barcelona’s tenure there, by far, was the team’s 2-3 defeat to Villarreal on May 18th this year.

While the result was indeed a disappointing one, it was the night Barcelona officially lifted the La Liga title in front of their own fans after sealing it earlier that week.

The result that night was immaterial, for the Catalans were only playing for the celebrations that followed and they ran deep into the night to give the stadium a fitting tribute for serving as a fabulous stand-in home venue.

It was the night Barcelona celebrated as the treble winners and shared the joy with the club faithful – one that will remain etched in the memory of players and fans for a long time to come.