Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Barca Must Turn Season Around in Copa del Rey Final

Generally speaking, winning the Copa del Rey is probably third on Barcelona's list of priorities, behind winning La Liga and earning a Champions League title. But this year, winning the Spanish tournament might just save Barcelona's season.

In the past week, Barcelona lost the second leg of their Champions League semifinal to Atletico Madrid, knocking them out of the tournament, and lost to mid-table Granada, pushing them four points behind Atletico with just five games to go in La Liga. Suddenly, a potential treble could at best be a double, and that seems unlikely at the moment.

So yes, the Catalans need to win the Copa del Rey final to get their season back on track. It helps, of course, that they would be beating their hated rivals, Real Madrid, in the process. 

There's another way of looking at this matchup that has a bit less to do with expectations and the like—if Barca win the final, they will have beaten Real Madrid twice in La Liga play and bested them in the Copa del Rey. Could any season for Barcelona be deemed that much of a failure when their chief rival was handled with such aplomb?

Of course, Real Madrid remain above them on the table and are alive in the Champions League, though Bayern Munich beckon. One would guess the Real Madrid players would prefer their lot in life at the moment to that of Barcelona.

But one would also imagine another conquest over Real Madrid would fuel Barca down the stretch. What it would do to Los Blancos' psyche is harder to discern.

It's also important to remember that things aren't likely to get easier for Barca before they get more difficult, and that isn't a statement about this season. Remember, Barcelona are facing a transfer ban this year, meaning the squad you see is likely the squad you'll get next year, minus a few departures and barring an appeal. Barca may be able to delay the implementation of the ban, but boy, it's been quite the controversial year for the club.

There was the Neymar fiasco. The year started with Lionel Messi's legal issues and continued with his injury woes. And could further failure lead to the end of the Gerardo Martino era as manager?

That might be hasty, but it's certainly possible. Since the two losses in the last seven days, criticism has intensified around the club and manager, according to Sid Lowe of The Guardian:

The criticism was intense and their coach, Gerardo Martino, did himself few favours, particularly when he made the baffling admission 'we were not interested in Messi being involved that often', but there was much to fight for. Three days later the headline on the front of the pro-Barcelona newspaper Sport declared: 'We'll die for the double.' The other Barcelona-based sports daily El Mundo Deportivo added: 'Two to go.'

Make that one. Barcelona lost 1-0 at Granada, a team fighting relegation. This time the headline pointed the finger at Martino and at the impending crisis. 'Tataclysm,' it said.

Tataclysm, indeed.

Despite all the noise and recent disappointment, however, Martino stuck to the script when talking about the Copa del Rey final, via Dermot Corrigan of ESPN:

We have no problem with spirit ahead of the game. The issue is a footballing one, and our chances depend on what football we bring. It is difficult for Barca to win if they do not play better football than their opponent. If we play our football well tomorrow, we can win the trophy.

According to Corrigan's report, Barca could be without Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol and Marc Bartra for this match. Of course, Real Madrid will be without Cristiano Ronaldo, so excuses related to injuries won't be tolerated. 

At this point, there aren't any excuses left for Barca. This is a club expected to win multiple trophies per year. Now, the least they can do is win the Copa del Rey final. It may not only spark their La Liga campaign, but it also may be the last positive thing we have to say about Barca for quite a while. 

That should be motivation enough.