It has been a year to forget for Barcelona. The Catalan club have been hit with problems on and off the pitch over the last 12 months and after playing their final fixture of 2014 with a 5-0 win on Saturday, they will be happy to see the back of it.
Barca began 2014 on top of La Liga and appeared in good shape under Gerardo Martino, but the Blaugrana were rocked by the resignation of president Sandro Rosell in January due to the controversial funding of the Neymar transfer and lost their lead in the Primera Division in February.
Martino's men suffered European elimination against Atletico in the Champions League in April before a surprise defeat to Granada in La Liga and a painful loss to Real Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey, all in the space of a week.
April ended with the tragic passing of the club's former coach Tito Vilanova at the age of 45 and the team's failure to beat Atletico in the title decider at Camp Nou in May meant Barca finished the season with only the Spanish Supercopa to their name.
That was won back in August and Barca have ended 2014 without any silverware at all - the first time that has happened since 2008.
Back then, of course, the seeds were being sewn for spectacular success under Pep Guardiola and total domination followed in 2009, when the Catalan club completed an unprecedented haul of six trophies: La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup, Spanish Supercopa and Club World Cup.
However, a new year brings new opportunities and even Saturday's success against Cordoba saw a difficult 12-month period end with some satisfaction for the Blaugrana.
It was far from vintage Barca at Camp Nou, but Pedro's return to form, a first strike in La Liga for Luis Suarez and two more great goals courtesy of Lionel Messi wrapped up a 5-0 win in one of those afternoon kick-offs Barca seem to dislike.
"2014 has been a wonderful year for me," Luis Enrique said on Friday. "First at Celta and now that I'm back here at home, which is paradise. It's Disneyland
" And after Saturday's win which leaves the Catalans a point behind Madrid but with one more game played, the Barca boss believes 2015 can be even better.
"I see a lot of positive things," he said. "And we will keep doing this until the end of the season. The numbers clearly reflect that this is a team with margin for improvement, but this side is a clear contender to challenge Real Madrid.
" That remains to be seen but Barca will be happy to see the back of a forgettable 2014. For Luis Enrique et al, it is time to look ahead.
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