Nothing miraculous in Barca revival

MARVELLING at what had unravelled before him and the rest of us, Liam Brady said the tag-line was correct: Barcelona really is more than a club.

‘Més que un club’ is their motto, after all, but they were not more than just a club at 9.15pm on Wednesday night. Instead, they were a team on their way out of the Champions League, and deserving of their fate. There was nothing supernatural about

their escape into the quarter-finals. They were assisted by a performance of greatness from Neymar (left), but at least as important was the failure of courage that struck down Paris Saint Germain.

And in the nature of their collapse, the hapless French side fell prey to weaknesses that we see haunt teams in every sport, at every level, on every day of the week.

They simply lost their nerve. It happens to teams all the time, but the temptation to attribute Wednesday’s marvellous match to intangible forces inside the Nou Camp was irresistible for many.

Yet outcomes in sport are not determined by the powers generated by passionate fans inside a historic ground. They are decided by one group of players blinking and being unable to withstand the desperate efforts of their opponents.

It is no less thrilling for that. Reliable old strengths and weaknesses that elevate and undermine all teams explain this ‘miracle’.