Barca

Spare a thought for Barcelona. They finally go and make it six trophies in a row, but do so on a day that Manchester United succumb to their heaviest league defeat of the season; Liverpool fall to Portsmouth; Italy has both games snowed off; Manchester City sack Mark Hughes and hire Roberto Mancini; and to cap it all off, Real Madrid busy themselves with putting a sackful of goals past Real Zaragoza. Barca can't even make history in peace.

As such, it's not a huge surprise that the achievement has gone quite unheralded today. The global media has largely greeted it with mild interest, leaving Barcelona short of the credit they deserve. Then again, why would it be a shock? The countdown to trophy number six began the day Barca hoisted aloft the Champions League cup way back in May. La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup - one by one they fell like dominoes. The final cup, against a brave but ultimately substandard Estudiantes side, was a formality.

The plaudits came heavy and quickly, as a rain squall, when the more prestigious cups were won. In recent times, it has been more of a checklist - one down, two to go - and one greeted as a chore by the observer, rather than the achievement that it is.

That is what this piece is to remind us of. Barcelona have won all six competitions that they entered - an unprecedented achievement in the modern professional game, and one that may well go 100 years without repeat. It didn't come without the occasional stumbling block, but it did come without anything even resembling a stumble itself.

Commentators in recent weeks have described Barcelona as off-colour and inconsistent - when other teams go two months unbeaten winning their Champions League group, topping their domestic table, and progressing in all cups, they are heralded as heroes. Barcelona are victims of their own success in this regard, but it doesn't have to be this way. There may be a lot else going on in the football world right now, but tonight Barcelona have made history. Don't roll your eyes - the headlines may have read that way for months, but today it finally happened in earnest. Celebrate it while you can. It might be a long time before football sees a team like this again.