# 2010–11 FC Barcelona season
The 2010–11 [FC Barcelona](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-barcelona) season was the third campaign under coach [Pep Guardiola](https://www.edgepedia.org/pep-guardiola), in which the club won the Spanish Super Cup, a third consecutive [La Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-liga) title, and the UEFA Champions League, defeating Manchester United 3–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2011.[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/2003352--barcelona-vs-man-utd/) • [2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) The one domestic failure was the Copa del Rey, where Real Madrid beat Barcelona 1–0 in the final with an extra-time goal from Cristiano Ronaldo.[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) The team's play that season, built on possession and passing around Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, became one of the most celebrated performances in the competition's history.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Coach | Josep Guardiola, in his third season in charge (2008–2012)[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) |
| Trophies won | Spanish Super Cup, La Liga (third consecutive), UEFA Champions League[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) |
| Domestic cup | Lost the Copa del Rey final 0–1 to Real Madrid, decided in extra time[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) |
| Champions League final | 3–1 win over Manchester United at Wembley, 28 May 2011; goals from Pedro, Messi and Villa[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/2003352--barcelona-vs-man-utd/) • [4](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/magical-messi-casts-his-spell-on-united-2290617.html) |
| Final statistics | 69% possession and 777 passes, more than twice Manchester United's total[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked) |
| Leading scorer | Lionel Messi, 53 goals in all competitions[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked) |
| European scoring | 30 goals in the competition, the most of any side; Messi scored 12 in 13 matches[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7d296d908a-f37008ae461d-1000--2010-11-technical-report-examines-state-of-play/) |
## Domestic season
**Super Cup and El Clásico.** Barcelona opened the season by winning the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla, overturning a 3–1 deficit from the first leg with a 4–0 win at [Camp Nou](https://www.edgepedia.org/camp-nou) thanks to a hat-trick from [Lionel Messi](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-messi).[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) The first major league meeting with Real Madrid and their new coach [José Mourinho](https://www.edgepedia.org/jose-mourinho) ended in a 5–0 Barcelona win at Camp Nou, which the club's own account describes as setting the tone for the rest of a campaign that ended with a third consecutive La Liga title.[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona)
The [Copa del Rey](https://www.edgepedia.org/copa-del-rey) brought the season's only defeat of importance. In the final at Mestalla on 20 April 2011, Real Madrid won 1–0 through an extra-time goal from [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cristiano-ronaldo).[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) • [6](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/results/_/id/83/league/ESP.COPA_DEL_REY/season/2010)
## Champions League campaign
The stated challenge of the season was to reclaim the Champions League title after the previous year's semi-final elimination by Inter, the club coached by Mourinho.[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) In the semi-finals Barcelona met Real Madrid again and advanced with a 3–1 aggregate win, setting up a repeat of the 2009 final against Manchester United at the new [Wembley Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/wembley-stadium).[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona)
Across the competition Barcelona scored 30 goals, more than any other team in the 2010/11 edition, and Messi scored 12 goals in 13 matches.[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7d296d908a-f37008ae461d-1000--2010-11-technical-report-examines-state-of-play/) UEFA's technical report for the season noted Barcelona's territorial dominance in all of their Champions League games, with the platform for that possession style built in the defensive third.[7](https://www.thefa.com/bootroom/resources/coaching/how-spain-and-barcelona-play) The same report placed the club's success in a wider Spanish context, observing that Spain's titles in 2008 and 2010 and Barcelona's in 2009 and 2011 looked like "an advertisement for a certain philosophy, a certain style of play".[5](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7d296d908a-f37008ae461d-1000--2010-11-technical-report-examines-state-of-play/)
## The final at Wembley
On 28 May 2011 Barcelona beat Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United 3–1, with Pedro scoring the opening goal, Messi adding the second, and [David Villa](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-villa) scoring the third.[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/2003352--barcelona-vs-man-utd/) • [3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked) • [4](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/magical-messi-casts-his-spell-on-united-2290617.html) The possession numbers captured the one-sidedness: 69 percent of the ball and 777 passes, more than twice what United managed.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked) UEFA's technical report singled out Xavi Hernández, who covered more of the Wembley turf than anyone else, spent more time in high-intensity running than anyone else on the pitch, and completed a pass count not far short of the combined total of [Michael Carrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-carrick), Antonio Valencia, Ryan Giggs, and Park Ji-Sung.[8](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/UCL/01/68/34/73/1683473_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
The win was Barcelona's fourth European Cup and Guardiola's second as coach.[9](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/fitxa/648489/josep-guardiola-2008--2012) [Eric Abidal](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-abidal) lifted the trophy as he completed his comeback from serious illness.[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) United had gone unbeaten through their run to the final, but Ferguson's tactical plan, two years in the making after the 2009 final defeat, unravelled against Barcelona's passing game.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/magical-messi-casts-his-spell-on-united-2290617.html) • [10](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/ferguson-s-masterplan-unravelled-by-bar-231-a-mastery-2290621.html)
## Assessment and numbers
**Contemporaneous verdicts.** Ferguson described the Barcelona side that beat his team as "unplayable" and called it the best team he had ever faced; [Rio Ferdinand](https://www.edgepedia.org/rio-ferdinand) said he "felt like a Conference player" as Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and their teammates passed around the United side.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked) Barcelona started six of the same players as in the 2009 final, also won against United: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Víctor Valdés, and [Gerard Piqué](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerard-pique).[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked)
The attacking output was concentrated in the front line. [Pedro](https://www.edgepedia.org/pedro-footballer-born-1987), Messi and Villa took their combined goal tally for the season to 98 across all competitions, with Messi alone on 53.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked) The club's own retrospective ranks the Wembley final as "one of the all time great performances in football history".[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona) The season formed part of a Guardiola tenure from 2008 to 2012 in which the club won 14 of a possible 19 trophies, including two Champions League titles.[9](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/fitxa/648489/josep-guardiola-2008--2012)
## References
1. [Barcelona vs Man Utd, UEFA Champions League 2010/11 Final match page, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/2003352--barcelona-vs-man-utd/)
2. [Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, FC Barcelona Official Website](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/guardiolas-barcelona)
3. [The 20 greatest Champions League teams ever, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/competition/unplayable-barcelona-jose-mourinhos-cult-heroes-and-real-madrids-dynasty-the-20-greatest-champions-league-teams-ever-ranked)
4. [Magical Messi casts his spell on United, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/magical-messi-casts-his-spell-on-united-2290617.html)
5. [2010/11 technical report examines state of play, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7d296d908a-f37008ae461d-1000--2010-11-technical-report-examines-state-of-play/)
6. [Barcelona 2010 Spanish Copa del Rey Results, ESPN UK](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/results/_/id/83/league/ESP.COPA_DEL_REY/season/2010)
7. [How Spain and Barcelona play, The Boot Room, The FA](https://www.thefa.com/bootroom/resources/coaching/how-spain-and-barcelona-play)
8. [2010/11 UEFA Champions League technical report, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/UCL/01/68/34/73/1683473_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
9. [Josep Guardiola (2008–2012), FC Barcelona Official Website](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/fitxa/648489/josep-guardiola-2008--2012)
10. [Ferguson's masterplan unravelled by Barça mastery, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/ferguson-s-masterplan-unravelled-by-bar-231-a-mastery-2290621.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons › Spanish club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license