# 2012–13 FC Barcelona season
The 2012–13 [FC Barcelona](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-barcelona) season was the club's first campaign under head coach [Tito Vilanova](https://www.edgepedia.org/tito-vilanova), who had replaced [Pep Guardiola](https://www.edgepedia.org/pep-guardiola) after four seasons as his assistant, and it produced a record-equalling 100-point La Liga title alongside a Champions League semi-final defeat by Bayern Munich.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/20803162) • [2](https://www.statmuse.com/fc/club/2012-13-barcelona-148/2013) • [3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Francesc "Tito" Vilanova, promoted from assistant after Guardiola's departure; his only full season in charge[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/20803162) • [4](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/648486/francesc-tito-vilanova-2012-2013) |
| La Liga | Champions, the club's 22nd title: 32 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses, 100 points, 15 points clear of Real Madrid[2](https://www.statmuse.com/fc/club/2012-13-barcelona-148/2013) • [5](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/648486/) |
| Points record | 100 points equalled the all-time La Liga record for a single season, first set by Real Madrid in 2011/12[6](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/noticias/1138758/interactive-review-of-fc-barcelonas-100point-season) • [7](https://as.com/futbol/primera/el-barca-devorarecords-de-flick-f202605-n/) |
| Champions League | Semi-finals; eliminated 7-0 on aggregate by eventual winners Bayern Munich[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/) • [8](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/clubs/) |
| Passing | Averaged 783 passes per Champions League match, with a season-high 999 away to Celtic[9](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/UCL/01/99/10/79/1991079_DOWNLOAD.pdf) |
| Messi in Europe | 8 Champions League goals, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (12) and Robert Lewandowski (10)[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/) |
| Club revenue | 490 million euros, slightly below the previous year's 495 million and above the 470 million budgeted[10](https://media4.fcbarcelona.com/media/asset_publics/resources/000/069/797/original/MEMORIA_CLUB_12_13_CASTELLANO_baixa.v1381154186.pdf) |
## La Liga title
Barcelona won the league with a record of 32 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses in 38 matches, finishing 15 points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.[2](https://www.statmuse.com/fc/club/2012-13-barcelona-148/2013) • [5](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/648486/) The 100-point total equalled the all-time record for points in a single [La Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-liga) season, which Real Madrid had set the year before; only those two campaigns have reached the 100-point mark in the competition's history.[6](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/noticias/1138758/interactive-review-of-fc-barcelonas-100point-season) • [7](https://as.com/futbol/primera/el-barca-devorarecords-de-flick-f202605-n/) The club's own account calls the campaign the "Liga of the 100 points", remembered for Vilanova and for Éric Abidal, and the season closed with a 2-1 away win over Athletic Club on 5 May 2013.[5](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/648486/) • [11](https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/chronology/2012)
## Vilanova's illness
Vilanova's season was interrupted by the illness first disclosed while he was still Guardiola's assistant: on 22 November 2011 the club announced that he had a tumour on his parotid gland. He underwent cancer surgery in December 2012, during the league campaign, and left hospital on 22 December 2012.[4](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/648486/francesc-tito-vilanova-2012-2013) • [1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/20803162) The club states that the illness did not allow him to focus fully on the team in 2012/13, and at the start of the following season he stepped down from his managerial duties; he died on 25 April 2014 at the age of 45.[4](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/648486/francesc-tito-vilanova-2012-2013) • [12](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/fcbarcelona/document/2025/05/22/f5d30534-bafc-492c-993d-c855433fc62e/MEM_CLUB_2013_14_ENG_compressed.pdf) When he took the bench he explicitly refused comparisons with Guardiola, with whom he had shared technical decisions in the previous years.[13](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/fcbarcelona/document/2025/05/22/dda3db5c-5d95-465a-bbb5-133717225856/MEM_CLUB_2012_13_CAS_compressed.pdf)
## Champions League campaign
Barcelona progressed to the semi-finals of the 2012/13 [UEFA Champions League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-champions-league), where it met Bayern Munich.[8](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/clubs/) In the first leg, Barcelona did not register a single shot on the Bayern goal, and Messi was anonymous in the encounter; Vilanova started [Alexis Sánchez](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexis-sanchez) ahead of [David Villa](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-villa) for pressing work and left Cristian Tello on the bench.[14](https://elpais.com/deportes/2013/04/23/champions/1366751210_147951.html) The second leg was lost with Messi absent and Busquets, Puyol, Mascherano, and Alba also missing, giving Bayern a 7-0 aggregate triumph that carried the German side to the Wembley final against Borussia Dortmund.[15](https://elpais.com/deportes/2013/05/01/champions/1367427334_624068.html) • [3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/)
Earlier in the competition, the group stage had already shown the team's limits away from home. Barcelona lost 2-1 at [Celtic Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/celtic-park), where Messi's injury-time goal was only a consolation and Celtic won with the lowest recorded possession figure since Opta began collecting the data in 2006/07.[16](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/12-most-miraculous-champions-league-group-stage-escapes) Across the knockout rounds Barcelona remained the competition's standard-bearer for possession football, averaging 783 passes per match with a season-high 999 in the away fixture against Celtic; 12 of the 16 knockout sides based their game on more than 500 passes per match.[9](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/UCL/01/99/10/79/1991079_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
## Tactics and Messi dependence
Tactical analysis of the period identifies 2012/13 as the peak season of what analysts call "Messidependencia", the team's reliance on [Lionel Messi](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-messi) for attacking inspiration.[17](https://barcelonaanalysis.com/player-analysis/messi-barcelona-tactical-analysis-analysis-statistics/) In the semi-final against Bayern, Barcelona lined up in a 4-3-3 of [Víctor Valdés](https://www.edgepedia.org/victor-valdes); [Jordi Alba](https://www.edgepedia.org/jordi-alba), Gerard Piqué, Marc Bartra, and Dani Alves; Sergio Busquets, Xavi, and Andrés Iniesta; and Alexis Sánchez, Messi, and Pedro Rodríguez.[18](https://laligaanalysis.com/uefa-champions-league-201213-bayern-munich-vs-barcelona-tactical-analysis-tactics) Messi scored 8 goals in that Champions League campaign, placing him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo with 12 and Robert Lewandowski with 10 among the season's top scorers.[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/)
## Club finances
The club closed the 2012/13 financial year with revenues of 490 million euros, 1 percent below the previous year's 495 million but 4 percent above the 470 million that had been budgeted.[10](https://media4.fcbarcelona.com/media/asset_publics/resources/000/069/797/original/MEMORIA_CLUB_12_13_CASTELLANO_baixa.v1381154186.pdf)
## References
1. [Tito Vilanova: Barcelona coach leaves hospital after cancer surgery, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/20803162)
2. [Barcelona 2013 Stats, Fixtures, Table, StatMuse](https://www.statmuse.com/fc/club/2012-13-barcelona-148/2013)
3. [Season 2012/13, UEFA Champions League, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/)
4. [Francesc 'Tito' Vilanova (2012-2013), FC Barcelona](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/648486/francesc-tito-vilanova-2012-2013)
5. [Francesc 'Tito' Vilanova (2012-2013), FC Barcelona (Spanish)](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/648486/)
6. [Interactive review of FC Barcelona's 100-point season, FC Barcelona](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/noticias/1138758/interactive-review-of-fc-barcelonas-100point-season)
7. [El Barça 'devorarécords' de Flick, AS](https://as.com/futbol/primera/el-barca-devorarecords-de-flick-f202605-n/)
8. [Season 2012/13 Clubs, UEFA Champions League, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/seasons/2013/clubs/)
9. [2012/13 UEFA Champions League technical report, UEFA](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/TechnicalReport/competitions/UCL/01/99/10/79/1991079_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
10. [Resumen de la actividad 2012/13 y objetivos 2013/14, FC Barcelona annual report](https://media4.fcbarcelona.com/media/asset_publics/resources/000/069/797/original/MEMORIA_CLUB_12_13_CASTELLANO_baixa.v1381154186.pdf)
11. [Squad FC Barcelona season 2012-13, FC Barcelona Players](https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/chronology/2012)
12. [Tito Vilanova, FC Barcelona 2013/14 annual report](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/fcbarcelona/document/2025/05/22/f5d30534-bafc-492c-993d-c855433fc62e/MEM_CLUB_2013_14_ENG_compressed.pdf)
13. [FC Barcelona 2012/13 annual report](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/fcbarcelona/document/2025/05/22/dda3db5c-5d95-465a-bbb5-133717225856/MEM_CLUB_2012_13_CAS_compressed.pdf)
14. [A la pata coja, El País (23 April 2013)](https://elpais.com/deportes/2013/04/23/champions/1366751210_147951.html)
15. [Esperpento del Barça, El País (1 May 2013)](https://elpais.com/deportes/2013/05/01/champions/1367427334_624068.html)
16. [The 15 most miraculous Champions League group stage escapes, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/12-most-miraculous-champions-league-group-stage-escapes)
17. [Tactical Analysis: The return of Barcelona's Messi dependence, Barcelona Analysis](https://barcelonaanalysis.com/player-analysis/messi-barcelona-tactical-analysis-analysis-statistics/)
18. [UEFA Champions League 2012/13: Bayern Munich vs Barcelona – tactical analysis, La Liga Analysis](https://laligaanalysis.com/uefa-champions-league-201213-bayern-munich-vs-barcelona-tactical-analysis-tactics)
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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: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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