Time is almost up for Barcelona ahead of Copa del Rey

The clock had ticked into the early hours of Sunday morning by the time Barcelona’s players returned from their 1-0 loss at Granada. The coach met the players at the airport and dropped them at Camp Nou, where they were to retrieve their cars.

It may have been late, but as they left the coach, they were jeered by some of their own supporters.

Goalkeeper Pinto was singled out, and one individual thought it wise to make racist monkey noises in the direction of Brazilian forward Neymar.

Even Lionel Messi was criticised and accused of being more preoccupied with the World Cup than the club who pay his wages.

The players hurried to their high-powered sports cars and emerged from the stadium’s underground car park, where more fans were waiting. Usually, it is a spot where players stop to sign autographs and smile for photos, but in the early hours of Sunday, they encountered caustic comments.

Only one player, the cerebral Javier Mascherano, stopped, but it is hard to reason with a pack and he soon drove into the night.

The actions of a tiny minority do not speak for the 75,000 regulars at Camp Nou games and such encounters with fans are nothing new. Given Barca’s success, they are nonetheless rare – but the hardcore fans are livid.

The have seen their season almost fall apart in four days, with elimination from the Uefa Champions League to an Atletico Madrid who finally broke the stalemate of draws with a victory. And against a Granada side fighting relegation, a team who had not beaten them for 42 years, Barca lost the chance to keep the league title in their own hands.

Had they won their remaining six games, they would have retained the title.

Now they are four points behind Atletico, whom they meet on the final day of the season on May 1.

That was looking like a title decider, but as it stands, Atletico could afford a defeat.

The defeat in Andalusia was their fourth league defeat in 12 games since February. Before that, they had lost once in 21 fixtures. Defeat in the Champions League means the semi-finals will be staged without the Catalans for the first time since 2007.

There will be more twists, but if they are honest, few Barca fans are surprised at the poor results.

Even when the team was winning, it has not been with the style witnessed under departed manager Pep Guardiola, who set the bar so high.

Barca have serious problems. Off-the-field issues, including the departure of club president Sandro Rosell, have created instability, while the club has been accused of not investing in a patched-up defence.

Dressing-room sources say that while new coach Gerardo Martino is liked by players, they do not feel that he gets the best out of them in the way previous coaches did. He will likely leave in the close season and will probably see it as a relief. He does not look like a man who enjoys his job.

His compatriot, Messi, is the world’s best player, but he has not looked it in recent games.

Barca have the ideal chance to quiet their critics with the Copa del Rey final tonight in Valencia against Real Madrid. Almost 20,000 fans from each club will descend on Spain’s third-biggest city in a repeat of the 2011 final that Madrid won 1-0 in extra time.

Carles Puyol, one of several imminent departures from a club banned from entering the transfer market for 14 months, tried to calm the mood. Indeed, Barca beat Madrid last month.

“Winning will change everything,” he said.

Puyol believes the team have not given up on the league title. Sadly, their form and fortune has deserted them, as have some fans.

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