It was supposed to be beyond the bounds of possibility, even for Barcelona.
Never before had a 4-0 first-leg deficit been overturned in the Champions League; never before had the Camp Nou borne witness to such an unlikely sporting script.
“It’s unbelievable,” midfielder Ivan Rakiti? told CNN’s World Sport show a day on from Barcelona’s 6-5 aggregate victory against Paris Saint-Germain.
“It’s really hard to explain what happened yesterday; I think it was a crazy night, a crazy match and I’m so proud to be part of this team.
“We made the impossible possible.”
Even after racing into a 3-0 lead on the night, Barcelona still needed to score three more to reach the quarterfinals as Wednesday’s contest reached its dying minutes.
PSG striker Edinson Cavani had raced away to net what appeared to be a crucial away goal on the hour, extinguishing all but a fool’s hope.
The emboldening cries of “Sà se puede, sà se puede” (“Yes you can”) were fading as supporters steeled themselves for little more than a consolation win.
But Rakiti? and his teammates never stopped dreaming.
“Of course we believed it was possible,” he enthuses “You have to believe it! You have to try; you have give everything.
“Then, after the referee blows the whistle, you can (look back) on what happened.”
Rakiti? and his teammates can savor one of sport’s greatest comebacks, after Neymar scored two late goals and then set up homegrown midfielder Sergi Roberto to shake Europe’s largest stadium to its foundations.
The Croatian laughs as he recalls the scenes inside the home team’s dressing room.
“Everybody was jumping, crying,” Rakiti? says. “Maybe 15-20 minutes of emotion. Thirty people — crazy people — in the dressing room.”
Barca coach Luis Enrique had told the players at halftime to “keep going” and “just believe” that 45 more minutes would afford the requisite opportunities to advance.
An ashen, defeated figure after the first leg just three weeks ago, here the Spaniard reinvigorated his charges, urging them to take their time, relax and wait for the moment to come.
Enrique would soon be racing onto the pitch in jubilation, but Rakitic says the players will not allow their celebrations to impact upon the La Liga title race in the coach’s final season at the club.
“It’s not so easy because this weekend we have another game,” he explains. “We need to take the next step and there’s not much time.
“Of course, we had a drink in the dressing room, celebrating together … but we want to keep going on in the league and we have to be ready again this weekend.”
Barca tops the domestic table by one point ahead of Sunday’s trip to Deportivo de La Coruña as it bids to defend the title, but second-placed rival Real Madrid has a game in hand.
Rakiti? is keen to pay his respects to six-time French champion PSG — a club which has spent big as its Qatari owners seek to win Europe’s top prize — but admits he and his teammates “were on another level” and “really deserved really deserved to take this 6-1.”
“This is Barça,” he shrugs, suggesting the victory will serve as a warning to the team’s rivals.
“It says ‘Welcome to Barcelona.’ I think the only team that could do something like this is us.”
