Football greats - where do Barcelona (2011) rank?

[Shak]

The worrying thing is if they add depth over the summer. It's their only weakness.

 

There's still room for improvement in their first team tbh.

 

I'd be looking to get Pedro out of the starting 11 personally, would love to see Aguero in the team instead of him.

[Neil]

Faded a bit in the second half of the season, not sure how much that's down to fitness.

 

To be honest, the frightening thing is Barca have been in second gear for a lot of the past 2 or so months. And then in the final they turned it on.

[Sifu]

I was in awe of Barcelona's performance last night. Oozed such class and completely dominated the game (admittedly they did slow it down in the second half).

 

I was glad not to see the diving/cheating that happened during the semi-final. Just goes to show that Barca doesn't need to resort to such tactics when they can play like they did last night.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Faded a bit in the second half of the season, not sure how much that's down to fitness.

 

To be honest, the frightening thing is Barca have been in second gear for a lot of the past 2 or so months. And then in the final they turned it on.

 

Puyol, Pique and Abidal being out might have had something to do with it. A lot of their incisive passes from the back come from Pique in-particular.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

They are the best I've ever seen and probably the best ever. However, and this is probably down to personal taste, they are not the most attractive side I've ever watched or the most entertaining. The most entertaining side I've ever watched was our own under KK, the one that almost won us our first league title since 1927. The most attractive side I've ever seen was Arsenal in their unbeaten season. Barca are the complete football team however and play stunning football in general. I don't think their back-four and the likes of Pedro or Busquettes are world-class but then I don't think you have to be in this team, you just have to know what you're doing and they all to a man seem to know exactly what they are doing which stripped down is pretty basic in terms of football - pass and move. They do it in unison, to a man, in any situation, from start to finish, at all times and it is pretty much unstoppable. I've seen very good Barca sides in the past, the Cruyff one, the one that had Ronaldo under Sir Bobby, the Rivaldo and Ronaldhino sides but this one plays a different game and I believe its because the vast majority of players are homegrown and have grew up steeped in the Barca way of playing. That's why Zlatan as good as he is and as decent as he was for them, still didn't quite cut it, yet Pedro who isn't the best footballer at any stretch of the imagination just fits in just right. I think a lot of it is down to Guardiola too. I remember Sir Bobby saying for a so-called defensive player, he always looked to play the ball forwards at all times. He's such a cool cool customer and its to his strength that a world great like Messi works his bollocks off for him. You get the impression the players love him to bits.

[ponsaelius]

They are the best I've ever seen and probably the best ever. However, and this is probably down to personal taste, they are not the most attractive side I've ever watched or the most entertaining. The most entertaining side I've ever watched was our own under KK, the one that almost won us our first league title since 1927. The most attractive side I've ever seen was Arsenal in their unbeaten season. Barca are the complete football team however and play stunning football in general. I don't think their back-four and the likes of Pedro or Busquettes are world-class but then I don't think you have to be in this team, you just have to know what you're doing and they all to a man seem to know exactly what they are doing which stripped down is pretty basic in terms of football - pass and move. They do it in unison, to a man, in any situation, from start to finish, at all times and it is pretty much unstoppable. I've seen very good Barca sides in the past, the Cruyff one, the one that had Ronaldo under Sir Bobby, the Rivaldo and Ronaldhino sides but this one plays a different game and I believe its because the vast majority of players are homegrown and gave grew up steeped in the Barca way of playing. That's why Zlatan as good as he is and as decent as he was for them, still didn't quite cut it, yet Pedro who isn't the best footballer at any stretch of the imagination just fits in just right. I think a lot of it is down to Guardiola too. I remember Sir Bobby saying for a so-called defensive player, he always looked to play the ball forwards at all times. He's such a cool cool customer and its to his strength that a world great like Messi works his bollocks off for him. You get the impression the players love him to bits.

 

Great post and I agree completely.

 

It's the trident in midfield that makes them what they are though, they've hit on Messi, Xavi and Iniesta - all the very best in their positions coming through at exactly the same time. It's like having 3 playmakers in midfield at all times, and Busquets while not as good is still one of the very best in his position. No team on the planet (or history IMO) can compete with that kid of midfield.

[Guest firetotheworks]

You're right on them not being the most entertaining and I agree that us under KK were more entertaining, but 100% of that reason from my perspective is because I'm a Newcastle fan. I think it goes without saying that a neutral would find Barca's team monumentally more exciting than ours. Our entertainment came through having weaknesses that were attacked and then we went back and attacked them. Barca have pretty much no weaknesses, so they don't really get attacked, but when they do, they hit back with a fucking vengeance. When they don't they still tear everyone apart. It's sickening and glutinous praise that they get, but it's not even hype in the slightest, they're just ridiculous.

[Frazzle]

Busquets is definitely world class.

[ponsaelius]

Busquets is definitely world class.

 

I tend to agree, but he'll not be remembered as great like the other 3 will be.

[Guest firetotheworks]

I hate Busquets, I hate his stupid fucking face and his cheating, but he's a mint player.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Busquets is definitely world class.

 

I disagree, I think if you take a few of their players outside of that team and phisliophy and a good number would struggle to perform to the standards they show at Barca. Mind, that can be said of many players at many clubs.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

They are the best I've ever seen and probably the best ever. However, and this is probably down to personal taste, they are not the most attractive side I've ever watched or the most entertaining. The most entertaining side I've ever watched was our own under KK, the one that almost won us our first league title since 1927. The most attractive side I've ever seen was Arsenal in their unbeaten season. Barca are the complete football team however and play stunning football in general. I don't think their back-four and the likes of Pedro or Busquettes are world-class but then I don't think you have to be in this team, you just have to know what you're doing and they all to a man seem to know exactly what they are doing which stripped down is pretty basic in terms of football - pass and move. They do it in unison, to a man, in any situation, from start to finish, at all times and it is pretty much unstoppable. I've seen very good Barca sides in the past, the Cruyff one, the one that had Ronaldo under Sir Bobby, the Rivaldo and Ronaldhino sides but this one plays a different game and I believe its because the vast majority of players are homegrown and gave grew up steeped in the Barca way of playing. That's why Zlatan as good as he is and as decent as he was for them, still didn't quite cut it, yet Pedro who isn't the best footballer at any stretch of the imagination just fits in just right. I think a lot of it is down to Guardiola too. I remember Sir Bobby saying for a so-called defensive player, he always looked to play the ball forwards at all times. He's such a cool cool customer and its to his strength that a world great like Messi works his bollocks off for him. You get the impression the players love him to bits.

 

Great post and I agree completely.

 

It's the trident in midfield that makes them what they are though, they've hit on Messi, Xavi and Iniesta - all the very best in their positions coming through at exactly the same time. It's like having 3 playmakers in midfield at all times, and Busquets while not as good is still one of the very best in his position. No team on the planet (or history IMO) can compete with that kid of midfield.

 

Barca are actually the most unorthadox of sides in that they have no real ahcnorman or playmaker or even a centre-forward or winger. They are the ultimate example of extremely good footballers playing together to great effect. You don't need 2 wingers, a centre-forward or a team of 6ft plus beasts to win games or trophies. Its great to see and a great advert for the game from a development perspective.

 

Hopefully the future grassroots coaches when developing young players will not see a big strapping lad and throw him up top because he's tall or likewise a midget one the wing because he's nippy. Develp the football skills and players can play anywhere in any system at any level.

[Tooj]

HTT - do you still think that Cristiano is better than Messi?

[Taylor Swift]

Vidic said it best when he ruefully said 'they play with no striker'. Their wide-men are versatile enough to switch flanks with ease. Villa is comfortable in all three positions, Messi tormented Man Utd with his free role, dropping as deep as the halfway line to collect the ball and making 'man on the shoulder' runs that dragged Man Utd's defence all over the place. Pedro also had a good game and he's a man for the big occasion (now has scored in every stage of the competition and last year also scored in every competition possible).

 

It's their midfield where they really kill it and it's the four there (when Messi drops deep) that do all the damage. It's astonishing how they simply move their little triangle of theirs from the center of the pitch to right in front of the opposition's area and do it with such calmness and composure. They're all excellent on the ball and even better off it, and it's they really are currently unstoppable. I don't think they had a match this season in which they had less than 50% possession or created a lesser amount of chances then their opposition. There isn't a formula for beating them. The only one that gives you a chance is the Mourinho one and that formula is as ugly and anti-football as you can get. It's just something that I don't think fans can stomach in the long run and it's better for football that Barcelona continue to triumph against teams that utilise such tactics. I'm just not sure how you stop this team right now. You're certainly not going to outscore them or strangle them through keeping possession. It's impossible to even pass the ball around in your defence because they pressure high up enough that you're eventually forced to kick it long. You'd have to really delve back into history to find a team that is so good at one aspect of the game that they could compete with this Barca team. Maybe it's the catenaccio side way back, maybe it's the total football team of Ajax, maybe it's the Brazilian WC winning teams who were so fluid in attack. I'm just not sure any side could dominate possession against this Barca team, and if you can't dominate possession, you're going to get fucked eventually. It's theoretically possible to outpass them but no team possesses enough players of that quality to do that, so I suppose the best teams can hope for is that Barca decline, either through age or through a lost of hunger. Xavi and Puyol are aging, so they won't be fixtures in the team for the long run, and it's possible that they'll get tired of the demands and pressures of winning everything sooner rather than later. There isn't anything else left for them to do, is there? Win three league titles in a row, check. Set new scoring records, check. Dominate Europe, check. Win the little cups to occupy space in the cabinet, check. Win the treble, check. They've done it all and scarily their key players are still young enough that they've got 2-3 more seasons to put their record out of reach for a long, long time. I already think they're the best team that I've ever seen because of how they play, and I think statistically they are already the best club side as well (2 CLs, 3 consecutive league titles, a treble season, a double season etc. etc.). Whatever else they win after this season is just icing on the cake that further separates them from their competitors in history.

[Zero]

On par with The Milan, at least, if not better.

[Ginola]

Pedro is underrated, he'd get in the starting XI of any other team in the world imo.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

HTT - do you still think that Cristiano is better than Messi?

 

He is a great footballer and one of the best of his generation but Messi has advanced even further to the point where he is fast becoming one of the best not of his generation but of any so no I don't think he is better than Messi.

[Spudil]

Busquets is most certainly world class ffs, you do not become a corner- stone in the midfield of all- conquering sides like Barcelona and Spain for no reason. And that alone is enough without getting into his many qualities as a player. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tooj]

VI - I'd love to see you post up your thoughts on the best Barcelona XI of the past twenty years, as it would be interesting to see what forward line you would go with. As you've had some truly great players leading your line in that time period.

 

Ronaldo

Romário

Messi

Rivaldo

Eto'o

Ronaldinho

Kluivert

Stoitchkov

Begiristain

 

Even behind them you've had the likes of Guardiola, Xavi, Iniesta, Laudrup, Figo, Bakero, Luis Enrique.

 

[Mr. Snrub]

          Zubizarreta

 

Alves  Pique  Puyol  Sergi

 

            Guardiola

 

      Xavi        Iniesta

 

Messi              Ronaldinho

 

            Ronaldo

 

Wouldn't be too shabby like.

[Fugazi]

No space for Rivaldo?

[Mr. Snrub]

No space for Rivaldo?

 

Gutted to leave him out, but in that formation the front 3 I picked are the 3 greatest players of my lifetime.

[Tooj]

          Zubizarreta

 

Alves  Pique  Puyol  Sergi

 

            Guardiola

 

      Xavi        Iniesta

 

Messi              Ronaldinho

 

            Ronaldo

 

Wouldn't be too shabby like.

 

It would be a tough call out of Laudrup and Iniesta for me. As Laudrup possibly has the greatest vision I've ever seen on a player. However Iniesta's ability to create space for those around him, combined with his direct running with the ball are what makes him such a fantastic player.

[Ginola]

I'd be sticking Koeman in there somewhere.

[Mr. Snrub]

I was thinking about Koeman and Frank de Boer, but Pique has been the best CB in the world for over a year now, something they never were, so he has to be there.  Puyol goes without saying.

 

Barcelona conceded 21 goals in the league this season and 24 last season.  Not to mention they were CB partners in a World Cup Winning team.  Can't argue with stats like that.