Is the current Barcelona team the greatest club side ever to grace a football pitch? This is a talking point that has reared its head recently as a result of some of the awe inspiring performances Barca produce week after week. This, twinned with the magnificent style the players seem to almost effortlessly exploit on the field, makes me for one think the answer to this question is yes.
Football has long been dubbed as the beautiful game or Jogo Bonito as it is also known, and I don’t think there is any club who encapsulates this phrase more than the current Barcelona crop. The side consists of a plethora of world class players who make the game look simple with the consummate ease they pass the ball, deceive opposition players, score goals, and ultimately win football matches.
The array of talent they possess is plain to see, and the first player who springs to my mind in the side is the consecutive winner of the World Player of the Year award, Lionel Messi. Messi pipped Barcelona team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to the crown which further enhances the perception behind this article. Messi needs no introduction to any football fan as his reputation precedes him. What the little Argentine maestro can produce on the field is not only mesmerising but more often than not he conjures up an abundance of high quality goals. The Catalan club are also blessed with Spanish World Cup winners, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol and Villa, who along with Messi are the backbone of this fantastic side. Xavi himself recently acquired a 100% pass completion rate in an International friendly against Colombia, a feat that demonstrates his quality.
This is clearly a question that is open to debate, and such a bold statement is bound to provoke many different opinions for and against the notion. It could be suggested, how can Barcelona be the best club side ever when they are not the current holders of the Champions League? There have been many fantastic sides over the years, the likes of the Real Madrid team from the ’50s, and the Liverpool team from the late ’80s. It’s clear that football has progressed dramatically since the eras of Di Stefano and Dalglish and I think the modern game is the benchmark and Barcelona continue to set the bar.
I didn’t bear witness to the great Liverpool or Real Madrid sides, but Graeme Souness did. So when I heard him talking about the concept of Barcelona being the best team ever after their destruction of Arsenal in the Champions League it added further verification to my belief. And let’s not forget the current Arsenal side are seen by many as the best footballing team in England, so for Barcelona to beat them in such a nonchalant manner in their last two encounters at the Nou Camp says a lot.
I feel captivated as a spectator when I watch Barcelona, their ability to dominate opposing teams in terms of possession, quality and the manner in which they play leaves no doubt in my mind they are the best team I have ever witnessed. With Messi homing in on the all time leading scorers list and the team continuing to break records another league and European crown seems imminent.
Whether others share my view on this or not, is completely down to opinion. However few can argue that this current Barcelona team is one of the most aesthetically pleasing teams to watch and also one of the most successful of the modern era, and there seems no limit to what they can achieve with their brand of total football.
The article was written by Tom MacGregor for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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Brazil 1982 ..But they never won anything ..
Aesthetically pleasing? Certainly. However, you need to realise that Barcelona get a lot of crucial decisions in their favour. There are quite a few instances with the UCL semifinal at the bridge in 08 (they would’ve never progressed had they not got a lot of decisions in their favour), the knock out against Arsenal (though they were dominating, Busquets OG sill kept the tie alive and you never know what would’ve happened had RVP not been sent off) instantly coming to mind. The fact that they haven’t won a single knockout game away from home in the UCL under Guardiola proves that they are not as invincible as people claim them to be.
i think liverpool side of eightees was the best in the world winning three europena cups in testimony to that.besides they cuold mix it with physical game and one touch football which i dont think any other team can
Liverpool and is not due to the fact that I so want.
BARCA are the team of all time bcos the way the play everybody likes it.
Barcelona are not as good a team as they have been given credit for. They are not unbeatable as Inter Milan proved last season.
@Kenny What team is unbeatable? Every team in the world will have weaknesses.
Ive seen a lot of good teams in my time but none like Gauardiola’s Barca.
Are they are the greatest of all time? I dont know, thats up to the old historians to decide.
They play pretty football and demand so much ball possession, but they know how to win the ball which is rare for top footballing sides.
No team in is allowed to fight Barcelona head on for 90 minutes past or present, otherwise you will suffer injuries lol.
Man U tried to fight fire with fire in the final, look what happend. Madrid have always played attacking football but look at their last 5 with meetings Barca.
Mourhinho tried to be brave in his first El Classico AND LOOK WHAT HAPPEND. INJURIES!!!!!
@Kenny When in Inter played Barca their ONLY option was to defend and wait for something on the counter which suited Mourhinho’s style perfectly (even though Bojan scored to put Barca in the final but was disallowed for some strange reason).
But in Madrid they want to see that shit (but effective) 11 men behind the ball rubbish.
What team scores 121 goals in all competitions and we aint even April yet?
Then look at their home grown players. I dont think any team in Europe have ever produced the players Barca have right now.
In a era where millions are wasted on over valued players (*cough Carrol) its a complete embarassment for the rest of Europe.
The only mistakes they have made of the top of my head are they should not of sold Eto’o (even though they are doing fine without him) and they need a couple more defenders.
How can Guardiola’s Barcelona not be the best in Europe when the UEFA Champions league winners and every team in the world want to be like them??????
In reply to Topsey, your argument is lame at best. Apart from Barcelona and Real the rest of La Liga are dreadful. Inter were fully entitled to use the tactics they did against Barcelona, if Barcelona are so brilliant they would still have gone through. If you find passing the football backwards and sideways interesting and riveting then good luck to you with that, but I disagree. Who did United knock out in the 2008 semifinals? Barcelona needed Van Persie to get sent off to knock out Arsenal. What do you think of Barcelona’s record in knockout away legs in the Champions League? Barcelona needed Lehman to get sent off in the 2006 Final against Arsenal to win. You talk about overpaying on players, what about Ibrahimovic? You forget that Mourinho was still in the process of imposing his tactics on his Madrid team while Guardiola had been manager at Barcelona since summer 2008.