There With The Greats

It's easy to get carried away with all the hype surrounding this fantastic Barcelona team: league and cup winners in Spain, champions of Europe after a luxurious performance, and all this after scoring more than 140 goals throughout the season and stealing praise from every football lover. 

But even before their ruthless destruction of Manchester United in yesterday's European final, pundits and fans alike started noticing that something special was unfolding at the Camp Nou.

The right ingredients were there: Josep Guardiola's arrival, the departure of Ronaldinho and Deco, Eto'o's hunger for redemption, the right purchases (Alves, Pique), keeping Xavi and Iniesta in a midfield they dominate like no duo has ever done before and, finally, giving Lionel Messi the No. 10 jersey and the weight and history of a glorious team to carry.  

He didn't dissapoint. No one did in a team that played with flare, hunger, and respect to the club badge. Barcelona doesn't choose to play well: they don't know any other way. The wins against Bayern Munchen and Chelsea, their double against Real Madrid and the many many high scoring nights of the "holy trinity" (Eto'o-Messi-Henry) forced comparisons with other past great Barcelona teams: was this their best version ever?

As the Catalans built a later unassailable difference in the standings and burned Champions league stages without sweat, Josep Guardiola rebuffed those claims: "We will be forgotten if there is no silverware to show for at the end of the season" Well: he got the titles. Barca won every competition it took part of. 

The fact that we are witnessing Barcelona's best team in history is no longer debatable. Although Johan Cruyff's dream team of 1992 (with a young Pep Guardiola guarding the midfield) ended Barcelona's European drought and conquered la Liga four times in a row, their dominance was never so insulting (they clinched three of those leagues at the last game after some miraculous developments in other fields). Best Barcelona side ever then, but how does it compare to other great unforgettable teams?

Is it blasphemy to compare them to the great Ajax of the early 70s that introduced the world to total football? Could it have beaten the beautiful machine of AC Milan built by Arrigo Sacchi in 89-90 ? Are we pushing it when we compare it to those black and white images of the great Real Madrid lead by Di Stefano, Gento and Puskas?

Probably. But Messi's fantastic header, suspended in time jumping his own height to wrap up a virtuoso display, will take ages to be forgotten. No other Spanish team won the treble. No one will forget the first one to do it.