Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez Compared to Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho

There aren’t many attacking trios in football history that measure up to Barcelona’s current forward line of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. But former Brazil manager Luis Felipe Scolari has compared the threesome to the Selecao attack of 2002, consisting of former Blaugrana players Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.

Scolari is now the manager of Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande, who will face the Blaugrana in the Club World Cup semi-final on Thursday. Ahead of the game, he spoke about the quality of attacking player his team will have to cope with, per Albert Masnou of Sport:

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We have tactics in place in relation to who we play, but the problem is you can’t just focus on Messi—there’s [Ivan] Rakitic, [Luis] Suarez, [Andres] Iniesta… they have so many players you have to pay attention to.

[Messi, Suarez and Neymar] are similar to the Brazil 2002 forwards [Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho], but I don’t know which trio has more quality.  I don’t know if it would be Barcelona or Brazil. They are all decisive players.

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Scolari had the pleasure of managing the Brazilian trio during the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. They were central to the Selecao’s eventual triumph.

Here’s a reminder of some of that side’s finest moments, as they secured the World Cup for the fifth time in the nation’s history:

As good as those players were, lighting up the biggest tournament in the game with their samba swagger, arguably the Barcelona forwards are a better unit.

They fired their team to silverware—winning an historic treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in 2014-15—and have been consistently superb for the entirety of the calendar year. Indeed, with their attacking trident in situ, Barca could lift their fifth major trophy of 2015 if they were to win the Club World Cup.

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They’ve been ruthless in front of goal. As we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football, all three are among the top scorers in La Liga for the calendar year:

Scolari had particular praise for Neymar, who has been Barcelona’s standout performer this year. “Neymar’s progressed massively in the last five years—he is one of the best three players in the world now,” said the Brazilian. "If he continues fighting as he is, he will be battling to be the best player in the world for many years.”

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The former Santos man’s progression has already been noted, with Neymar among the three players shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or alongside his team-mate Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

As Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez noted recently, there’s a clear affinity between the attacking players that is not prevalent in other sides:

It’s tough to compare the two attacking units. However, Messi, Suarez and Neymar surely have the edge. Barcelona have swept all before them on the domestic and European stage with their attacking players leading the way.

The goals, assists and the enjoyment with which they play make them the most entertaining and effective offensive force of this generation.