Picking a Greatest All-Foreign Barcelona XI
Barcelona's weekend win over Leganes wasn't just notable for the last-minute penalty winner from Lionel Messi but also because it marked a historic event: the first-ever lineup in La Liga for the club with a single Spaniard in the team.
On this occasion it was Sergi Roberto, with his team-mates heralding from Germany, France, Portugal, Croatia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
The Catalan outfit have been blessed with a huge number of incredible talents when signing foreign players, but which have been the best of all?
We've trawled the archives and comprised an entire team of non-Spanish nationals to have represented Barcelona down the years, based on their achievements and performances with Barca, not accounting for the rest of their career.
As might be expected, competition for certain positions is fierce; Patrick Kluivert, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry and Sandor Kocsis are just a handful of those who don't even make the shortlist for their respective roles, never mind the final candidates or the first XI place. Candidates for each position are listed in chronological order of playing for the club.
GK: Claudio Bravo (CHI)
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Candidates: Vitor Baia, Ruud Hesp, Claudio Bravo.
First XI: Claudio Bravo.
There's not a huge volume of candidates as the likes of Recber Rustu, the late Robert Enke and Roberto Bonano all failed to impact as expected, but Chilean stopper Bravo had large shoes to fill after replacing Victor Valdes and was superb for two years at the Camp Nou.
It took a penalty almost two months into his Barca career to finally beat him, and despite only being the No. 1 in La Liga, not in Europe, he lifted the title in consecutive seasons before heading off to Manchester City.
RB: Dani Alves (BRA)
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Candidates: Michael Reiziger, Juliano Belletti, Dani Alves.
First XI: Dani Alves.
No question about the right-back of choice, with Daniel Alves signing from Sevilla and dominating the entire flank for close to a decade.
All pace, power, agility and aggression, Alves was a figurehead for the team's style, and while his own performances were often consistent and impressive, he also allowed those higher up the pitch to perform at their best, too.
CB: Ronald Koeman (NED)
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Candidates: Ronald Koeman, Fernando Couto, Rafa Marquez, Javier Mascherano.
First XI: Ronald Koeman.
The first of several Dutchmen on our list, with the Netherlands-Barcelona connection being well-established already by the time Koeman took his place in the centre of defence.
A tremendous competitor, tactically excellent and a fearsome striker of the ball, Koeman was a vital commodity in both halves of the pitch, and until recently, he had the club record for the most goals scored via free-kicks.
CB: Javier Mascherano (ARG)
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First XI: Javier Mascherano.
Alongside Koeman, we select our first current Barca player in Argentinian Javier Mascherano.
An aggressive and committed player, Mascherano has adapted superbly well to moving into the defensive line from holding midfield, and his longevity as much as his reliability is what earns him the nod ahead of Rafa Marquez.
LB: Frank de Boer (NED)
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Candidates: Frank de Boer, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Eric Abidal.
First XI: Frank de Boer.
Another former Netherlands international, Frank joined at the same time as brother and attacking midfielder Ronald de Boer, but it was the left-back who enjoyed rather more success at the Camp Nou.
Equally at home in the centre of defence or on the side, De Boer was a tough-tackling but precise-passing outlet who spent four years at the club around the turn of the century.
CM: Phillip Cocu (NED)
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Candidates: Johan Neeskens, Gheorghe Hagi, Gica Popescu, Phillip Cocu.
First XI: Our more defensive-minded midfielder first. Phillip Cocu provided the steel as well as the composure in the middle of the pitch, playing well over 200 games for the club and captaining the side under Frank Rijkaard.
Six seasons at the Camp Nou spanned two midfield generations for the club: the end of Pep Guardiola's playing days with the club and the beginning of Xavi Hernandez's time in the centre.
CM: Johan Neeskens (NED)
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First XI: Johan Neeskens.
One of the all-time greats anywhere, Neeskens is our midfielder alongside Cocu, providing just as much industry and team work but also the flair and invention in his passing to set the tone for the offensive players in the team.
Neeskens spent five years at Barcelona in the late '70s and won La Liga's foreign player of the year award while at the club.
AM: Johan Cruyff (NED)
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Candidates: Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Rivaldo.
First XI: Johan Cruyff.
Perhaps more than any other club, Barcelona have held witness to a line of playmaking attackers, somewhere between the ever-more blurred midfield and forward lines, who would grace any stage, any team, any team.
King of them all at Barcelona remains Johan Cruyff, for his playing style, his ability on the ball, his importance to the team and, of course, for what he achieved after his playing days at the club.
Maradona might be the world's best-ever for some, but his two years at Barcelona were fractured and fractious, with injury and suspension perhaps meaning the club didn't quite see the very best, or at least not often enough, of the world-record transfer signing.
SS: Lionel Messi (ARG)
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Candidates: Michael Laudrup, Luis Figo, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Neymar.
First XI: Lionel Messi.
Two players in support of a single striker for the attack, and there's no question that this is the area of the team with the most competition for places.
From the five we shortlisted as candidates, Lionel Messi takes the No. 1 spot for everything that he has become synonymous with Barcelona for: goals, breathtaking skill, individual ability, relentless consistency and, above all, even more goals.
He's incredible, he remains near the top of his game and he's in our team.
SS: Ronaldinho (BRA)
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First XI: Ronaldinho.
It's a close call between one or two others, but Ronaldinho was sublime for a period at Barcelona, inarguably the world's finest at one point, and his wondrous approach to playing the game made opposition fans applaud.
Add his goals and consistency during the best part of his career, which certainly came at the Camp Nou, and he's fully deserving of his spot in the team.
CF: Hristo Stoichkov (BUL)
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Candidates: Laszlo Kubala, Hristo Stoichkov, Romario, Ronaldo, Luis Suarez.
First XI: Hristo Stoichkov.
An absurdly tight position to call. Suarez, the current striker, the most lethal No. 9 in the world. Ronaldo, a single incredible season at Barcelona to his name where he solidified his place as the game's best striker. Laszlo Kubala, over a decade as the team's striker, nearly 200 goals, La Liga's record for seven in a single game. Romario, a single-minded and devastating finisher.
But, over them all, Hristo Stoichkov.
The Buglarian was unstoppable in his five years at Barcelona (in his initial spell; he returned for another season and a half later on), named the World Player of the Year runner-up twice, won the Ballon d'Or by a massive margin ahead of the likes of Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini and helped win the league title four years consecutively.
By goals alone, Stoichkov wouldn't get the nod over a Suarez or Ronaldo, but he was so much more: a forward who had tremendous dribbling, great game intelligence, could assist as often as net himself and, memorably, had a fiery, must-win attitude that bordered on the reckless at times—not all that dissimilar to the current occupier of the position, perhaps.
Subs
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Even picking from the stellar names left over for the subs bench is a struggle, but the seven we'll go for are:
Ruud Hesp (NED), GK
Rafa Marquez (MEX), CB
Eric Abidal (FRA), FB
Gheorge Hagi (ROM), CM
Diego Maradona (ARG), AM
Michael Laudrup (DEN), SS
Ronaldo (BRA), CF
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