01-05-2016, 10:57 AM -
(01-05-2016, 12:50 AM)shaun.lawson Wrote: This side reminds me a lot of the 1992 Dream Team, the first Barca side to win the European Cup. That was the second European Cup Final I'd ever seen (GA will remember it for sadly different reasons); Barca had all these fabulous individuals strutting their stuff under chain-smoking Johan Cruyff. Zubizaretta (who I bet Franko remembers well) in goal; Koeman sweeping up at the back and winning the match with a bullet of a free kick; Pep as holding midfielder; Laudrup and the magnificently moody Stoichkov further forward.
But - like this team - it wasn't flawless. It wasn't some impossible to beat machine. It was far more human than the 2009-11 side. When Guardiola's side's play narrowed, they were like some footballing version of knitting. Passing it around from side to side like a woman frantically packing and re-packing an overnight bag. Not now; it's far more satisfying to watch.
A few things:
1. Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea all get slagged off because, no matter how much they spend, the first two can't build a proper club or a proper team; while Chelsea play football like the Death Star. Sure, they win things - but long term dominance requires much, much more. In that Barca '92 side were both Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain, who went on to become their Sporting Director and is now at City. Maintaining those links from past to present is what Bayern Munich also do brilliantly - and is where hope lies in Zidane getting the Madrid job now.
Don't usually mind your prose, Shaun, but those are some awful similes.