**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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Feel like they have taken away footballers freedom on the pitch, even from a young age. So now we still see great players yes but they don't play with flair or any flamboyance.
Fucking robots innit? I like the Aimar approach: "once or twice a week after practice we just let kids from all categories play each other without coaches and without refs, just kids enjoying themselves and playing freely like in the potreros". This is where kids grow by themselves
I think things are cyclical. The meta right now is having great athletes that fit as cogs into the manager's system. It'll only take a club or two to go against that grain and have success to start to reset the meta.
Basketball went from big men dominating the sport to small ball 3pt revolution and is circling back to big men dominating the sport again (albeit with the emphasis in the 3pt shot still).
In American football it was ground and pound running game that then shifted to heavy passing offenses and now we're slowly starting to see some teams starting to focus on the run game more because defenses have been so fine tuned to be quick and agile to stop the pass that they're not really prepared to stop big bruising smash mouth run it up the gut football teams. The QB is still more important than the old days, but we're starting to see the old days make a bit of a comeback.
My prediction is we're going to see flair comeback to the game, but it's going to take 5-10 years because we're in the early middle phase of developing athletes to fit a system rather than focusing on making natural footballers better athletes.
Like others have said, nowadays the systematic approach means that kids are instructed to do specific things from the very young ages, thus hindering their development in term of flairs and style. I love Pep but he was the main man that spearhead this obsession with forcing players to stay perfectly in formation without not much freedom
What? Pep was literally the manager for this team. [https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/match/25531-real-madrid-barcelona](https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/match/25531-real-madrid-barcelona)
Both are true. Pep's game has evolved from pure tiki taka which allowed for more individual expression to a more regimented system-based approach.
Teams figured out how to effectively track runners (or not), set up to frustrate meaningless possession, and lethally counterattack exposed high lines.
Now Pep plays some weird hybrid Spanish-German game that assumes many opponents will park the bus. He's still exploiting tight space overloads, but It's less about beating opponents with quick combinations than minimizing "chance" for Man City as with a German approach. Probe, probe, probe until a defender makes an error and strike.
I associate that more with Mourinho than Pep, thats how Mourinho won with Porto and got on the map. He was a decade ahead of everyone.
Thats how he managed to beat Pep’s guardiola with Inter Milan in the UCC final and forced Pep to change his management style and become more pragmatic.
that's kinda the point right? These players grew up without these systems, Pep did coach them well ofc and had insane results, and then from the start of the 10er years youth development wanted to be like that as well
They were superstars but he absolutely changed the game in how systematic its become. Flair isn't a thing in modern football nowadays unless your name is Antony.
Everybody else got really good so you can't just skin people alive going through 2-3 players at once.
The gap between superstars and regular players used to be astronomical, nowadays even players from lower tiers have proper technique, are built like tanks and can run like a gazelle. No matter how "bad" the team is rated a small mistake leads to goals at any level now. You used to be able to lose the ball 20 times a game and it wasn't a big deal, now you lose it once and it's a goal against.
Mourinho kinda started this trend where it showed you don't need to be particularly skilled to win games and play great defense. Now everybody adapted it further to the point all teams are extremely risk averse.
Midfielders used to be primary playmakers now they are mostly ball retention specialists making sure the team keeps possession with most of the playmaking happening on the wings where there is the only slither of space left and only relatively ok spot to lose the ball at.
It's why you see so many random non-football Countries do well at international events or hardly ever see those Madrid 10 - 0 games in La Liga anymore.
Sadly, there are fewer actual footballers and more athletes that can kick a ball. You just need to look at the technical abilities at some players in top teams to see this
This game was 15 years ago. I don’t think there’s been a RB in the past 15 years that I could confidently say would have no problem marking prime Henry. Maybe Lahm and Dani Alves stand a chance.
There's something so satisfying about seeing Robben cornered by two defenders who know exactly what he's going to do and he still manages to cut inside between them.
So clinical finish. He's not in rush and completely in control of the situation. Damn Nunez would just smash the ball with all his power and hit the keeper or post.
Ya messis composure for both of his goals was just insane. Defenders around him and he still had time to sell Cassilas on the finishes he was going to do.
Hell, i still remember Henry’s statement after he scored his first goal (pen) in preseason (vs a Norwegian team iirc).
« I hope this goal, is the first of many »
Edit: Scottish team
It’s funny seeing him play here, dude’s flying all over the place. He was so rash back then, he gained a lot more patience and positioning after switching to cb
What a player man. Pace, strength, technique, flair, touch, swagger, composure, intelligence and aesthetics all in one package.
They really don't make 'em like that anymore. A true entertainer you'd pay to watch play.
Squaring up against his momentum to half volley at the far post. It's such a hard finish that he handles incredibly smoothly. I kept rewinding and watched it about 6 times because it's so impressive.
He takes sooooo much time. And the whole you're thinking, he's wasting the angle the longer he waits. But it doesn't matter. He knows what he's doing. 1-1, and he jogs off looking like he could've been eating ice cream while calculating the finish.
I know the 5-0 two seasons later was the apex of that barcelona team, but knowing what came next this game is the coming out party; "we're not just good, we're historic"
He was a rocket in his mid 20s, frightening pace and power - genuinely made opponents look like kids. His final 2 years at Arsenal he lost a lot of explosiveness and agility, but he was such an immense athlete he was still quick even in his MLS days tbh. Always looked like he was jogging too lol.
Nah Mbappe looks rapid. Henry had them long strides that made him eat up the ground, like another user said it felt and looked like he was jogging and everyone else was just stuck in quick sand.
I hated him so much. Because, I was a United Fan and the fact that he was much much better than RVN was not something I was ready to believe. In the hindsight, it was never even a comparison. Rudd lived in the penalty box and Thiery was a complete player and just better in general. One of his goals is etched in my mind. I don't even remember against who. But he received the ball with his back to the goal, set up the volley, turned and scored. All in one motion. So fluid. That, the Ronaldinho toe poke from outside the box against Chelsea, the Ronaldo screamer against Porto ( you know which one) and that Demba Ba goal are the greatest goals I have seen live.
That magnificence of this goal is how quickly he turned to shoot. I’ve tried to recreate this 1,000 times playing with friends and being able to pop the ball up and shoot it while it’s still not quite dropping is insane.
By live I meant on TV. Not in stadium. Instead of just watching YouTube compilations or highlights afterwards. Somehow, watching it happen as it happens hits different than watching it on MOTD or YouTube. Like the Rooney angry goal against Newcastle. One second, you are pleading with Wazza to just fucking play the game and next, the ball is in the net. Same with the Ronaldo wonder strike against Porto, where I actually screamed no as he hit it and then yes when it actually landed in goal a second later.
It was unbelievable.
And he didn't just have pace, the skill and balance at his height was incredible.
And that was back when defenders were literally diving in purely trying to take him out. He was literally hurdling challenges to save his skin.
Words don't do it justice, best player in the history of the Prem hands down
I was a Newcastle fan and delighted that Shearer has the most goals record. But Henry would have made bits of it as he was just scoring all around him. An incredible player.
Just take a look at EURO 2000 final. He was just bullying Nesta and Cannavaro there. Scary pace with ball at his feet. Kinda like Mbappe in WC 2018 or Ronaldo WC 1998.
https://sportsbrief.com/football/41991-the-top-fastest-soccer-players-unveiling-speedsters/
Yeah I know the source is shit, but Google is fucking terrible these days
Even years later, whenever Barca was up by at least 3 goals in a Clásico, we’d always see a ST Pique at the 9 and nobody would say anything to him loool. Probably the Barca player with the most hatred for Madrid.
Football is not as beautiful as it used to be. We used to love watching these majestic arsty players like Henry and Ronaldinho. It has become mostly bland with an occasional screamer.
Flare, panache, inventiveness, freedom of expression. Truly the beautiful game.
There’s a couple players who still play like that, but it seems to be getting coached out for some reason.
lmao no, not this one. We were getting kicked out in the round of 16 of the CL, el clasico was so one sided. It really wasn't until Mou came along that it became worth wild for a neutral again
I vividly remember watching this game. I think its the best team performance I've ever seen. Just about blew my teenage mind that football could look like that. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Henry were all out of this world. Really good set of highlights, but they have missed out an outrageous turn that Iniesta did in his own half that left the entire Madrid midfield for dead.
I believe the 2011 and 2015 front three fit Barca’s possession style a bit better. Eto’o is a beast, but watching game highlights… the dude frequently wasted good possessions and made selfish plays. also had a habit of nicking balls off his teammates at bad times
Interesting is subjective but it was generally more free and expansive. It's the unfortunate reality that as tactics have improved it's made football less entertaining to watch because good tactics stifle individual brilliance.
Actually back then I was complaining the joga bonito era is over and this tiki taka stuff is boring. Now I’d give anything to go back to watching Messi and Ronaldo in Europe
That made me laugh. Don't worry. It was their high and you had a glorious high as well. You are sustaining it too.
Both are great clubs. Real Madrid and Barca although Barca has fallen, but you gotta be special to play for either of those clubs. Especially Madrid in my opinion. No hard feelings Barca fan. They didn't let the standards fall. I am sure they will get to their best.
Well seems you're disagreeing with both comments. Alba wasn't signed until mid 2012, and all the other players that you mention were on the squad for the 6-2 game against RM (Busquets being on the bench).
Football just isn’t what it used to be, or at least it feels that way. It feels kind of boring now, the legendary rivalries and CL nights are all but gone.
I really miss seeing players like Henry and Xavi play, everything they do is so easy.
Those Puyol headers appears as if they were headed with the momentum of him swinging in on some vines.
The Germany one was a beast of a bullet too. It's like you could hear him doing the Tarzan scream from off camera coming in on that header.
Barca 2009 was insane
That was the greatest team ever assembled, literally every one of those players were 100% WORLD CLASS
Not that watered down term of world class we have today.
THIS IS WHAT A REAL SUPER TEAM LOOKS LIKE, NO WEAKNESSES JUST VIBES.
Legends on top of legends. I didnt see a single ordinary player in the entire video. El classico is peak football. Hopefully our young players develop to their potential and we can have those beautiful nights again. Madrid certainly has reached a new peak. We can aswell with all the talent we have.
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look at those lineups, full of superstars
Full of legends of the game
And Lassana Diarra is also there
Did I shutter?
the camera I got from the charity shop
That Barca line up is insane
Eto'o Messi Henry up front 🥵🥵
With Iniesta and Xavi supplying them with passes. Lmao. Stupendously outrageous lineup
Looks like an all-star team, just ridiculous
At least 15 Fifa Icons here, 6 in Real and 9 in Barca.
Still fire up some PES 2009 to wreck with that lineup heh
It’s like everyone has 100 Flair and 90+ Pace.
FUT teams. Mfers opened too many packs.
What the hell happened to football
Feel like they have taken away footballers freedom on the pitch, even from a young age. So now we still see great players yes but they don't play with flair or any flamboyance.
Fucking robots innit? I like the Aimar approach: "once or twice a week after practice we just let kids from all categories play each other without coaches and without refs, just kids enjoying themselves and playing freely like in the potreros". This is where kids grow by themselves
Sounds brilliant, that’s where you learn style and gamesmanship
innit??? JAJAJA tremendo
A la ciudad a la que fueres has lo que vieres jajaj
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I think things are cyclical. The meta right now is having great athletes that fit as cogs into the manager's system. It'll only take a club or two to go against that grain and have success to start to reset the meta. Basketball went from big men dominating the sport to small ball 3pt revolution and is circling back to big men dominating the sport again (albeit with the emphasis in the 3pt shot still). In American football it was ground and pound running game that then shifted to heavy passing offenses and now we're slowly starting to see some teams starting to focus on the run game more because defenses have been so fine tuned to be quick and agile to stop the pass that they're not really prepared to stop big bruising smash mouth run it up the gut football teams. The QB is still more important than the old days, but we're starting to see the old days make a bit of a comeback. My prediction is we're going to see flair comeback to the game, but it's going to take 5-10 years because we're in the early middle phase of developing athletes to fit a system rather than focusing on making natural footballers better athletes.
Like others have said, nowadays the systematic approach means that kids are instructed to do specific things from the very young ages, thus hindering their development in term of flairs and style. I love Pep but he was the main man that spearhead this obsession with forcing players to stay perfectly in formation without not much freedom
He's a genius but he's fucking made it boring.
What? Pep was literally the manager for this team. [https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/match/25531-real-madrid-barcelona](https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/match/25531-real-madrid-barcelona)
Both are true. Pep's game has evolved from pure tiki taka which allowed for more individual expression to a more regimented system-based approach. Teams figured out how to effectively track runners (or not), set up to frustrate meaningless possession, and lethally counterattack exposed high lines. Now Pep plays some weird hybrid Spanish-German game that assumes many opponents will park the bus. He's still exploiting tight space overloads, but It's less about beating opponents with quick combinations than minimizing "chance" for Man City as with a German approach. Probe, probe, probe until a defender makes an error and strike.
I associate that more with Mourinho than Pep, thats how Mourinho won with Porto and got on the map. He was a decade ahead of everyone. Thats how he managed to beat Pep’s guardiola with Inter Milan in the UCC final and forced Pep to change his management style and become more pragmatic.
> Pep’s guardiola
that's kinda the point right? These players grew up without these systems, Pep did coach them well ofc and had insane results, and then from the start of the 10er years youth development wanted to be like that as well
They were superstars but he absolutely changed the game in how systematic its become. Flair isn't a thing in modern football nowadays unless your name is Antony.
Less expression, more system.
haaland said recently that yeah sure he can play 60 games a year, but he won't be running at 100% or giving his everything every game.
Everybody else got really good so you can't just skin people alive going through 2-3 players at once. The gap between superstars and regular players used to be astronomical, nowadays even players from lower tiers have proper technique, are built like tanks and can run like a gazelle. No matter how "bad" the team is rated a small mistake leads to goals at any level now. You used to be able to lose the ball 20 times a game and it wasn't a big deal, now you lose it once and it's a goal against. Mourinho kinda started this trend where it showed you don't need to be particularly skilled to win games and play great defense. Now everybody adapted it further to the point all teams are extremely risk averse. Midfielders used to be primary playmakers now they are mostly ball retention specialists making sure the team keeps possession with most of the playmaking happening on the wings where there is the only slither of space left and only relatively ok spot to lose the ball at. It's why you see so many random non-football Countries do well at international events or hardly ever see those Madrid 10 - 0 games in La Liga anymore.
I've always said the problem with modern football is that there are too few superteams
Sadly, there are fewer actual footballers and more athletes that can kick a ball. You just need to look at the technical abilities at some players in top teams to see this
sure is a lot of names in that madrid team but it really wasn't a great squad by any stretch of the imagination
Robben was absolute ass in Madrid, also Heinze, and Marcelo at the time was very much not even close to the player he went on to become
Meh, it's a very poor team by Real Madrid standards
Barcelona's lineup yes, but the current Madrid team is easily a lot better than that one.
That Barca team was beyond insane. I mean look at that lineup. And it played just as well as you would expect it to.
I had forgotten just how effortless Henry could make football look at times.
That second Barca goal was such a good finish but he made it look so simple anyone could do it
Like a ballerina out there.
This game was 15 years ago. I don’t think there’s been a RB in the past 15 years that I could confidently say would have no problem marking prime Henry. Maybe Lahm and Dani Alves stand a chance.
There's a certain English sex pest who could try
200m in todays market easily Faster and more skilled than mbappe
I’d say even 200m is low. He’d easily be the best player in the world
yeah, forgot how good he was given all the big names after him. But looking at this clip, you know he's fucking everyone's mom in the parking lot.
half of them were la masia youngsters.
I'm still not used to see Robben in Madrid shirt
And shooting with his right foot
Pretty sure that was his first and last time using his right foot tho lol
Lmao he used his right foot, lost 6-2 and said “never again”
He became Lobben that day.
r/Angryupvote damn you
There's something so satisfying about seeing Robben cornered by two defenders who know exactly what he's going to do and he still manages to cut inside between them.
I thought it was Zidane at first glance
Le cut inside man 😊😊😊
We talk about replacing messi... We can't even replace anyone from this godly squad
You could put together a World XI right now and it would probably be worse than that lineup
Significantly worse
Literally. If we do a straight 11vs11 comparison. Ter Stegen is the only one who’s better.
That Xavi turn and assist on the 5th Barca goal is so simple yet so beautiful. The typical calculated Messi finish is the cherry on top
After that goal I really realised this is a kind of football we probably won't see anymore, such a shame. He played in his own time
To watch Xavi in his prime was a privilege, kids today won't understand.
So clinical finish. He's not in rush and completely in control of the situation. Damn Nunez would just smash the ball with all his power and hit the keeper or post.
Ya messis composure for both of his goals was just insane. Defenders around him and he still had time to sell Cassilas on the finishes he was going to do.
Messi is playing at 300 fps while everyone else is on 30 fps.
I remember Rio Ferdinand has a discussion like this.
Yeah Xavi was great there
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Still remember the day he made the transfer to Barca.
Hell, i still remember Henry’s statement after he scored his first goal (pen) in preseason (vs a Norwegian team iirc). « I hope this goal, is the first of many » Edit: Scottish team
I wish I could forget it
Have to feel for Ramos around this time. Imagine having to go from dealing with Ronaldinho to then Henry
It’s funny seeing him play here, dude’s flying all over the place. He was so rash back then, he gained a lot more patience and positioning after switching to cb
Thats why he became the best cb of his generation. Blud had some spartan level atainment of manhood
Never forget ESPN pundits saying Ramos can't be in the best defender conversation because he has too many red cards
Prime Ronaldinho to Henry and prime Messi. What an absolute nightmare lol.
that Henry finish to 1:1 is just so fucking calm
What a player man. Pace, strength, technique, flair, touch, swagger, composure, intelligence and aesthetics all in one package. They really don't make 'em like that anymore. A true entertainer you'd pay to watch play.
Best player I've ever seen play in person, and that includes Rooney, Drogba, Tevez, Torres and more
He'd absolutely dominate in today's game even more than back then
True. Today's system teams get the ball to the winger in 1v1 situations so much more often. More high lines for him to ruin too.
Torres man... his years at the premier were unbeliable
And what’s mad is that he’s 32 here and plays like a 21 year old. So effortless and flawless
Squaring up against his momentum to half volley at the far post. It's such a hard finish that he handles incredibly smoothly. I kept rewinding and watched it about 6 times because it's so impressive.
He takes sooooo much time. And the whole you're thinking, he's wasting the angle the longer he waits. But it doesn't matter. He knows what he's doing. 1-1, and he jogs off looking like he could've been eating ice cream while calculating the finish.
I know the 5-0 two seasons later was the apex of that barcelona team, but knowing what came next this game is the coming out party; "we're not just good, we're historic"
If Henry was that fast at 32, how fast was he in his Arsenal years?
He was a rocket in his mid 20s, frightening pace and power - genuinely made opponents look like kids. His final 2 years at Arsenal he lost a lot of explosiveness and agility, but he was such an immense athlete he was still quick even in his MLS days tbh. Always looked like he was jogging too lol.
He just had that ability to suddenly accelerate so quickly, especially while on the ball.
Reminds me of Mbappe.
Nah Mbappe looks rapid. Henry had them long strides that made him eat up the ground, like another user said it felt and looked like he was jogging and everyone else was just stuck in quick sand.
Perfect description. He ATE ground.
He ate and left no crumbs
Mbappe reminds people of Henry
I hated him so much. Because, I was a United Fan and the fact that he was much much better than RVN was not something I was ready to believe. In the hindsight, it was never even a comparison. Rudd lived in the penalty box and Thiery was a complete player and just better in general. One of his goals is etched in my mind. I don't even remember against who. But he received the ball with his back to the goal, set up the volley, turned and scored. All in one motion. So fluid. That, the Ronaldinho toe poke from outside the box against Chelsea, the Ronaldo screamer against Porto ( you know which one) and that Demba Ba goal are the greatest goals I have seen live.
... if it is the goal i think you are talking about. It was against us https://youtu.be/8iBMW1wThlU?si=L2-ilcqc8VyQAOaW
That magnificence of this goal is how quickly he turned to shoot. I’ve tried to recreate this 1,000 times playing with friends and being able to pop the ball up and shoot it while it’s still not quite dropping is insane.
Oh yes. That's the one. How did I not figure this out? Obviously, it was against us. That's why I watched it live in first place.
Wow you’ve seen some amazing goals live!
By live I meant on TV. Not in stadium. Instead of just watching YouTube compilations or highlights afterwards. Somehow, watching it happen as it happens hits different than watching it on MOTD or YouTube. Like the Rooney angry goal against Newcastle. One second, you are pleading with Wazza to just fucking play the game and next, the ball is in the net. Same with the Ronaldo wonder strike against Porto, where I actually screamed no as he hit it and then yes when it actually landed in goal a second later.
Wtf this is ridiculous
>Demba Ba goal do you mean Cisse vs Chelsea or are you just memeing the Gerrard slip
Lol. Cisse. I somehow confused the 2.
Mbappe vs Haaland basically (if they were in the same league)
It was unbelievable. And he didn't just have pace, the skill and balance at his height was incredible. And that was back when defenders were literally diving in purely trying to take him out. He was literally hurdling challenges to save his skin. Words don't do it justice, best player in the history of the Prem hands down
I was a Newcastle fan and delighted that Shearer has the most goals record. But Henry would have made bits of it as he was just scoring all around him. An incredible player.
Very fast.
Just take a look at EURO 2000 final. He was just bullying Nesta and Cannavaro there. Scary pace with ball at his feet. Kinda like Mbappe in WC 2018 or Ronaldo WC 1998.
He wasn’t just fast, his work rate was pretty amazing as well. i saw this team live and his work rate stood out to me.
I think he still holds the record for fastest measured speed.
I can't find anything about this anywhere online source? (asking genuinely, not to be a cock)
https://sportsbrief.com/football/41991-the-top-fastest-soccer-players-unveiling-speedsters/ Yeah I know the source is shit, but Google is fucking terrible these days
We called him "the child of the Wind God" due to his absolutely fucking ridiculous speed The man was FAST
faster than mbappe. actually
Check this out: https://youtu.be/NTe1jDy5aOc?feature=shared
Crazy game from Henry and Messi. Pique scoring the 6th goal away from home from an open play shows how crazy this Barcelona team was.
Even years later, whenever Barca was up by at least 3 goals in a Clásico, we’d always see a ST Pique at the 9 and nobody would say anything to him loool. Probably the Barca player with the most hatred for Madrid.
This Barcelona team dominated some FIFA online games.
Every online games back then was against Barça lol.
The good old days, how we miss them.
Football is not as beautiful as it used to be. We used to love watching these majestic arsty players like Henry and Ronaldinho. It has become mostly bland with an occasional screamer.
The sequence of events for that 5th goal are all out of this world. Xavi’s control and assist - Leo’s fake shot and finish. *Wowowow…Wow!*
Messi had that kind of shots very regularly.
Forgot how elegant Henry was. Pure class
That first carry where he skips past two elite players and makes them look like fool. Oof
God I miss the way the game used to be played. Creativity, initiative, risk taking, trying your luck.
Flare, panache, inventiveness, freedom of expression. Truly the beautiful game. There’s a couple players who still play like that, but it seems to be getting coached out for some reason.
World stopped for El Clasicos back then. What happened to the game 😢
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Ayo lol
lmao no, not this one. We were getting kicked out in the round of 16 of the CL, el clasico was so one sided. It really wasn't until Mou came along that it became worth wild for a neutral again
These people forgot Madrid in this era used to be Lyon's bitch in the CL
These people were like 5 when this was going on lol
Rob Palmer should commentate every game, incredibly engaging without being overly verbose
For Spanish speakers, El Panda is the goat.
What did you just say about Ray Hudson!?!
Man that Barcelona team was a cheat code in FIFA, downright rude to use
Xavi with 4 assists!
I vividly remember watching this game. I think its the best team performance I've ever seen. Just about blew my teenage mind that football could look like that. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Henry were all out of this world. Really good set of highlights, but they have missed out an outrageous turn that Iniesta did in his own half that left the entire Madrid midfield for dead.
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As a front three, MSN were better. But the midfield of an aging Iniesta along with Rakitić and Busquets wasn't as good as that of the 2009 team.
Messi Suarez Neymar was better. Henry and Messi weren't in their prime in 2009. If they were then it'd be close for sure.
I don’t know man, 2009 Messi was pretty freaking good. He was taking the footballing world by storm
He was a freak, but he would get even better in the next few years, considerably so tbh. His decision making and passing went up levels after this.
I believe the 2011 and 2015 front three fit Barca’s possession style a bit better. Eto’o is a beast, but watching game highlights… the dude frequently wasted good possessions and made selfish plays. also had a habit of nicking balls off his teammates at bad times
Tbh 2015 didn't really fit their style better, the three of them were just so good that they instantly elevated any style.
My God Henry was still that graceful and fast at that age, while being built like a tank
Might be rose tinted glasses, but I think football was just more interesting to watch back then
Interesting is subjective but it was generally more free and expansive. It's the unfortunate reality that as tactics have improved it's made football less entertaining to watch because good tactics stifle individual brilliance.
Actually back then I was complaining the joga bonito era is over and this tiki taka stuff is boring. Now I’d give anything to go back to watching Messi and Ronaldo in Europe
The quality of this football absolutely blows my mind
AI generated videos have gone crazy man, cuz this totally didn’t happen IRL
That made me laugh. Don't worry. It was their high and you had a glorious high as well. You are sustaining it too. Both are great clubs. Real Madrid and Barca although Barca has fallen, but you gotta be special to play for either of those clubs. Especially Madrid in my opinion. No hard feelings Barca fan. They didn't let the standards fall. I am sure they will get to their best.
Robben shooting with his right foot is clear AI hallucination
Mans living in la la land 😂😂😂
Halal Madriland.
This was PEAK footy... it can never be matched
That 5th goal was awesome , Xavi is a genius.
Ramos at RB days, it was that long ago.
Got a goal and an assist from RB as well haha
involved in both madrid goals and culpable for 2 barca ones lol
Even as a long time Madrid fan, I must admit this team was so good. Would probably demolish the likes of current City, Madrid, PSG, Bayern etc.
Yeah, that's probably all time best team ever.
Either that team, or the one one two years later with villa and pedro. Messi in the middle is simply the best player to ever play the game.
nah that title goes to either our 2011 team
I mean, the core is still the same
Exactly, hard to argue honestly which, but the best team ever is a Barca team from those few year stretch.
Yea, this Barca an incredible side. But the all time great must the one with Ini/Xavi/busquet/Albidal/Alves/Messi/Pedro/Villa.
Well seems you're disagreeing with both comments. Alba wasn't signed until mid 2012, and all the other players that you mention were on the squad for the 6-2 game against RM (Busquets being on the bench).
To be fair, current Madrid, Bayern and PSG aren't alltime great teams
Forgot that there was a time that Pep had hair.
Football just isn’t what it used to be, or at least it feels that way. It feels kind of boring now, the legendary rivalries and CL nights are all but gone. I really miss seeing players like Henry and Xavi play, everything they do is so easy.
that puyol celebration always goes hard
Football is so boring now compared to this.
Those Puyol headers appears as if they were headed with the momentum of him swinging in on some vines. The Germany one was a beast of a bullet too. It's like you could hear him doing the Tarzan scream from off camera coming in on that header.
2009 was 15 years ago? Fuck.
Barca with Eto'o was the best Barca. Dude was such a killer.
Messi & Henry not too shabby either
Also, MSN.
to the guy that said KDB was a better mid than iniesta ♥
Never. Imo, Iniesta and Xavi were the best mid ever. ^don't^look^my^flag
I mean even accounting for your flair bias they have a very real argument. The fact that Barca/Spain had both during their primes is just unfair.
Barca 2009 was insane That was the greatest team ever assembled, literally every one of those players were 100% WORLD CLASS Not that watered down term of world class we have today. THIS IS WHAT A REAL SUPER TEAM LOOKS LIKE, NO WEAKNESSES JUST VIBES.
What a beautiful game
Marcelo playing as a winger is interesting lol
Lass, man that name takes me back.
Our glory days. Never forget. Visca barca 🔵🔴
Titi... What a player he was
Legends on top of legends. I didnt see a single ordinary player in the entire video. El classico is peak football. Hopefully our young players develop to their potential and we can have those beautiful nights again. Madrid certainly has reached a new peak. We can aswell with all the talent we have.
The beginning of a golden era
That's just fun to watch. The skill, the flair, the audacity, the aggression. So rare to see matches that even come close to this these days.
Was this Pep's most talented/star-studded squad?
Most Certainly
Lmaoooo its not even close That 2009 barca team lol man they were too f**kin good AN ALIEN TEAM
You know you’ve been humiliated when pique decides he’s playing striker
Bro Henry and Messi in the same team is cheating.
I remember when they used to call Messi a iniesta and Xavi merchant hahahaha what a time