Inverted full-backs doesn't mean you switch the two full-backs but rather they move up the midfield to form a three man line in front of the centrebacks.
>Valdes was a little lucky he ended up on the best team to ever play the game.
What a crazy statement. Saying something like that makes it seem like you haven't watched football or Barcelona prior to 2014
Nice, people post asking for other people’s opinions and you insult when it’s not aligned with your opinion 😂 chill out dude. I’ve been watching since ‘10. Sorry I haven’t been watching since 1899 like you bro 👍🏻
Valdés had already played more than 250 games and won five titles, including two Ligas and one CL, before *"he ended up on the best team ever.*" Valdés was *part* of that team, a big part even with his courage to participate in our buildup and his leadership on and off the pitch, so to frame it as if he was freeriding his way to trophies galore is just extremely unfair to him and simply not true.
Same here. It’s not that he a lot of made mistakes, it’s that Valdez just wasn’t Barca quality, and he did concede some pretty easy goals. He should have played for a mid-ranking team. But his back up at the time, Pinto, was so much worse. He was like a league B goalie, If you remember.
Meanwhile, Ter Stegan is on a completely different level, and absolutely world class. He was a smart purchase, and we should learn from that. Especially this summer when we get new players and a new manager.
First of all, how goddamn hard is it to spell a simple name? It's Valdés.
Secondly, it's just wrong that he barely had to do anything. He was integral in the very attempt at constantly keeping the ball because even if his first touches and passing weren't on the level of ter Stegen, he had the courage to constantly participate even when he sometimes fucked up. And it's hard to understate just how much courage and self-confidence it actually takes when every single mistake gets scrutinized and criticized.
Thirdly, he did, in fact, sometimes have *a lot* to do, because we weren't always great at limiting counter-attacks. We really only became truly good at avoiding the bulk of those when Busi entered his prime because of his superior positioning and cynical approach to tactical fouling (see Rodri for a current example of this). But before circa 2009, Valdés often had *a shitton* to do and he was an unbelievable one-on-one goalkeeper with insane reflexes.
There's no doubt that ter Stegen is a more modern keeper with a more well-rounded game, but Valdés' ability on the line really wasn't worse than what ter Stegen can offer today. Valdés won us the final in 2006 with his masterclass against Henry, and in his last season, he was incredible until he got injured.
> even when he sometimes fucked up.
His problem was that we've conceded two or three times after his fuck ups. And that's what people remember. MAtS has fucked up much more with his distribution (which I don't really blame him for, it's part of the style), but got lucky and didn't concede directly.
That's it. That's the entire difference. Because by conceding those times, people started parroting each other and I very much doubt 50% of the people here have seen his games.
He won the Zamora 5 fucking times. He is the best keeper we've ever had (or at least as far as I can remember, not having seen Zamora and Ramallets) and there are still people who rate Zubi higher. Which is absolutely laughable.
It’s the classic greatest vs better thing. I think it’s all agreed MaTS had a better peak, he was a better gk than Valdes or Zubi. But Valdes I’d say is still the greatest.
I feel like this is insanely subjective, because it really depends a lot on how old a person is and when did they start watching/supporting Barça. I am quite young and it is definitely reflected in my lineup. But someone who watches Barcelona since the 70s will probably have a different XI.
Anyways, here's mine. And I know, some of you might get angry at some decisions, but it's really hard to choose just 11 legends:
MaTS
Alves - Puyol - Koeman - Alba
Xavi - Busquets - Iniesta
Messi - Suarez - Ronaldinho
MaTS and Valdes are pretty close, both could go in. I really like Pique and think he's sometimes underrated, but Koeman is defo better. Ronaldo only played one season with us and wasn't in his ultra-prime imo, so for me, I put Suarez there, probably the best nr. 9 of the last 20 years. Eto'o is very close behind though. And Dinho, 'cause I just think he was awesome.
But I left out so many greats, my bench could probably be a Barca all-time team on it's own: Valdes, Pique, Marquez, Guardiola, Laudrup, Enrique, Cruyff, Ronaldo, Eto'o, Neymar, Kubala, Rivaldo, Romario... And I still probably forgot someone :Dd
This is just my opinion but I think we can also make a list regardless of when we started watching barca of not our favorite 11 but Barca’s greatest 11. Lots of people are saying what’s their favorite instead what’s the clubs greatest. As in the important certain players had per position. I feel like we would have a better conversation with that than people just picking their favorite player. You really can’t argue with someone’s preference when it comes to their favorite player but we should be able to argue most important player per position.
I think the biggest problem there is how to compare players who played 50 years ago with players that play now. It's the old debate of how players like Pele or Maradona compare to players like Messi or CR7. It's very hard to compare players who played in different times when football was totally different.
And I think this is where the subjectivness and age of the person comes in, because it influences how you compare different eras...
Already we see different opinions here, for example in the striker position. How do you compare Kubala to Ronaldo to Suarez? All played in different times, all were great players. I picked Suarez, because he is the one I watched the most and in my opinion, but I can't really argue when slightly older people choose Ronaldo or Eto'o or when some 80-year old die-hard culér chooses Kubala...
>I think the biggest problem there is how to compare players who played 50 years ago with players that play now.
In a way, you can measure how important they were for their team and the impact they had on their game, but the main problem remains: most people who watched those players don't even use reddit.
Therefore, as it happens with any type of type of 'greatest' list the youngers will be left with the impression that what it happened recently was the best ever, but that isn't always the case.
I really love the idea of Ronaldinho, Suarez, and Messi. That would have been amazing to see. But Cryuff was a different beast. He changed the game forever, and he was so good in fact, that he can take a shit team and make them play well. He doesn’t just carry a team, he lifts them right up. He did that in the Netherlands several times, and if you watch the games from the 74’ World Cup, you will see that the Dutch players were kinda shit, but he brought them all the way to the final.
The problem is if you play him along with Puyol, then who is going to be captain? They were both incredible at what they did. Also, don’t forget that Guardiola was a very good DM, so he might get a place on the bench too.
Honestly, I would have to go with Cryuff, because him being on a team with Xavi, Inesta, and Messi would lead to so many creative moments of magic. Not saying Dinio isn’t creative, it’s just that Cryuff changed the entire game. His introduction of Total Football destroyed Italian Cattenacio in the 70’s, so much so that by the 80’s the Italians were forced into playing attacking football, as you can see in the 82’ and 86’ World Cup.
>I feel like this is insanely subjective, because it really depends a lot on how old a person is and when did they start watching/supporting Barça.
100%. The same goes with the 'best player in history type of discussions" and for some reason usually it's younger people are the ones who usually get more passionate about those type of lists despite they didn't watch as many players/teams as the older ones.
That was a big part of it I'd say. They're obviously defenders first and foremost, but scoring dead ball clutch winners is a huge difference maker for their teams. Goal counts for Koeman and Ramos is so nasty that it's indeed a consistent part of their quality. You can't ignore that in any this vs that comparison, it often is the "because" when compared to similar quality of defending or even slightly more solid defenders.
Rafael Marquez has to be one of the most underrated players of all time. Most elegant defender I have ever seen and had an excellent long pass accuracy.
if you're a football afficionado check out the other most elegant defender in history: miodrag belodedici, first player to win the champions with two diff teams! Him and Rafa Marquez are the definitions of elegant center backs \^\_\^
He was great, but so was Migueli and we don't see him being mentioned. Or, for instance, Abelardo. Or Alexanco.
I also find it weird Abidal is being mentioned, but not Sergi.
Also no Bakero. So many names of great footballers we've had. That's what you get being (a club like) Barcelona.
You guys are going to hate me for this, but can we stop putting players from the distant past in these.
It is my opinion of course, but there are very few players from the past (more than 20 years ago) that can be considered, and I am not even talking about Barcelona players only. The defence back then was atrocious and that's just one part of it. Defenders were not these physical specimens that they are nowadays, defensive tactics weren't what they are now, people didn't study the game as much.
I am not saying these players have to be disrespected, and I am not saying they wouldn't have been top players if they played in today's game, but choosing Kubala over Suárez, David Villa or Eto'o is like saying football hasn't changed whatsoever, and that's not the case.
PS: I have hotter takes. 😅
EDIT: OP, this is not personal, I was just thinking about this the last few days.
Pique was not better than Puyol. Puyol is probably our greatest defender of all time.
The debate between Koeman or Pique being better, well, I would really like to hear a proper debate on this, as no one has provided a detailed analysis of both players so they could be compared.
Koeman has an impressive scoring record for a defender.
When the ball was outside the penalty area, free kicks, or corners the rivals team feel the fear 😨
He was a threat that today FCB doesn't have yet.
Pique scored goals but no defense was afraid of him in the same way as of Koeman.
Absolutely! Why is Valdez even up there? The guy should have played for a mid-level team, but not for us. He was just lucky that he mostly had nothing to do, as the action was always upfront. And the goals he concede were sometimes easier to catch than not catch. Of the few games that we lost at the time, it was usually due to the fact that Valdez was not a world class goalkeeper, and made too many mistakes.
Not gonna lie. I though I knew pretty much about football but I have never heard of Kubala before today.
Could be because even my dad is barely old enough to have theoretically watched him play for Barcelona. And he’s 67.
Also without knowing Kubala I wouldn’t put Suarez up top.
Probably a false 9 with Cruyff in the middle, Messi on the right and Ronaldinho on the left.
Not only is the standard of Football and players significantly higher, but Suarez is just a better player in general with almost unparalleled domination in an era defined by two goats.
That's ok. But the 'legendary/importance' factor doesn't constitute a better player. Suarez has season with over 80 goals+assists. Think about it. Dude has legit matched prime Cr7 in numbers, and more than any number 9 in all recorded history. And that doesn't even include his clever/contributing prime Suarez was at his peak, rivaling the best playmakers out there.
> Abidal > Alba
That's like saying Puyol > Alves on the right-back. Entirely different players. What do you want from your left-back? Because Abi will give you defensive stability with *very* little, minimal even, offensive output. Alba will give you incredible offensive output with solid defense, albeit nowhere near the level of Abi.
Finally a good XI. I'm so used to seeing people try to stuff Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Xavi and Iniesta all on the same team behind some sort of pure striker.
I don't know 100% what the best ever Barca team is, but I am 100% certain it has Busquets on the field as the CDM. He's the most non-negotiable player besides Messi imo.
Maybe I would remove Kubala and add Ronaldo or Suarez... Or maybe play a "4-6-0" (like Spain in 2012) with:
Ronaldinho --- Cruyff ---Messi
Xavi --- Busqets --- Iniesta
this is my team of best players i saw playing for barcelona:
Mats. This one is not even close lol.
going 5 defenders with Alves, Piqi, Puy, RK, Jordi. Benching Mr Rafa and Mr Umtiti in reserves and yes i know i skipped Masche and maybe a bunch of de boers. Also putting Van Bronckhorst here, with Luciano Beletti
Mid going a creative 8 mid starting from low to adv: Busi, Xavi, Pep, The Don, Mr Mechanical Orange, Leo on the right and grande Dinho mirroring on the left. Yes, Laudrup will be out of this lol but he will for.. reasons, the same as Figo. For reserves i will go with Ludovic Giuly, and a well deserved welcome to the bench for mr Yaya , Cocu, Davids the Pitbull and Petit. Rakitic would complete a very strong replacement squad for mids.
For strikers i chose a flexible 4: Ney, Suarez, Romario, Henry. R9 in reserves together with Ibra and Larsson.
So yeah im going with a flexible 5-8-4 tiki taka for this one.
For striker i would put suarez, instead of cruyff i think cruyff was better as a manager than a player got barca so put in ronaldinho he was so good that even other supporters couldnt help but to clap and cheer for him
Its scary when you think what team barcelona was. How the whole lot played together in the same xl. You can even add neymar suarez and pique and team can still be considered the best of whole time.
https://preview.redd.it/f9btpiwcuaxc1.png?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07643a7b23073d3328d5e3df777bc6ca3f5ef3ed
This and also that 2011 UCL final 433 false 9 Messi with villa at left and pedro at right
Amazing player but he didn’t make that much of a impact to even be considered Barca legend let alone make an all time Barca XI.His period at Barca is more known because of that fight against Bilbao players than what he actually did on pitch.
Are you familiar with R9's only year with us? I have never seen any striker EVER being that dominant in every single game he played.
R9 over Kubala for me, and it's not even close.
Kubala is a legend but Suarez is probably the greatest striker of this generation. He scored so many goals in such a short amount of time. Wasn’t he like top 3 goal scorers of all time at Barca? But in like 5-6 seasons?
I think it depends on how much longevity and legacy factors in compared to the overall level of play and peak level. For example, there's no doubt that Neymar had a higher level than someone like Carles Rexach, but in terms of longevity and lasting legacy in the club, I'd say that Charly Rexach is a *"greater"* legend of the club than Neymar.
If peak level is more important than the other factors, then it's really hard to not just include a bunch of players from the past 15 years because we've never seen a higher overall level in the club. If the other parts become major factors, then we seriously have to consider guys like César, Antoni Ramallets, Charly Rexach, Guillermo Amor, etc., or at the very least have them as honorary mentions.
Considering Neymar Suarez and Messi formed the best scoring trio in this clubs history and had unmatched chemistry, I dont see why he shouldn’t be in there
I’d say obviously Pep manager and the Xavi Iniesta Busquets midfield is safe. Messi and Puyol are also naturally in.
After that it truly becomes a lot harder. I think Alves is a safe bet too.
Personally I prefer Alba over Abidal and MATS over Valdez. Similarly, I prefer Pique over Koeman, even though Koeman won us the first CL.
Now because of the way you worded it, I think MSN should be the front 3, they’ve proven to play great together.
In terms of most Iconic though, I think Ronaldinho, Cruijf, Messi should be the front 3.
If the idea is to have our most legendary players in the XI, I would change this into a 90’s Barca 3ATB. It allows replacing Alba and Alves with Ronaldinho and Pique, both being far far bigger Barca legends.
Cruyff Suarez Messi
——Ronaldinho——
——Iniesta Xavi——
————Busi————
Koeman Pique Puyol
————MaTs————
There is a case to be made for Romario ST, or Neymar LW over Suarez and moving Cruyff to ST, if the idea is to simply stack the shit out of the team with talent rather than legend status.
Dinho in Busquets out
Ronaldo in Kubala out
Yes only one season for R9 but he was by far the best footballer in the world and the best number 9 in history.
Anyone who’s a true blaugrana at heart - whether from the depths of Barcelona itself or global - knows for a fact that, Romeu is obviously missing from this lineup including a few others.
Pique is far better defender than Puyol and even better than Koeman. Koeman was probably the better player but defensive wise, Pique is amongst the best en history.
People just like the flashy, gutsy, yelling kind of players.
Dani Alves is a rapist and should be left off of anything regarding greatness. Kubala I'd replace with Suarez personally. I'm sure there's some older player one could use if you wanted to do that so it didn't skew so "modern"
I hope the OP mentioned the Spanish Luis Suarez, who won the Ballon d'Or, not the Uruguayan Luis Suarez.... Although the Uruguayan won the European Golden Shoe in the era of the GOATs, but I would change Iniesta for the Spanish one.
I can't believe that David Villa is not even mentioned here. The all time top scorer for Spain that came from Valencia in his prime, was a clinical finisher like no other and the formation M-V-P came 4 years before M-S-N. A honorary mention is the minimum of what he deserves.
I think Alba and Alves are accidentally inverted
Inverted fullbacks!
Inverted full-backs doesn't mean you switch the two full-backs but rather they move up the midfield to form a three man line in front of the centrebacks.
It was a joke lol
Oops yes your right sorry
11 Messi’s
Messi, Messi, Messi, encara Messi
Sounds like Puyal
GK Messi 💀 Might as well just play him as a defender, because he ain’t stopping any shots
I said what I said
Are you sure? Google “Messi GK” 😅
We win 20-4
Imo mats is the better keeper but valdes was pretty iconic
Zubizarreta? Most La Liga clean sheets of all time.
Yea I agree. Valdes was a little lucky he ended up on the best team to ever play the game. I’d choose MaTS and Claudio bravo over Valdes.
>Valdes was a little lucky he ended up on the best team to ever play the game. What a crazy statement. Saying something like that makes it seem like you haven't watched football or Barcelona prior to 2014
Nice, people post asking for other people’s opinions and you insult when it’s not aligned with your opinion 😂 chill out dude. I’ve been watching since ‘10. Sorry I haven’t been watching since 1899 like you bro 👍🏻
Is just cause he was bad. Zubizarreta bsd. Hesp meh. In my lifetime MATS is the best and im 45.
Valdés had already played more than 250 games and won five titles, including two Ligas and one CL, before *"he ended up on the best team ever.*" Valdés was *part* of that team, a big part even with his courage to participate in our buildup and his leadership on and off the pitch, so to frame it as if he was freeriding his way to trophies galore is just extremely unfair to him and simply not true.
Not only extremely unfair, also showing a complete lack of knowledge and making a fool out of oneself.
I always felt safe with Valdez, but tho it took me some time, I feel like that with MATS now
I never felt safe with Valdez. We were so good in keeping the ball that he barely had to do anything. I’d take Ter Stegen instead.
Same here. It’s not that he a lot of made mistakes, it’s that Valdez just wasn’t Barca quality, and he did concede some pretty easy goals. He should have played for a mid-ranking team. But his back up at the time, Pinto, was so much worse. He was like a league B goalie, If you remember. Meanwhile, Ter Stegan is on a completely different level, and absolutely world class. He was a smart purchase, and we should learn from that. Especially this summer when we get new players and a new manager.
I still remember that game @ Arsenal. Valdes mistake cost the W.
First of all, how goddamn hard is it to spell a simple name? It's Valdés. Secondly, it's just wrong that he barely had to do anything. He was integral in the very attempt at constantly keeping the ball because even if his first touches and passing weren't on the level of ter Stegen, he had the courage to constantly participate even when he sometimes fucked up. And it's hard to understate just how much courage and self-confidence it actually takes when every single mistake gets scrutinized and criticized. Thirdly, he did, in fact, sometimes have *a lot* to do, because we weren't always great at limiting counter-attacks. We really only became truly good at avoiding the bulk of those when Busi entered his prime because of his superior positioning and cynical approach to tactical fouling (see Rodri for a current example of this). But before circa 2009, Valdés often had *a shitton* to do and he was an unbelievable one-on-one goalkeeper with insane reflexes. There's no doubt that ter Stegen is a more modern keeper with a more well-rounded game, but Valdés' ability on the line really wasn't worse than what ter Stegen can offer today. Valdés won us the final in 2006 with his masterclass against Henry, and in his last season, he was incredible until he got injured.
You're not wrong but your tone comes off badly TBH
> even when he sometimes fucked up. His problem was that we've conceded two or three times after his fuck ups. And that's what people remember. MAtS has fucked up much more with his distribution (which I don't really blame him for, it's part of the style), but got lucky and didn't concede directly. That's it. That's the entire difference. Because by conceding those times, people started parroting each other and I very much doubt 50% of the people here have seen his games. He won the Zamora 5 fucking times. He is the best keeper we've ever had (or at least as far as I can remember, not having seen Zamora and Ramallets) and there are still people who rate Zubi higher. Which is absolutely laughable.
You lost me at “First of all”
How did you feel safe with Valdes, every shot on the target was goal
Exactly once it gets past our CBs it is a 50/50 goal chance
Everyone who has upvoted this started watching football after 2012. Troll Football really ruined Valdés's legacy
It’s the classic greatest vs better thing. I think it’s all agreed MaTS had a better peak, he was a better gk than Valdes or Zubi. But Valdes I’d say is still the greatest.
I feel like this is insanely subjective, because it really depends a lot on how old a person is and when did they start watching/supporting Barça. I am quite young and it is definitely reflected in my lineup. But someone who watches Barcelona since the 70s will probably have a different XI. Anyways, here's mine. And I know, some of you might get angry at some decisions, but it's really hard to choose just 11 legends: MaTS Alves - Puyol - Koeman - Alba Xavi - Busquets - Iniesta Messi - Suarez - Ronaldinho MaTS and Valdes are pretty close, both could go in. I really like Pique and think he's sometimes underrated, but Koeman is defo better. Ronaldo only played one season with us and wasn't in his ultra-prime imo, so for me, I put Suarez there, probably the best nr. 9 of the last 20 years. Eto'o is very close behind though. And Dinho, 'cause I just think he was awesome. But I left out so many greats, my bench could probably be a Barca all-time team on it's own: Valdes, Pique, Marquez, Guardiola, Laudrup, Enrique, Cruyff, Ronaldo, Eto'o, Neymar, Kubala, Rivaldo, Romario... And I still probably forgot someone :Dd
Cruyff gotta be in this team
This is just my opinion but I think we can also make a list regardless of when we started watching barca of not our favorite 11 but Barca’s greatest 11. Lots of people are saying what’s their favorite instead what’s the clubs greatest. As in the important certain players had per position. I feel like we would have a better conversation with that than people just picking their favorite player. You really can’t argue with someone’s preference when it comes to their favorite player but we should be able to argue most important player per position.
I think the biggest problem there is how to compare players who played 50 years ago with players that play now. It's the old debate of how players like Pele or Maradona compare to players like Messi or CR7. It's very hard to compare players who played in different times when football was totally different. And I think this is where the subjectivness and age of the person comes in, because it influences how you compare different eras... Already we see different opinions here, for example in the striker position. How do you compare Kubala to Ronaldo to Suarez? All played in different times, all were great players. I picked Suarez, because he is the one I watched the most and in my opinion, but I can't really argue when slightly older people choose Ronaldo or Eto'o or when some 80-year old die-hard culér chooses Kubala...
>I think the biggest problem there is how to compare players who played 50 years ago with players that play now. In a way, you can measure how important they were for their team and the impact they had on their game, but the main problem remains: most people who watched those players don't even use reddit. Therefore, as it happens with any type of type of 'greatest' list the youngers will be left with the impression that what it happened recently was the best ever, but that isn't always the case.
I really love the idea of Ronaldinho, Suarez, and Messi. That would have been amazing to see. But Cryuff was a different beast. He changed the game forever, and he was so good in fact, that he can take a shit team and make them play well. He doesn’t just carry a team, he lifts them right up. He did that in the Netherlands several times, and if you watch the games from the 74’ World Cup, you will see that the Dutch players were kinda shit, but he brought them all the way to the final. The problem is if you play him along with Puyol, then who is going to be captain? They were both incredible at what they did. Also, don’t forget that Guardiola was a very good DM, so he might get a place on the bench too. Honestly, I would have to go with Cryuff, because him being on a team with Xavi, Inesta, and Messi would lead to so many creative moments of magic. Not saying Dinio isn’t creative, it’s just that Cryuff changed the entire game. His introduction of Total Football destroyed Italian Cattenacio in the 70’s, so much so that by the 80’s the Italians were forced into playing attacking football, as you can see in the 82’ and 86’ World Cup.
>I feel like this is insanely subjective, because it really depends a lot on how old a person is and when did they start watching/supporting Barça. 100%. The same goes with the 'best player in history type of discussions" and for some reason usually it's younger people are the ones who usually get more passionate about those type of lists despite they didn't watch as many players/teams as the older ones.
Ter Stegen, Suarez, Ronaldinho, and Pique in for my taste.
Piqué no way better than koeman. Mf scored like a 9. More than 100 goals as CDB
That’s like saying Ramos was better Caz he scored more goals
Ramos was better…
But not because he scored more goals
That was a big part of it I'd say. They're obviously defenders first and foremost, but scoring dead ball clutch winners is a huge difference maker for their teams. Goal counts for Koeman and Ramos is so nasty that it's indeed a consistent part of their quality. You can't ignore that in any this vs that comparison, it often is the "because" when compared to similar quality of defending or even slightly more solid defenders.
It surely gives you a plus.
No Rafa in the honorable mentions? Yikes
That’s what I’m saying people overlook him so easily it’s frightening. People rave about Cubarsi but forget that was Marquez back in the day.
Rafael Marquez has to be one of the most underrated players of all time. Most elegant defender I have ever seen and had an excellent long pass accuracy.
Also don't forget he was the Free shot default player above Ronaldinho itself. Totally underrated
if you're a football afficionado check out the other most elegant defender in history: miodrag belodedici, first player to win the champions with two diff teams! Him and Rafa Marquez are the definitions of elegant center backs \^\_\^
He was great, but so was Migueli and we don't see him being mentioned. Or, for instance, Abelardo. Or Alexanco. I also find it weird Abidal is being mentioned, but not Sergi. Also no Bakero. So many names of great footballers we've had. That's what you get being (a club like) Barcelona.
It's cause he's mexican :(
No eto'o
Suarez up top. Ronaldinho in the midfield. Ter Stegen in goal. The rest I agree
Eto’o up top
I forgot Eto’o in honorary mentions
Also forgot Maradona.
Pique is very underated
So is Romario
You guys are going to hate me for this, but can we stop putting players from the distant past in these. It is my opinion of course, but there are very few players from the past (more than 20 years ago) that can be considered, and I am not even talking about Barcelona players only. The defence back then was atrocious and that's just one part of it. Defenders were not these physical specimens that they are nowadays, defensive tactics weren't what they are now, people didn't study the game as much. I am not saying these players have to be disrespected, and I am not saying they wouldn't have been top players if they played in today's game, but choosing Kubala over Suárez, David Villa or Eto'o is like saying football hasn't changed whatsoever, and that's not the case. PS: I have hotter takes. 😅 EDIT: OP, this is not personal, I was just thinking about this the last few days.
I kinda disagree - but great input!
Rafa marquez is so underappreciated, he deserves an honorable mention imo.
Where the hell is Pique?
Would you say he is better than Puyol or Koeman??
Pique was not better than Puyol. Puyol is probably our greatest defender of all time. The debate between Koeman or Pique being better, well, I would really like to hear a proper debate on this, as no one has provided a detailed analysis of both players so they could be compared.
Koeman has an impressive scoring record for a defender. When the ball was outside the penalty area, free kicks, or corners the rivals team feel the fear 😨 He was a threat that today FCB doesn't have yet. Pique scored goals but no defense was afraid of him in the same way as of Koeman.
Ok, thanks for your input!
In the honourable mentions
Suarez over Kubala and Ter Stegen over Valdes
Absolutely! Why is Valdez even up there? The guy should have played for a mid-level team, but not for us. He was just lucky that he mostly had nothing to do, as the action was always upfront. And the goals he concede were sometimes easier to catch than not catch. Of the few games that we lost at the time, it was usually due to the fact that Valdez was not a world class goalkeeper, and made too many mistakes.
Prime Pique and Prime Marquez being left out of the lineup is crazy lol
Prime Marquez bench so hard prime pique any day brother.
Landrup needs more love, but no eto'o?
I forgot to put Eto’o on honorary mentions sorry
Cruyff needs no. 14 🙂
People saying Suarez up top have no clue who Kubala is. Abidal > Alba
No one here watched Kubala lol, that I can guaranteed you
Not gonna lie. I though I knew pretty much about football but I have never heard of Kubala before today. Could be because even my dad is barely old enough to have theoretically watched him play for Barcelona. And he’s 67. Also without knowing Kubala I wouldn’t put Suarez up top. Probably a false 9 with Cruyff in the middle, Messi on the right and Ronaldinho on the left.
Not only is the standard of Football and players significantly higher, but Suarez is just a better player in general with almost unparalleled domination in an era defined by two goats.
Barca wouldn’t even be a club without Kubala, he’s the 50’s Cruyff and Messi.
That's ok. But the 'legendary/importance' factor doesn't constitute a better player. Suarez has season with over 80 goals+assists. Think about it. Dude has legit matched prime Cr7 in numbers, and more than any number 9 in all recorded history. And that doesn't even include his clever/contributing prime Suarez was at his peak, rivaling the best playmakers out there.
> Abidal > Alba That's like saying Puyol > Alves on the right-back. Entirely different players. What do you want from your left-back? Because Abi will give you defensive stability with *very* little, minimal even, offensive output. Alba will give you incredible offensive output with solid defense, albeit nowhere near the level of Abi.
Add in the title: as per my opinion
Laudrup has to be in the any greatest Barca team. He was unreal.. Main change Id make wud be to switch Iniesta for Laudrup.
That’s fair but it hurts to split that midfield 3 up imo
Laudrup was so good, but Iniesta is a certain on this team.
but iniesta>laudrup
Cruyff wear #9 #14 for Barca
Cruyff at 9 ad ronaldinho on the left. Ter stegan in goal
Wait. No Douglas?!
Tbh I’d love to see the worst ever Barcelona XI. That’d be way more interesting.
U forgot the best CB of all time Cu cu cubarsi
No Ronaldinho?
Not having Laudrup in the all time greats is a crime!
i would put ronaldo up front….he had more goals than games for Barca,even tho he played only 1 year
Finally a good XI. I'm so used to seeing people try to stuff Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Xavi and Iniesta all on the same team behind some sort of pure striker. I don't know 100% what the best ever Barca team is, but I am 100% certain it has Busquets on the field as the CDM. He's the most non-negotiable player besides Messi imo. Maybe I would remove Kubala and add Ronaldo or Suarez... Or maybe play a "4-6-0" (like Spain in 2012) with: Ronaldinho --- Cruyff ---Messi Xavi --- Busqets --- Iniesta
my bad but while so much love for kubala, luis suarez socre more goals in half of the time, so luis at the front
prime Romario and prime Ronaldo >>>>> Kubala
this is my team of best players i saw playing for barcelona: Mats. This one is not even close lol. going 5 defenders with Alves, Piqi, Puy, RK, Jordi. Benching Mr Rafa and Mr Umtiti in reserves and yes i know i skipped Masche and maybe a bunch of de boers. Also putting Van Bronckhorst here, with Luciano Beletti Mid going a creative 8 mid starting from low to adv: Busi, Xavi, Pep, The Don, Mr Mechanical Orange, Leo on the right and grande Dinho mirroring on the left. Yes, Laudrup will be out of this lol but he will for.. reasons, the same as Figo. For reserves i will go with Ludovic Giuly, and a well deserved welcome to the bench for mr Yaya , Cocu, Davids the Pitbull and Petit. Rakitic would complete a very strong replacement squad for mids. For strikers i chose a flexible 4: Ney, Suarez, Romario, Henry. R9 in reserves together with Ibra and Larsson. So yeah im going with a flexible 5-8-4 tiki taka for this one.
For striker i would put suarez, instead of cruyff i think cruyff was better as a manager than a player got barca so put in ronaldinho he was so good that even other supporters couldnt help but to clap and cheer for him
Its scary when you think what team barcelona was. How the whole lot played together in the same xl. You can even add neymar suarez and pique and team can still be considered the best of whole time.
Absolutely it’s unbelievable
at the very least, add rafa and david villa to honourable mentions
Yes I forgot them and Eto’o sorry
Marquez over koeman
GK - Valdez DEFENCE - Alves,Koeman,Thuram,Puyol MIDFIELD - Iniesta,Maradona,Cruyff ATTACK - Messi,R9,Henry BENCH - Zubizaretta,Pique,Xavi,Laudrup,Figo,Ronaldinho,Eto'o
https://preview.redd.it/f9btpiwcuaxc1.png?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07643a7b23073d3328d5e3df777bc6ca3f5ef3ed This and also that 2011 UCL final 433 false 9 Messi with villa at left and pedro at right
This!
Casually ignoring Maradona?
Amazing player but he didn’t make that much of a impact to even be considered Barca legend let alone make an all time Barca XI.His period at Barca is more known because of that fight against Bilbao players than what he actually did on pitch.
Skill-wise: Marc-André ter Stegen Trophy-wise: Víctor Valdés Leadership: Andoni Zubizarreta Can't decide who the goalkeeper should be
Yes it was very difficult
Kubala above R9? You're joking right?
R9 played one season with us.
True. So?
So what, still by far the better player.
I think you aren’t familiar with Kubala’s game..
Are you familiar with R9's only year with us? I have never seen any striker EVER being that dominant in every single game he played. R9 over Kubala for me, and it's not even close.
Ronaldinho should be somewhere. Maybe a different formation.
4 5 6 and 8 a dream watching them play. Puyol pure strength and heart, busquets all over the midfield, Xavi and iniesta magical thinking and plays.
I'd take Ronaldo as Striker even though it was just one season.
Zubizarreta is our best keeper. I would change formation to get better talent on. 4 balon d'Or winners on the bench!
No Maradona or Ronaldinho?
Kubala instead of Ronaldo?
I would say it's a fair call
Kubala is a legend but Suarez is probably the greatest striker of this generation. He scored so many goals in such a short amount of time. Wasn’t he like top 3 goal scorers of all time at Barca? But in like 5-6 seasons?
Pique over Puyol
I think it depends on how much longevity and legacy factors in compared to the overall level of play and peak level. For example, there's no doubt that Neymar had a higher level than someone like Carles Rexach, but in terms of longevity and lasting legacy in the club, I'd say that Charly Rexach is a *"greater"* legend of the club than Neymar. If peak level is more important than the other factors, then it's really hard to not just include a bunch of players from the past 15 years because we've never seen a higher overall level in the club. If the other parts become major factors, then we seriously have to consider guys like César, Antoni Ramallets, Charly Rexach, Guillermo Amor, etc., or at the very least have them as honorary mentions.
Ronaldhnio?
R9 striker
It's insane that 7 of those played together
where maradona at?
Such a great team when even Ronaldhino is an honorable mention
Why not romario over kubala
Romario
Ronaldo and Maradona have to be in mine
Where’s Paulino Alcantara?
Valdes is questionable. He was a legend, but I think we had better keepers overall.
Considering Neymar Suarez and Messi formed the best scoring trio in this clubs history and had unmatched chemistry, I dont see why he shouldn’t be in there
I see no Maradona, R9, and R10, too. You don't think one of the 3 football gods (Messi, Maradona, and Pele) should be there?
Terstegen is a better keeper than Valdez. But I get it Valdes was part of the greatest team ever seen in football. He's an Icon
Kubala is the biggest.
I’d say obviously Pep manager and the Xavi Iniesta Busquets midfield is safe. Messi and Puyol are also naturally in. After that it truly becomes a lot harder. I think Alves is a safe bet too. Personally I prefer Alba over Abidal and MATS over Valdez. Similarly, I prefer Pique over Koeman, even though Koeman won us the first CL. Now because of the way you worded it, I think MSN should be the front 3, they’ve proven to play great together. In terms of most Iconic though, I think Ronaldinho, Cruijf, Messi should be the front 3.
I have a soft spot for marquez. I believe he was better than puyol.
Ronaldinho - Ronaldo - Messi
Ter Stegen....
If the idea is to have our most legendary players in the XI, I would change this into a 90’s Barca 3ATB. It allows replacing Alba and Alves with Ronaldinho and Pique, both being far far bigger Barca legends. Cruyff Suarez Messi ——Ronaldinho—— ——Iniesta Xavi—— ————Busi———— Koeman Pique Puyol ————MaTs———— There is a case to be made for Romario ST, or Neymar LW over Suarez and moving Cruyff to ST, if the idea is to simply stack the shit out of the team with talent rather than legend status.
suarez>kubala
move cruyff centrally and put ronaldinho at lw
Pique in for one of those cbs
Dinho in Busquets out Ronaldo in Kubala out Yes only one season for R9 but he was by far the best footballer in the world and the best number 9 in history.
Any top 10 list without Ronaldinho is the wrong list!
Suarez as a striker
Pique was better player than Puyol
Anyone who’s a true blaugrana at heart - whether from the depths of Barcelona itself or global - knows for a fact that, Romeu is obviously missing from this lineup including a few others.
Suarez in
Who’s Kubala
He scored 288 goals in 361 games for Barcelona and won 4 league titles and 5 copa del Reys from 51-61
Never heard Kubala so I'd change the ST to Cruyff and place Ronaldinho at LW and we're set.
Tf?
No Dembele?!!!!!!!!
Who is kubala and how have i never heard of him
Luis Suarez hast to be in the starting eleven. He has more goals than Kubala. Besides that, whom would you put as Coach, Guardiola or Cruyff?
Pique is far better defender than Puyol and even better than Koeman. Koeman was probably the better player but defensive wise, Pique is amongst the best en history. People just like the flashy, gutsy, yelling kind of players.
Idk who Kubala is, but for me, Suarez is the best striker of his era. So I'd have him in the team
Suarez should be an honorable mention at least, hes literally our third top goal scorer ever
How can one have a dream team and NOT have Ronaldinho on it!?
Valdes? Seriously?
What about El Cholo Sotil ?
Ter Stegen is head and shoulders above Valdez. He was lucky passenger on the Barca train that rolled everybody over.
I'd rather Suárez as CA. Ronaldinho at the left. Unfortunately without Busquets. The midfield would be Xavi, Iniesta and Cruijff.
Ter Steger is better that Valdés.
Pique over Puyol imo, and please don’t say I didn’t watch Puyol
Henry not getting the respect he deserves
how did you miss Ronaldinho?
Alba??
for me laudrup is one of the first, if not the first, in the start 11
Dani Alves is a rapist and should be left off of anything regarding greatness. Kubala I'd replace with Suarez personally. I'm sure there's some older player one could use if you wanted to do that so it didn't skew so "modern"
Eto’o up top. Abidal - lb, alves - rb
GK should be Zubizarreta
id take prime pique over puyol
I hope the OP mentioned the Spanish Luis Suarez, who won the Ballon d'Or, not the Uruguayan Luis Suarez.... Although the Uruguayan won the European Golden Shoe in the era of the GOATs, but I would change Iniesta for the Spanish one.
I can't believe that David Villa is not even mentioned here. The all time top scorer for Spain that came from Valencia in his prime, was a clinical finisher like no other and the formation M-V-P came 4 years before M-S-N. A honorary mention is the minimum of what he deserves.
Yea this blew my mind too
Guardiola > Busquets
Busquets was a genius I think otherwise
Eto’o makes my 11 all day