If Barcelona wins the ECL this season..will they be considered as the best European side ever?

[Football Expert]

Yes, if Barcelona defends their ECL trophy, and do the trebel this year...will they be considered the best European side ever....I think they will

Look at the play of Barcelona over the past 3 years...It has been a level of play, unmatched by any other. They have been a cut above the average top team for some while now.

Is this a reasonable comment......your views

[ForeverRed]

Pretty silly statement I'd say.

Simply put, the answer is....

NO!

[Football Expert]

Pretty silly statement I'd say.

Simply put, the answer is....

NO!

OK.What team have you seen, that plays or played better football than this current barcelona side.

please dont say liverpool

[LaudrupFan]

Maybe the best side of the last 15 years.

[benito camelpene]

It would be a bit of a stretch to say the best European team of all time but if they do win the ECL again this year then they will be the only team to hold the distinction of winning back to back Champions Leagues.

[ForeverRed]

OK.What team have you seen, that plays or played better football than this current barcelona side.

please dont say liverpool

Well, what is your arguement based on? Their style of football? You can't base a team's "greatness' basedon their brand of football alone.

Plus, ever heard of the 50's Madrid, 70's Ajax, Bayern sides or the late 70's-early 80's Liverpool or even Milan of the late 80's?

Manchester won the treble in 99 by the way and played some fantastic football doing so.

[Joga Bonita]

Well, what is your arguement based on? Their style of football? You can't base a team's "greatness' basedon their brand of football alone.

Plus, ever heard of the 50's Madrid, 70's Ajax, Bayern sides or the late 70's-early 80's Liverpool or even Milan of the late 80's?

Manchester won the treble in 99 by the way and played some fantastic football doing so.

When i said beter football...i didnt exactly mean better looking football....i meant better overall football. And although this current barcelona plays with style almost unseen before...they back it up with a string of good results and solid performances.

IMO they have to go down as one of the best European sides ever to grace a football pitch

[jerrito]

Well, what is your arguement based on? Their style of football? You can't base a team's "greatness' basedon their brand of football alone.

Plus, ever heard of the 50's Madrid, 70's Ajax, Bayern sides or the late 70's-early 80's Liverpool or even Milan of the late 80's?

Manchester won the treble in 99 by the way and played some fantastic football doing so.

If Barcelona wins the CL for the second year in a row, and does the treble as the original poster asks, then we would have to add them to the mix of all time great teams. As difficult as the CL is to win these days, and the fact that La Liga is very competitive this year, I would have to say that doing those things would be a great achievement. But then what if Barcelona finishes 3rd in La Liga and doesn't win the CL? Then this year will have been a failure. All speculation.

[Achillean]

I mean, are you serious? try winning it 5 times in a row, then probably you should say among the best. and this statement "barcelona have been playing amazing football unmatched" hmmm thats a pretty bold statement considering a team with so many defeats this season:rolleyes:

and by the way, barcelona have won it only twice, your among the mighty nothingham forrest, so right now barcelona its pretty much below all the european sides that have ever won it. keep dreaming, it might come true some day:rolleyes:

[ForeverRed]

If Barcelona wins the CL for the second year in a row, and does the treble as the original poster asks, then we would have to add them to the mix of all time great teams. As difficult as the CL is to win these days, and the fact that La Liga is very competitive this year, I would have to say that doing those things would be a great achievement. But then what if Barcelona finishes 3rd in La Liga and doesn't win the CL? Then this year will have been a failure. All speculation.

If they win the treble this year, which is I doubt they will, then a case can be made that they're one of the best but there would still be a bunch of clubs that would be above them like the ones I mentioned.

[jerrito]

If they win the treble this year, which is I doubt they will, then a case can be made that they're one of the best but there would still be a bunch of clubs that would be above them like the ones I mentioned.

Agreed.

[leg_breaker]

When i said beter football...i didnt exactly mean better looking football....i meant better overall football.

Schizophrenic? I'm sure this thread was started by 'Football Expert'. Maybe you have two accounts.

IMO they have to go down as one of the best European sides ever to grace a football pitch

Why? They've won the Champions League and the domestic league, so what, a lot of teams have done that.

For all the talk about the quality of football, Barcelona's Champions League performances haven't been that impressive. Their results have generally been 2-1 or 1-0. When did Barca play in Europe and thrash a top team, i.e. putting 2, 3, 4 goals past them?

Even when playing against ten man Arsenal and Chelsea, they didn't manage more than a one goal victory. They scraped past Milan when a true all-time great team would have battered them. They took eighty minutes to break down ten-man Arsenal, the 1950s Madrid team would have been three-nil up at half time without even thinking about it.

You have to do a lot more than win a couple of trophies to be an all-time great team. You have to do it in a manner that leaves your previous opponents destroyed and humiliated, and your future opponents trembling in their boots.

If Barcelona were a truly all-time great team, Liverpool fans would have written their season off already. As it happens, they think they've got a chance.

[canzano55]

If Barca wins the CL this season is a big "IF" on its own.

[Colorado_GAUCHO]

barcelona is nothing but a bunch of primadonas

what happened to the money they splited before hand thinking they had the FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP on the bag???

here's the truth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeAfYvbgZxM

best??? too much talk about this primadonas, we kicked their behinds without a problem

[musicl]

Not a chance. I dont rate Barca at all. I'd be surprised if they get to the semi's even.

[Bluecrux]

Barcelona are miles away from qualifying for this statement even if they win cl 4-5 times in a row.They have not shown any aura of invincibilty.Couldnt finish 1st in the group stages.Are stuggling for retaining their 1st position in the league.The question is really sutpid!Best european side ever??LOL
They dont have the current best XI(not even the best 4-5 players in the world-each position)Just the joker ronnie cant make them the best of all time

[bosterosoy]

It would be a bit of a stretch to say the best European team of all time but if they do win the ECL again this year then they will be the only team to hold the distinction of winning back to back Champions Leagues.

Be careful how you phrase that, because Real Madrid (‘56-60), AC Milan (’89-90), Ajax (’71-73), Bayern Munech (’74-76), Benfica (’61-62), Inter Milan (’64-65) and Nottingham Forest (’79-80) all were repeat champions.

When i said beter football...i didnt exactly mean better looking football....i meant better overall football. And although this current barcelona plays with style almost unseen before...they back it up with a string of good results and solid performances.

IMO they have to go down as one of the best European sides ever to grace a football pitch

Ok so many things wrong with this.
First off, they’ve only won it once, and if they do win it this year, it would only make two.
Second, Real Madrid in the 50s was better. You had Puskas, who many say is the best European Player ever. You have Di Stefano. Many people who say DiStefano play say he was the best ever, ahead of Pele and Maradona.

AC Milan in 89-90
The defense was Costacurta, Maldini, and Baresi anchored the back line. This is definetly better than Barcelona’s defense. In the midfield they also had Rijkaard, Donadoni, Ancelotti to name a few. There attack was Marco van Basten and Gullit. Both were tremendous players. The team won the finals 4-0. In the Semis, they destroyed Real Madrid in San Siro 5-0, with 5 different players scoring goals

Bayern 74-76
Lets see, Sepp Maier in net, Beckenbauer as the captain and Gurd Muller supplying the goals. In fact, the team was made up of most of the players that lifted the 1974 World Cup Trophy for Germany.

And you know what, Im going to stop there because there are so many other teams I could list and I don’t have the time to spend hours typing them all down

[jerrito]

Be careful how you phrase that, because Real Madrid (‘56-60), AC Milan (’89-90), Ajax (’71-73), Bayern Munech (’74-76), Benfica (’61-62), Inter Milan (’64-65) and Nottingham Forest (’79-80) all were repeat champions.



Ok so many things wrong with this.
First off, they’ve only won it once, and if they do win it this year, it would only make two.
Second, Real Madrid in the 50s was better. You had Puskas, who many say is the best European Player ever. You have Di Stefano. Many people who say DiStefano play say he was the best ever, ahead of Pele and Maradona.

AC Milan in 89-90
The defense was Costacurta, Maldini, and Baresi anchored the back line. This is definetly better than Barcelona’s defense. In the midfield they also had Rijkaard, Donadoni, Ancelotti to name a few. There attack was Marco van Basten and Gullit. Both were tremendous players. The team won the finals 4-0. In the Semis, they destroyed Real Madrid in San Siro 5-0, with 5 different players scoring goals

Bayern 74-76
Lets see, Sepp Maier in net, Beckenbauer as the captain and Gurd Muller supplying the goals. In fact, the team was made up of most of the players that lifted the 1974 World Cup Trophy for Germany.

And you know what, Im going to stop there because there are so many other teams I could list and I don’t have the time to spend hours typing them all down

All better teams in my opinion. That Milan side was the best I have seen in my lifetime (no, I'm not a Milan fan by any stretch). But it was world class most everywhere on the pitch. AND played together like a machine. But again, you cannot tell me that the Champion's League as it stands today is not more competitive than any tournament of the past. If Barca wins a second in a row and another league title etc...for me they are in the mix. In my opinion the best team in the world right now and the best mentality on the planet. Yes, I know they are off form right now. My argument assumes that they will regain it.

[unclesox]

If Barca were to only successfully defend the Champions League, I'm not sure I'd even be willing to place them along side Cruyff's Dream Team of the early 90s.
If they did the CL and Liga double, or were to win the Treble, I'd be more inclined. Maybe.
But that's as far as I'd go.
;)
(Barca fan since 1979)

[Excape Goat]

Thet wont be considered the best ever. If they take a third one which I highly doubt it, then, they might have made a claim in the top 5. Two CL titles probably made it in the top 10, but not the best ever.



Note: Real Madrid of 1960 whom I considered to be the best ever finished 2nd in the leagues in 1958/59 and 59/60. Historicians tended to overlook domestic results if they won the European titles. I have not look into the domestic results of Bayern Munich and Ajax in the 1970s, or AC Milan of 1980's.