Which team was better? Barcelona 2009 vs 2011 vs 2015
- Thread starter Silas
- Start date
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
2011 for me. Hands down.
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
Michael Cox comparison:
http://www.espnfc.com/blog/tactics-...na-champions-league-winning-teams-michael-cox
http://www.espnfc.com/blog/tactics-...na-champions-league-winning-teams-michael-cox
Hellsangel
Member
2011 surely. There were prolongued periods of time we looked literally unbeatable. Didn't matter if the opponent was weak or strong, we did our thing and play our game and we would win. I've never seen any other team that can rival our 2011 machine.
Obiaseti
New member
Tough question. I honestly believe that a team's quality is closely bound to the style of play other teams employ against said team and the personnel available. So in some sense each of the three teams were the best tactical solutions to the challenges posed by opposition at the time. In 08/09 we weren't feared as much as post that season which allowed us to play some fantastic free flowing football.
The beauty of pep's 2011 team was the fact that this time around we were already acknowledged as the best side around. Opposition teams were a lot more cautious and willing to take less chances with us and most teams that weren't naive parked the bus. This was also the peak of our midfield trio of Xavi,Busquets and Iniesta. What set this team apart for me was the fact that every game was essentially a game of attack vs defence regardless of the opposition. We were guaranteed to dominate any team and create chances while limiting chances against us. I've never seen any other team that offered such confidence to fans (I mean we knew even before facing the opponent that we had like an 80% chance of winning. In retrospect that was just crazy).
I think that second success really shook most other top teams, especially Madrid. If teams were defensive against us earlier, that was nothing compared to after 2011. We had teams and managers specifically setting up defenses to counter our team. Most teams just didn't want to play and knew that the more defensive they were the more we'd push our line up to break them open. I also suspect that physically the intensity of football in the previous years took it's toll on the team. Our current team is possibly the best solution to the kind of tactical set ups we face now. We don't dominate as much as 2011 but offensively we have a much larger arsenal and are far more dynamic. We no longer allow opposition defenses to re-organize and our transitions can be lightning quick. At the same time we can be physically imposing and defensively solid.
Personally I enjoyed watching the 2011 team the most, but I know that we moved away from that style not because we couldn't play that way but rather because that approach was not working any longer with the personnel we had and the opposition we faced. So, I'm not sure i'd say that the 2011 team was "better" than this team.
As for the more complete team I'm not sure how one defines complete in this scenario.
The beauty of pep's 2011 team was the fact that this time around we were already acknowledged as the best side around. Opposition teams were a lot more cautious and willing to take less chances with us and most teams that weren't naive parked the bus. This was also the peak of our midfield trio of Xavi,Busquets and Iniesta. What set this team apart for me was the fact that every game was essentially a game of attack vs defence regardless of the opposition. We were guaranteed to dominate any team and create chances while limiting chances against us. I've never seen any other team that offered such confidence to fans (I mean we knew even before facing the opponent that we had like an 80% chance of winning. In retrospect that was just crazy).
I think that second success really shook most other top teams, especially Madrid. If teams were defensive against us earlier, that was nothing compared to after 2011. We had teams and managers specifically setting up defenses to counter our team. Most teams just didn't want to play and knew that the more defensive they were the more we'd push our line up to break them open. I also suspect that physically the intensity of football in the previous years took it's toll on the team. Our current team is possibly the best solution to the kind of tactical set ups we face now. We don't dominate as much as 2011 but offensively we have a much larger arsenal and are far more dynamic. We no longer allow opposition defenses to re-organize and our transitions can be lightning quick. At the same time we can be physically imposing and defensively solid.
Personally I enjoyed watching the 2011 team the most, but I know that we moved away from that style not because we couldn't play that way but rather because that approach was not working any longer with the personnel we had and the opposition we faced. So, I'm not sure i'd say that the 2011 team was "better" than this team.
As for the more complete team I'm not sure how one defines complete in this scenario.
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