FC Barcelona: The Invincibles

With 10 trophies, Real Madrid has won the Champions League the most number of times. After it, there is AC Milan, which has seven. Then follows Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Liverpool with five trophies each. But these numbers can be deceptive. It is when you add an additional filter—how many trophies each team has won in the last ten years—that the overwhelming dominance of FC Barcelona becomes clear. This is how the scores notch up for the last decade of Champions League victories: Real Madrid 1, AC Milan 1, Bayern Munich 1, Liverpool 1, Barcelona 4. Almost all the victories of the other teams were before 2005; almost all the victories of Barcelona are after 2005. It is the same story with La Liga, the Spanish league. Of the last five titles, Barcelona has won three. On 7 June, when they played Juventus for this year’s Champions final, most people knew who they would bet on. The score, 3-1, doesn’t really justify the ease with which Barcelona walked through the game. They had possession of the ball 61 per cent of the time, and while Juventus made 343 passes, Barcelona made 570.

It is often said that Barcelona is probably the greatest team ever, maybe with the exception of Brazil’s under Pelé. When Spain won the Fifa World Cup with consummate ease in 2010, it was the same team of Barcelona players who were responsible for it. Real Madrid has a history of remaining on top by spending obscene amounts to get the best players in the world. But Barcelona did it the old fashioned way—it spotted young talent, groomed them in their own football school and then put them on the world stage. That is also why so many of their players seem to read each other’s thoughts while they play—it is the same lot with whom they grew up on the field. Barcelona’s midfielder Xavi was quoted in a 2010 Champions magazine article speaking about the school’s influence: “I was 11 when I arrived…We were taught to play triangles and move the ball around. You pick up good habits like learning the strengths of your teammates and always play with your head up. Playing intelligently, passing to the right foot of a right-footed player or the left foot of a left-footed player. Before you get the ball, you have to know what you are going to do with it… You can see the results of that development, with eight or nine key players in the Barcelona team. They are the base on which the team is built.”

But the old core of players who built the team in this era is slowly growing old and retiring. This final on Sunday was Xavi’s last game. The team continues to win nevertheless. This year’s result has something to do with them signing on Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan striker famous for biting his opponents. Barcelona paid through their nose to buy him at close to € 81 million. And he missed a part of the season as punishment for biting a player during the FIFA World Cup. Once he got going though, it seemed to be a relentless supply of goals and assists. Then there is Lionel Messi, probably the best football player in the world, and the Brazilian Neymar, yet another goal machine. Between the three they have scored 122 goals, a record in the Spanish league. Their strengths are bolstered by a midfield tactic where they do not believe in giving up the ball, relentlessly passing it amongst themselves. With La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League, the team has won all the major titles this year.

Above all, Barcelona does not bore you. They play football which is entertaining. Tiki Taka, the style they popularised, is almost a kind of onfield dance when it is perfect. Sports teams have great winning streaks but these do eventually get over. At some point, Barcelona will also come down from their present heigh. Let’s hope that that day is far away.

Champions LeagueFC BarcelonafootballLionel MessiReal Madrid