Are they - "The Best of All Time" ??

Since the Chinese invented Cuju - "Kick Ball" in 206 BC, I'v come across so many great teams, that have possessed great character, spirit, skill, determination technical ability, immense winning mentality, But and a big BUT!!! There is something about this present Barca team that scares the living day lights out of me.  You know It really dose not matter if Inter Milan are the current Champion League Holders Knocking the mighty Barca out on the way to the trophy because as any true football analyst would know it's not always the best that triumph! The FC Barcelona of today which comprises of soccer geniuses like Xavi Hernandez (arguably the best central midfielder of all time), Lionel Messi (simply put the best player on the planet at the moment), Andres Iniesta(One of the most if not the most intelligent and technically gifted footballers on the planet), David Villa ( Goal scorer extraordinaire), Daniel Alves ( Best attacking right back in the world), Carlos Puyol (The lion heart), Gerard Pique (one of the best ball playing defenders in the world) Sergei Busquets( The perfect team player), Pedro (an extremely efficient assassin who is statistics in front of goal and general game play is astounding). This Barcelona squad is eons ahead of every one else! But before we can bestow any team with  the honour of "Best of all Time" Let's take a look at the other contenders. Now I'm basing this selection on longevity, laurels, caliber of players and team game play and efficiency.  

1. 1970 Giants of Brazil.

Now this was a phenomenal team and most definitely the No 1 contender to the throne, led by arguably the greatest of all time the golden boy himself - Edson Arantes Do Nascimento - Pele. This Brazilian squad was comprised of the true Gods of soccer - Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino, Gerson, Clodoaldo. They one the 1970 world cup emphatically 

2. Real Madrid of 1960

This was a fierce team that obliterated Europe winning five European cups from 1956 till 1960. they were awesome comprising of star players like Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano, Francisco Gento, Zarraga and Del Sol.  This was truly, a great squad and will take a lot to out do.

3. Liverpool 1984

This team boasted star players like Rush, Dalglish, Souness, Neal, Whelan, Kennedy and Grobbelaar and didn't they win it all,  the 1984 season they won the league which was a third straight, the league cup which was a fourth straight, and the European cup their fourth European cup! Simply immense this was all conquering team and in this era nobody came close. 

There are alot of teams that deserve a notable mentions like -

1. Manchester United team of 1999 - Schmeichel, Neville, Stam, Johnsen, Irwin, Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Yorke, Cole

2. Arsenal "Invicibles" 2004- Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Cole, Ljungberg, Gilberto Silva, Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp, Henry

3. A.C Milan 1989 - Galli, Tassotti, Costacurta, Baresi, Maldini, Ancelotti, Rijkaard, Colombo, Donadoni, Gullit, Van Basten.

4. Brazil 1984 - Valdir Peres, Leandro, Oscar, Luizinho, Toninho Cerezo, Júnior, Paulo Isidoro, Sócrates, Serginho, Zico, Éder, Paulo Sérgio, Edevaldo, Juninho, Falcão, Edinho, Pedrinho, Batista, Renato, Roberto Dinamite, Dirceu, Carlos

5.Holland 1974 - Jongbloed, Krol, Rijsbergen, Suurbier, Haan, Van Hanegem, Jansen, Neeskens, Cruyff, Rensenbrink, Rep

Conclusion and Verdict:

Honestly it's a tough call, but the Majestic swagger with which the giants of Brazil won that 1970 Fifa world cup and the sheer authoritative dominance of both 1960 Real Madrid  and  1984 Liverpool teams over such periods of time, are characteristics that Barcelona team is displaying and for me if they continue at this pace, they will go down in history as the "The Best of All Time".

Louis "Truson" Ikediashi