Greatest ever soccer club side

Jonsmith wrote:Obviously no team in the present can even come close to living with Barca. Do any of you think any team in the past could have?

This probably deserves a topic of its own JS, although it will be later before I get to comment properly. To start, I'd suggest Di Stefano's Madrid, Cruyff's Ajax and Sacchi's Milan would be the other main contenders, although Liverpool, Celtic, Benfica, Bayern and a more recent Madrid vintage could all be considered.

You must give it to Real madrid 1956-1960, especially after they landed Puskas to play alongside Di Stefano.

Ajax 1971-74 "total football" were wondrus, and Bayern won 3 in a row and the world cup for W,Germany.

The Milan side of 1989-90 were excellent, Inter in the mid 1960s were special and Real again 1998-2002.

Benfica 1961-65 were very good, and I suppose you would have to include Liverpool 1977-81, who were very "practical" but had some excellent players as well. You might have to sneak Forest in there as well as they did win two in a row.

We had a few "one year wonders" like Barcelona in 1992, the Red star side of 1991 (apart from the final which was AWFUL) and even Juve in the mid 1990s.

We had a few sides who won the "treble" like Inter last year, Celtic in 1967 and man United in 1999, but none of them really built on it or sustained it although Celtic came close.

Finally the current Barcalona side. Last night they looked wonderful, but what were they playing against. Better to judge them against Real and they destroyed them once this year.

Barcelona could be right up there.

But at the moment, the accolade has to go to Real Madrid.

World Soccer compiled a list of the greatest sides ever a few years ago and Sacchi's Milan were ranked No. 4, the highest of any club side. As Patrique says, Madrid's first great side, littered with superstars, would also be very strong contenders, as would Cruyff's Ajax. While paying respects to several others, I'd focus on those 3, plus Barcelona

Milan 1988-90
Star players: Ruud Guillet, Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini
Trophies: 2 European Cups (89, 90); 1 League (88)
Most memorable wins: 5-0 v Real Madrid (European Semi 1989); 4-0 v Steuea Bucharest (European Final 1989)
For: Milan had power and pace normally only associated with English clubs at that time, but coupled it with considerable skill throughout the side. Scored 9 goals without conceding in their last 2 European matches in 1989, which proved that, at their very best, they were miles ahead of their nearest competition.
Against: For all their dominance in Europe, Milan failed to win a domestic trophy in either of their European winning years. They won only 16 games in 1988 (10 wins less than champions Inter), and lost out to a Maradona-driven Napoli the following year. Despite playing a more exciting game than previous Italian sides, Milan averaged only 1.63 goals per game in the league in that period. Although they had several great players, their side lacked an individual as brilliant as a Messi, Cruyff, Di Stefano or Puskas.

Ajax 1970-73
Star Players: Johan Cruyff, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskins
Trophies: 3 European Cups (71, 72, 73); 2 leagues (70, 72, 73); 3 Dutch Cups (70, 71, 72)
Most memorable wins: 2-0 v Inter (European Final 1972); 4-0 v Bayern Munich (European Qtr Final 1973)
For: Powerful, skillful and playing a brand of football never seen in Western Europe, Ajax were the outstanding side of their generation. Dominated in Holland, despite the presence of 1970 European Champions Feyenoord. Goals per game ratio of 2.91 in Holland. Success continued after manager Rinus Michels left in 1971.
Against: Although they have the title of 'Total Footballers', their football was not as skillful as Madrid or Barcelona's, relying more on supreme levels of fitness, and a new 'pressing' style, never-before used in Western Europe. The side broke up quickly after Cruyff's departure, and Ajax slipped out of European contention soon afterwards.

Real Madrid 1956-60
Star Players: Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Raymond Kopa, Franciso Gento, Jose Santamaria
Trophies: 5 European Cups (1956-60); 2 Leagues (57 & 58)
Most memorable wins: 7-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt (European Final 1960); 6-2 agg v Barcelona (European Semi 1960)
For: Prolonged dominance. Outside of the above stats, they won La Liga in 1954 & 1955, and also from 1961-65. They also were European runners up in 1962. Perhaps the greatest collection of stars ever seen in one side, culmintating in the 1960 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt, although Kopa had left by that stage. Scored 2.71 goals per game in La Liga, and conceded an average of only 1.1.
Against: Galactico-based side, evidenced when you consider that only 4 players who played in the 1958 European Final also played in 1960. The stars were the core of the side, and the rest were interchangeable. Inferior goal difference to current Barcelona side, despite being in an era with higher goal-to-game ratios. Only won 2 domestic trophies during their 5 year reign in Europe.

Barcelona 2009-11
Star Players: Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andreas Iniesta, David Villa
Trophies: 2 European Cups (2009, 2011); 3 leagues (2009-11); 1 Spanish Cup (2009)
Most memorable wins: 5-0 v Real Madrid (2011 league); 3-1 v Man Utd (European Final 2011); 4-0 v Bayern Munich (2009 European Qtr final)
For: Domestic dominance (3 La Ligas) while winning in Europe, including a treble in 2009. Attractive, attacking brand of football that gave them a league scoring ratio of 2.6 goals per game against 0.7 conceded, the most impressive goal difference of any of the mentioned sides. 7 of the side that started against Man Utd in 2011 also started in the World Cup final for Spain last summer, proving that they would still be outstanding even without Messi.
Against: Only 2 European Cups so far (2006 was a very different side). Playing in an era of super-clubs, resulting in reduced competition across Europe.


So, that is my take on it all. For me, there is a very strong case for saying that Barcelona are the finest side we have ever seen, just ahead of Madrid & Ajax. They have been dominant domestically and in Europe, they play a wonderful brand of football, they score a huge amount of goals by modern standards, and they have a superstar that will be remembered for generations to come. Perhaps, most importantly, in an era where size, power and negativity seems to dominate most sports, they have shown that speed, skill and adventure can still reign supreme.