Posts Tagged Barcelona
2009 Champions League Final ~ Barcelona vs Manchester United (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on March 7, 2012
It’s May of 2009 and Sir Alex Ferguson is closer than ever to achieving his long-standing goal: winning two successive Champions League trophies.
Having beat Chelsea on penalties in 2008, Manchester United appear to be an ever stronger team this year around.
They have tremendous experience in Van der Sar, Ferdinand, Giggs and Scholes, as well as dynamic talent in Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez.
United comfortably brushed aside Arsenal in the semi’s, and if they can now beat Barcelona, surely they’ll go into history as one of football’s greatest teams.
But there are also voices saying similar things about Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Their possession-based playing style is winning admirers from all over the planet, and all that’s lacking to confirm their status as a truly brilliant team is that silver trophy. Ol’ Big Ears.
Barcelona are plagued by defensive problems though. Abidal is suspended. Dani Alves and Maxwell are injured. Can Cristiano Ronaldo – the holder of the Ballon d’Or – take advantage?
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1961 European Cup Final ~ Barcelona vs Benfica (20m Highlights)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Highlights on March 6, 2012
1961 marks the end of an era. For five long years, Real Madrid had absolutely dominated the European Cup. From its inception in 1956 until the semi-final of the 1961 edition, Los Merengues had never been defeated. Their success had been followed closely by several million pairs of jealous and hatefilled eyes in the city of Barcelona, the capital of the Catalans, which at the time was oppressed by General Franco – dictator of Spain and the grand guardian of Real Madrid.
In 1961 the Catalans finally witness what they had long longed for. And it was FC Barcelona that did it. The Real Madrid of the legendary Puskas, Gento and Di Stefano had been defeated. How? By a phenomenal Barcelona side featuring Luis Suarez, the greatest Spanish player of the 20th century, Laszlo Kubala, voted the greatest Barcelona player of the 20th century, his fellow Hungarian greats Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor, and the Brazilian legend Evaristo de Macedo.
Of course, for Barca to truly match Real Madrid, they would have to win the European Cup. But surely, after beating the great Real, this small Portuguese team called Benfica wouldn’t prove much of a problem?
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2009 Champions League Quarter-Final ~ Barcelona vs Bayern (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on February 25, 2012
This match confirmed the growing suspicion around Europe that Barcelona, this season, were something truly extraordinary.
Certainly, Barcelona had been synonymous with quality football for years, with Ronaldinho regularly setting Champions League nights alight with his magic moves. And when Pep Guardiola sold off Ronaldinho and Deco, many feared that Barcelona would lose some its charm, its creative touch. Instead, the team started playing better, more disciplined, more aggressive, more collective, more dominant, than ever before.
FC Bayern, on this night, were nothing more than willing victims.
1997 Cup Winners Cup Final ~ Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain (25m Highlights)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches, Highlights on February 13, 2012
Paris Saint-Germain nowadays finds itself propelled forward by vast Arabian riches. To which ultimate destination, we don’t yet know. But it looks likely that the club will reconquer the status it enjoyed in the mid nineties, when PSG was a side famous in Europe for quality football. A 1995 Champions League semi-final and a 1996 Cup Winners Cup triumph serve as proof for their ability.
Perhaps by 1997 they were no longer as good as they had been. Djorkaeff, Ginola and Weah had left for more prestigious clubs. But Brazilian playmaker Raí, the younger brother of Sócrates, still wore the blue-rouge with pride. Under his guidance, they reached the Cup Winners Cup final once more. And Barcelona, PSG’s opponent in the final, were Rai’s favourite opponent. Playing them on three different occassions, he had ended up as winner all three times.
Could Raí do it for a fourth time? Could PSG beat that care free Barcelona of Ronaldo, Figo and Bobby Robson?
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1994 Champions League Final ~ AC Milan vs Barcelona (49 min HL)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches, Highlights on February 8, 2012
The wait had been long. The two dominant sides of the early 90′s had evaded each other for far too long.
Sure, AC Milan had triumphed over Barcelona in 1989 UEFA Super Cup, but Cruyff’s Dream Team was still in its infancy then.
Five years onward, AC Milan and Barcelona finally clashed, in the most suitable of occassions: The Champions League final.
Milan, however, was no longer the side it had been. The three Dutch stars – Rijkaard, Van Basten, Gullit – were gone. Captain Baresi and the new talent Lentini were injured. And under Capello, Milan’s play wasn’t as impressive as it had been under Arrigo Sacchi.
Barcelona on the other hand looked better than ever. They had just won La Liga for the fourth time in succession. And in Romário, the Catalans had the world’s greatest goalscorer.
It was with casual self-confidence therefore that Cruyff declared that Milan were a shadow of their former self and that Barcelona would easily win…
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1997 La Liga ~ Barcelona vs Real Madrid (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on January 28, 2012
The real reason El Clasico is the greatest club match in the world is because no other game features as many brilliant players all together on the same field.
The 1996/97 edition, played in the Camp Nou, was no exception to that rule. In response to a poor 1995/96 season, both Barcelona (3rd in La Liga) and Real Madrid (6th in La Liga – how unthinkable today), spent heavily over the summer, reinforcing their squads with big name players.
Spearheading Bobby Robson’s joyous Barcelona side is a 20 year old Ronaldo. Slim, fast, skilled and a amazing finisher, Ronaldo is already the world’s best player. And he’s surrounded by creative quality: Guardiola, De La Peña, Figo, Giovani and Luis Enrique.
But as always, Real Madrid’s collection of superstars forms just as impressive a list: Hierro, Roberto Carlos, Redondo, Seedorf, Raul, Mijatovic, Suker. And with Fabio Capello as coach, there were no doubts about the defensive strength of this side.
1992 European Cup Final ~ FC Barcelona vs Sampdoria (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on January 24, 2012
The 1991/1992 season brought us the last official ‘European Cup’ campaign. From September 1992 onward, Europe’s prime tournament would be known as the Champions League. Suitably, the last European Cup final was hosted in Wembley – Europe’s most prestigious stadium – and featured two sides who had never won the European Cup before. Sampdoria and Barcelona.
1983 La Liga ~ FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on January 23, 2012
The glory days of Kubala and Suarez had become a faint memory by 1983. Since 1960, the only Catalan Liga triumph had been that one Cruyff-inspired 1973/74 campaign. The other 21 seasons had been a long, painful stretch of failure.
Madrid, meanwhile, had comfortably dominated Spanish football in those years, even if their grip on European football had loosened compared to the 50′s.
But now Barcelona had a new star player. The next man to lift them beyond their hated rivals from the capital – at least, that’s what the fans hoped for. Diego Armando Maradona. With him in the starring role, and with Bernd Schuster orchestrating play, perhaps Madrid could finally be toppled.
Indeed, this Real Madrid, with Camacho, Juanito, Stielike and Santillana as the most eyecatching figures, looked beatable.
The game was also a battle between two Argentines. Coaching Barcelona was Cesar Luis Menotti. Real’s trainer was none other than Alfredo di Stefano.
1992 Intercontinental Cup ~ Barcelona vs São Paulo FC (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on December 17, 2011
This game is unique in that it’s the only official clash between the two greatest prophets of attacking football.
Johan Cruyff and Telê Santana. Two men who will be remembered forever for failing to win a World Cup with their country. Cruyff as a player in 1974. Santana in 1982 as coach.
But now, in 1992, one of them is about to win the World Cup for clubs.
Both teams deserve it. Cruyff’s Barcelona and Santana’s Sao Paulo play football with an ambition beyond merely winning. They aspire to play beautifully. To score more than the other team, rather than concede less.
Inevitably, the result is a classy game. One-touch football, great demonstrations of skills, and consistent fair play. This is clearly one of the finest Intercontinental cup games in history.
The stars of Barcelona are the genius Laudrup, the hot-tempered Stoichkov and the midfield master Guardiola. Playing an early version of the possession and one-touch football that Barcelona today has become synonymous with, Cruyff’s Dream Team was years ahead of its time.
Sao Paulo was equally strong, however. Their excellent striker Muller was provided with balls from the masterful Raí – Socrates’s younger brother. A young Cafu was marauding along the right flank, while the midfield was guarded over by the 38-year-old Toninho Cerezo. Seven months earlier, the same Cerezo had played for Sampdoria in the Champions League final with Barcelona. He had lost that game. Could he now take revenge?
2005 Champions League Round of 16 ~ Chelsea vs Barcelona (Full Classic Match)
Posted by 4Dfoot in Full Classic Matches on December 12, 2011
This is the return game of the tie that lay the seeds for the rivalry that still dominates European football: Mourinho vs Barcelona.
José Mourinho had won the Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 and was quickly snapped up by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to head his new project. Receiving the reigns over one of the most expensive collection of players in history, Mourinho instilled a strong discipline and excellent organization that made Chelsea the best team in England.
But Abramovich wanted more than just domestic glory. His real aim was winning the Champions League. Small problem: Chelsea’s first obstacle in the KO phase of that tournament was the best footballing side in Europe: FC Barcelona.
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