The title of "Greatest Team in the World" is not something to be given out lightly. The Inter Milan team during the 60′s, Marco Van Basten's AC Milan and the Ajax team in the 70′s are just some of the names that have been considered for the accolade. To even be taken into consideration for such a salutation takes a very special team.
I don't think there is anyone out there, myself included, who can realistically argue that there is a better team anywhere in the world at this point in time than Barcelona. Their balance of composure on the ball and attacking prowess is staggering, and any team who plays Barcelona finds themselves chasing shadows for most of the game while trying to contain some of the worlds best players.
Barcelona have shown real weakness at the back recently, and I realize that many would point to the absence of Carlos Puyol as the reason for this. However, many fail to realize that Barcelona have been poor at the back this year even when Puyol was playing, and this so-called solid pairing of him and Gerard Pique aren't so solid after all.
With Puyol becoming increasingly susceptible to injury and with Pique being the only defender over six feet tall, Barcelona's tendency to concede from set pieces has become an alarming regularity. Perhaps Alex Song should dust off his boots for the next few games?
Possession has always played a big part in the Catalan philosophy yet for all their possession in recent games, Barcelona have often failed to find the incisive pass that is sometimes necessary to win games.
Typically, the architect of that pass would be Lionel Messi and now with him picking up a hamstring injury in the Champions League, it'll be interesting to see who will come in as his replacement to play those defense splitting passes. Messi has played just about every minute of every game this season for Barcelona in the big games, and he is irreplaceable as we know.
Cesc Fabregas would be a more-than-capable replacement but without the guile and flair of Messi, are Barcelona any better than Bayern Munich or Manchester United at the minute? Barcelona are not as good as they were two years ago and, at this point in time, they are certainly not as good as the Inter's, Milan's or Ajax's of yesteryear.
James Hilton is a soccer writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameshilton1980, "Like" him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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