I'm all about winning. That's all that matters in life, and losing is for...losers. That's why they call it that. But there are times when a team may have not won all the trophies available, with incredible success but who still leave an imprint in the minds of people. Just like the 1982 Brazilian team. Italy were the team who knocked them out and won the World Cup, so you would think they would be the ones that are talked about. But people have more fonder memory of the Brazilians than the Azzurri because of just how they played their football and the incredible things they did on the pitch both as a team and individually.
Rijkaard's Barcelona on the other hand were successful, which included a Champions League. But in comparison to this current crop, they are David to Messi's Goliath. A lot has been said that the Barcelona of this generation is one of the greatest club teams ever, just based of their dominance on the pitch and the success that they've had. These cats can do it all again by winning another treble. The front three right now could probably be called the most dangerous attacking trio of all time and are shredding teams to pieces for fun.
But we should cast our minds back to the kind of attacking football that Rijkaard brought to Barcelona lead by a player who changed football like his other Brazilian counterpart, Ronaldo.
When Dinho came onto the scene, I actually heard of him before seeing him. People talked of him like he was this great wizard from a world far, far, away. How he could pass whilst looking in the opposite direction like a basketball player, the way he moved and how he was doing things that nobody had ever seen done before on a football pitch. It was an exciting time for all those who loved this great sport of football. We had a new superstar, and we were looking at the most exciting and dynamic team in football.
Ladies and Gentlemen....Ronaldinho.
I refuse to say Ronaldinho is better than Rivaldo. They are both different kinds of players who I love, and have both done incredible things on the pitch. But, Ronaldinho was more of an all round player who could both score and create. Rivaldo was more of a deadly finisher rather than a man who could go past three players and slot in a great through-ball. That was more Ronaldinho's game and Rijkaard saw the path to victory in him, and built Barcelona around this incredible Brazilian talent. What he needed was a playmaker, someone who the team could play through and had the ability to keep things ticking. That was never Rivaldo's game, who was more of what Muller does, the evasive supporting striker. Rijkaard had a clear plan of how to attack and destroy teams, and Ronaldinho was right in the center of that plan.
The result was yet another incredible attacking team that Rijkaard had created. Whether they won or lost, that Barcelona team was amazing to watch. The ball always went forward and they played with super high-risk and always wanted to entertain the fans watching. They may now be forgotten with the amazing history that this Messi generation are creating, but for those that watched the rise of Ronaldinho and the kinds of goals that this team scored and just how they played the game, you will have very fond memories. Even though Pep rebooted the team, the foundation had been built by Rijkaard. It was he who introduced Messi into the senior team after his players were bedazzled by his skills in training. So some credit should be given to Frank for paving the way for the success that Barcelona are now enjoying.
*Use Your Twitter/Facebook to login and leave your thoughts in the Disqus comments section below.*
HH
