Every decade or so, there comes a team that makes a case for the “greatest ever” title.
Most sports fans recognize them on sight. Larry Bird’s Celtics. Joe DiMaggio’s Yankees. The 1972 Miami Dolphins.
But right now there is a team that is making a strong case as one of the best teams of all time.
It’s not the Miami Heat. And it’s not the Phillies, who some would like to crown before the season even starts (although that starting rotation is looking unbeatable).
In fact, this team doesn’t even play in the U.S.
The best team in the world right now is FC Barcelona, and they are looking more and more unbeatable as the year goes on.
Barcelona’s leading scorer and newly crowned FIFA World Player of the Year is a 5-foot-7-inch wizard who goes by the name of Lionel Messi.
Messi already has 31 goals in 36 games for the club this season, and at age 23 is already being talked about as the best player in the history of soccer.
Eight of the players on Spain’s World Cup-winning squad play for Barcelona. Of those, seven started in the final against the Netherlands.
The goal that won it all? Scored by Andrés Iniesta, a Barcelona midfielder and another finalist for player of the year.
Their midfield is led by Xavi, the third and last finalist for player of the year who is widely considered the best midfielder of his generation. This is a player who routinely connects on over 90 percent of his passes, unheard of in today’s physical and fast-paced game.
But individual statistics don’t matter as much as the product on the field, and the club has lost just once in league play all year.
They met their main rivals, Real Madrid, on Nov. 29. Madrid currently has the most famous player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, on its roster, and shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars over the summer to boost their squad in anticipation of the match against Barcelona. A close, exciting, hard-fought game was expected.
Instead it was a disaster for Madrid.
Barcelona possessed the ball for over two-thirds of the game en route to a 5-0 mauling. The most anticipated matchup of the season wasn’t even close, and no one could say otherwise.
But there are teams every year that dominate the competition. What sets the greats apart is that when they play, you can’t take your eyes off the screen.
When Michael Jordan was in his prime, even if you hated him, you still watched, because what he did on the court was incredible.
That is what Barcelona brings to the table.
Barcelona has stumbled upon one of the most beautiful passing games ever employed. Their teamwork is incredible to watch, and most of the players have been together since they were 10 or 11 and know where their teammate is going to be five seconds before they get there.
Even if they lose, they lose with a style and flair that is unmatched in soccer today.
I’m not saying they’re going to win every game from here on out, but they have the talent, chemistry and drive to do it anyway.
American sports fans, pay attention before one of the greatest teams ever passes you by.
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
