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Poll would our '88 team (in their prime) be able to beat the current barca team

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would our '88 team (in their prime) be able to beat the current barca team

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This Barca team is the best team I've seen in recent times. It's unfortunate that the 88 team was banned from Europe, I wondered if they could beat that great Milan team that was around at the same time too. But with Barca players dominating at the World Cup, as Keni pointed out, I reluctantly have to give to Barca.
 
'88 Liverpool would batter them...In fact I reckon even the current Hurcules team could beat that Barca side 2-0 at Camp Nou!
 
As the title suggests, if they were in their prime, then assuming not everyones prime was 88 (eg, dalglish was still technically a player, but take his prime in the late 70's or early 80's), our team would have been even better than 88.
 
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=44198.msg1284260#msg1284260 date=1297503065]
Fair point as far as it goes, keni, but surely not conclusive of what would have happened between these two teams. It's not that long since we took them down under Rafa, and our '88 side was a much better one.
[/quote]

Was it as good at strangling the football out of the game as Rafa's team though?

I'm not sure if it's that straightforward a comparison.
 
Interesting question. I think my answer would be that the '88 side wouldn't have needed to play that way, though with players like McMahon to call on I'm fairly sure they could have if they wanted. Throughout the glory days we could grind results out when we had to.
 
Our '88 team was the icing on the 20 year-domination cake. We were unplayable that year, much as Barca are now. The Forest game is one that stands out, but I was also present when we beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-1 away in a devastatingly brilliant display of football. For me, Steve McMahon was better than Souness at his pomp that year - and allowed all around him to shine.
It would be a superb game - I'm not sure who'd win, though.
 
If this question was asked on a Barca forum, you'd probably struggle to find a Barca fan capable of naming one player from our '88 team.
 
[quote author=Ryan link=topic=44198.msg1284848#msg1284848 date=1297580917]
If this question was asked on a Barca forum, you'd probably struggle to find a Barca fan capable of naming one player from our '88 team.
[/quote]

I doubt lots of Barca fans can name names of their players from 88.

Glory hunters.
 
[quote author=Ryan link=topic=44198.msg1284848#msg1284848 date=1297580917]
If this question was asked on a Barca forum, you'd probably struggle to find a Barca fan capable of naming one player from our '88 team.
[/quote]

And this proves absolutely nothing. Less than nothing.
 
It would depend on the conditions. I personally don't think the nutritions and training would be that relevant to be honest. The key factor would be the ball.

I'm not sure how long its been for some of us here to kick a ball - I mean a ball from the 80's. What we would have called a size 4 ball back then is now the official match ball - with a slight difference. It's more like a volleyball in it's weight which changes the flight once again. I still remember kicking the ball when it was wet and, if you weren't wearing proper boots, you had to be careful not to break your toes.

If we played them today I reckon they'd masacre us; the speed of their dribbling (particularly Messi), their shooting and passing; our players would be terrible at it and the ball would be going all over the place. Put them back in the 80's though and they'd be wearing boots some of them have never seen let alone worn before. They wouldn't be pinging passes or shooting as is common place today. They'd be humbled.

Technically I think they're better than we were but I think we'd win more for the simple reason we'd score while they were looking for the perfect opportunity.
 
PS.

Just following from my previous post and having read the interview with Xavi, neither Barca now nor us in the 80's are the best club side. I never watched them live as a bit before my time but the best club team in history was Real Madrid. Their European Cup when they won 7-3 against Eintracht Frankfurt was exceptional. That Eintracht team was a sensational team; they were outstanding but Madrid was just from another planet.

Some of those players will be known as the best of all time; Puskas, Di Stefano, Canario - plenty would claim they should be on any list of the greatest ever. I think Best said he always felt Di Stefano was the greatest ever; Puskas was widely acclaimed as the best that had been seen. Then there was Gent - he could apparently run from one end of the pitch to the other with the ball at his feet in 10 seconds. That's exceptional.

While we were an incredible team (and we'd be rivaling Real's record for Euopean cups except for the ban) and Barca are amazing I think that team will be the greatest ever. Eintracht were considered one of the great teams that had been seen and Real played them off the park.
 
Could well be. My dad always raved about them. I'm not (quite) old enough to have seen Di Stefano play, but I suspect he's the only player whose sheer range of skills would have rivalled Best's.
 
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