Football's 'Best Ever Side' - Really?

For those of you that live in a cave, or don't have access to a TV or the internet, yesterday was the Champions League final. And following a (rather more closely fought than anticipated) 3-1 win for Barcelona, people have as usual got carried away. Calls for the new European champions to be recognised as football's 'best ever side' have emerged, thanks largely to the incredible number of goals scored by the club's front three this year.

For me, this is frankly ludicrous. I'll go into this in more detail later, but far from the being the best side to play football, they're not even the best side I've seen in my lifetime. In fact, they're not even the best Barcelona side I've seen in my lifetime!

Though much has been made of this current side, my favourite Barcelona side remains the Champions League winners of 2009. Managed by Pep Guardiola, this side had matched the feat of the current Barca team, winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey ahead of the meeting with Manchester United in Rome.

Here, it's worth outlining the opposition that the two sides faced. Though Juventus certainly do have some talented players - Tevez, Pirlo, Buffon and Marchisio to name a few - there are a number that are certainly past their best. This was absolutely not the case for the 2009 side. In Manchester United, they had a side that had run away with the English league (and anyone who's watched a season will tell you how difficult that is - unlike Italy), and contained players in their prime. Defensively, the likes of Evra, Vidic and Ferdinand were all seen as being at the pinnacle of the game, and going forward, the side had an embarrassment of riches, with Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez forming a formidable partnership, not unlike the current Barca trio.

Despite this, Barcelona simply destroyed United, with Xavi and Iniesta toying with them in the midfield before letting Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o take over. Though the final score was only 2-0, it could and perhaps should have been many more, with United unable to penetrate the defence.

Whether that side is my favourite because of the football they played and the fact that a treble was unprecedented for Spanish sides at the time, or simply because they picked apart a Manchester United side that I was thoroughly sick of watching win, I'm not sure. Either way, it cannot be disputed that they were comfortably the best side in the world at that moment - but is that true of the Barcelona side of today?

I'd argue not. I know they say that the best side over 38 games wins the league, so perhaps this Barcelona side is better than Real Madrid. But it is worth noting that only a spectacular collapse from Carlo Ancelotti's men in the mid-season, following an incredible 22-game winning streak, handed Barca the Spanish title. I'd strongly suggest that had the furore around Gareth Bale and his unpopularity with the fans not potentially upset the morale surrounding the squad and the feel-good factor at the club, Real Madrid would be sitting here with three trophies, and we'd be calling for them to be instated as the best team in the world.

I'd also argue that, although they were soundly beaten in the Nou Camp, Bayern Munich have a better squad that the Catalans. They had to complete their two legged tie without the assistance of either Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery, two of the best wingers in the world - imagine if Barca had to go on without both Luis Suarez or Neymar. I can't imagine if the roles had been reversed, we would have seen anything other than a German victory.

So clearly, proclaiming the current side as the best ever to grace the game of football is a tad premature. But to be fair, how many of the current Barcelona side would get into the sides of either 2009 or 2011? Who would I pick as my best Barcelona team of the last six years?

Goalkeeper - Victor Valdes (2011), Right Back - Dani Alves (2011), Centre Back - Carles Puyol (2009), Centre Back - Gerard Pique (2009), Left Back - Jordi Alba (2015), Defensive Midfield - Yaya Toure (2009), Centre Midfield - Xavi (2009), Centre Midfield - Andres Iniesta (2011), Left Wing - Neymar (2015), Centre Forward - Lionel Messi (2011), Right Wing - Luis Suarez (2015)

So with only three players in my best Barcelona team of the best six years, is the current side the best of all time? No. Also, to assume that a Barcelona side of within the previous decade is to totally ignore the incredible club sides put together by Real Madrid in the early 2000's, including the likes of Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham and Roberto Carlos, Arsenal's 'Invincibles' team of 2002/2003 or (annoyingly) Manchester United's treble-winning team in 1999. It also neglects the incredible national teams that have been created - think of Spain's 2010 World Cup winners, or the Brazilian sides in either 2002, with the three Rs of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, or the side recognised as the greatest World Cup team, the Brazilian team of 1970 including Pele, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto and Rivellino.

However, the 122 goals scored by Messi, Neymar and Suarez this season cannot be ignored. They certainly have a claim to be the best strike force of all time, but to create an extension to the rest of the team is unfair. Become the first side ever to retain the Champions League next season, as well as completing another domestic and European treble with the same group of players, and then we'll talk.