Yea it was.
That midfield when everyone was fit had a DM (Edmilson), and AM (Deco), and a CM (Xavi). How is it that much different than Yaya Toure (DM) or Busi later, Xavi (CM), and Iniesta (AM)?
It's not. Defense is defense. Not much different.
Attack was Eto'o who was playing for both teams as a central striker, Messi who also played RW under Rijkaard, although Giuly played more at that time (Messi had some injury problems). And you have Henry over Ronaldinho since Ronnie was booted.
2009 team was more technical on the ball, that is why it appeared to be different, but if that 2006 was a bit better on the ball and Rijkaard would've been closer to Pep, it would've looked even more similar.
Both teams were good physically, fast teams, quick transition, direct when needed, with strong dribblers. Plenty of the same weapons, just better, and better at keeping the ball due to increased technicality and also better at pressing.
By 2004 I was already a strong Barca fan, and completely identified the 2009 team as the growth of the 2006 side. 2009 team has more resemblance to the 2006 side than what followed in 2011.
Seriously?
'Attacking football' is such a broad and uniforming category.
So, Klopp's Liverpool, Huynkes' Bayern, Ferguson's UTD, Wenger's Arsenal, and so many other teams can be said to also have played 'attacking football'. And basically any team that did not win a Cup tournament by parking the bus and playing on the counter.
Does that prove any similarity?
Watch a game from '06 and one from '09, they are worlds apart. '06 was still a team that would circulate much less the ball, its positional play was at puberty stage compared to Pep's, it's counter-press likewise, and it didn't advance the midfielders to the position deep in the opposition's area, it never attacked with as much as 6-8 players that Pep's team did. It was a team designed to provide the ball to its attacking weapons (ronaldinho, eto, guily - or rony being the provider himself) in positions to finish chances.
Great team, no question. The same team was not possible to win in '09, it would have been thrashed by ManUtd 07-09 and other teams.
Barca '09 was a revolution already in how football is played.
Same for RM, CR7,Modric,Ramos,Kroos etc. They had best quality in the tournament and won it 4 times in 5 years. Tough to say it was because a certain style.
RM is a different story. Usually they win it by having great individual units, but not a 'style' per se. These were world-class players, but it's difficult to argue they were coordinated to play a specific type of football.
It's a huge understatement, and devaluing of Pep's revolution, to say that the '09 team just had the best players as if we are talking about RM.
Flash-back one year before, at May '08, and the same players (bar Pique and Alves) were suffering a humiliating 4-1 defeat by a mediocre RM coached by Schuster.
And that goes also @BBZ8800:
Yes, Pep found good prime matter at his disposal, but had it not been for him to mold this prime matter into the well-oiled machine he had envisioned, and you maybe would have never seen Messi winning CL.
Messi himself was the product of the work Pep did on him, he would have never evolved like he did
