2010/11 Barca is the best team I’ve ever seen technically, speed of thought was ridiculous. Not saying Bayern 19/20 would get battered by them, but were talking about prime Xavi, Iniesta and Busi... that’s without adding the best version of Messi to the mix. Obviously times have changed, better physicality, pressing etc but it’s only 10 years later and like someone else mentioned we were putting up high Km running numbers similar to now.
The modern press would get nowhere near that midfield, they think too quickly. Remember the ball travels faster than players running. Would be running round like headless chickens most of game and Barca would pick them off.
I get the legendary status of prime Xavi, prime Iniesta, and prime Messi.
But you should try to do the thought experiment as impartially as you can.
I think you are wrong about the 'nowhere near that midfield'. The speed of thought is relevant to the standards of that era as well.
The maddening and intense, relentless pressing nowadays is not that headless in top teams. They intimidate the opposition by overwhelming them.
Think about Barca's build up back then:I can't think of single game Pique Puyol and Busi were man marked close to their goal and their passing lanes were cut off or potentially cut off by pressers who would aggressively step up to win any ball played.
It was plainly not a thing back then, it started appearing after Klopp's Dortmund.
Plus on the opposite end: Watch the clip again from the Barca - Sevilla from 2010, and see what Sevilla was doing every time 3-4 Barca players were close to them.
Their reactions were hilarious for nowadays, you would not see that even in mid-table sides and that was the 4th top team in Spain back then.
