Barcelona 08-09: The team of the decade

As a youngster and an 18 year old fresher who's certainly no Jeff Stelling and who has the co-ordination of a limp merecat (and thus could never player football in his life), I realize that this is quite a bold statement to make but I'll make it anyway. Anyone who saw Barcelona slaughter a strong Deportivo side 5-0 will acknowledge that Pep Guardiola's team are more than phenomenal, they are an outfit which defines how football should be played and a side which confirms the axiom that football is not just a game, it is an artform. "Hold on Nation, haven't you forgotten the Barcelona side which won the Champions league and destroyed Real Madrid in their own backyard in 05-06???"" I hear you cry. Yet, what makes this Barcelona side particularly incredible is the fact that Guardiola has got the jigsaw puzzle down to a tee. Every player knows where they fit and overall this has created a team which ticks like a swiss watch. There are a few observations which I think are important in this respect. Firstly, the role of Txiki Begiristain as Director of Football has been integral to their success so far. While Guardiola coaches the players, Begiristain has been the key mover behind the scenes and, crucially, is said to have a great relationship with the President, Juan Laporta. I personally think he has and continues to do a fantastic job in a role which, comparatively, is the prime cause of friction in the background setup of Barca's eternal rivals, Real Madrid. You need only look at the clear animosity between Madrid's director of football Predrag Mijatović and Fabio Capello, or between Mijatovic and Bernd Schuster, or between Mijatovic and the disgraced former President Ramon Calderon, to observe one of the fundamental issues behind Madrid's decline this season. Secondly, Guardiola makes good use of cantera or youngsters such as Sergio Busquets or Bojan who have both pledged their future allegiance to the Catalan outfit. Thirdly, just look at the way the manager has re-invented Eidur Gudjohnsen and Thierry Henry with the former playing on the left side of a midfield trio and the latter forming a formidable partnership with a re-invigorated Samuel Eto'o and a sublime Lionel Messi up front. With a record 50 points at the half-way stage in La Liga, I reckon that this is only the first of the records which Barcelona will break this season and beyond. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts