FC Barcelona- Seven Forwards of the Decade

The Argentine Spaniard is Barcelona’s trump card and is considered to be the world’s best contemporary player. One of his biggest compliments was Maradona calling him his successor; his abilities having been compared to him. Having played for Newell’s Old Boys, his talent was quickly spotted by Carles Rexach, the sporting director for Barcelona. At the time Messi was suffering from Growth Hormone Deficiency and could not pay for his medical bills. After impressing in the Barcelona trials they offered to pay the bills, provided Messi and his family moved to Europe.

He quickly became part of Barcelona’s youth system. His career started in 2004 against Porto 2003 (His first professional match). Rijkaard deserved some credit for giving Messi a push at such a young age at 16. His reputation furthered in the 2005-2006 season where he formed a strong passing combination with Ronaldhino.

This was the start of his intricate dribbling, and passing fuelled on instinct. During the 2006-2007 campaign he was considered a first team player and proved the hype to his nickname “New Maradona. In April 2007 against Getafe, he scored a goal similar to Maradonas, a 1986 goal against England known as the “Goal of the Century.” He ran the same distance (62 metres), beat the same number of players (six), scored from a similar position and celebrated at the corner flag just as Maradona did 21 years prior. “It was the best goal I have ever seen in my life”, said Deco on the goal. Players like Messi are born and cannot be made.

FC Barcelona- Seven Forwards of the Decade

E

to’o had been with a lot of clubs prior to signing with Barcelona. He played for Real Madrid at a young age, to which he was loaned out to several clubs. He later signed to Mallorca which was eventful; he started to get recognized as a serious player, but finally left in 2004 as the club's all time domestic league scor

er.

Eto’o made his Barcelona debut against Racing Santander. During his time at the club he encountered some racism playing against Real Zaragoza, where he walked off the pitch saying “No Mais”, meaning no more. Two abusers were caught and given two month bans. The campaign to kick out racism will continue to play an important part in the sport, and Eto’o protest against this helped send a message that racist behavior is not acceptable.

Despite this, he won La Liga three times, Supercopa de Espana twice, Uefa Champions League twice and the Copa Del Rey once with Barcelona. In 2006 he was the top scorer in La Liga, but unfortunately he left Barcelona in a swap deal for Ibrahimović in 2009. I think Barcelona made a big mistake on their part in exchanging him for Ibrahimović. Ibra is good but is out of his depth at Barcelona and their play does not work well with him. Ibra is slow and lethargic and even though strong really slows down Barcelona’s fluidity, which is when they attack best.

Eto’o on the other hand had two attributes, his pace caught players off guard and his first touch was remarkable at goal. His speed and pace worked very well with the speedy tactics of Barcelona, mixing speed and brains on the pitch amounting to a deadly counter. Now he is at Inter Milan where he is in my opinion repressed; his skills are lying dormant. Unlike Barcelona, Inter Milan are a highly defensive team with just a few creative players, one in particular being Sneijder. This is not good, because Eto’o needs a creative force behind him. Sneijder's creativity is not enough to bring out the best attack from him. Barcelona players created opportunities from every angle, bringing out the best of Eto’os explosive play. He is still a threat at Inter, but would be better with a more creative attacking team around him like Barcelona.

FC Barcelona- Seven Forwards of the Decade

Ronaldinho is someone you really need to keep your eyes on when playing against. Normally an attacking midfielder (Deep Lying Forward) or a winger, the Brazilian prodigy is widely regarded as the most gifted player of his generation. One of his most notable performances was at the age of 13 he scored all 23 goals against the local team, a sign of things to come. This guy was hungry; scoring was all he knew, he had more tricks then Blaine and was slicker then your average referee. No one was complaining when he signed for Barcelona.

Outbidding the likes of Manchester United, Ronaldinho made his first debut in a friendly match against Milan, scoring one goal in a 2-0 Victory. He had a very successful time at Barcelona with a multitude of goals and assists, as well as a free kick specialist as evidenced by his goals against Werder Bremen and Real Betis. He had viewers worldwide staring at the screen in disbelief.

If you want to see this guy at his peak, check out the highlights in the Real Madrid 3-0 Barcelona match in 2005. It was something else; La Liga is a one-touch league where they’ve seen it all, but they never saw it coming with Ronaldinho.

To have an attacking midfielder of that caliber was unfair, but worked so beautifully with Eto’o. Ronaldhino won the 2005-2006 La Liga and Supercopa de Espana and the Champion’s League 2006 with Barcelona. His time would come at an end in 2008 where he turned down an offer from Man City to join AC Milan. The reason for the move? He wanted a “New Challenge” and to further his career. A true talent.

FC Barcelona- Seven Forwards of the Decade

Kluivert was another noted striker for Barcelona

from the Netherlands. He learned football on the streets, where he toughened his skills and developed a sense of creativity. He joined AFC Ajax youth academy at the age of seven, where they made him play various positions out of not knowing exactly where to use him. Tall and strong at 6'2", they even played him as a defender but figured it was not the best move. Deployed as a striker, the Ajax coaches saw him as strong, fast and intelligent; utilizing his strong frame, he would ease past the defender. One problem that they did notice was that his personality was too impulsive; he lacked a certain patience and recklessness.

However, his impulsiveness did pay off as he was considered Ajax golden boy of the 90s, scoring 50 goals in 97 appearances. He shortly joined AC Milan for Barcelona where he formed a strong partnership with Rivaldo. During his time at Barcelona he scored 90 goals, and his style of play was very interesting as he had a strong finish. For such a tall player he was very quick, he often used his height to dominate aerially and is known to have one of the best headers in football.

In addition to his play he often adopted the “Cruijff Turn”, which is when a person would look to cross the ball, but instead of kicking it, would drag the ball behind his plated foot with the inside of his other foot and turn 180 degrees, away from the confused defender. A tough technique to master, but very effective and dangerous when used.

Rivaldo......Legend of BARCA

Rivaldo is a Brazilian born footballer who

played for Barcelona; he was named one of the 125 greatest living footballers at the FIFA awards ceremony by Pele. Success did not come easy for Rivaldo as he had an extremely poor upbringing in the favelas, and evidence of this can be seen from his condition of bowleggedness (an outward bowing of the legs) caused by malnourishment. But with sheer skill and determination, he made sure his name would not be forgotten amongst fans.

He joined a number of teams, but one memorable goal was when he was at “Mogi Mirim” against Noroeste. He noticed the goalkeeper off his line, and scored the opening goal by lobbing the ball over the keeper from the midfield circle. After playing for a number of teams he joined AC Parma in his move to Europe, but after a dispute he went to Deportivo where he was the fourth top scorer after joining Barcelona on a transfer fee.

There he won the 1998 and 1999 La Liga Championship and the 1998 Cop Del Rey. In their 3rd season he had a dispute with then manager Louis Van Gaal, because Rivaldo insisted that he played as a playmaker and not on the left wing. The following 2000-01 season Van Gaal was fired and Rivaldo went on to be the second best goal scorer of the league. In the last game of the season Rivaldo would define himself as an icon of importance and skill, where in the 90th minute he bicycle kicked the winning goal for Barcelona to beat Valencia 3-2.

He left Barcelona and is currently playing for Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, where in 2008 their team lost only once, and in 2009 went the whole season unbeaten.

As an overall player his real skill is his play-making abilities. He can act as a deep lying forward, and in addition has the traits of a good dribbler that Brazilians are famous for. What makes him stand out is his execution of technical football and aerial creativity, such as the bicycle kick. He is a nightmare for defenders; it is hard to second-guess him as he is very good at keeping the ball.

FC Barcelona- Seven Forwards of the Decade

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Luis Enrique: 1996/2004 (207 app/73 gls)

Slide 2 of 13

This is a slide of seven forwards which I think have engraved their names into every Barcelona fan's heart. I was inspired to make this after hearing the news of David Villa signing to Barcelona, so I decided to make a tribute of the best forwards of the decade. I have based them on their goal scoring ability and have included Attacking Midfielders as well because they can act in advanced roles such as a “Deep Lying Forward.” Hope you enjoy the slide. Comments are most welcome, feel free to recommend any changes to the list. (They are listed in no order and goals are league only; all rankings are from 2000-2010)

Luis Enrique: 1996/2004 (207 app/73 gls)

A true Barcelona legend known as “Lucho”, his time was spent with two main rival teams whose encounters on the pitch gave “El Clasico” the reputation it deserves. His first club was Real Madrid, where he stayed for five seasons before shockingly moving to their fiercest rivals at FC Barcelona. In the first three seasons with Barcelona he scored 46 goals, and his eight years at the club earned him first team captain. He was known for his versatility as forward and in the midfield, having played the majority of positions except for centre, back and goal keeper.

Normally an attacking midfielder preferred on the right, he was also a sharp striker. His experience made him a formidable forward, having superb technical prowess as an attacking midfielder. He would often charge forward and finish with force. Having quick off-the-ball intelligence he would anticipate passes from the midfield and create opportunities.

And who could forget his vintage celebration of upper cutting the football frenzied atmosphere? He played international for Spain 1991-2002, and currently coaches the B team of Barcelona.

FC Barcelona- Seven Forwards of the Decade

Previous Next

Slide 1 of 13

This is a slide of seven forwards which I think have engraved their names into every Barcelona fan's heart. I was inspired to make this after hearing the news of David Villa signing to Barcelona, so I decided to make a tribute of the best forwards of the decade. I have based them on their goal scoring ability and have included Attacking Midfielders as well because they can act in advanced roles such as a “Deep Lying Forward.” Hope you enjoy the slide. Comments are most welcome, feel free to recommend any changes to the list. (They are listed in no order and goals are league only; all rankings are from 2000-2010)