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On August 15th prior to the "Joan Gamper" match between Boca Juniors and Barcelona, Lionel Messi issued a warning cry to all Barcelona fans about winning their 6th Champions League crown this coming season with their embarrassing exit to Roma still at the forefront of every Barca's fans mind. Although their season has hit a few roadblocks the last few weeks, Barca visit Tottenham Hotspur this Wednesday night at the scene of two of their finest days yet of football. Whether it was 1992 and the start of the current Barcelona dominance which has in many ways exceeded the art of football at times or in 2011 which arguably was one of the finest ever performances in a European final or to have graced the hallowed Wembley turf. Barca's physical home is the Camp Nou but their spiritual one certainly resides in North London.
1992 - CRUYFF'S DREAM TEAM TAKE WEMBLEY WAY
"Salid y disfrutad" - As the players prepared for the biggest moment in their lives, and in FC Barcelona’s life, Cruyff famously had one last message to deliver: Go out there and enjoy it.
Barcelona's maiden European triumph was the catalyst for all things good that have happened since. A team of style, elegance, flair and youth triumphed over Italian's Sampdoria thanks to a Ronald Koeman wonderstrike. Before the game Barca had ten domestic leagues and zero European Cups. From that day in 1992 to the present day they have won no less than fifteen league titles and five European Cups. The legacy of Cruyff's side will last forever among the echelons of the greats. The zenith of European club football had alluded them before the 1991/1992 campaign nevertheless the Johan Cruyff era was well underway. The Dutch legend had taken the reigns in May 1988, a time when the club was in turmoil and facing it's worst league finish ever to a season in tenth. Cruyff steadied the ship and they finished in 6th but the damage was done. Cruyff had inherited the struggling Catalans in financial crisis of their own doing. That summer after rivals, Madrid had captured yet another league title saw 15 arrivals and no fewer than 12 departures from the Nou Camp. It was then the Dutchman turned his attention to "La Masia".
Cruyff inherited a team used to coming second, a sad mentality in a post Franco Catolonia that had this losing mentality almost ingrained among all Catalonians. In a 4-4-2 dominated era, the Dutchman wanted his Barcelona to stand out, to express their culture he wanted an identity for his side. He therefore took the step to set Barca up in a 3-4-3 formation, a play on his former manager, Rinus Michels favoured 4-3-3 at Ajax and Holland in the 1970's. Cruyff had essentially taken account of Total Football in the Netherlands and had shipped the best bits down the Mediterranean to Barcelona. Such a shift in formation and playing style was out of the norm he soon realized you just could not buy ready fit players to suit his preferred method of playing. He therefore firmly set his gazes towards the barnhouse shaped academy down the road from the training ground. Youngsters such as Txiki Begiristain, Julio Salinas, Eusebio Sacristan and a skinny Pep Guardiola were promoted to the fold and would be fundamental components of Barca's future success. It wasn't long before Barca began to dominate, with silverware arriving in the shape of a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph ironically over Sampdoria in 1989 before four consecutive La Liga titles between 1991 and 1994. It was an astonishing period of success defined by revolutionary, possession-based football.
Many pundits had dubbed them "The Dream Team".
Having fought off the advances of Sparta Prague, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev, Barca topped their group to meet Italian's Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley. They struggled to assert their authority early on and looked vulnerable from set pieces with Roberto Mancini bombarding their defence with excellent deliveries. Atilio Lombardo too was causing havoc down Barcelona's left and was unlucky not to be on the end of several sweeping diagonal balls targeting the space in behind Nando and Juan Carlos. Andoni Zubizaretta stopped Lombardo with a fine save early on too. After this, Barca began to woke up and demonstrate their capabilities with the Bulgarian, Hristo Stoichkov being fundamental to everything good Barcelona did as their possession game soon began to manifest itself. Into the second half Barca maintained their composure and Salinas and Sacristan too began to shine. Sampdoria's Pagliuca stopped Salinas with a wonderful point blank save while Eusebio Sacristan continued to pick up balls in big pockets of space outside the Samp goal driving at the Italians defence.
However with Lombardo, Samp always possessed quality and pace on the break. The bald Italian speedster created the best opportunity as of yet with his break down the right where he squared for Gianluca Vialli only for the future Chelsea manager to miss from close range. In truth Barca never got going in the second half and Vialli inextricably missed another two guilt edged chances in between Stoichkov's effort against the Samp post. The game faded into extra time and Barca did little to contain the unrelenting attacks of "La Samp". Then against the run of play Barcelona were awarded a somewhat fortunate freekick after Eusebio Sacristan had become entangled with a Samp defender. In the 111th minute of play, Stoichkov tapped the ball to Bakero who stopped it for an onrushing Ronald Koeman to fire home the deciding goal past Pagliuca. Ten minutes later the "Blaugera" were champions of Europe for the first time in their illustrious history and the love affair with Wembley was born.
Cruyff's legacy naturally extended to philosophy and identity given his status and the style in which his teams conquered opponents however it would be one of his disciples in Pep Guardiola who led out Barcelona once more at the sacrosanct field on May 28th 2011.
2011 - GUARDIOLA COMPLETES FULL CIRCLE
"They're the best in Europe, no question about that. In my time as a manager, I would say they're the best team we've faced" - Sir Alex Ferguson's comments post match after their 3-1 humbling at the hands of Barcelona.
Drenched in Spanish World Cup winners from the past summer and with the messiah Messi on hand, Barca with one of Cruyff's protege's from the '92 winning team in Pep Guardiola made history once more this time in the revamped new Wembley stadium. They had circumnavigated the tricky and at times plain anti football Real Madrid and their boss, Jose Mourinho in the semi-finals with both legs smudged between a quadruple header between the sides in April. It was not the fact with this win they captured a historic double or nor was it Europe's most coveted prize itself but it was how they won it. In an arena where great teams had glistened before perhaps none shone no brighter than Pep's team that fated night in North London. Style, substance and panache aplenty they did not great service to the team of '92 or club itself but did so in a theatre befitting of no other. In the 2009 Rome final they met the same opponents many pundits could argue Fergie's reds were merely outmanoeuvred, here they were outmanoeuvred and outclassed. Sir Alex himself could only stand frozen on the touchline mesmerized by the tsunami of footballing genius that was happening in front of his eyes, neither the historic manager or stadium had witnessed it's likes before.
The relative ease at which the triumvirate of La Masia graduates; Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets glided upon the hallowed turf was a joy to behold. Time and time again they avoided the challenges of Giggs, Carrick and Ji Sung Park which turned such a cherished childhood dream quickly into an unadulterated living nightmare for the United midfield. It was Xavi who delivered the ball for Pedro's opening goal with a precise outside the boot pass into the Tenerife man who found the bottom corner, encapsulating everything good about the Total Football Cruyff had brought from Amsterdam all those years ago. United hit back against the run of play with a magnificent curled effort from Wayne Rooney outside the box. This only angered the beast that is Lionel Messi who at the end of a barnstorming run through the center of United's midfield unleashed a piledriver to the left of Edwin Van Der Sar in the United goal. It was almost as if the little Argentine was tempting United to draw par once more if they so dare.
David Villa finished the scoring and contest with a delicate right footed finish just inside the post for a 3-1 scoreline that at no point portrays the level of dominance Pep's XI showed that night at Wembley.
With their style, elegance and class Barcelona proved that night they were more than just a team and perhaps the North London faithful would never see their likes again. However it was they did next that proved they also lived up to their mantra of "Mes que un club" where the recently recovered Eric Abidal from cancer was summoned by all Barca team and staff to lift the European Cup with club captain, Carlos Puyol, Such a gesture ran shivers down many a football fan's spine. If the memory of the 1992 win was an unforgettable one for Barcelona fans, their win in 2011 would live long in the memory of all football fans. Guardiola begged to differ in his post math press conference where he insisted his team's success was incomparable to that of the 1992 Dream Team. "They were pioneers and we cannot compete with that no mater how many trophies we win". A befitting statement from a befitting "Cruyffian" graduate in a befitting stadium.
2018 - VALVERDE AND THE PRESENT
"Without doubt Wembley is the best place to vindicate ourselves, and we are conscious that we find it hard away from home, we're prepared for that." - Barcelona boss, Ernesto Valverde's comments in Tuesday's press conference ahead of the crunch clash with Spurs.
Back to the present day and although Xavi, Iniesta and Abidal are gone, Messi for one remains and so does Barca's pedigree in the competition. Although they've hit a roadblock in recent weeks with two draws and a loss, Wednesday's trip to Wembley provides them with no better inspiration to capture their form of seasons past in their bid to write a new chapter in "La Blaugrana" folklore all in aid of a sixth European triumph.