Barcelona 2010/2011 seems so clearly better than 2008/2009 when I watch both play.

[matbezlima]

Barcelona 2010/2011 seems so clearly better than 2008/2009 when I watch both play. Compare the 6-2 with 5-0. The 6-2 shows a team with some moments of truly alien football, but the sharpness and confidence of Barcelona's play is lacking in comparison to the 5-0. Barcelona hoofs the ball far more in the 6-2 and also misplaces passes far more often when under pressure. The confidence of playing from the back, circulate the ball and passing it through tight spaces is lacking in comparison with the 5-0. This despite how in the 5-0 Real pressed Barcelona very high and very intensely far, far, far more often than in the 6-2, which makes the many moments in which Barcelona gets out of the pressure all the more impressive. Real was also a better team than the 2009 Real. Barcelona 2010-2011 were overall significantly more fluent in their passing.

The UCL 2009 final vs. the UCL 2011 final show this well too. Barcelona's performance, confidence, control, precision and creation of chances blows 2009 out of the water. 2009 was a good performance in which Barcelona controlled the game well and dominated it from the 10th minute onwards. 2011 was just destruction, specially in the second half. While it's true that the United 2011 side was far worse than the 2009 one, it is still very hard to imagine that Barcelona 2011 would have less than 60% of ball possession against anyone, much less only 51%, the Barcelona possession in the 2009 final. Guardiola sees the 2011 UCL final performance as the performance in a UCL final that he always dreamed of.

 

[Infordin]

Pep Guardiola teams are at their most vulnerable in their first season. That's when the team is still adapting to his style of play and philosophy.

Barca 2009 should have been knocked out by Chelsea that season.
Bayern 2014 got humiliated by Madrid at home.
Man City 2016/17 finished third, went trophyless, and lost so many games.

And they usually peak in their third season.

His Barcelona peaked in 2010/11
His Bayern side peaked in 2015/16, his last season there. They dominated Atletico Madrid and really should have gone on to win the UCL.
His Manchester City peaked last season, when they won the domestic treble.

As for Guardiola vs Mourinho, I knew Pep had won the battle in England when he won the title in 2017/18. Jose is usually stronger in his second season than Pep, so when Pep beat Jose in his strongest season, it was over.

 

[Adisa]

They were better.

 

[Amar__]

You obviously like to misplace your titles with posts, and your posts with something that should probably stay in your head.

 

[Grande]

Barcelona 2010/2011 seems so clearly better than 2008/2009 when I watch both play. Compare the 6-2 with 5-0. The 6-2 shows a team with some moments of truly alien football, but the sharpness and confidence of Barcelona's play is lacking in comparison to the 5-0. Barcelona hoofs the ball far more in the 6-2 and also misplaces passes far more often when under pressure. The confidence of playing from the back, circulate the ball and passing it through tight spaces is lacking in comparison with the 5-0. This despite how in the 5-0 Real pressed Barcelona very high and very intensely far, far, far more often than in the 6-2, which makes the many moments in which Barcelona gets out of the pressure all the more impressive. Real was also a better team than the 2009 Real. Barcelona 2010-2011 were overall significantly more fluent in their passing.

The UCL 2009 final vs. the UCL 2011 final show this well too. Barcelona's performance, confidence, control, precision and creation of chances blows 2009 out of the water. 2009 was a good performance in which Barcelona controlled the game well and dominated it from the 10th minute onwards. 2011 was just destruction, specially in the second half. While it's true that the United 2011 side was far worse than the 2009 one, it is still very hard to imagine that Barcelona 2011 would have less than 60% of ball possession against anyone, much less only 51%, the Barcelona possession in the 2009 final. Guardiola sees the 2011 UCL final performance as the performance in a UCL final that he always dreamed of.

Ever since I saw the 2009 final again, it struck me that my image of that game had been produced as much by The Story of Great Barca by the game itself. Journo’s, pundit’s, most people and indeed myself went from the game with a ‘That was crushing’ Story to go with the ‘Tiki-taka is the new kong in town/so beautiful’.

when I saw the game again, more analytically, I saw two even teams in a tight match, both having their periods of the game. One quite freaky goal placed the game in Barca’s ballpark, another decided it, neither were much typical of Barca’s play, it’s more the sort of goals you get sometimes when great players play.
Mind, at the time, most thought that possession itself was tiki-taka and brilliant, and just a few had caught on to that the constipated defensive press was as important to Guardiola (or more) as the technical passing and triangulation. Barca’s possession was not of the dangerous and untouchable kind in the 2009 final, United got breaking opportunities. The pressing was neither at it’s most effective, United were able to build play. It just didn’t come together in the final combinations. Barca didn’t produce much of danger, but they got the goals United didn’t in that game.

contrast to 2011, were we were a league below Barca in the final.