Tushar Garg

Jan 16, 2022

BEST TRIO EVER?

The tiki-taka brand of football they produced was unlike anything the world had ever seen before as they passed opponents clean into oblivion before simply walking the ball into the net and pretending they hadn't just flirted with the basic rules of the universe to do so.

They were heady days at the Camp Nou and a lot of the success was due to one of the deadliest triumvirates to have ever been unleashed.

While players like Thierry Henry, David Villa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic came, shone and went during the Guardiola era, it was the partnership between Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi that truly defined this side.

Tiki-taka is a game of triangles and when it was those three forming the points, well, you were probably better off packing up and tootling off home.

The understanding they shared was nigh-on telepathic, their ability to create space in tight areas mesmeric and their touch was, at times, extra-terrestrial. They were, perhaps, the closest thing to the holy trinity football may ever see.

Spectacular. The passing, the dribbling, the finishing - that truly was the beautiful game.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and the band would eventually break up.