Has Barca's Bubble Burst?

It has to be said that Barca's magnificent season has hit the skids rather dramatically in the last couple of days or so.

A 2-0 loss at the San Siro to AC Milan in the Champions League was followed less than a week later by a 3-1 drubbing at home to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey.

Yes, they beat Sevilla 2-1 at home in the league in between those games but they weren't exactly convincing in that game, having to come from being behind to win to keep their massive lead on top of La Liga.

So what has suddenly gone so wrong for the so-called greatest football team in the world?

The answer is what has suddenly gone so right for two of their toughest opponents.

If ever there was an answer to stopping the tikka-takka football - and Wellington Phoenix owners Gareth and Rob Morgan should take note - it is by parking the bus and playing a quick, effective counter attacking game right from the kickoff.

This is what AC Milan and Real Madrid did so effectively - and to a certain extent, Chelsea last season. They soaked up the pressure Barca imposed so early on by filling the spaces in midfield so well, getting Barca to commit more players to counter the numbers in midfield, and then getting the ball up to the opposition end so quickly when they got the ball. Whether it's El-Sharawy, Ronaldo or Juan Mata, they all had a pacy winger to run at defences, bamboozling them while support quickly rumbled up.

Football is a vicious cycle and one where teams attempt to counter each other with answers. Right now, I think it appears the more defensive sides have got a slight upper hand on more attacking sides in the do-or-die cup games.

However, in the league where sides need to be a bit more positive to get a point or 3 to go up the table, sides need to be a bit more positive, and this is where Barcelona are still number one and probably will still win the league.

Nevertheless, the loss to Real Madrid will certainly send shockwaves through Catalonia and with the two set to meet again this weekend at the Bernabeu, who's to say that another loss to their great rivals could trigger a quite monumental collapse by the Catalans?

Unlikely perhaps given Real still must overhaul their potential city rivals and opponents in the Copa del Rey final - Atletico Madrid - on the league table too. Nevertheless, it has made things a bit more interesting in Spain.    

Has Chelsea Shown Us How to Beat Barcelona - and Spain?

It wasn't pretty but it was effective - and contrary to those critics who said it was otherwise, it was football and Chelsea deserved to win the tie for playing to their strengths, playing to the conditions, and playing the right tactics.

For that, di Matteo deserves credit and the best reward of them all - a contract as permanent manager at Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.

The one masterstroke for me was sticking with playing a forward even when they were down to 10 men. Ok there was an element of luck when Messi blasted his penalty against the cross-bar early in the 2nd half after Drogba brought Messi down with a rash tackle but you have to credit di Matteo for sticking with the positive approach after that when he could have so easily taken off Drogba and got on a more defensive minded player.

Mind you he was also not helped by the fact that Bosingwa had to already come on for an injury Gary Cahill. However, Drogba did come off for Torres even with the tie delicately poised - and it paid off nicely as the forward was there to pounce on a ball that was in more space than a Japanese capsule hotel and with only Valdes to beat, score the goal that would confirm a highly unlikely Final place for Chelsea.
 

But that was just one aspect of a highly impressive defensive display by Chelsea and Roberto di Matteo who along with Mourinho and Real Madrid may have shown the world over the last week or so how to beat the previously unbeatable Barcelona - a compact midfield with quick, athletic players who can run up and down the pitch to cover the space and then hit Barca on the counter-attack quickly, exposing a key weakness that is the Barca defence.

Perhaps, they may have shown the world how to beat Spain - after all the European and world champions are comprised mostly of Barcelona players who have brought the Barcelona passing game to the national team. In fact, England's 1-0 friendly win over Spain may have been a sneak preview to what Chelsea and Real Madrid have done to Barcelona in their last 2 games.

So Germany and the Netherlands may have to ditch their fast passing games and play the anti-Spain to beat them. Really they may have to play like Real Madrid and Chelsea have to win EURO 2012. I note that Ireland and Italy are the sides you'd expect to play the dour, park-the-bus-in-front-of-the-goal game but they don't quite have the calibre of players capable of matching Spain's incredible midfield.

Mind you, I'd be sad when Spain lose as they have been a treat to watch in the last 5 years. But of course, it's good when a side steps up to beat the champions.

Barcelona 2008-present - one of the greatest football teams ever ?

There's the Real Madrid team with di Stefano and Puskas of the 1950s, the Ajax team with Johann Cruijff of the 1970s, the Liverpool team with Keegan, then Dalglish of the 1970s and early 1980s , the AC Milan team with Gullit and van Basten of the 1980s.

Then there's this Barcelona team.. This Barcelona team which just put 7 goals past Bayer Leverkusen this morning in the Champions League - the lynch pin of this Barcelona team, the star player, the playmaker, the heartbeat, Lionel Messi got 5 of those goals and is now amongst Europe's most prolific ever goalscorers.

But the basis of this great Barcelona team, like all great teams is the rest of the team and Barcelona certainly has one tremendous ensemble especially in midfield. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas, Javier Mascherano and Seydou Keita are all amongst the world's best players and then there are the wingers, the artists who support the main star up front, i.e. Pedro Rodriguez, Alexis Sanchez and Ibrahim Affelay. Let's not forget that David Villa might be in there if it weren't for that serious injury sustained earlier in the season.

And of course all good teams must at least have a decent defence and Barcelona certainly do have a top drawer centre-back in captain Carlos Puyol. In fact, Barcelona's defence along with its quality midfield really is the platform for their style of football and their ability to counter-attack quickly.

What about the manager of course.. One must remember that this is actually Pep Guardiola's first managerial job in top flight football and he's already won a treble (League, Europe and Cup) in 2009 and a double (League and Europe) in 2011.

Speaking of style of football, Barcelona's is certainly up there as one of the most attractive ever seen in club football, and probably the best seen since the Total Football days. It is quite hard to believe that such a side can play such attractive attacking football in the current professional era where defenders are just as quick as attackers and are a lot smarter in negating attackers - it's epitomised in the current state of the international game.

So how good is this Barcelona team and how does it compare with the great teams in the past? What is the ultimate measure of this incredible football team that is certainly one of the best if not the best teams at the moment in world football.

Probably only Mourinho's Real Madrid comes close to usurping Barcelona's title as the best club football team in the world, especially given the lead they currently have in this year's La Liga. Barcelona did beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last December though and of course are very much alive in the Champions League. One must also remember that Liverpool often surrendered the league title to the likes of Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Everton in the same season it made the European Cup Final.

What is certain is that enjoy this fine fine team while you can while it last because someday it will all come to an end and we'll be saying there has never been a team so dominant and so graceful on the football field as this Guardiola's Barcelona.