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.
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