Spanish Debate: How Do Pep's Barcelona Compare To The Class Of 2006?

Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona really did 'graduate' in 2006. A Champions League triumph without a single defeat, coupled with a convincing, successive win of the Primera Division was as good as getting straight As in your exams - or at least in the subjects that mattered.

They were etched in history as outstanding champions; the most illustrious of universities that requires the most disciplined and focused of minds in order to turn that that incredible start into the sort of prolonged success that defines a legend.

Suffices to say, they pissed it all away.

The lazy, arrogant and directionless descent that followed was reminiscent of many a student - they probably weren't paying taxes, either - and the potential to match Real Madrid's Galacticos, AC Milan's Invincibles or Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United went down the drain - but it didn't last long.

It was perhaps just 18 months between one brilliant Barcelona and another. Club legend Pep Guardiola was promoted from his role of 'B' team boss to take his first ever senior coaching role. A risk? Unquestionably - but it looks to have paid off in ways Joan Laporta cannot have even dreamt of being so immediately possible.

The Blaugrana go into 2009 much the same way they went into 2006 - the best team in the world and destined for success - but just how do the two sides compare?

We must first consider that Frank Rijkaard's side were the picture of excellence for almost two years, while 'Los Peps' have managed just over four months of formidable football. That being said, Rijkaard's men completed a cycle; we saw their public and dramatic demise and that of course clouds the judgement, while Pep's side remain pure and untainted by embarrassing failure.

At the back, this side has added experience - and it shows. This season, Barcelona have often played with a patience underpinned by an incredible sense of confidence that they needn't score right away, as they simply will not concede as easily as they used to. Individually, there has been slight improvement in Victor Valdes, with Eric Abidal stronger but less canny than Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dani Alves of course an incredible addition, but the centre-backs aren't quite the force they used to be.

The added steel in midfield has made all the difference in improving the defence and also breaking down more stubborn opposition. Xavi has kicked up another gear, while Andres Iniesta has been a revelation. The new team lacks a Deco - who when in his prime, rolled all into one that you could want of a player in his position - but the setup is such that they do not need him anymore.

Up front, the new school desperately lack a Henrik Larsson. Guardiola was keen to sign one of Didier Drogba or Emmanuel Adebayor in the summer, but failed on both counts. There is no target up front - no alternative for when the going gets tough - and it is simply a tactical necessity of which a coach as astute as Pep will be painfully aware.

Meanwhile, comparing one Samuel Eto'o with another is a hard task. He has rattled in a disturbing amount of goals so far this season, but his performances haven't always inspired confidence as they once did, and his understanding with Lionel Messi is not yet on a par with what it was with Ronaldinho.

And indeed, when comparing the two No. 10s, it cannot yet be said that Leo is quite what Ronaldinho was when he was on top of the world. Perhaps the Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo of this era, the two friends are separated purely by Ronaldinho's erstwhile ability to do it all, whereas Messi still has his limitations, not to mention comparitive physical fragility. What Messi has on his side is the regime of discipline, something he adhered to even before Pep, and it is something that will ensure that his greatness is not marred by matters of his own undoing.

What can be said of Messi can be said of his team. The class of 2006 was more talented, but Rijkaard and Ronaldinho were very much talismanic of their eventually underwhelming rise and fall. There's a new teacher in town, and while class may not be quite as fun as it used to be, each A is as sweet as the last, and the more they get, the sooner they will surpass their predecessors - and who would bet against it?

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com