The Definitive Games of Historically Great Sides

harms

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I've been watching Inter Milan vs Ferencvaros from the 1965/66 European Cup campaign (Inter won 4:0, keeping Flórián Albert & co at bay) and got a feeling that this is a peak performance of that side with every player doing exactly what they're known for — Facchetti securing the back and regularly appearing in the opposition box, Suárez bypassing the pressing and dictating the game from deeper areas, Mazzola dribbling out of the tightest situations and always having his eyes on the goal, imperious Corso impersonating Zidane... the only one who was missing was Picchi but Malatrasi did a pretty good job of covering for him.

It wasn't just a defensive master-class against a difficult opponent (Flórián Albert will win Ballon d'Or in 1967), they were incredible in every phase of the game and you can really see what Herrera talked about when he argued that Inter's catenaccio was not defensive in nature.

So it got me thinking. Often there are a couple of games that truly emphasize the essence of a team. How about we highlight one or two games that anyone can watch if they want to get an idea of what that side was all about?

Examples:
Sacchi's Milan — AC Milan 5:0 Real Madrid 1988/89
Pep's Barça — Barcelona 5:0 Real Madrid 2010/11 (the final against Manchester United in 10/11 may also be in contention)
Danish Dynamite — Denmark 6:1 Uruguay 1986 World Cup
Clockwork Orange — Netherlands 4:0 Argentina 1974 World Cup
Aranycsapat — England 3:6 Hungary 1953
Fergie's Treble Winners — Juventus 2:3 Manchester United 1998/1999
France's carré magique — France 3:2 Portugal 1984 Euros

Not sure about Capello's Milan — the 4:0 final against Barça is the first game that everyone will remember but it was certainly an oddity rather than something that was natural for them.
 
Good idea for a thread. Couple more suggestions:

Mourinho's Inter - Barcelona 1-0 Inter, 2009/10 Champions League Semi-Final Second Leg
Dalglish's Liverpool - Liverpool 5-0 Nottingham Forest, 1987/88 league
 
To the Dead Drafters thread!

Great topic.
 
More suggestions

Rocco's Milan 4 vs Michel's Ajax 1 (1969)- Rocco taught Michel how to play football properly, a defensive masterclass
Michel's Ajax 4 vs Beckenbauer's Bayern 0 ( 1973)- Perfect total football
Happel's Hamburg 3 vs Lobanovskyi's Dynamo 0 (1983)- Another Happel's masterclass
Di Stefano's Madrid 7 vs Frankfurt3 (1960)- attacking force of Real Madrid
Inter 1vs Benfica 0(1965)- the definition of "catenaccio"
Zico's Flamengo3 vs Liverpool 0 (1981)- Brazilian's finesse :(
Beckenbauer's Bayern2 vs Leeds United 0 (1975)- the essence of that Bayern IMO is the mentality, clinical and some lucks( Leeds deserved to win tbf).
 
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LvG's Ajax: 5-2 vs Bayern, CL semis 94/95

Klopp's BVB: 4-0 vs Real Madrid, CL semis 12/13

2010s Bayern (under LvG) - 4:1 vs Juventus, CL group stages 09/10 (the turning point of their season)

2010s Bayern (under Heynckes) - unsure: the 4-0 vs Barcelona is the obvious choice. But Barca was uncharacteristically poor, Messi wasn't fit, and Bayern played way more reactive than usual. Lots of dominant games that season, but this is probably still the one.
 
Gio said:
Mourinho's Inter - Barcelona 1-0 Inter, 2009/10 Champions League Semi-Final Second Leg
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This is it surely, but for me personally the CL final is an honorable mention, because Inter didn't only lock down Bayern's Robbery attack, but also showed their own quality on the ball on the break. Complete display of superiority, as I remember it.

General_Elegancia said:
Beckenbauer's Bayern2 vs Leeds United 0 (1975)- the essence of that Bayern IMO is the mentality, clinical and some lucks( Leeds deserved to win tbf).
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Yes, it's pretty archetypical for at least one side of mid-70s Bayern. As you say, Leeds was the better team, but Bayern was just grinding out wins like that. Still, I think there could also be alternative suggestions which do more justice to their attacking quality. But it's complicated. Early 70s Bayern was so different from mid-70s Bayern, the former winning everything domestically but failing in Europe, the latter doing it exactly the other way around.
 
Modern Versions

Juventus 3 vs Barcelona 0 (2017)- amazing defensive qualities from Juve( both BBC and Buffon)
Ancelotti's Madrid 4 vs Guardiola's Bayern 0 (2014)- Madrid's counter-attack during this time was fascinating and it's a symbol of BBC at their finesse.
Liverpool 3 vs Manchester City 0 (2018)
Flick's Bayern 8 vs Barcelona 2 (2020)- Flick's ball
Juventus vs Milan (2003)- It was a bit boring match but the quality of defending from both sides was legendary( Maldini, Nesta, Thuram, Buffon, Ciro, and Billy) due to their approaches and quality of defenders.
Chelsea vs Barcelona(2012)- park the bus and I would say they did very well against peak Messi.
 
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Synco said:
This is it surely, but for me personally the CL final is an honorable mention, because Inter didn't only lock down Bayern's Robbery attack, but also showed their own quality on the ball on the break. Complete display of superiority, as I remember it.
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True. The Nou Camp performance stands out as the gold standard bus-parking job in the modern era, but it doesn't demonstrate that the team could counter devastatingly and their dominating performances at home to Barcelona and away to Chelsea also showed their all-roundedness.
 
Gio said:
True. The Nou Camp performance stands out as the gold standard bus-parking job in the modern era, but it doesn't demonstrate that the team could counter devastatingly and their dominating performances at home to Barcelona and away to Chelsea also showed their all-roundedness.
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Probably the case for a few teams; that the entirety of what made them great is best captured in more than one performance. Same thing on my mind replying to @General_Elegancia about 70s Bayern.

Although I'm perfectly fine with trying to name one defining performance per team, surely has the most oomph to it.
 
For Xavi-Iniesta era Spain i'd go for the Germany 2010 game. That one showcased all their strengths and was typical of their main style. Germany were an emerging great team that hit great form, but were entirely stifled.

Some would probably prefer the italy 2012 final, but imo that was more of an unusual outcome, with Chiellini's lack of fitness ( as slow as a sloth on the first goal before getting subbed off early) and Motta's injury playing a big part in the dynamic of the game, and one where Spain conceded a lot more chances until italy's 10 man late collapse.
 
Benfica 5 - 3 Madrid 1962

Probably the greatest match of Guttmann's team beating the past peak but still great Madrid side featuring Puskas/Don/Gento/Santamaria.

And while taking no credit away from the Benfica players, the real hero was the manager Guttmann himself who changed his tactics completely in the second half after Di Stefano and Puskas murdered them in the first half (Madrid were winning 3-2)

(He realized that although Puskas scored a hattrick in the first half, it was actually Di Stefano who was causing all the problems from deep. So they did the unimaginable for that time - left Puskas free upfront and the team marked Di Stefano out of the game. Worked like a charm and they didn't concede any in the second half).

Great game to watch in full.
 
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Any opinions on 1972 West Germany?

The Wembley qualifier was the most prestigious and difficult win, but Germany didn't display their free-flowing offensive game as much as in the actual EUROs, and was naturally forced to play less dominant & defend more. In both EURO games they dominated for longer stretches, but not for an entire match. (Which perhaps wasn't even possible in pure physical terms those days, although I don't know if Ajax/Netherlands were capable of doing so.)

So not sure there's one definitive game; I'll probably go with the final vs USSR, as this one featured the team's attacking style in pure form and was the most comfortable win.

Edit: the most perfect, dominant performances may have actually happened in the friendlies that year, but these were only friendlies...
 
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Demyanenko_square_jaw said:
For Xavi-Iniesta era Spain i'd go for the Germany 2010 game. That one showcased all their strengths and was typical of their main style. Germany were an emerging great team that hit great form, but were entirely stifled.

Some would probably prefer the italy 2012 final, but imo that was more of an unusual outcome, with Chiellini's lack of fitness ( as slow as a sloth on the first goal before getting subbed off early) and Motta's injury playing a big part in the dynamic of the game, and one where Spain conceded a lot more chances until italy's 10 man late collapse.
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Aye. The three that stood out for me, choosing from one each tournament, would be:
  • Euro 2008 - Spain 3-0 Russia - the combination of possession dominance and attacking verve represented the Aragones team best.
  • WC 2010 - Spain 1-0 Germany - agreed on it best representing the era, with Spain completely strangling a free-scoring German side, but without the wobbles that part-characterised their earlier games against Chile and Portugal
  • Euro 2012 - reluctantly go with the final. Hard to pick a perfect game, they conceded some big chances against Italy, Croatia and Portugal, while that French side they defeated 2-0 were relatively average.
International sides are quite tricky to find that single game. For example, France 1998/2000 there are a few contenders:
  • World Cup 1998 Final - best represents the team in nullifying a top attack and relying on Zidane's brilliance going forward. But given Brazil were shell-shocked and effectively playing with 10 men it was a hollow victory.
  • Euro 2000 - few good options here. The 3-0 win over Denmark is perhaps the cleanest and most dominant performance. The 2-1 wins over Spain and Portugal would be my favourites though (in that order). And while both Spain and Portugal with their quality on the ball put a lot of pressure on for much of those games, the strength of France to resist and then inject match-deciding quality going forward best summarised what they were all about.
Elsewhere I'd go for:
  • Italy 2006 - 2-0 AET v Germany - impeccable defence, Pirlo controlling midfield.
  • Brazil 1998 - 3-2 v Denmark - bit chaotic at the back, gung-ho full-backs, Rivaldo and Ronaldo too hot to handle through the middle
 
harms said:
Pep's Barça — Barcelona 5:0 Real Madrid 2010/11 (the final against Manchester United in 10/11 may also be in contention)
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I’d say the 6-2 Barca win in the Bernabeu in the 08/09 season really announced and defined Pep’s Barca. But both games were masterful from that team. Real were shellshocked and in disbelief following that 6-2.
 
There's better games for United's 2008 side but beating Roma 2-0 at their place in the quarter finals was a supreme demonstration of that team's power and control. The 08 team had flair but it had a brutal efficiency as well with Vida and Ferdinand in their prime, fantastic midfield options and Ronaldo as the best player in the world. Roma had a good period in the second half but looked absolutely out of ideas and demoralized when the second goal went in and Carrick almost added a third straight afterwards. Obviously the 7-1 the previous year was far more enjoyable but I think this game sort of highlights how mature this side was in Europe.
 
Anyone got a suggestion for the 93/94 Utd side (I know they aren't a historically great side)?
 
Physiocrat said:
Anyone got a suggestion for the 93/94 Utd side (I know they aren't a historically great side)?
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I think the 3-1 win at Norwich is the quintessential performance of Fergie's first great United. I know that was in 92/93 but it had everything that made that side excellent: devastating counter-attacks, Cantona's magic, and tremendous fighting spirit.
 
Pat_Mustard said:
It's actually from the beginning of the following season, but the 5-0 vs City with Kanchelskis scoring a hat trick comes to mind as being particularly awesome.
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Siorac said:
I think the 3-1 win at Norwich is the quintessential performance of Fergie's first great United. I know that was in 92/93 but it had everything that made that side excellent: devastating counter-attacks, Cantona's magic, and tremendous fighting spirit.
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Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Pat_Mustard said:
Yep, that's it. Keane playing RB as well :drool:. Might watch it again myself as my memories are exceedingly fuzzy at this stage. I did stick on the first few minutes and it was properly end-to-end and chaotic.
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:cool: Will watch when I get the chance
 
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