Guardiola's Barcelona or Zidane's Madrid: Picking one from these two legendary teams

Attack

Barcelona

Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi were as fearsome a trio as they come

Pep Guardiola’s defence and midfield were constant in his four years’ stay, but he shuffled the attack almost every season. At first, it was the famous trio of Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi that became the first ever attack in La Liga to score 100 goals in a season.

After that, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was brought in to replace Samuel Eto’o, but he was only a starter for the first few months before Pedro Rodriguez was drafted in to play on the right while Messi took the centre.

The following season, David Villa was signed to replace the outgoing Ibrahimovic. By the time the Catalan manager left the club, he had also used the likes of Isaac Cuenca and Christian Tello in the team. Almost every player that played in attack during Pep’s era was great in his own right, but the treble-winning trio of Messi, Henry and Eto’o was the best.

Real Madrid

The much vaunted BBC

BBC with a touch of I instead of a B. When Zidane took over the reins at the club, Benzema, Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo were the undisputed first-choice in attack. Later, due to persistent injuries to Benzema and Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez and Isco were drafted in to take up the slots whenever necessary.

By the end of last season, Zidane preferred the trio of Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema instead of the BBC – and it resulted in the club winning its first double since 1958.

When compared to Barcelona’s famous trinity, BBC under Zidane fall short of Eto’o, Messi and Henry. However, BBC under Ancelotti challenged that trio head on.