Barcelona won their first ever European Cup in 1992, a full 36 years after their arch-rivals Real Madrid won their first in the inaugural edition of the competition. In fact, Madrid won the trophy six times before the Catalan club could lay their hands on the Holy Grail.
(Video Courtesy – FC Barcelona YouTube Channel)
However, Barcelona have won the Champions League four more times since then. So, Barcelona’s chequered history with Madrid and their standing as a dominant European powerhouse in the last decade all began in 1992 when the Blaugrana beat Italian club Sampdoria 1-0 thanks to a Ronald Koeman (yes, the current Everton manager) goal in extra-time.
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This was the culmination of the legendary Johan Cruyff’s contribution to world football and Barcelona, in particular, where the philosophy and ideals of the great Dutchman still echo. A number of players went on to have great careers in that team, known as the Dream Team, both on and off the pitch.
It has been 25 years now since that triumph occurred, therefore, let us take a look at where the members of the squad are at present.
#1 Andoni Zubizarreta
The captain of the team, Zubizarreta is a familiar name in recent years due to his role as the director of football at Barcelona from 2010 to 2015. He had a stellar career with the Catalan club where he held the record for the highest number of appearances as a goalkeeper in official competitions until Victor Valdes broke it in the 2011-12 season.
Having started his career at Athletic Bilbao, he finished his career at Valencia and then worked as a director of football at Bilbao. Currently, Zubizarreta is the director of football at French club Olympique de Marseille and has held the post from October 2016.
#2 Albert Ferrer
Ferrer was a local kid who went on to become a key part of Barcelona’s Dream Team and finished his career at Chelsea in the pre-Abramovich era. A full-back by trade, he also won the 1992 Summer Olympics with Spain where he was a constant presence in the side.
He later worked as a commentator on Spanish television and then had managerial stints at Dutch club Vitesse (Chelsea’s favourite loanees destination) and Spanish clubs Cordoba and Mallorca. He was recently linked with the Motherwell job in the Scottish Premiership but could not secure the position.
#3 Nando
Fernando Muñoz García, more commonly known as Nando, belongs to that rare group who have played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid. In fact, he joined Real Madrid after the 1992 European Cup win with the Catalan club, although he was technically signed from Sevilla, who had exercised their buy-back option to bring Nando back.
After Madrid, Nando ended up playing for Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol and finished his career in Catalonia itself. A centre-back by trade, he has stayed away from the limelight ever since he retired in 2001 and not much is known about what he is doing currently.
#4 Ronald Koeman
One of the greatest defenders of all time and the last great player in the now-obsolete sweeper role, Ronald Koeman was a genius of an attacking defender with his vision, free-kick ability and passing range right there among the best. He was a part of Cruyff’s Dream Team and scored the winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final.
A successful playing career at Dutch clubs Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord apart from Barcelona and a Euro triumph with the Netherlands in 1988, transitioned into a notable managerial career with stints at Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, and then Benfica and Valencia among others.
He is now a recognised manager across Europe due to his time in England where he has managed Southampton and is currently in charge of Everton in the Premier League.
(Video Courtesy – FC Barcelona YouTube Channel)
#5 Eusebio Sacristan
Not to be confused with the legendary Portuguese Eusebio, Eusebio Sacristan played for seven seasons at Barcelona and was one of the mainstays in Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team. He played in the right wing-back role in the 1992 final against Sampdoria and won 10 more titles with the Catalan club.
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He finished his career at Valladolid and then worked as a manager first at Celta de Vigo and then later at Barcelona B from 2011 to 2015. After the sacking of David Moyes (his bad run since leaving Everton continues) at Real Sociedad, Eusebio was named as the manager in 2015 and he has been working with the Basque club ever since.
#6 Juan Carlos Rodriguez
A left-back by trade, Juan Carlos Rodriguez played for Valladolid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona and enjoyed considerable success with the latter. He played as the left wing-back in Barcelona’s first ever European Trophy triumph.
After finishing his career at Valladolid, he managed Castile and Leon, an autonomous football team in Spain which is not affiliated to UEFA or FIFA, in 2002, and finally returned to Valladolid as a director in 2008.
#7 Pep Guardiola
Undoubtedly the most famous name on the list, Pep Guardiola played as a deep-lying playmaker or a defensive midfielder under Cruyff and is touted to be one of the best midfielders of his generation.
After a successful playing career at Barcelona, he also played in Italy, Qatar and Mexico. He later became the coach of the Barcelona B team in 2007, before he was promoted to take charge of the first team, where he etched his name into the history books in a number of ways.
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Guardiola is credited with making the tiki-taka system popular during his time at Barcelona, and went on to build one of the greatest club sides of all time, led by Lionel Messi. Pep won 14 trophies in his first four years as manager.
He is also credited for bringing back Cruyff’s 3-4-3 system, which was seen at Barcelona and later at Bayern Munich as well. Currently in charge of the Manchester City project and already having built a reputation as one of the greatest managers of all time, Guardiola has truly made a huge contribution to football in such a short span of time as a manager.
(Video Courtesy – FC Barcelona YouTube Channel)
#8 Jose Mari Bakero
Bakero was a Spanish international who started his career at Real Sociedad before becoming a part of the Dream Team. He scored the vital goal in the 90th minute in the 2nd leg of the 2nd round of qualifying against 1. FC Kaiserslautern just as the Catalans were about to get knocked out on the away goals rule.
He was a key part of Cruyff’s team and won a total of 18 titles, scoring 139 goals in his career. He ventured into coaching on retirement, but did not meet much success during his various stints in Spain, Poland and South America. He was last hired as the interim director of Venezuelan club Deportivo La Guaira in 2015.
#9 Michael Laudrup
Michael Laudrup was an integral part of Cruyff’s Dream Team and is widely regarded as the greatest Danish player of all time. A career trajectory that includes stints at Juventus and Ajax, Laudrup is one of the few players that made a direct switch from Barcelona to Real Madrid, which he did in 1994.
Playing as an attacking midfielder mostly, he had a glorious career and captained the Denmark side to the 1995 Confederations Cup victory.
On retirement, he started out as a manager and had commendable success with Brondby, Getafe and more recently with Swansea in the Premier League, becoming the first Dane to manage in the Premier League.
Laudrup guided Swansea to a League Cup victory in his first season at South Wales, which was the Welsh club’s first major trophy in their history. He is currently the manager of Al-Rayyan in the Qatar Stars League.
(Video Courtesy – FC YouTube Channel)
#10 Julio Salinas
A tall centre-forward who started his playing career at Athletic Bilbao, Julio Salinas played for Barcelona mostly in his prime for six years and was an important part of the Dream Team. The Spaniard had a notable international career as well with 56 caps and took part in three World Cups and two European Championships.
He finished his career at Alaves in Spain and started working as a commentator since then. He worked with RTVE first, the largest audio-visual broadcasting agency in Spain and later at laSexta.
#11 Hristo Stoichkov
Another addition to the “greatest player of all time for a particular country” list from this legendary team, Stoichkov is tipped to be Bulgaria’s greatest. These players’ standing in the game and stature in their respective countries shed a lot of light on why this time is considered to be one of the best.
He developed his game at CSKA Sofia for six years before signing for Barcelona and etching his name in history. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1994, the Golden Shoe in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was named the third best player in the tournament.
(Video Courtesy – FC Barcelona YouTube Channel)
He was nicknamed “El Pistolero” (Luis Suarez has the same nickname) in Spain for his goalscoring ability and eventually finished his career at D.C.United in the USA. He tried his hand at management with stints coaching the Bulgarian national team, Celta Vigo, Mamelodi Sundowns and CSKA Sofia among others.
However, he did not achieve any major success and is currently working as a football analyst for Spanish television network, Univision Deportes.
Substitutes
#1 Carles Busquets
As the surname would have hinted, Carles Busquets is the father of Sergio Busquets, who is currently playing for Barcelona. Carles mostly served as a deputy to Zubizarreta during his time at Barcelona.
Busquets did get his first team opportunities when Zubizarreta left for Valencia and was the custodian for two seasons, before serving as a deputy once again. He retired at UE Lleida and later joined the goalkeeping staff at Barcelona.
#2 Jose Ramon Alexanko
Another Basque player to shift to Barcelona in the 1980s and form the core of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team, Alexanko had a successful career at Barcelona and retired at the Catalan club itself. He was capped over 30 times for Spain and captained Barcelona as well.
Alexanko started his coaching career in Romania before returning to Barcelona as an assistant in 2000. He was later named as the youth team co-ordinator in 2005 and was chosen as the director of football at Valencia this January.
#3 Miguel Angel Nadal
As the surname indicates, Miguel Angel Nadal is indeed related to the legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal – he is Rafa’s paternal uncle. In fact, the similarities continue with Miguel nicknamed “The Beast” for being one of the most physically dominant footballers in the game, a trait Rafael Nadal is associated with as well.
Miguel Nadal spent eight seasons with Barcelona between 1991 and 1999 and played either in defence or midfield, making him a versatile asset to the team. He earned 62 caps for the Spanish national team and appeared in three World Cups. He retired at Mallorca in 2005 and returned to the same club, first as an assistant and later as a caretaker in 2010-11.
#4 Ion Andoni Goikoetxea
Goikoetxea was another Basque player who started at Osasuna and played for Barcelona from 1990 to 1994. He then joined Athletic Bilbao and played for three years, before having a stint in Japan and eventually retiring at Osasuna.
Goikoetxea was a versatile player on the right wing and represented Spain in the 1994 World Cup. He started his coaching career as an assistant with Osasuna B in 2005, then the first team and finally worked as an assistant to Jose Angel Ziganda at Xerez CD for the 2009-10 season.
#4 Txiki Begiristain
A name familiar to Barcelona and Manchester City fans due to his role as director of football in the past decade, Begiristain was a left-sided attacker who played initially for the Basque club Real Sociedad, before becoming a part of the Dream Team. He ended his time in Spain at Deportivo La Coruna and called time on his career in Japan in 1999.
(Video Courtesy – FC Barcelona YouTube Channel)
He worked for Spanish broadcasting network, Televisio de Catalunya, before joining Barcelona as the director of football in 2003. He served in the post till 2010 and oversaw Pep Guardiola’s dominant phase. The duo came together again at Manchester City when Guardiola joined the Citizens last summer, where Begiristain is working as the director of football from 2012.
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