Greatest Barcelona XI of the 20th century
FC Barcelona are one of the most successful and storied clubs in all of football. The club was founded in 1899 and after dominating the regional leagues in its initial years, the club started struggling as a lot of their players left for military duties after the start of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Despite the difficult political situation, the club enjoyed considerable success during the 1940s and 50s.
The club was led by Kubala in the 50s and later by Cruyff in the 70s. After Nunez got elected as the club's president in 1978 he started the youth program (now called La Masia) which became the backbone of the "Dream Team" in the 90s meaning the club ended the century on a high. For the most part of the century, Barcelona saw footballing legends grace the club since its establishment in 1899. Today we look at probably the best Barcelona XI to grace the pitch in the 20th century.
#Goalkeeper
Antoni Ramallets
It was a hard choice choosing between Antoni Ramallets and Andoni Zubizarreta. Zubizarreta would go on to keep a clean sheet in the 1992 European Cup final while the other scored an own goal in a 3-2 loss to Benfica in 1961 European Cup final. The Catalan would go to appear for the club 573 times and won the League 6 times in the '50s. Ramallets won the Zamora trophy 5 times and was the emblem of one of the most golden eras in the history of Barcelona, the "Five Cups".
#Defenders
Ronald Koeman
In 1989, Koeman re-joined his former Ajax coach Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, where he became a member of the famous "Dream Team". Koman scored 106 goals during his 6 years stay in Barcelona and scored in 1992 European Cup final to give the club its first European Cup. Ronald Koeman currently holds the record for 25 consecutive successful penalty conversions in La Liga.
Miguel Bianquetti
Carles Puyol was always called Tarzan by Barca fans and it was because he resembled Miguel who had the same nickname. The all-action center back played 548 games for Barcelona until his retirement in 1989. He was at the club for so long that he played alongside Johan Cruyff, and he was still playing for them when Cruyff became the first team coach.
Sigfrid Gracia
The left-back was a regular under all his coaches during his time in Barcelona, his one and only club. Even by today’s standards, he was playing a massive amount of games each season. The official Barcelona website quotes Gracia played around 50 games per season, during the '50s and '60s when you had not the service of physios or an excellent medical team that has become the norm today.
Joan Segarra
Known as the Great Captain, Segarra was one of the most charismatic players in the history of FC Barcelona. He was brave and dedicated and would never stop yelling encouragement to his teammates The legendary defender was part of the "Barca of the Five Cups" in the 1950s and is one of the players who has made most appearances for the club.