Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique lock horns again tonight as Barcelona travel to the Etihad Stadium for their second game against Manchester City in Group C.
The first half of the meeting between the two sides was incredibly competitive before Claudio Bravo's sending off changed the game and Barca ran riot with a 4-0 win.
Round two happens tonight in what is shaping up to be a lovely game of football.
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In the opposite dugouts will be Guardiola and Enrique, two men who have near enough mirrored one another when it comes to their careers. Both won Gold for Spain at the 1992 Olympics, both played for and won La Liga back to back for Barcelona, both managed Barcelona's B team and both have managed the Barcelona first-team and achieved huge success.
Though they adopt the same philosophy and values, the Barcelona team we see now is different compared to the side that Pep Guardiola put together in Barca's peak years. The firepower remains, as does the intense pressing, expansive football and the La Masia graduates, but a comparison can be made between the two teams.
A comparison is exactly what we're going to do - looking at which side was better overall. To do that, we asked for your opinions and here are some of the best we received.
Pep. Comfortably. Didn't have MSN, but a phenomenal midfield.
with both teams on top form, I have to go with enriques as the front 3 are unplayable
No Debate, Pep. Changed the way we play/see football forever.
Guardiola's. No debate possible.
Here is a reminder of the two teams we are comparing:
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For starters, there are seven La Masia graduates in Guardiola's side that beat Manchester United in the Champions League final in 2011, while Barcelona's best XI on paper at present comprises of six. You could make a case for Jordi Alba also being a La Masia graduate; he spent several years of his development in the youth ranks at Barcelona but left the club for UE Cornellà and then Valencia, where his form forced The Blaugrana to bring him back, as they have done so many times in the past - Cesc Fabregas and Denis Suarez to name a few.
The emphasis on bringing players through from the academy is evidently still there, so if I was judging the team purely on how self-produced it was, then it would be a draw. That would be a bit boring and defeats the point of this article, so we'll continue and explore other avenues to compare.
In goal, Victor Valdes was Pep's number one for years and embodied everything a Barcelona goalkeeper needed to be. Comfortable with his feet and a competent distributor from the back, he provided the base for the rest of the side to strut their stuff. However, I would say that current goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is even better on the ball, has better decision-making and is a far more complete goalkeeper at the age of 24.
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Only one player from Pep's preferred backline remains in Lucho's defence, that man being Gerard Pique. He has been incredibly consistent and remains a key part of the side. Javier Mascherano was transformed into an excellent ball-playing central defender by Guardiola but would not get in Enrique's best side. The full-back pairing of Eric Abidal and Dani Alves are superior to Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto in my view, as they bring a better balance and suit the system better.
The Catalans have prided themselves on having a sublime midfield trio and that's something that remains in today's side. Yet there's no denying that Barcelona's 2011 midfield takes the cake. Xavi is the only player who does not make up part of the central three anymore, but what a difference he makes.
2011 saw Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta in their absolute primes, controlling games, dissecting the opposition and orchestrating things. Iniesta and Busquets are still doing that today along with Ivan Rakitic, but not to the degree they were doing at the peak of their powers in circa 2011 under Guardiola. It was a dream midfield three for the way that Barca play.
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In attack, it's a no-brainer to go with the mercurial talents of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. It's impossible not to opt for them when they've scored an unbelievable 274 goals between them in 125 games - which is utterly ridiculous.
There's a notion that Pep Guardiola inherited a great Barcelona side when he that is simply not true. He got rid of the likes of Ronaldinho, Deco and later Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic because he wanted players who could adapt to his methods. The current Barcelona side gives off a 'superstar' vibe from that front three alone and it feels as though they are cheating a bit because you are pretty much guaranteed goals. They paid big money for both Neymar and Suarez in order to take the team to even greater heights.
With Pep's side, I, like many others, enjoyed watching that version of Barcelona more because there was a more organic feel to it. Messi was the only real superstar in the team, the rest were all incredibly talented players and he was the one who made the difference. David Villa and Pedro contributed massively to the side that won La Liga and the Champions League in 2010/11, with both scoring in the final along with Messi.
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That team was more enjoyable because it wasn't as though Barca just bought all of the best players like Real Madrid did with the Galaticos, it was a team that had a neat blend of players and personalities. I'm not sure that's the case at present, following the arrival of Neymar and Suarez. Neutrals watch Barcelona today to see Messi, Neymar and Suarez, I watched Pep's Barcelona to see Pep's Barcelona.
Although the Barca team we see today is unbelievable and is stocked with talent and though it may be down to personal preference, Guardiola's Barca had more about them than Enrique's team in my view, even if their achievements are pretty much identical. Guardiola and his team changed the way football is played. He was taught masterfully by Johan Cruyff and now so many managers and teams have learned from his approach, Enrique included. Hypothetically, if that glorious period that Pep endured at the Nou Camp didn't happen, then Barcelona wouldn't be the machine that they are today.
We will never get to see Guardiola's Barca vs Enrique's Barca (Messi, Busquets, Iniesta and Pique would probably have to play a half each) in the flesh but the closest thing we will get to that happening takes place tonight as City and Barcelona lock horns.
Bring it on.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Luis Enrique, FC Barcelona, Pep Guardiola