Speaking in an interview on ‘Pelotazo’ on ‘Canal Sur Radio’ (h/t Mundo Deportivo), former Barcelona midfielder and club legend Ivan Rakitic made a sensational claim about the team that won the treble during the 2014/15 season.
Rakitic, 36, joined Barcelona from Sevilla in 2014 and went on to win the treble in his very first season at the club as the Catalans conquered La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.
It was a star-studded team led by the unstoppable attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar while the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets dominated the midfield.
The best team in history?
Rakitic was also a part of the setup under then-manager Luis Enrique, filling in for Xavi seamlessly whenever needed. And now, during an interview, he has claimed that the team from that season was the best ever in history, according to him.
“For me, the best team in history is that Barça team of 2015, and it was a pleasure to have been able to be part of that team,” remarked Rakitic.
However, the 36-year-old, who now plays for Hajduk Split in Croatia, admitted that even though that team achieved a lot of success, they could have won even more trophies, especially in Europe, where they endured some major fumbles.
“It fills me with a lot of pride, that’s why I say it’s a shame. Even though we won a lot of titles, I think we could have won a lot for ourselves and for the club.”
Barcelona suffered two of their biggest debacles in Europe in recent history against AS Roma and Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.
The Blaugrana squandered two clear advantages against the Serie A and Premier League giants and were beaten 3-0 at the Olimpico in Rome (2017/18, QF 2nd leg) and 4-0 at Anfield (2018/19 SF 2nd leg).
And, Rakitic was critical of the team for losing those games despite having clear advantages from the first leg in both cases, citing complacency and boredom as the reasons.
“For me, and I say this with all my love and respect for the other teams, it was pure boredom and thinking about things other than football, as even opponents were praising our team as the best in the world.
“We screwed up against Roma and Liverpool, but it was the boredom of feeling too superior. If we had kept up the hunger of the first season (2014/15), we would have won two or three more Champions League titles.”
Regretting the attitude of the team in those matches, he added: “It shouldn’t be like that, I always play to win even with the family. But that was my feeling from the inside. We felt we were way above everyone else and football punished us for that.”
Future safe with La Masia
It is no secret that Barcelona are going through a difficult phase financially, but Rakitic is not worried about the future because of the amount of talent that La Masia is producing.
“How many players have won the most important medals this summer? As always, clubs go through better or worse times, but Barça have young players of an incredible level,” he said.
“A few months ago they started with two or three, but now we have a very long list and I think everything that’s coming, especially when they all recover, I think it’s going to be very interesting.”
