Wind forward 25 years and Barcelona have a modern version of the so-called ‘Dutch Trinity’. Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi have been the brains, the creativity and the genius behind theBlaugrana’s recent period of success which has helped to cast them into the forefront of many minds when the greatest teams of all time are being discussed.
The Spanish giants first showed signs of this current period of dominance under Rijkaard in 2004-05. With Ronaldinho leading the way, the Catalans won La Liga with something to spare, and would repeat the trick 12 months later while also clinching the club’s second ever European title. Yet while the Brazilian was winning all the personal accolades, a new triumvirate was gradually coming together to carry the club into the new decade at the very top of the game.
The same can be said of the Dutch Trinity. Having bought the club in February 1986, Silvio Berlusconi was looking for a way to make Milan a megaclub with his millions. Having brought in Ruud Gullit from PSV and Marco van Basten from Ajax in 1987, he was immediately rewarded with a first Scudetto in nine years. The addition 12 months later of Rijkaard was to send the Rossoneri into the stratosphere.Xavi was already well settled in the Barca team having debuted in 1998, while Andres Iniesta was first given a run in the starting XI for a significant period at the beginning of 2004-05, a year into Rijkaard’s term in office. Messi’s gradual arrival onto the world stage was inevitable, but few could have envisaged quite the effect it would have on Barcelona over the next decade.
Rijkaard would become regarded as one of the world’s greatest defensive midfielders, Van Basten continued to develop his reputation as the globe’s most clinical marksman against the most unforgiving of defences, while Gullit was seen as one of the greatest No. 10s in a nation full of them. Most importantly, when the Dutch axis played together, trophies followed.
