Can present era stand comparison with the Golden Age?
Old men go misty-eyed at memories of Di Stefano and Puskas.
Younger ones think of Cruyff and Best. They recall Magical Magyars, Flying Dutchmen, the Sultans of Samba (I may have made that one up). Twelve months ago the ‘football family’, usually as fractious as a real family, briefly united in nostalgia at the death of Eusebio. The end of an era.
Nothing wrong with a bit o nostalgia and by definition the Golden Age always lies in the past.
Yet at the turn of the year maybe there is a case for celebrating the here and now.
It sounds like sacrilege. Can this era of overpaid idols and overblown brands really stand comparison with past glories?
Football sails on like some luxury cruise-ship, but the stench of corruption below decks is becoming ever harder to ignore and lurking ahead lies an iceberg of debt. The wealthier the sport becomes the more it seems detached from its roots.
Yet at the same time brilliant players, and above all brilliant teams, are rewriting the record books.
Look at Real Madrid. After a horrendous start, losing twice to Atletico, the European champions have smashed the all-time Spanish record for an unbroken run of victories.
Yes, La Liga is a skewed competition. But that was also true when Madrid were in their pomp. Their greatest side won five consecutive European Cups and then five consecutive league titles, but they never approached the 22-match winning run the current team have now recorded, a run that includes six out of six in the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
The ‘world record’ for consecutive victories stands at 24, but with all respect to Coritiba and the Parana state championship, Brazilian domestic football does not quite measure up.
Madrid play Milan in a friendly this afternoon; their next serious games are at Valencia on Sunday and then, as fate would have it, a cup tie at Atletico on Wednesday.
Win those two and Carlo Ancelotti’s side will have set a benchmark that even the greatest of the galacticos could not have contemplated.
Yet over in Munich, Bayern are busily establishing remarkable benchmarks of their own.
Two seasons ago, under the command of Jupp Heynckes, they won the treble and set a new Bundesliga record on the way, losing only once and conceding only 18 goals.
This season they are unbeaten and have conceded just four.
Even in Italy, home of mean defences, no side has ever conceded fewer than 11 goals during the course of a season, and that was 45 years ago when Serie A involved only 30 matches. Bayern’s own record 26 clean sheets, set in 2013, is also under threat; so far they have 13 in 17 games. The points record they set then is also up for grabs.
Germany is even less competitive than Spain at present – the collapse of Borussia Dortmund this year is symptomatic – and these records also seem freakish. Madrid and Munich are overwhelmingly powerful sides. But the head-to-head between Chelsea and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League has also been setting club records, and Juventus smashed the Italian records for wins (33) and for points (102) last summer.
Go back a bit further and you will find benchmark after benchmark. Defensive, goalscoring and points records in England. Individual and team goalscoring and points records in Spain. Record winning runs in Italy and Germany.
Money has been crucial of course, but not only.
A peculiarly strong set of managers has emerged and made its mark across Europe, most notably Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Louis Van Gaal. Europe as a whole is a magnet for the best Latin American players, whereas previously they opted for Spain, Portugal and Italy. The top clubs are also becoming far more ruthless at honing their competitive edge.
It may not be a Golden Age but it is the era of the Super Teams.
