Five odious comparisons between Guardiola's Barça & Zidane's Madrid

Real Madrid's Champions League success in Cardiff has led to a debate in the capital: Can you compare Zinedine Zidane's Madrid with Pep Guardiola's Barcelona? Are they better? Are the two teams comparable? 

THE STYLE 

Guardiola's Barcelona were one of the most radical teams in history. That's why they were so recognisable. Few teams have bet so strongly and deliberately on possession, control and positional play. Zidane's Madrid is something else: a flexible team, capable of playing with possession, but above all clinical when allowed space and playing on the counter-attack. 

Barça under Guardiola were, above all, a team of artists, an ode to touch football and a once-in-a-lifetime team. For many, they were the most aesthetically pleasing team which has been seen on a football pitch.     

FROM Pep TO Zizou

Guardiola and Zidane are bery different. The former generates fascination in the football world due to his atypical profile as an inspiring communicator. He is a guy who talks about football to talk about life and talks about life to talk about football. Zidane is mostly a sensible guy, but his profile is much more terrestrial and predictable.

In football terms, Zizou is much more pragmatic. His footballing ideas are not radical; he seeks results, adapts to match situations. He wants to win, but not necessarily with the ball as the star. Guardiola transcends football, Zidane does not. 

Messi & Cristiano

Both are the constant winners of their teams. The two nurture a historic rivalry at the height of Magic and Bird; Senna and Prost; and Nadal and Federer. Messi represents pure talent out of the street. Cristiano is an extraordinary competitor with a talent born from work in the gym and on the training ground. The former maintains a discretion that contrasts with the ego of the Portuguese. CR7 devotes himself to his own fans and is often unable to celebrate a teammate's goal. They are two different styles of competitive beasts.

hegemonY IN LA LIGA

Guardiola's Barcelona didn't just dominate in Europe, but they were also the No.1 in La Liga. It's the league which rewards consistency, which marks the day-to-day of the two teams, and Barça were superior to their rivals. Success in Europe catapulted the team into the golden pages of the club's history, but the stability in La Liga forged that success. Madrid have won just one league title in the last five years. 

THE ROLE OF THE cantera

The importance of the cantera in Guardiola's Barcelona side is not comparable to Zidane's Madrid. That was part of the charm of Pep's team; the connection between the fans and the players. While it's true that Madrid are doing things well in this regard these days, the role of the academy players is still short of what we saw from players like Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Puyol and Messi in that Barça side.