Barcelona's best ever XI ... The left-back 🤛 | OneFootball

With the football on hold at the moment, we’ve been thinking about who gets in Barcelona’s all-time XI.

Today we’re choosing the left-back.

Here are the nominees …

3rd – Jordi Alba

The club’s left-back to this day, Alba is a superbly exciting wing-back who had a tricky path to the first team. Originally coming through La Masia, Alba had to leave for Valencia in 2005 at 16 after Barça chose to release him.

By 2012 he was back and he’s been fantastic ever since. The occasional defensive mishap is more than made up for in the attacking third, where he has a particularly special connection with Lionel Messi.

The club have won the lot since Alba’s return and his tally of 16 goals and 59 assists is truly remarkable.

2nd – Eric Abidal

What a journey Eric Abidal had at Barcelona. Signed in time for Frank Rijkaard’s poor first season, Abidal’s first months weren’t easy. But then Pep Guardiola arrived and Barcelona won the lot.

Over the next few years, the Frenchman excelled as a left-back when he played there in a more traditional role but also when he tucked inside and played as a third centre-half, balancing Guardiola’s side with its bias towards using Dani Alves on the right.

Two months after a tumour was found on his liver, the defender captained the team and played 90 minutes in the incredible Champions League final win over Manchester United. He still needed a transplant the following year but played for Barça until May 2013, before leaving with 193 appearances and 15 trophies behind him.

And the winner is … Sigfrid Gràcia

Yes, that’s right, we’re going all the way back to the 1950s and 1960s and choosing a somewhat-forgotten man outside of Barcelona circles. But every team needs a Mr Reliable and Gràcia was precisely that. Especially when we have Dani Alves on the other flank.

Gràcia was the model professional. Brilliant positioning, full commitment. A gritty defender, he played almost 50 games in every season from 1955 to 1963, proving irreplaceable on the left of the defence.

During that time he played 536 times, scored 23 goals, and helped Barcelona to three league titles and eight different cups along the way.

Here’s how the team is looking so far …

GK: Andoni Zubizarreta RB: Dani Alves LB: Sigfrid Gràcia

Check back tomorrow when we will be choosing the first centre-back.