David Villa joins Barcelona’s school of excellence

David Villa signed for Barcelona from Valencia this week

When José Mourinho celebrated on the pitch at the Camp Nou after knocking Barcelona out of the Champions League the pundits were rightly full of praise for his Inter Milan side.

But critics were not hailing the Italian giants as the best team in Europe, instead they were applauding them for beating the best team in the world.

Despite their loss at the hands of Inter, there are not many people who would disagree with the claim that Barcelona are the best side in Europe — a title that the Catalan club look set to hold for the immediate future.

On Wednesday the club announced the addition of David Villa to their already well-equipped attacking side, a player who has often been touted as one of the best in the world in his position.

But the former Valencia man surely cannot expect to stand out from the crowd as he did with Los Che, rather he will just be one of many world class players that make up this remarkable team.

Some would see it as a negative attribute, but in fact it only serves to underline the sheer strength of this Barcelona side. Despite all of their world class talent, Real Madrid are simply a team of individuals. Barça however, with just as many if not more quality players, are a unified team.

The natural coherence within the Barcelona squad is what has made them as strong as they are. Pep Guardiola has created a team with little room for big ego’s and volatile personalities and it is this characteristic which will ensure they continue to taste both domestic and European success.

Cesc Fàbregas is the next big name player linked with the Catalans and even if the Arsenal skipper did return to his boyhood club, it is unlikely he would be regularly included in the starting eleven at the Camp Nou.

And perhaps that is the most telling sign of the strength of this club. One of the Premier League’s biggest talents may be consigned to the bench in Catalonia — as good an indicator as any of the strength of Barcelona’s squad.