Champions League - who are the greatest attacking trio ever?

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez -Barcelona 2014/2015

The stats do not lie when analysing the attacking exploits of Messi, Neymar and Suarez this season. Lionel Messi helped himself to two goals and Neymar the other as a crowd of almost 100,000 watched Barcelona pick up the second leg of a probable treble with a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in Saturday night’s Copa del Rey final. Suarez played provider for Neymar’s goal. Two down, one to go. If Liga champions Barcelona overcome Juventus in the Champions League in Berlin this week, there is a fair chance that these men will be wreaking havoc.

The trio have scored 120 goals so far this season. Messi has scored 58, Neymar 38 while Suarez has wallowed in 24 despite being suspended for the first two months of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín managed 118 in 2011/12 but this trio have beaten that record. The question is: are they the greatest in history? We look at some other triumvirates who were great in their own right.

Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito - Inter Milan 2009/10

This trio had their finest moment in spearheading the best season in Inter’s history under Jose Mourinho. Mourinho landed the Real Madrid job a season after leading Inter to their fifth straight Serie A title, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in 2010. The finishing prowess of Eto’o and Milito was devastating, prompted by Sneijder’s creative work. And to think Eto’o had combined so well with Messi and Thierry Henry a season earlier. Milito scored 30 times in all competitions and Inter overcame Barcelona and Bayern Munich to claim the Champions League.

Alfredo Di Stefano, Francisco Gento and Ferenc Puskas - Real Madrid 1955-1960

Played in arguably the greatest club side in football history that won five straight European Cups between 1955-1960, culminating in the fabled 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park in Glasgow in 1960. A crowd of 127,000 watched Puskas scored four and Di Stefano three. Puskas ended that season as the European Cup’s top scorer on 12 goals. In an era not noted for physical ability, Gento could run the 100 metres in 11 seconds.

Gerd Mueller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness - Bayern Munich 1974-1978

Just when it looked like Bayern Munich could not improve their attacking wares in the early 1970s, they added the young Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to the mix and the results saw the club pick up two European Cups and an Intercontinental Cup with Hoeness and Rummenigge playing provider for Mueller to thrive. Between 1966 and 1979, Mueller was always among the top three scorers in the Bundesliga revelling in at least 20 goals. He remains the only forward in the history of Germany’s top league to lead the scoring in three straight seasons, between 1971 to 1974. He scored a national record of 40 goals in 1971/72.

Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlo Tevez - Manchester United 2007/2008

It did not get any better for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United than when he could call on this trio. United won the Premier League and Champions League in 2008 courtesy of the considerable output of these figures. Ronaldo probably first excelled in the role of a false nine during his United days as he dropped deep and wide to confuse opposing defenders.

This trio prompted United’s run to back-to-back Champions League finals and it was perhaps telling that Tevez did not start his side’s 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the 2009 final. Ronaldo scored 31 goals in the 2007/2008 season, Carlos Tevez 14 and Wayne Rooney hit 12. Rooney provided 13 assists with Ronaldo and Tevez each producing seven.

George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton - Manchester United 1964-1969

Manchester United’s holy trinity are remembered by a statue outside of Old Trafford. They inspired United to become the first English club to win the European Cup against Benfica at Wembley Stadium in 1968.

“In 1964, Law was singled out as the pick of the litter when his club-record haul of 46 goals in a season landed him the prestigious Ballon d’Or award,” says a feature on Manchester United’s official website. “Incredibly, both Charlton and Best would emulate the Scot in the following four years, landing the honour in 1966 and 1968 respectively.”

Three of the greatest players in British and European football history all played together at Old Trafford in the swinging 60s. Charlton, Best and Law scored 665 goals between them. They all won the European Footballer of the Year award. We wonder if Messi, Neymar and Suarez will ever have a statue outside the Camp Nou.

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid 2013-2015

Their goals prompted Real Madrid’s rise to ‘La Decima’ and the 4-1 success against Atletico Madrid after extra-time in Lisbon a year ago. This trio helped themselves to 108 goals in all tournaments in 2014. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 56 in the calendar year, Benzema 28 and Bale 24. Bale scored in the Copa del Rey final, the Champions League final and the Club World Cup final. Ronaldo scored in the Champions League final and also in their European Super Cup success. Yet they appear to have faltered this season in comparison to Messi, Neymar and Suarez.

Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry - Barcelona 2008/09

Barcelona won’t be the first side in their history to carry off the treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. Believe it or not, Messi contributed ‘only’ 38 goals to their treble march six years ago. While now he is surrounded by Suarez and Neymar, back then he had Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry for company. Eto’o hit 36 and Henry 26 as the trio contributed 100 goals between them. So far Messi, Suarez and Neymar have unearthed 120 goals. In 2009 Messi came up with 23 goals in La Liga, and provided 11 assists. He scored in the final of the Champions League in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Manchester United, ending that tournament with nine goals and five assists. It was the first time Barcelona - or indeed any Spanish side - had won the treble. This season could be the second time.

“I’m lucky. I’ve played with so many wonderful forwards over the years,” says Messi. “I had a great connection with Ronaldinho. I played with Samuel Eto’o, with Thierry Henry, with Pedro, David Villa, Alexis [Sanchez]. But I have to say that it is hard to top lining up alongside Neymar and Suarez. They are two players at the top of their games.”

Thomas Mueller, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery - Bayern Munich 2012/13

There is perhaps nobody that plays the role of ‘false nine’ better than Mueller. You never quite know what he is - a midfielder or a forward. Deceptive and sometimes ungainly, he has become one of the world’s most potent attacking figures, helping Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League with 23 goals in 2013 and five goals in Germany’s World Cup triumph a year ago. Mueller can play wide, but when you have two of the finest wingers operating alongside him in Robben and Ribery, it is little wonder Bayern are full of attacking options. It was no surprise Bayern struggled to combat Barcelona in the last four of the Champions League this season with Robben and Ribery missing due to injury.

Desmond Kane