by Ian Farquharson

Created on: October 31, 2009   Last Updated: November 02, 2009

The Best of 2009: Sports Teams

Sports can either be individual based or team based. Whereas an individual relies on his own talent to be successful a team requires that a number of players show their best form for the team to be successful. If there are too many weak links in the make up of a team, then it will prove difficult for them to be successful. In 2009 there were a number of teams who showed their collective talents and these are two of my favorites.

Barcelona Football Team

Football is one of the most popular games in the world and in Europe the UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of success for club sides. The teams that enter the competition are those that performed best in their respective domestic leagues and this marks them out as the cream of the crop in Europe. The football team that dominated the competition in 2009 was Barcelona from Spain. Their star player is Lionel Messi from Argentina, who played some sublime football all season, but there are no weak links in the team and the players around Messi compliment him and make Barcelona the great football team they are. These players include, amongst others, striker Thierry Henri, midfielder Xavi and Carles Puyol the team captain. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final and never looked like losing the game. In their domestic competitions, Barcelona were victorious in the League and the Spanish Cup making it a treble winning season for them, a feat few teams achieve. The nominations for the FIFA World Player of the Year have just been announced and it is no surprise that the team with the most nominated players is Barcelona, with six of the team in with a chance of winning the award.

Philadelphia Phillies

Baseball is up there as one of the most popular sports in America. It draws crowds of thousands to watch it on a regular basis and the Philadelphia Phillies are one of the top teams currently playing Major League Baseball (MLB). They are one of the oldest teams in MLB history, being founded in 1883. Their form in the last two years has been one of the best periods in their history and they clinched a second World Series title in 2008. Most of the key players from the title winning side of 2008 were retained for the 2009 season and they are having another great season. They are currently playing in the World Series and if they win another title they would be the first NL team to do this in more than 30 years. Whatever the outcome of this, the Phillies have shown

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