As far as famous football videos go, Lionel Messi and Dani Alves’ astonishing volley warm-up has to be up there.

It’s simply a classic and, filmed at the height of Barcelona’s power, typified the skill and prowess of one of modern football’s greatest sides. It showed off the silky South American flair that dominated the Catalan’s right flank for no less than eight years.

However, Alves and Messi’s connection wasn’t limited to lighthearted warm-up drills, their unbelievable chemistry was a constant in a great number of Barcelona’s matches. In fact, there’s even a video to prove it.

SIGN UP NOW

Want to become a GMS writer? Sign up now and submit a 250-word test article: http://gms.to/haveyoursay

Incredible connection

Rewind to 2011 and Barcelona are a seemingly unstoppable force in world football.

Under the watchful eye of Pep Guardiola, the Catalans had conquered all in front of them with their mesmorising tiki-taka football. It was this very style of possession and quick passing that made Barcelona as easy on the eye as they were dangerous.

Messi and Alves certainly got the message and arguably encapsulated Guardiola’s style of football better than any other duo.

You would think that the South American pair wouldn’t interact a great deal during matches, but they appeared to naturally gravitate to one another. After all, Messi would often pander to the right wing to find space and a one-two with his Brazilian teammate.

Their mutual ability to fire off quick and accurate passes saw them able to play off each other beautifully and gain yards up the pitch in an instant.

It perhaps shouldn’t be surprising given that they’re both fantastic ball players. Moreover, the maneuvers suited Alves’ tendency to sprint forward and Messi’s ability to cut in on his deadly left foot.

Thanks to Twitter, this famous chemistry has been commemorated and conveniently condensed into two minutes of breathtaking football. It can be seen below:

Not bad, huh?

What is incredibly striking too though, is not just the moves on show, but the games in which they were deployed.

There are clips from the UEFA Super Cup, several El Clasicos and even the 2011 Champions League final versus Manchester United. It seemed that no one could stop Alves and Messi when they drifted to the right.

Respective futures

Unfortunately, however, that electrifying chemistry was broken off last summer when Alves finally waved goodbye to Barcelona. The 33-year-old moved to Juventus after a wildly successful eight-year spell at the Nou Camp.

As far as this season is concerned though, the Brazilian hasn’t missed a great deal.

Alves looks set to win the Serie A title and got the best over his old teammate in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. There’s still another game to go, but the stakes are firmly against the Spaniards.

Messi, unlike his old friend, appears unlikely to win the league title. Despite scoring a brace against Real Sociedad, the Argentine and Barcelona trail Real Madrid by three points and have played a game more.

Regardless of how their fortunes pan out for the rest of the season though, the glory days of 2011 will not be forgotten. Besides, their telepathy was just so sharp that it must be seen as both legendary and utterly unique

Do you think Barcelona will recover against Juventus in the Champions League? Have YOUR say in the comment box below