For those of us fortunate enough to have watched them in their prime, there was a sense of an impossible standard being set for future generations.
Billy Gilmour opted to view the midfields of the great Barcelona and Spain sides differently.
The kid from Ardrossan didn’t just want to stand and admire the great carousel in full flow. In his mind’s eye, he wanted to climb aboard it.
‘When I was young, I used to watch Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi — everyone did,’ he explained.
‘But when I started to analyse my game and think about who I would like to progress to be like, it was more like Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas — it was those players.