GIVEN their size, they were more cut out to be jockeys.
Leo Messi and Pedro are no more than 5ft 6½in and Xavi and Andres Iniesta both 5ft 7in.
But tomorrow night at Wembley, they will seem more like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Even Barcelona team-mates Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves are only 5ft 8in. Small, certainly, but perfectly formed.
Especially when it comes to playing the hypnotic, short-passing tiki-taka game that has made both Barcelona and Spain the pinball wizards of football. Touch and vision. Incredible workrate. Passing, patience, possession.
Control the ball, control the opponent.
If only they followed this mantra in English schools rather than playing the biggest 14-year-olds they can find.
No wonder England always fall down when it comes to technique.
Spain switched to tiki-taka in 2006 because they felt they weren't tough enough physically. They were fed up with being outmuscled.
They would go on to win the 2008 European Championships and 2010 World Cup with Xavi and Iniesta Napoleon-like figures in midfield.
It started years ago at Barca under Johan Cruyff. An upgrade of Total Football, tiki-taka would continue to blossom with Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard.
Under Pep Guardiola it has been refined further.
Last season, there was a temporary tactical shift when Barcelona signed 6ft 3in striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
It never got off the ground. Neither did the over-rated Swede.
Instead, he was replaced by David Villa. All 5ft 9in of him.
The thing about players of small physical stature is that, during their formative years, they compensate for their lack of inches by honing their touch and ability to control a ball.
Because of their size they also have a low centre of gravity and enhanced balance. And, in Messi's case especially, maturity has brought immense strength, making him near impossible to knock off the ball without committing a foul.
This doesn't mean you can't have both height AND a deft touch - Ryan Giggs and Antonio Valencia, both 5ft 11in, prove you can. And many would rather have a good big 'un than a good little 'un.
<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=71d18af8bc" >Football Confidential Live - Friday May 27</a> Yet to play against Barcelona is to try and disrupt some sort of magic roundabout.
For Manchester United not to be overrun at Wembley in tomorrow's Champions League final, they will first have to get the ball.
And they will have to take their chances because Barca will take theirs.
Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, both over 6ft 2in and not the quickest on the turn, will also have to defend for their lives.
When they are not running at them and twisting them like corkscrews, Messi, Pedro and Villa will be getting under their feet.
Vidic, despite all the plaudits this season, will be targeted.
Even against Blackpool last week, the Serb was shown up on the ground.
So it was amusing to hear him talk of how he hoped Barcelona would refrain from all the diving, histrionics and referee-crowding that besmirched the semi-final against Real Madrid this season and against Inter Milan last campaign.
The same Vidic who has picked up 50 yellow cards and four reds in the last five years.
People talk of the strength of the United defence and yet they conceded 37 goals in the Premier League.
This is more than in any season since 2001-2002, when United finished third.
In 2008-2009, they went 14 games without conceding a league goal.
Edwin van der Sar set a world record of 1,311 minutes without having to fish the ball out of the net.
He had 21 clean sheets in the league against 14 this season.
Yet United were still beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in Rome on a night when Cristiano Ronaldo was blotted out.
Nor do United have the comfort of playing Barcelona at Fortress Old Trafford. On the road it's a different story, with just five away league wins all season, the fewest of a title-winning side since Liverpool in 1977.
Yet it's not all doom and gloom.
For in '77, Liverpool - despite their domestic away form - would actually win their first European Cup.
And in Europe this season, United remain unbeaten in 12 matches, conceding only four goals. Sure, it hasn't been a particularly tough draw but they have still done it.
They are also in the healthy position of being underdogs.
They have nothing to lose, whereas the world and his wife are waiting for Barcelona to wipe the slate clean after the disgraceful scenes against Madrid in the semi-final by putting on a masterclass at Wembley. Guardiola's team have much to live up to.
Neutrals will claim United can win only if Barca and Messi have an off-day.
That if they try and press and play high in Barcelona's half, they will be stretched at the back.
Yet Inter showed in the 2010 semi first leg in the San Siro how it can be done.
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