On Saturday, for 61 glorious minutes it really was Just Like Watching Brazil again.
A back four led by the immense Brazilian (naturally) Dennis Souza was clearing anything that came within sight of Heinz Muller's goal.
Andy Johnson was snapping and snarling at literally anything that moved in midfield.
And Kayode Odejayi was tormented an increasingly brittle Plymouth defence.
A lot has changed at Oakwell since Play-Off Finalists West Brom put 7 past our boys without reply on the final day of the season last season.
Even more has changed since Andy Ritchie's boys won promotion back to the Championship a mere 15 months ago!
Indeed of the 11 players that started Saturday's game, just ONE played under Andy Ritchie in his 20 months in the Oakwell hot seat and that was Brian Howard and just ONE more on the bench in Nick Colgan.
Simon Davey has dismantled and rebuilt the entire Barnsley squad in less than a year since taking temporary charge in November 2006 and has signed 13 players this summer alone with maybe more on the way (Jamal Campbell-Ryce an almost certainty according to his current employers Southend)
And on Saturday the fruits of his labour finally began to ripen.
From the moment Odejayi raced onto Rob Kozluk's fantastic ball down the right flank for Istvan Ferenczi to register his first league goal since the trip to Plymouth's Home Park in March Barnsley looked like they were enjoying themselves.
Players like Sam Togwell and Martin Devaney who often flattered to deceive for most of 2006-2007 were mostly guaranteed their place last term due to the lack of any real cover but both weren't even in the 16 man squad on Saturday due to the fierce competition Davey has produced.
Not so long ago it would have seemed ludicrous for Barnsley to field 3 international players, on Saturday 3 internationals sat on the bench for 90minutes!
1-0 is never enough for Barnsley though, and never has been.
Dominik Werling's unbelievable Roberto Carlosesque v France free kick on the stroke of the half-time whistle put paid to that.
As Brian Howard leaped to the top of England's scoring charts from an Anderson Da Silva cross on the hour it should have been game set and match.
But one gripe still to be levied at Davey is that his team have an annoying habit of falling to sleep as they did when Barry Hayles beat 4 Barnsley players to a free kick and Nick Chadwick was allowed to tap in on the line within 5 minutes of each other.
That led a comfortable win turning into a nightmare finger nail biting 20minutes for Reds fans. 3-0 up with just half an hour to play should never end up like that!
Still Davey's boys head to the Toon on Wednesday night to face Michael Owen and co safe in the knowledge they can nick a goal at St James Park, whether they can stop them going in their own net is another thing all together.
The Potentials there in this new look cosmopolitan side though, the reason I know this is because for 61 glorious minutes on Saturday afternoon they proved it!