Yesterday’s final was a neutral’s dream match.The best team in the world v the best team in England. Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona v Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United at Wembley.
Barcelona is widely regarded as the best club team assembled. Barcelona turn up and unleash their butterfly brand of fluttering moves and defence splitting passes of such accuracy ,while expertly keeping the possession that it drives the opponent to chasing shadows .Having won only 3 UEFA Champions League compared to 9 of arch rivals Real Madrid they wanted to desperately win more.
Madrid’s philosophy of ostentatious money is loathed and rightly so by Barcelona as it is diametrically opposite to Barcelona’s focus on youth academy and not for nothing is the claret and maroon brigade home grown, it is fiercely Cataluñan and prides itself for being ‘Més que un club’.
Something of that rivalry is in England. Liverpool’s tally of 18 league titles has been surpassed by Manchester United this season. That is something that United wanted to do for a long time. But because of their stunning history, Liverpool have 5 UEFA Champions League titles which Sir Alex has categorically said he is not comfortable with. Liverpool have not been knocked off their perch yet. United want to have that honour in their name too.
Hence Barcelona and Manchester United both were driven by that desire to win and be the top club locally in Spain and England respectively.There is no doubt that at the moment that these two are the most followed clubs in the world .It was a fitting finale with 4 high quality goals.The final score read
FC Barcelona 3- 1 Manchester United
Pedro Rodríguez 27’ Wayne Rooney 34’
Lionel Messi 56’
David Villa 71’
Manchester United can only draw solace from the fact that they equalised Pedro Rodríguez’s opening goal and at least they competed in the first half. Wembley was Barcelona’s night to celebrate and be champions of Europe ; twice in 3 years as they took another step towards becoming the team of their generation and the club to beat .
The first goal was created by an incisive pass from Xavi who sold the United defenders a dummy by looking the other way and passing from the outside of his right boot. It was cancelled by 1-2 move by Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney which was United’s highlight of the match.All thought that a fightback was on the cards. But from then on , backed by the surprisingly dominant Barca fans, it was all Barcelona as they went on to give United a hiding . Incidentally, Messi had not scored on English soil until now. And lo and behold..in a run of genius befitting him and the stage, Messi curled it past the retiring Edwin van der Sar.
Messi was not done yet as another move initiated by him left striking partner David Villa in perfect position to turn in the third and final nail in the coffin, drowning any faint hopes for the Red Devils. And that was it , there was no comeback from there.
At the final whistle, Sir Alex Ferguson while shaking hands with Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola, had a benign smile of resignation to having lost the best side in the world , twice in two years now in the finals. The favourites justified their billing by their mesmerizing and relentless display of the beautiful game . And as they continue to improve , it is difficult to imagine any club challenging them next season.The reason Barcelona don’t ever tire is because they play most of their game in one half- the opposition’s half.They played an attractive and buoyant game and after a while United could only sigh to the inevitability of the outcome.
The cream has come to the top! Felicidades Barcelona !!
