In a rematch of the final two years ago,
Manchester United head to Wembley to take on Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA
Champions League Final.
On top of having the three of the last
four Champions League titles between them, United and Barcelona, based
on records and performances, have been the two best clubs in European
football this season.
Barcelona are seen as one of the
greatest sides ever assembled and are the clear favorites because of
that, but all that does is set the stage for the Reds to knock another
team off their perch.
In similar fashion, United and
Barcelona's dominance is not only in Europe, because both of them
finished their domestic seasons as the champions of the Barclays Premier
League and La Liga, respectively. The Catalans overcame a firm
challenge from Real Madrid to secure their fourth in the last sixth
seasons. Meanwhile, United had to stave off competition from four teams
and eventually triumphed to their fourth title in the last five seasons.
Although Barcelona are the unequivocal
predetermined winner of this match, United have registered the best
record in the Champions League this season - and that was not by
mistake, either.
To many people's amazement, the Reds
have been the only team that has gone through Champions League season
and did not lose any of their 12 matches. What is even more impressive
is that United did not give up a goal away from Old Trafford in any of
their six matches - which secured five victories on the road.
A lot of pundits are failing to
recognize that Barcelona have not been perfect in their route to Wembley
- having lost once and drew another match in the knockout rounds. The
Catalans have faced Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid and,
matches away from the Nou Camp, they have not been impressive, which
will bode well for United's confidence.
Who
Barcelona have a squad filled of
international superstars from most Spain, Brazil and Argentina and each
of these players have tasted team success on multiple levels. There is
not anything that can be said about any of their players that has been
mentioned before, so there should not going to be an element of surprise
for Sir Alex Ferguson to deal with.
He, like everyone, knows that Lionel
Messi is there go-to guy and special attention needs to be paid to him,
because he has scored an astonishing 52 goals this season - and a
Champions League-leading 11 in 12 matches. Even though he has the
ability to beat multiple players with his tight control and blistering
quickness, the Barca No. 10 has players all around him that make his
life that much easier.
Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro RodrÃguez
and Sergio Busquets, who is very lucky to be playing after his racial
proposition, are some of the best attacking midfielders in the world,
not just Europe, so the United midfielders need to be weary of them all
match long. Barcelona also have a couple of defensive-minded
midfielders, Javier Mascherano and Seydou Keita, who will be protecting
against the attacking threat that Reds will have.
Even though they are filled with a team
of very experienced, capable players, L'equip blaugrana, meaning the
team in English, do have some vulnerability in their team. When a team
is set out to attack, like Barcelona is, it could leave gaps at the back
for teams to exploit - especially with Daniel Alves at right-back. In
La Liga, Barca was, by a country mile, the most disciplined defensive
team by only giving up 21 goals, but as people witnessed Arsenal do,
they are quite susceptible against a counterattack, which is really
United's forte.
News
The best bit of news has to be that Sir
Alex has a fully-fit squad, but that also means that he has a daunting
assignment of having to pick and choose his squad. This tough task will
leave some players with bad feeling in their mouth of not having the
chance to play their part in the final.
The speculation leading up to the match
is that Ferguson will stick with the line-up that expertly saw off
Olympique de Marseille, Chelsea and Schalke 04, which, in all honesty,
gives the formation the most versatility - and that will give them their
best chance of overcoming the odds.
A lot of people would be very foolish to
rule out Manchester United to, what they say, pull off an upset of
Barcelona, because they are very competent club that can beat any team
on any given day.
Treatment
None
Projected
E. van der Sar; Fabio, R. Ferdinand, N. Vidic, P. Evra; A. Valencia, M. Carrick, R. Giggs, J. S. Park; W. Rooney, J. Hernandez
Prediction
Barcelona 1 Manchester United 2
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