This Saturday marks the end of the 2010/’11 European soccer season, with the UEFA Champions League final providing the perfect send-off.
Unsurprisingly, two of club soccer’s biggest names – Spain’s FC Barcelona and England’s Manchester United – will be fighting for the chance to claim Europe’s most coveted trophy. Both teams are giants of the game, with star-studded line-ups and a huge fan base, but who will be lifting the trophy at Wembley come the end of the 90-minute match?
Barcelona is the bookies’ favourite, and rightly so, after a season of utter domination in its native Spain. It won La Liga by 4 points over bitter rival Real Madrid and was runner up in the Spanish Cup. In the eyes of many pundits it is the best team in the world right now, playing an extremely attractive brand of soccer that is not only easy on the eye, but also deadly effective.
Though Barca has sometimes been criticised for only relying on its superior attacking prowess to win games, its defence has been extremely watertight this season, conceding a mere 21 goals in the league. Despite this, Manchester United will be far more concerned about dealing with those attacking riches, with world superstars such as Xavi Hernandez, Andrés Iniesta, David Villa and FIFA’s current World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, all expected to cause chaos for United’s defence.
Messi in particular is in imperious form having scored an incredible 52 goals this season in all competitions. United’s biggest chance of victory is to stop Messi – a task far easier said than done. In Barca’s 2009 Champions League triumph over United, Messi single-handedly destroyed their defence in the 2-0 win.
It seems history is against United, but by no means can we write off their chances for this game. United have also enjoyed an extremely successful year, winning a hotly contested English Premier League title by 9 points and cruising through the Champions League, most notably destroying Schalke 04, 6-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Though Sir Alex Ferguson’s team has been much maligned this season for not being as strong on paper as previous United teams, it once again found itself in the biggest game of the season. The main reason for this has been the upturn in form of superstar Wayne Rooney, who has seemingly recovered from his World Cup Nightmare in South Africa to produce the form that would strike fear into any defence. His remarkable bicycle kick against Manchester City is just one example.
But it is not just Rooney who will be key to United’s chances of victory. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand need to be in top form to stop the Barca onslaught, while veteran Ryan Giggs must produce the creativity from the centre of midfield. There’s also Javier Hernandez, who has formed a lethal partnership with Rooney this year. While some think he may not start, the striker is one of the best goal poachers in the game and is guaranteed to appear at some point.
So who will win?
On paper, it is extremely hard to go past Barcelona, especially with Messi in his current top form. With a solid defence behind them, midfielders Xavi and Iniesta will be looking to hold onto the ball as much as possible and keep possession, moving United around and running them into the ground before allowing the likes of Messi and Villa to find the space around the goals and put the ball into the back of the net. If United fatigue too much, or are not strict enough with their marking from the outset, there is a very real possibility of Barca putting 3 or 4 goals past them.
However, if United are able to contain the midfield, limit the space to the front men and efficiently hit Barca on the counter attack, then they are in with a real chance. The battle must be won in midfield first; Ferguson may choose to play an extra man or make Rooney drop a lot deeper to try and suffocate Barca’s midfield, and stop it from getting into a rhythm that may dictate the entire game.
Barca’s central defenders are not known to be particularly quick and this must be where United attack, as their young line-up is full of pace and energy that can move forward rapidly and catch out the slower Barca defence. There is little doubt that Barca will anticipate this tactic, so expect manager Pep Guardiola to send his men out with all guns blazing, in order to get control of the game and allow his remarkable attacking talents the time and space to unleash their skills.
Though United have an exceptional attitude towards winning and they will be as committed as anyone, Barca may be too strong. Expect the first hour to be played at a ferocious intensity, where both teams will be fighting hard for supremacy and not giving each other an inch; before fatigue kicks in for United and Barca slowly starts to overrun its opponents. But don’t write off United, especially when in front of a partisan English crowd.
Final Prediction: Barcelona 3 – 1 Manchester United
Man of the Match: David Villa
Tom Midwood is a first year Bachelor of Journalism student at La Trobe University.
