FC Barcelona vs Manchester United FC
Wembley Stadium
Saturday 28th May 2011
20h45
Background:
Irresistible force vs Immovable object. This is how the UEFA Champions League 2011 has been billed. Is this a correct assumption? One can doubt whether Manchester United is an immovable object in this current season as at home, during the English Premier League and in the Champions League, they have been impenetrable, while there away form has not been up to standard. When one considers Manchester United’s away form this season in the premier league, 5 wins, 10 draws in 19 matches, can this team rightly be considered an immovable object. Manchester United teams of the past have dominated home and away when triumphing in the league yet the current version has not had many successes on the road in the league. But when a team has a manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, the players in the team know what they should expect from a man who has practically won it all in domestic and European Football. Sir Alex Ferguson is no doubt one of the greatest British managers of all time, rivaling Bob Paisley, Brian Clough and Jock Stein. It is more difficult than in previous eras to win championships due to the introduction of improved organisation, advanced technology in determining strategies and improved physical conditions of squads and Sir Alex Ferguson has proven over the years that he is the manager to beat in Britain and again this season has proven that. Winning the Premier League and taking this team to the Champions league finals is a great achievement. Three Champions league finals in four years is testament to a great manager.
The irresistible force in this instant is applied to the FC Barcelona. The Catalan giants, who have just wrapped up their 3rd consecutive title in La Liga, and are currently the world’s best team. A team boasting 7 World Cup winners plus a certain Argentine Legend in the making has swatted aside all opposition before them this season. With a brand of attractive, flowing football, FC Barcelona have enchanted many and gained new fans in the process of delivering football purity to the masses. In the Champions League this term, Barcelona has had a much tougher time than Manchester United on the way to the final. Arsenal, Shahktar Donetsk and Real Madrid were eliminated and not just eliminated, but completely outplayed. Barcelona had the unenviable task of eliminated their perennial title rivals and arch-enemies Real Madrid in the semi-finals. These two matches have certainly polarize opinions about the Spanish league in terms of the unsavory scenes during the match but it does not change the fact that Barcelona beat Real Madrid and beat them convincingly. Pep Guardiola’s team is one of the greatest in the history of the game and winning the Champions league on Saturday will elevate this team even more.
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| The Holy Trinity - Stop them and you stop Barcelona? |
Statistics for the two teams over the past 3 years in Domestic Competition:
Manchester United: Domestic League
Year | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | GD | Position |
2009 | 38 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 68 | 24 | 90 | +44 | 1st |
2010 | 38 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 86 | 23 | 85 | +58 | 2nd |
2011 | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 78 | 37 | 80 | +41 | 1st |
FC Barcelona: Domestic League
Year | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | GD | Position |
2009 | 38 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 105 | 35 | 87 | +70 | 1st |
2010 | 38 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 98 | 24 | 99 | +74 | 1st |
2011 | 38 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 95 | 21 | 96 | +74 | 1st |
This statistical diagram aims to show that whereas Manchester United have continued to win titles, their defense over the last 3 year period has gradually started to become porous, whether this is down to injuries this term during the season is debatable, because a team of Manchester United’s stature should be able to make up for the injuries and suspensions that occur. Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Wes Brown were all able deputies over the course of the season but more goals have been leaked which suggests that the defense has not been good this season. Wayne Rooney has not produced as many goals as seasons past and with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Manchester United lost two proven goalscorers and this has definitely affected the amount of goals scored over the past two years. Therefore the achievements of Javier Hernandez have been phenomenal this season. It is debatable, but without his goals this term, especially in the final stages of the season and his ability to relieve the pressure off Wayne Rooney, Manchester United possibly would not have been Champions this term.
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| United's "go to" man in the final months of the season. His movement and pace can cause problems for any defense and more importantly he only needs one chance to score. |
Barcelona’s statistics are very interesting. This team has been accused in some circles of having defensive weaknesses yet the statistics prove otherwise. Over the three year period, where fewer goals have been scored, the amount of goals conceded has dropped considerably, indicating that manager Pep Guardiola has focused on a more controlled game. This can be attributed to the intense pressing game that Guardiola employs in which opposition teams have less time on the ball and defence starts at the front thereby offering less goalscoring chances to the opposition. With the addition of David Villa up front, Barcelona have not scored more goals this term compared to previous seasons, but they have consistently scored more than 90 goals plus over three seasons, a phenomenal achievement.
Player to watch:
FC Barcelona: Sergio Busquets – The most important player in the team. It starts with Busquets and ends with Messi. All Barcelona’s attacks begins with Busquets and all opposition attacks ends with Busquets breaking it up. Displaced Yaya Toure in the Barcelona team and since dominating the final in 2009, has gone from strength to strength. At 22 years old, and with 10 honours already to his name, including the World Cup last year, more honours will certainly come his way. Brilliant at reading the game, along with supreme technical ability, his one vice may be to exaggerate his reactions to fouls, but this does not detract from his gifts as a footballer. One of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
Manchester United: Javier Hernandez – Player of the season for Manchester United. Speed, athleticism and ability to know when to attack the penalty area and score goals. That ability is priceless in big finals. In the Spanish Press, he is certainly regarded as Manchester United’s main threat, and the question is will he start the final? If Manchester United have any aspirations of winning the final, they certainly should start him. “Chicarito”, as he is known, has certainly endured himself to the Manchester United fans and he should be a mainstay in the frontline for years to come.
Road to the Final:
Manchester United:
Match | Opposition | Venue | Result |
Group Stage: 1st Matchday | Rangers | Old Trafford | 0-0 |
Group Stage: 2nd Matchday | Valencia | Mestalla | 0-1 |
Group Stage: 3rd Matchday | Bursapor | Old Trafford | 1-0 |
Group Stage: 4th Matchday | Bursapor | Bursa Ataturk | 0-3 |
Group Stage: 5th Matchday | Rangers | Ibrox | 0-1 |
Group Stage: 6th Matchday | Valencia | Old Trafford | 1-1 |
1st Knock-out Round: 1st Leg | Marseille | Stade Velodrome | 0-0 |
1st Knock-out Round: 2nd Leg | Marseille | Old Trafford | 2-1 |
Quarter-Finals: 1st Leg | Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 0-1 |
Quarter-Finals: 2nd Leg | Chelsea | Old Trafford | 2-1 |
Semi-Finals: 1st Leg | Schalke | Veltins Arena | 0-2 |
Semi-Finals: 2nd Leg | Schalke | Old Trafford | 4-1 |
FC Barcelona:
Match | Opposition | Venue | Result |
Group Stage: 1st Matchday | Panathinaikos | Nou Camp | 5-1 |
Group Stage: 2nd Matchday | Rubin Kazan | Centralni | 1-1 |
Group Stage: 3rd Matchday | Kobenhavn | Nou Camp | 2-0 |
Group Stage: 4th Matchday | Kobenhavn | Parken Stadion | 1-1 |
Group Stage: 5th Matchday | Panathinaikos | OACA Spiros Louis | 0-3 |
Group Stage: 6th Matchday | Rubin Kazan | Nou Camp | 2-0 |
1st Knock-out Round: 1st Leg | Arsenal | Emirates | 2-1 |
1st Knock-out Round: 2nd Leg | Arsenal | Nou Camp | 3-1 |
Quarter-Finals: 1st Leg | Shahktar Donetsk | Nou Camp | 5-1 |
Quarter-Finals: 2nd Leg | Shahktar Donetsk | Donbass Arena | 0-1 |
Semi-Finals: 1st Leg | Real Madrid | Santiago Bernabeu | 0-2 |
Semi-Finals: 2nd Leg | Real Madrid | Nou Camp | 1-1 |
Lionel Messi is the top goalscorer in the competition with 11 goals in 12 matches as well as suffering the most fouls, 30 in the competition.
Manchester United have conceded the least amount of goals in the Champions League this term, with 4 goals conceded.
FC Barcelona: Valdes-Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal-Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta-Messi, Villa, Pedro (4-3-3)
Manchester United FC: Van Der Sar-Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra-Park, Giggs, Carrick, Valencia, Rooney -Hernandez (4-3-2-1)
Prediction:
FC Barcelona are certainly the favorites having had an extremely tough road to the final and playing football which has become nearly unstoppable. However, Sir Alex Ferguson is one coach who is certainly not one to shy away from the challenge. The Rome final in 2009 left many scars and it has culminated with the chance to exact revenge at Wembley. Manchester United certainly has on paper the better defense, but the other departments such as Midfield and Forwards, they do trail by a distance. Planning to stop Lionel Messi is one of the hardest tasks in football and this should not be the sole focus of Sir Alex as there are many more players that can hurt Manchester United and therein lays the problem. More match winners on the pitch allied with possibly 60% plus possession in the final will mean that Manchester United have to work so hard and be so organised that over 90 minutes it is certainly nearby impossible to stop the Catalans. Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta were the midfield triumvirate, which tormented United in Rome and they are back again. Stop them and you have a chance of winning. Rooney and certainly Hernandez are the biggest threats to Barcelona but the question is how much ball these two will be able to get in order to hurt Barcelona. Real Madrid paid Barcelona the biggest compliment by changing their style of play and still it did not pay off. Does Sir Alex have enough options in order to win? In Rome, he altered his side to four different strategies and still could not halt Barcelona domination. Let’s hope that Sir Alex has something in the bag, the best way to play Barcelona is 3-3-3-1, the tactic employed by Chile’s Marcelo Bielsa. This allows only one defender to mark Lionel Messi and this formation protects the flanks from any overlapping from the opposition, which is Barcelona’s critical weapon. But changing formations at this stage of the season is too risky and could possibly create instability.
Score prediction: 2-0 to Barcelona. It is nearly impossible to beat Barcelona these days and Manchester United are one of the few teams that can provide the energy to match Barcelona and defensive organisation for 90 minutes. But energy is not enough to win a football match and a repeat scoreline of the 2009 final is on the cards.
Feel free to share your thoughts and predictions on tomorrow's final.
