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Champions League 2010-11
Topic Started: Jul 16 2010, 07:51 AM (4,375 Views)
valenciano
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I think the way to beat Barcelona is make them work defensively, Manchester United have attacking players who can cause Barcelona danger, the issue is whether they will get enough of the ball though to put Barcelona's defense under pressure? Even our dedicated United fan Simon questons his club's midfield ball winning. The good thing is both clubs are pretty healthy and nobody should be missing through injury. At home, in a pub, alone or with family and friends, just enjoy this match. It has potential to be something special.
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ursus arctos
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That was immensely satisfying.

The apotheosis of a football team.

I've never been prouder to be a soci.
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Winslow
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And the result...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Barcelona 3, Manchester United 1.

A pretty classy result after a tight-sphinctered opening ten minutes by the Catalan masters. The opening thrust by Man U didn't last, as Barca had the match under control around the quarter-hour mark and eventually took the lead on a splendid setup by Xavi. He waited for Pedro to run around the United defense and found him in the clear; Pedro's near-post finish wasn't great but it wrongfooted van der Sar. But seven minutes later, Rooney made it a game again, corralling a lazy throw-in and using two give-and-gos (the second one may have been offside) to burst into the clear and beat Valdes.

That was all the Red Devils had to offer, and by the hour mark they were kaput. Messi had put Barcelona ahead by then, taking a pass in the clear from Iniesta and smacking one past the static central defense (Vidic, who had a fine match otherwise, should've challenged him) to score. The third came with 15 minutes to go, as a long flurry finally brought he ball to David Villa at the top of the box; he curled a brilliant ball into the top corner.

My MOTM was Xavi who was quietly great as always, but this was another disappointing effort by Man U in a CL final. The young guys had no impact, especially Chicharito; van der Sar did not have the world-class farewell match his team needed; the substitutions were late and feeble. But Simon nailed it a few days ago with his post about United's lack of a ball winner. The side really needed one.

I wasn't watching closely, but did Puyol let Abidal lift the trophy? Nice. Now don't drop it!
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Hector
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When Manchester United tied it up 1-1 you had the hope as a neutral that we were headed to an exciting game but the 2nd half was all one way traffic as Barcelona dominated the game and Manchester United hardly touched the ball until Barcelona went 3-1 up and eased their way to the end. Messi was once again superb, his 2nd goal was a blow to United's midsection and his great fake then run is what set up the 3rd and decisive goal. But Barcelona gets plenty of praise for their attack, and with good reason, but defensively this also is an excellent team, one which knows how to dispossess the opposition and has players who fill the gaps defensively very well. Other than their goal Manchester United did not threaten Barcelona's goal the entire match and that is because of Barcelona's defensive work. Puyol did not start due to a recurrence of his injury but came on as a late sub and yes Winslow you eyes were correct, Puyol did defer to the recovered Abidal to be the first to lift the Champions league trophy, a very nice touch.

Congratulations to ursus, Dr. Z and any other Barcelona fans here, you have a lot to be proud of with this team.
iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo!
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Don Balon
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Another breathtaking performance from Barcelona, what else can you say? Manchester United are a very good team but they were made to look ordinary by Barcelona. Manchester United could not take the ball off of Barcelona and such constant possession forces the opponent into chasing and chasing and eventually they wear down, such as on the 2nd goal when they gave Messi a bit of space at the top of the box and he took advantage and scored the 2nd goal. Then he makes that great fake and dribbles the ball into the area where it is eventually passed out to Villa to curl in an excellent 3rd goal. And even on the first Barcelona goal Messi played a role as he ran left and carried United's defence with him, opening up space for Pedro to receive Xavi's pass and score.

United did finish their chance nicely but amazingly for a team of their quality that was the only opportunity they had. Too much Barcelona on both ends of the pitch, excellent offencive work and intense defencive pressure when not in possession.

A lot of people are asking if this Barcelona team is the best ever, I always have difficulty comparing clubs from different eras but they certainly deserve to be considered at or near the top of any list of the best ever clubs. Remember this is a team with 7 starters from Spain's World Cup championship team, plus an 8th World Cup winner in Spain's backup goalie Victor Valdes, there also are Brasil's right back (Dani Alves), France's left back (Abidal), Argentina's captain (Mascherano), oh and then there is the world's best player too!
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Rufus T. Firefly
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I think Don Balon has summed things up very nicely, anything I could add would be repetitive of what he has already written.

I will add that letting Abidal be the first to lift the trophy was a very nice touch and shows a lot of class.
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Merengue
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It was not the classic match some had been hoping for but was an excellent all around performance from Barcelona. My congratulations to ursus and Dr Z. Simon's pre match comments on a lack of a true ball winner ended up proving prophetic and that should be an area where Manchester United will look to improve itself in the offseason. But back to this match, if you do not pressure Barcelona when they are on the ball you are not going to have any success against them. As others have noted though it is not just Barcelona's passing and movement but their own suffocating defensive pressure which helps make them so successful. Don Balon sets out a good case for why this Barcelona side should be considered among the best ever. And Lionel Messi is again making a good case for himself to be considered among the game's greats, even at his young age he now has 3 Champions Leagues and 2 Balon d'Ors. This summer he can start to add to his collection of trophies at the national team level when Argentina host the Copa America.


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Onslow
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I know what it is like seeing your club win the European title, I still remember the early 80s and Villa's heyday! But I cannot imagine the sense of pleasure and pride barcelona fans must feel seeing their club not only win but win in such style. A true masterclass performance.

But questions should also be posed about United's play, especially their tactics. Simon identified their problem pre match, the lack of midfield ball winners and no team can realistically play Barcelona without at least one in the lineup and expect to win. With Fletcher not ready I would have expected Anderson to have played to give the midfield some more bite.

No shame in losing to this Barcelona side which even Ferguson praised as the best team he has faced as a manager but I also think United did not do everything they could have done to keep the match closer.
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Simon
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What to say?

Everyone else has covered it really. I should first start by offering my congratulations to the Barcelona fans on here Dr Z and Ursus and co for a well deserved win.

Merengue says that United will look for a defensive midfielder this summer. Ah, but will we? Because we've needed one for about 3 years now. If the Glazers have to spend any money that's not covered by player sales, they won't do it. United's squad is rotting under those parasitic owners. It's testament to the absolute genius of Alex Ferguson that we're as competitive as we are - he's a master at making the most of the increasingly meagre resources he's got, and obviously it's a great boost to pick up a gem like Hernandez for just £6m.

As for the game, hmmm... I was pretty angry at times with United's passivity in and around our box. Messi's goal was hit pretty much straight down the middle but wrong-footed Van der Sar, and at the time I was thinking 'okay, it wasn't even a great shot but really, what do the United players think is likely to happen when the best player in the world gets so much time and space right on the edge of the penalty area?' Ditto David Villa's goal. They were soft goals to concede. On the occasions where we got about Barcelona and tackled them high up the pitch, we got real joy and looked dangerous coming forward - but it only happened sporadically. As we tackled the ball in the centre circle and advanced forward in numbers, my brother said in exasperation "THAT'S what we should have been doing for 90 minutes!!"

But in the cold light of day, we just didn't have the personnel to do it. Take Ryan Giggs, he's a United icon and everyone knows he'd sweat blood for this club, but the bottom line is that he's simply not a centre-midfield ball winner, ditto Carrick. Onslow suggests we could have played Anderson - maybe, but I don't like the way he gives the ball away so often, and that's a cardinal sin against Barcelona. Fletcher was the man really, and that's now twice we've had to play a final against Barcelona without him. But he can't do it alone. My hope is that now Hargreaves has finally been released by the club, maybe even the Glazers will redirect some of the endless millions haemorrhaging out of the club to various financial institutions to actually benefiting and strengthening the team? Or is that too much to hope for?

Anyway, my disappointment can't be too acute. I reckon with two league titles and two CL finals in the last three years, we've shown we're the second best team in Europe over that three year span. Unfortunately, over the past three years there's been one team better! Simple as that really.

Let's see what the summer brings in the transfer market (who knows, City might win the next 5 Champions Leagues, haha!). My disappointment is not too acute - the afterglow of our record-breaking title is too warm for that, and after all that was by far our main objective of the season!

Congratulations again to Barcelona (great night in London last night by the way, really respectful atmosphere between the two sets of fans) - roll on 2011/12!!
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chacal
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Don Balon,May 28 2011
02:43 PM
Another breathtaking performance from Barcelona, what else can you say?  Manchester United are a very good team but they were made to look ordinary by Barcelona.  Manchester United could not take the ball off of Barcelona and such constant possession forces the opponent into chasing and chasing and eventually they wear down, such as on the 2nd goal when they gave Messi a bit of space at the top of the box and he took advantage and scored the 2nd goal.  Then he makes that great fake and dribbles the ball into the area where it is eventually passed out to Villa to curl in an excellent 3rd goal.  And even on the first Barcelona goal Messi played a role as he ran left and carried United's defence with him, opening up space for Pedro to receive Xavi's pass and score.

United did finish their chance nicely but amazingly for a team of their quality that was the only opportunity they had.  Too much Barcelona on both ends of the pitch, excellent offencive work and intense defencive pressure when not in possession.

A lot of people are asking if this Barcelona team is the best ever, I always have difficulty comparing clubs from different eras but they certainly deserve to be considered at or near the top of any list of the best ever clubs.  Remember this is a team with 7 starters from Spain's World Cup championship team, plus an 8th World Cup winner in Spain's backup goalie Victor Valdes, there also are Brasil's right back (Dani Alves), France's left back (Abidal), Argentina's captain (Mascherano), oh and then there is the world's best player too!

I could not have said it better myself Don Balon. This reflects my take on this game. A truly all around dominating performance. So what does Barcelona do for an encore? Manchester United need to find a new goalkeeper and midfielders, but what does Barcelona do to improve, if that is possible?
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Nkono
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We all now about Barcelona's individual players but their success comes from their team play and look even their post game celebrations I think showed how they think of others before themselves, first injured captain Carles Puyol is put on the field to be there to lift the trophy but he defers to Eric Abidal back so quickly following the surgery to remove his kidney tumor. Even Lionel Messi, undisputably the world's best player, and the best man on the night, happily took a back seat to his teammates. To me this attitude epitomizes Barcelona's selflessness.
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Johnbuildr
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<<.....Congratulations again to Barcelona (great night in London last night by the way, really respectful atmosphere between the two sets of fans) - roll on 2011/12!! >>

Here, here!

As a fan with no favorite in this one, I was particularly pleased with the level of skill and highly respectful tone that carried throughout the match by all the combatants. Very few stupid dangerous fouls, maybe only one. Very little diving; now why can't all or most games be played in this sort of way, especially by teams who are constantly on display to the rest of the world? If not possible to match this skill level, then they certainly could match it in sportsmanship!

Even when thoroughly frustrated, as the game wore on, Man U kept their heads up and their cleats down! Bravo to both teams!

One player comment. Messi. Wonderful to watch a legend at his peak in our own time, eh?
Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum



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Johnbuildr
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chacal,May 29 2011
01:33 PM
I could not have said it better myself Don Balon. This reflects my take on this game. A truly all around dominating performance. So what does Barcelona do for an encore? Manchester United need to find a new goalkeeper and midfielders, but what does Barcelona do to improve, if that is possible?

....dunno, but staying at the top is always as hard or harder than getting there it seems.....
Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum



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Hector
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Quote:
 
One player comment. Messi. Wonderful to watch a legend at his peak in our own time, eh?


How true, it is such a joy watching this guy play. The amazing thing is he is still only 23! At his young age he has already won 15 titles with Barcelona. Barcelona are an excellent collective team but even amongst that it is Messi's incredible ability which really makes the team stand out and his ability to make plays to win games, see the first leg of the semis with his two goals versus Real Madrid or on saturday vs Manchester United when his goal put Barcelona back in front then he made the play which set Villa up to score the 3rd.

The Milan team in the late 80s with the three Dutchmen were I thought the best club team I have seen in my life but I think this Barcelona team is even superior.
iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo!
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Lalo
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Messi is a player our grandchildren will talk about, we are fortunate to be able to watch him now in his prime years. Of course to consider him among the world's all time greats he will have to start leading Argentina to titles and this year's Copa America would be a good place to start!
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