UNITED DONE IN

 

 

Last time around, United faced Chelsea in the Champions League final at the Luzhniki Stadium. It was certainly a nervy affair for me though the nerves were settled to an extent when Ronaldo opened the scoring only for Frank Lampard to equalise before half time. In the second half it proved to be Chelsea that were the stronger side though. The concern for United became forcing extra time. Late on we got some late chances but the match rtemained deadlocked. Extra time loomed and for me that meant all the more nerves. Just because we'd beaten the Blues to the Premiership title that season didn't mean that we could beat them in this one-off encounter.

Chelsea continued to be the stronger team in the first period of extra time, enough to make us wonder if we would have to settle for penalties. We did get ourselves some late chances before the end of the period but penalties still looked like the obvious outcome. In the second period, the players were either falling down with cramp or a little two fired up with Chelsea going down to ten men. Both sides hammered each other's goal though but to no effect. In the end it did come down to penalties and that left me bouncing off every wall in the flat. Did I really need to worry though? United won the shootout 6-5 and we had the second Champions League trophy of the Fergie era.

This time around, we faced Barcelona. Now we also faced them last time around in the Champions League semis and a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp combined with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford saw us take care of business there. Probably the biggest single game between the two sides before the this season was the 1991 Cup Winners Cup final at De Kuip. United won 2-1 on that occasion with Mark Hughes getting both of our goals. Though Barca and United have never faced in the Champions League final before, you still can't argue with the history of the La Liga side. They already have two Champions League titles under their belts and are always a factor in the competition.

This time around, well United had just won the Premiership title and Barca had just won the La Liga title. So the encounter at the Stadio Olimpico wasn't short of class. It was probably the neutrals best case scenario and neither side would have been particularly cocky going into the match. Still, it was the Champions League final, the first time United had made it this far in continental coompetition back to back. For the big match Fergie picked Rio and Vidic in central defence, Carrick, Giggsy and Anderson in midfield with Rooney, Ronaldo and Park up front. Time for more nerves, but maybe time for some serious history. Either way, this match was not going to be dull.

Well it was United that did the early attacking but then we got caught on the hop. In the 10th minute Andres Iniesta found Samuel Eto'o who jinked through our defence and hit the net. Barca were then running the show, attacking at will and it seemed that it was all we could do just to stop them getting a second. Nerves gave way to gloom. United's stars got increasingly more frustrated by the lock of posession, it seemed that there was no way to get the ball off the Catalan giants! 1-0 down at half time wasn't so bad, it wasafter all, the half time scoreline in '99. We did however, need to get our act together a bit more. That was doable though.

In the early stages of the second half, Fergie looked to have come up with the right words, and United had more opportunities. That just led to a different kind of frustration as we couldn't convert any of them. Meanwhile in the 70th minute Xavi's cross found Lionel Messi and the Argie superstar headed it into the net. That was, to borrow basketball terminology, the 'dagger'. United looked hopeless after that and a watched only with half-interest as Barca began a demo session in the closing stage. At least they didn't get a third. Not that that counted for much. It isn't often that United are dominated. This was one such occasion.

Well, what can I say? Congratulations to Barcelona, 2009 Champions League winners, the first time they've pulled it off since '06. Scratch that, congratulations to Barcelona, 2009 Treble winners, as they've also picked up La Liga and the Copa del Rey this season. They always looked like they were going to be trouble throughout this Champions League campaign and have now undoubtedly proven themselves the best team in Europe at the moment. For Thierry Henry it's his first ever Champions League winner medal and I suppose I have to give credit to ex-United defender Gerard Pique as well. They have to be in the mixer to defend their title as well.

Click here to visit the football archive

Comments get emailed here

Click here to return to sports homepage

Click here to return to Matt G's homepage