… between the two most dominant clubs in the world: Manchester United (MU) vs. Barcelona (Barca).
Well, the media has been talking about the controversies after the epic semi-final (Chelsea vs. Barca) and they’ll continue talking/writing about it for weeks. It was such a hell of a game. I admit that Chelsea played better, tactically, in the 2nd leg but overall, Barca deserved the ticket to Rome for the final. Full respect to the players on both sides for their fighting spirit.
This game might not have been as entertaining as the historical victory of Barca over Real Madrid last weekend but it is of a much higher level and well depicts the true modern football. The players brought so many good flavors to the game: philosophy, tactics, and intensity.
Now, what is my take on the final game in Rome? The Barca team this season could go down in history as the most talented club team ever. As a consequence, their players are technically superior to MU’s ones. However, I’d give a slight edge to MU (55% for MU and 45% for Barca) because:
- MU has more depth in their squad. They have decent (even high quality) backup players for almost almost every position on the field.
- Barca’s defence, on the other hand, is very thin and becomes vulnarable whenever a first-team player misses due to injury or suspension. Today, in the game against Chelsea, they didn’t have the service of the Puyol and Toure was pulled back as a centre back. As a consequence, without the three musketeers Toure-Xavi-Iniesta, Barca’s midfield looked very dull.
- Worst, in the final, they’ll miss 3 defenders. Gerard Pique can be a sufficient replacement for Rafael Marque but the two full backs positions will cause a lot of thinking for Pep Guardiola.
- Though technically superior, Barca’s players are not as physical. If allowed space to play their style, they’re weapons of mass destruction. Otherwise, they’re stuck. This is nothing new. They dominated the game but got stuck twice this year against Chelsea. It was exactly the same last year, albeit different outcome, when they played against an “anti-football” MU.
- Alex Ferguson won’t tell his players to play attacking football and be victims of Barca. Unlike his counterpart, Alex is too pragmatic and experienced. He’ll probably apply the same tactics that Hiddink used this year and he himself used last year: parking a bus in front of the goal and killed off the game through a couple of counter attacks.
In summary, the final will surely be another hell of a game. Despite the reasons above, I’m a supporter of Barca.
- Unlike at other clubs (even Manchester United or Arsenal), most of Barca’s talents (Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pique, Valdes, Krkic) are home grown. Their youth academy La Masia can easily produce a full team that has the potential of winning the Champions League.
- Coached by a manager who grew up in Barcelona and has played for the team himself.
- Their uniforms don’t have the name of any corrupted insurance giant.
- Still, they’re one of the two best teams in the world.
Who on earth doesn’t love these boys?