Manchester United v FC Barcelona - Champions league Final

redzerdrog

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

barca were a class above last night. I have to so i very very impressed my pique last night. iniesta and xavi made utd midfield look like chester city.

but all in all id prob blame ferguson he got it so so wrong

A7X

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Possibilities wrote: »

This old excuse that Scholes can't tackle is crazy - it effectively gives him licence to plough into players because sure it's only Scholesy! That was a brutal tackle last night - the media would have been up in arms if Joey Barton did it.

Of course it doesn't give him a licence to do it but he didn't mean to cause any harm. That's what I was pointing out against the petulance remark.

stevoman

Manchester United (Neutral)

Sizzler wrote: »

Why? What was so good about it It was more akin to a pre-season kickabout. Name a Utd player who put in a tackle?

sure non of them good get a chance to, Barcelona were too busy playing them off the field.

dannydiamond

Can you Imagine Messi,Iniesta,Xavi,Alonso and Torres all in the starting XI for Spain next summer:eek:,that'd frighten the sh1t out of any opposition.

Spud83

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

dannydiamond wrote: »

Can you Imagine Messi,Iniesta,Xavi,Alonso and Torres all in the starting XI for Spain next summer:eek:,that'd frighten the sh1t out of any opposition.

Berti Vogts

dannydiamond wrote: »

Can you Imagine Messi,Iniesta,Xavi,Alonso and Torres all in the starting XI for Spain next summer:eek:,that'd frighten the sh1t out of any opposition.

Yes but Messi isn't Spanish

thegen

Barcelona (Barcelona fan)

Scholes has had a nasty side to his game from the start of his career. That is why he has survived.

Last night he was sent on to ruffle a few feathers and hopefully get UTD back into the game. It didn't work.

Soby

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

dannydiamond wrote: »

Can you Imagine Messi,Iniesta,Xavi,Alonso and Torres all in the starting XI for Spain next summer:eek:,that'd frighten the sh1t out of any opposition.

Messi isnt spainish...Also you will get to see the other ones this summer..confederations cup;)

Sizzler

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

stevoman wrote: »

sure non of them good get a chance to, Barcelona were too busy playing them off the field.

Thats bollix. If you stroll around the field sure why wouldnt any team pass it around 5 a side style.

TripleAce

dannydiamond wrote: »

Can you Imagine Messi,Iniesta,Xavi,Alonso and Torres all in the starting XI for Spain next summer:eek:,that'd frighten the sh1t out of any opposition.

No, because Messi is not Spanish

A7X

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

TripleAce wrote: »

No, because Messi is not Spanish

He's whatever he wants to be

eZe^

Barcelona (United fan)

---

Casillas

---

--Arbeloa

---

Pique----Puyol---Capdevila-

---

Xavi

---

Busquets/Alonso

---

---Mata

---

Iniesta---

---

Villa

---

Torres

---

That's gotta be the best team in the world.....

WillieCocker

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

Sizzler wrote: »

Thats bollix. If you stroll around the field sure why wouldnt any team pass it around 5 a side style.

Ah so Utd didn't bother playing because....
A. they are so far up their own asses.
B. Over-rated team in the most over-rated league in the world.
C. Too much money spent on players who are after glory rather than teamwork!!!
:pac:

stevoman

Manchester United (Neutral)

Sizzler wrote: »

Thats bollix. If you stroll around the field sure why wouldnt any team pass it around 5 a side style.

No i watched the match, the Utd players were not strolling they were running. Barcelona just made eejits out of them.

Iago

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Haven't read through the thread, can't face it at the moment. Maybe once I've got some sleep I'll be better equipped, take that as fair warning! I've been up for 30 hours at this stage so the rest of this post might be rambling and incoherent.

I got back from Rome this morning feeling in equal measures numb, bitterly disappointed & yet still smiling. Obviously numb because my team lost last night and I'll get to the disappointed part presently.

I want to start with the positives first though, as a football fan Barcelona are a joy to watch. I don't generally watch a lot of Spanish football, and it's the first time I've seen Barcelona live, but my god are they good. Their off the ball runs are mesmerizing, swtching back and forth always looking for that yard of space and then boom they're through. I'm not sure how much of it translated to the TV, but if you see how much time they seemed to have on the ball you'll see what I mean. It wasn't that United weren't trying to stop them, they just didn't have an answer to the movement and timing around their passing. Their passing was exquisite, the player on the ball always seemed to have 3-4 options and unerringly picked the right one each time. That it was done at pace and with an almost telepathic ability at times was even more impressive. United just couldn't get the ball back, and without the ball you can't be effective. Their finishing was clinical and precise, like their passing it was rarely wasteful, economy of effort combined with speed of thought made Uniteds defence, which has been pretty impressive most of the season, look like Sunday league footballers. All in all Barcelona were fantastic last night, but they were helped by a United side that just didn't turn up.

I'm bitterly disappointed that
We didn't take at least one of the 4 decent chances we had in the first 10 minutes, and maybe even more that Ronaldo didn't take his chance straight after their 2nd goal. That may just have lifted us enough to get a result.

I'm bitterly disappointed that
The game wasn't played on paper, because on paper United could have won.

I'm bitterly disappointed that
Unlike the 10's of thousands of fans who were present, the United team didn't make it to Rome.

I'm bitterly disappointed that
The only sign of passion shown by any of the United players all night was when Ronaldo knocked over Puyol in frustration in the 77th minute

I'm bitterly disappointed that
Too many of Uniteds players seemed overawed by the night, O'shea and Carrick in particular.

I'm bitterly disappointed that
We left nearly £55m of striking talent on the bench and put another £40m of striking talent on the wing in a game where scoring goals and especially early goals was so important.

I'm bitterly disappointed that
With what's being labelled "the strongest squad" in England, we're still faced with playing a left winger in the centre of midfield. An attacking midfielder as a defensive midfielder. A world class striker out wide left and a world class winger up front on his own.

If United had played to their best, beating Barcelona would have been really tough. But when you're playing so badly that Toure, Pique & even Puyol can move up the pitch at will with the ball at their feet there will only ever be one result.

United have moved between mediocre and good all season, with only very very rare glimpses of great and genius football being shown. On the biggest stage, against one of the best footballing teams on the planet, trying to go from mediocre/good to exceptional for one 90 minute period was always going to be an impossible task. It's far easier to shift down gears than up.

Fuck me but Barca are incredible to watch.


Still completely gutted though

redzerdrog

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

eZe^ wrote: »

---

Casillas

---

--Arbeloa

---

Pique----Puyol---Capdevila-

---

Xavi

---

Busquets/Alonso

---

---Mata

---

Iniesta---

---

Villa

---

Torres

---

That's gotta be the best team in the world.....

wow that is some team and then the likes of reina, ramos, silva, cesc and id prob have alonso in ahead of busquets aswell.

eZe^

Barcelona (United fan)

redzerdrog wrote: »

wow that is some team and then the likes of reina, ramos, silva, cesc and id prob have alonso in ahead of busquets aswell.

Me too, but Del Bosque seems to love Busquets, and probably wants to blood him early so he can be the DMF for the world cup... Alonso and Xavi is more suspect defensively that Xavi and Busquets. Plus, Pique's long range passing is nearly as good as Alonso's anyway... ;)


Seriously though, can't get over what Pep has done in his first season. When you look at him he resembles Mourinho, the new breed of manager, smart suit, calm and composed most of the time with the occasional burst of passion. However I really like how he conducts himself, it was the same when he was a player, a REALLY intelligent man, who is modest in both victory and defeat. I'm glad he dedicated the win to his old buddy Maldini, legend of the game. It's a pity that next year he has the win the quadruple or he gets the boot...

FreeOSCAR

No matter what tactics or team United put out last night, Barcelona still would have beaten them.

I thought Ronaldo and Van Der Sar were the only guys who played ok for United last night.

The centre of midfield is the problem for them.. The best centre midfielders in the world against the worst out of all the top teams on the globs.

Barca: Iniesta, Xavi, Toure
Liverpool: Javier M, Xabi, Gerrard
Chelsea: Essien, Lampard, Ballack
Milan: Flamini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka
Madrid: Diarra, Sneijder
Arsenal: Fabregas, Arshavin
United: Carrick, Anderson, Fletcher

All the players in Bold would be in the top 25 CM in the world. Uniteds certainly wouldnt.

In saying that what do you expect when you have The Influential Carrick VS Iniesta

Spud83

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

eZe^ wrote: »

Seriously though, can't get over what Pep has done in his first season. When you look at him he resembles Mourinho, the new breed of manager, smart suit, calm and composed most of the time with the occasional burst of passion. However I really like how he conducts himself, it was the same when he was a player, a REALLY intelligent man, who is modest in both victory and defeat. I'm glad he dedicated the win to his old buddy Maldini, legend of the game. It's a pity that next year he has the win the quadruple or he gets the boot...

+1

Boggles

FreeOSCAR wrote: »

No matter what tactics or team United put out last night, Barcelona still would have beaten them.

I thought Ronaldo and Van Der Sar were the only guys who played ok for United last night.

The centre of midfield is the problem for them.. The best centre midfielders in the world against the worst out of all the top teams on the globs.

Barca: Iniesta, Xavi, Toure
Liverpool: Javier M, Xabi, Gerrard
Chelsea: Essien, Lampard, Ballack
Milan: Flamini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka
Madrid: Diarra, Sneijder
Arsenal: Fabregas, Arshavin
United: Carrick, Anderson, Fletcher

All the players in Bold would be in the top 25 CM in the world. Uniteds certainly wouldnt.

In saying that what do you expect when you have The Influential Carrick VS Iniesta

Some of them arn't central midfielders.

Some them are passed it.

Some of them are just muck.

Sizzler

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

stevoman wrote: »

No i watched the match, the Utd players were not strolling they were running. Barcelona just made eejits out of them.

LOL. I wouldnt say eejits, dozy maybe but eejits would imply sunday league stuff, were Utd beaten 10 zip or have I missed something?

No changing your mind. Are you telling me Utd worked their bollix off and applied themselves 100%? Did they heck. They didnt turn up, maybe they would have been beaten regardless as Barca were that good on the night but when you dont at least try and exert some passion or work ethic WTF do you expect?

gimmick

Manchester United (Neutral)

Only read the last page and this, cannot believe that some Man U fans are begrudging. That was an amazing Barca performace. Incredible.

Guardiola has done something unquantifiable to the team. the way that they harried all game was incredible. Barca defend from the front.

Way too hungover to say much more. Puyol was my MOTM.

Any good sites for some pics?

Pro. F

Posted this in the wrong thread last night:

I'm gutted. We never tested Barca. Its a shame.


Our defence had a bad night but midfield was the real problem. Lots of people talking about leadership but that wasn't what was missing. It was skill on the ball in CM. Fletcher or Hargreaves wouldn't have helped with that. IMO the attitude was good but the skill was lacking.

As for upfront- i'm gutted for Rooney Ronaldo and Tevez. I felt they all played well and worked hard but they were living off scraps.

Congratulations Barca. Very well played.
Ps. We'll be back!

Pps. I'm amazed that people are giving out about Rooney. He worked off scraps while playing out on the wing tonight. His touch didn't let him down even though he was usually recieving the ball from long balls or sloppy passes from Carrick. He put in some good crosses too. Rooney often gets blamed but is rarely at fault imo.
Ferguson did the best he could with the players he had. We need quality in cm and another good winger.

Congratulations again to Barcalona. Great team.

Also i'm happy for Henry he played so well in his last CL final he deserved a winners medal to complete the set.

Ref had a very good game too.

Finally one last thing (promise): I thought O'Shea had a good game last, night he snuffed out a lot of attacks. Fair play Johno.

Dcully

Boggles wrote: »

Some of them arn't central midfielders.

Some them are passed it.

Some of them are just muck.

Yeah the muck ones being Carrick and Anderson.
Id probably say the Milan guys are close to past it.
The rest are world class.

monkey9

eZe^ wrote: »

Me too, but Del Bosque seems to love Busquets, and probably wants to blood him early so he can be the DMF for the world cup... Alonso and Xavi is more suspect defensively that Xavi and Busquets. Plus, Pique's long range passing is nearly as good as Alonso's anyway... ;)


Seriously though, can't get over what Pep has done in his first season. When you look at him he resembles Mourinho, the new breed of manager, smart suit, calm and composed most of the time with the occasional burst of passion. However I really like how he conducts himself, it was the same when he was a player, a REALLY intelligent man, who is modest in both victory and defeat. I'm glad he dedicated the win to his old buddy Maldini, legend of the game. It's a pity that next year he has the win the quadruple or he gets the boot...

Yeah, Guardiola reminds me so much of Mourinho, except i like Guardiola. What a first season in charge. If i was him, i'd just quit. There's nowhere else to go. Resign in a blaze of glory!!
And then Barca can bring in Owen Coyle!!!

Aidric

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

As a Utd fan I'm obviously disappointed with the result but can have no complaints really. Carrick was exceptionally poor last night, he strolled around looking disinterested and some of the passes he played were non league stuff especially that ball for Rooney which should have set up a good shooting oppurtunity. I though O Shea did alright in the first half but wilted badly in the second. Giggs was ineffective and should have been swapped for Scholes at half time. Berbatov and Tevez made little impact but it was always going to be hard to when the midfield weren't holding on to any possession. They couldn't even get hold of the ball ffs, such was Barca's dominance. Their's is easily the best in the world.

FreeOSCAR

When Bill made some half arsed quote about Scholes saying his legs couldnt handle it anymore to Giles last night, John was disgusted, twitching a bit. It reminded me of this scene from TSAM with the 6 minute abs. Sorry John, stop living in 1999.

Nalz

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Barca were average last night but still bossed 80 mins of that game, and United had next to nothing in terms of solid chances. Some almost through balls and long range efforts dont cut it. I dont know if Barcelona could have upped it and kicked on to another gear, but they didnt have to

I cant put my finger on it, we could talk team sheets, tactics, Fletcher being banned etc... Barcelona were the better side and well deserved to win. Iniesta was exceptional I thought.

Congrats to them.

FreeOSCAR wrote: »

Barca: Iniesta, Xavi, Toure
Liverpool: Javier M, Xabi, Gerrard
Chelsea: Essien, Lampard, Ballack
Milan: Flamini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka
Madrid: Diarra, Sneijder
Arsenal: Fabregas, Arshavin
United: Carrick, Anderson, Fletcher

Sneijder and Arshavin dont play CM. Flamini, Toure, Ballack and even Fabregas havent the set the world a light recently! Give me Fletcher over any of those 3 for starters. I'm not sure how Seedorf and Pirlo faired this year as I didnt watch much Italian football, but they are past it.

I see your point, but remember these are players that have been involved in a team winning the CL 2008, finalists 2009, league champions 2008 & 2009, along with the league and WC cups. Not to mention desperately unlucky in two FA cups

gimmick

Manchester United (Neutral)

Trilla wrote: »

Barca were average last night

What?

Warper

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

Yes the ref had an excellent game last night - you wouldnt know he was there which is always a good sign.

Another player who had an excellent game was the old pro Sylvinho. I thought he done brilliantly and always seemed to be free on the left wing.

Mr Alan

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

Warper wrote: »

Another player who had an excellent game was the old pro Sylvinho. I thought he done brilliantly and always seemed to be free on the left wing.

Agreed 100%

enviro

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Firstly well done Barca, Really class. Beautiful game from them.

I am very disappointed with Carrick. Really showed he was out of his comfort zone last night. Outclassed in midfield and also too many Utd players played out of position was the reason for Utds poor performance I feel.

In saying that, if Utd had of taken their chances they may have been able to kick on. In particular the first 10 mins. Another example, Berba had a free header near the end which was way off the target from a decent position, these sort of chances need to be taken at this level.

This defeat could be the kick up the arse some of our stars need, hopefully.

In saying all this even if we played to our best form, it would still have been a tough ask to beat Barca. But at least it would have been a better contest. For me the manner of the defeat was the worst thing.
Once again well done Barca.

FreeOSCAR

Trilla wrote: »

Barca were average last night but still bossed 80 mins of that game, and United had next to nothing in terms of solid chances. Some almost through balls and long range efforts dont cut it. I dont know if Barcelona could have upped it and kicked on to another gear, but they didnt have to

I cant put my finger on it, we could talk team sheets, tactics, Fletcher being banned etc... Barcelona were the better side and well deserved to win. Iniesta was exceptional I thought.

Congrats to them.




Sneijder and Arshavin dont play CM. Flamini, Toure, Ballack and even Fabregas havent the set the world a light recently! Give me Fletcher over any of those 3 for starters. I'm not sure how Seedorf and Pirlo faired this year as I didnt watch much Italian football, but they are past it.

I see your point, but remember these are players that have been involved in a team winning the CL 2008, finalists 2009, league champions 2008 & 2009, along with the league and WC cups. Not to mention desperately unlucky in two FA cups

So was Djimi Traore in Istanbul

Them 3 guys are hard workers and look great against WBA and the likes but in reality are just average players been carried along to success by Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo, Vidic, Evra, Rio, Park and Van Der Sar

Nalz

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

gimmick wrote: »

What?

ok poor choice of words...they didnt need to be great to dominate last night imo

Highsider

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

Possibilities wrote: »

This old excuse that Scholes can't tackle is crazy - it effectively gives him licence to plough into players because sure it's only Scholesy! That was a brutal tackle last night - the media would have been up in arms if Joey Barton did it.

Thought the same thing myself.

Pro. F

I thought Scholes was going to get a red for that tackle tbh.

It was the first dangerous tackle in the game and the Ref did well to calm down the situation and tell all the players don't let there be another one.
I really was very impressed with the Ref. He was always in control.

Soby

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

Did i just hear correctly on the news 130 barca fans got arrested in Barca or something?

enviro

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Soby wrote: »

Did i just hear correctly on the news 130 barca fans got arrested in Barca or something?

Yeah heard that myself too. Waiting for the story to come on now

Soby

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/138/spain/2009/05/28/1290877/police-arrest-134-as-barcelona-celebrations-turn-violent

Police arrested 134 people after celebrations to mark Barcelona's Champions League victory turned violent and 153 people were treated for injuries in the Catalan capital and across the region.

More than 100,000 joined in the celebrations in la Cuitat Contal's central Plaça Catalunya where they watched the game on giants screens and then followed the post-match celebrations.

Two large stages were set up and local television channel TV3 broadcast live with live music and regular transfers to Rome to show what the players were doing.

The good atmosphere lasted until around 1.30am, half an hour before the Metro was due to close, when a group of 100 people at the top of Las Ramblas began to hurl objects at police lines.

Mossos d'Esquadra, the main police in Cataluna, and the Guardia Urbana, the municipal police force, issued warnings to stop before taking action to prevent any more disruption.

119 arrests were made in Barcelona, including that of two people accused of robbery and a 55-year-old who was firing ball-bearings at police with a catapult.

Elsewhere, there were arrets made in Granollers, Badalona, Sabadell, Igualada, Gurona and Sant Feliu de Guixols, while a firework near Tarragona caused 600 metres of frest to burn down.

There had been trouble when Blaugrana supporters gathered at the top of Las Ramblas in Barcelona after they beat Real Madrid, Chelsea and won the Copa del Rey, prompting calls for a new meeting point to be found.

enviro

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

"A 55-year-old who was firing ball-bearings at police with a catapult"

Someone needs to grow up.

A7X

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

"It wasn't really Messi who was the problem. It was Iniesta and Xavi. They can keep the ball all night long.

Quote from SAF.

I really couldn't agree more. Going into that match all the hype was about Ronaldo and Messi. Who was the best player in the world. And what came out of it, from my point of view, was that Xavi and Iniesta are.

Eirebear

Soby wrote: »

Did i just hear correctly on the news 130 barca fans got arrested in Barca or something?

http://media.smh.com.au/national/breaking-news/fans-riot-in-barcelona-544865.html

Only two weeks after they went on the Rampage after the cup win.

Who do they think they are? rangers fans?

Mr Alan

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

**** sake, Utd fans are so reactionary.

just cause Iniesta & xavi schooled yous last night does not automatically make them the best players in the world :rolleyes:

You remember Torres & Gerrard schooling yous a few weeks ago? are they the best in the world?
What about Zamora & Murphy who schooled yous against Fulham shortly afterwards? best players in the world?

A7X

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Mr Alan wrote: »

**** sake, Utd fans are so reactionary.

just cause Iniesta & xavi schooled yous last night does not automatically make them the best players in the world :rolleyes:

You remember Torres & Gerrard schooling yous a few weeks ago? are they the best in the world?
What about Zamora & Murphy who schooled yous against Fulham shortly afterwards? best players in the world?

My god Alan. Im not being reactionary. Im trying to point out that its not about single players and the fact that everyone was expecting either Ronnie or Messi to dictate the game and then it turns out neither of them did.

enviro

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Mr Alan wrote: »

**** sake, Utd fans are so reactionary.

just cause Iniesta & xavi schooled yous last night does not automatically make them the best players in the world :rolleyes:

You remember Torres & Gerrard schooling yous a few weeks ago? are they the best in the world?
What about Zamora & Murphy who schooled yous against Fulham shortly afterwards? best players in the world?

Torres and Gerrard didnt do it in the greatest game in club football though, big difference.

Eirebear

A7X wrote: »

Quote from SAF.

I really couldn't agree more. Going into that match all the hype was about Ronaldo and Messi. Who was the best player in the world. And what came out of it, from my point of view, was that Xavi and Iniesta are.

I dont think its as simple as that.

The difference between Ronaldo and Messi, is that Messi is backed up by Xavi and Iniesta.
Utd's midfield couldnt come close to that pair last night.

if you had swapped the two players last night, Ronaldo would have ended up looking more succesful that Messi.
Football is a team game, sometimes i feel that pundits forget that.

SlickRic

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

1) barca are a freak of nature; no other team on the planet plays football like that

2) barca ran on average 1km further per man than utd's players, according to stats i saw after the game. maybe i'm wrong? read into that what you will.

bottom line for utd...

utd's attackers paper over cracks in the league; while their defence easily handles 90% teams quite comfortably in england, as opposition play is mostly quite one dimensional. fergie has put together a defence that can handle that one-dimensional style superbly.

anyone who thinks they're in any way 'done' deserves a giant LMAO.

they're still the team to beat in the league, due to their unerring ability to beat mediocrity. but set against Fergie's high standards, it is not even close to a 'great' team. we've seen that on numerous occasions this season.

but just once again...xavi and iniesta...my God!

A7X

Manchester United (Barcelona fan)

Eirebear wrote: »

I dont think its as simple as that.

The difference between Ronaldo and Messi, is that Messi is backed up by Xavi and Iniesta.
Utd's midfield couldnt come close to that pair last night.

if you had swapped the two players last night, Ronaldo would have ended up looking more succesful that Messi.
Football is a team game, sometimes i feel that pundits forget that.

Thats what I'm saying though.

GLaDOS

Don't care (just want the game to be a cracker)

enviro wrote: »

Torres and Gerrard didnt do it in the greatest game in club football though, big difference.

So they did it with a worse team....so they must be better?!?

Eirebear

A7X wrote: »

Thats what I'm saying though.

fairynuff, just picked you up wrong.