AC Milan vs FC Barcelona - a tactical overview

This game won't go down as a classic between the sides, given some of the amazing results in the past, but there were some points of interest. A classic Italian shut-out that at times owed more to typically English traits of heroic last-ditch desperate tackles and blocks. Barcelona dominated possession and territory as expected, but were ultimately inefficient, and the tie is delicately balanced for the second leg.

By now, most football watchers with an interest in tactics will be well aware of the characteristics of these two teams. Milan typically play a very narrow midfield, and famously restricted Arsenal in the Gunners. Against Barca here they set out in an unsurprising 4-3-1-2 with Ibrahimovic starting with Robinho up front, former Portsmouth  FA Cup winner Kevin Prince-Boateng as the trequartista and the usual array of grizzled campaigners behind them.

Barcelona did spring one surprise, Keita starting in place of Cesc Fabregas, but apart from that alteration Guardiola too played as expected in a 4-1-2-2-1. Iniesta pushed up into Fabragas’ position wide left, as the more defensive-minded Keita took his place further back in midfield with Xavi.

There will come a point soon when Dani Alves will no longer be described as a defender, and the 4 at the base of Barcelona’s formation will become a more truthful 3. Alves played higher up the pitch than Busquets and Keita, and wider on the right wing than Iniesta was on the left. He was the only player giving real width to Barcelona’s attacks until the introduction of Tello in place of Iniesta in the 65^th minute. On more than one occasion Milan were defending with 7 players within the width of the 18 yard box, and Alves was right there in acres of space waiting for the ball. He was passed to 74 times during the course of the game – more than Iniesta on the left and almost 30 times more than Keita who was playing in Iniesta’s usual position on the left of the midfield, within easy reach of Xavi.

The Xaviesta partnership was broken up, and it was Iniesta who suffered really, unable to influence the game to his usual extent.

For Barcelona, it was a night where nothing really clicked properly for them. Despite enjoying the larger slice of possession, a few of their attacks became pedestrian, and it seemed that what would normally be described as ‘patient build up’ looked more like a lack of a cutting edge.

The contrasting styles of the two teams are well illustrated in these representaitons of the passes played by each team into the final third. Milan played far more long balls up to Ibrahimovic, who to be fair is a fine target man. After judging the flight of the ball, he becomes an almost immovable object, and Milan searched for him as an outlet many times.

However, to describe the result as simply a failure of Barcelona clicking properly would be a disservice to a Milan side that defended heroically. Antonini and Ambrosini in particular showed such determination and spirit that Massimiliano Allegri couldn’t have asked for more. The same could not be said for Robinho, who squandered a gilt-edged chance to put Milan 1-0 up within three minutes of kick off, but skied his shot well over.

Milan’s front three pressed the Barcelona defence early on, but as the first half wore on Milan seemed content to allow Barcelona possession in non-threatening areas of the pitch. Ambrosini proved what a nuisance he can be with a huge performance, making six interceptions, 5 successful tackles and one block.

In total Milan made 25 interceptions compared to Barcelona’s 13. The spread of the interceptions shows that Milan were affecting a high pressing approach to defending.

Milan were very organised and efficient. Whilst sometimes happy to concede possession and territory, they put their foot in at vital moments to break down attacks. Most of the players will be straight into that ice-bath for a cool down after the game – a combination tactic of high pressing and packing the defence when Barcelona got close *and then* also counter attacking with gusto must’ve taken a lot out of the players, especially given their relatively high average age. Despite only having 35% of possession and 38% of territory, they managed to get as many shots on target as Barcelona - 3. Not including the five blocks put in by Milan defenders.

So whilst statistics will point out that Barcelona attempted more passes and achieved a higher percentage completion rate – the only real stats that matter at this point is 0-0; and Milan go to Camp Nou knowing that a score draw will see them  though.

The stand-out moments of the game where the desperate and crucial blocks by Ambrosini and Antonini – but whether it’ll be those actions that are telling or the missed opportunities by their attacking colleagues will be worked out in two weeks’ time. Milan had far fewer chances, but they were perhaps the better ones.

El Clásico:The Dream Team vs The Galacticos

An imagining of a match between two famous El Clasico sides. The 1992 European Cup winning Barcelona team, known as “The Dream Team” versus the 2002 Real Madrid team, at the beginning of what is known as the Galactico’s period. Il Fenomeno doesn’t make the side – he signed in late summer 2002. Sadly too, Romario didn’t join until the year after Barcelona’s European Cup triumph.

First up, the team sheets.

Barcelona 1992 (4-2-3-1)

Real Madrid 2002 (4-4-2 Diamond)

Former player Cruyff’s return as manager to the Camp Nou in 1988 was the start of a resurgence in Barcelona’s fortunes, following the relatively disappointing years with El Tel and Luis Aragones in charge. Four La Liga titles in a row (1991-94) and a European Cup triumph helped to make Cruyff Barlecona’s most successful ever manager, until he was recently overtaken by Pep Guardiola. Cruyff’s team combined a core of Basque players  with outstanding foreign signings such as Hristo Stoichkov, Ronald Koeman and Michael Laudrup.

Real Madrid’s Galactico’s would go on to include Englishmen Beckham and Owen, but in 2002 President Florentino Perez had been in control for two years, and had added former Blaugranas hero Luis Figo and Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, breaking transfer fee records each year. In contrast to Barcelona, Real Madrid had a fine European Cup pedigree at the time of their team featured here, in fact Los Merengues had won the UEFA Champions League in 1998 and 2000.

In the 1991/92 season, Barcelona’s Dream Team won La Liga, but failed to beat their El Clasico rivals – both the game at Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu finished 1-1. In contrast, the Real Madrid team of 2001/02 finished 3^rd behind Rafa Benitez’s famous Valencia side of Canizares, Ayala, Ruben Baraja and Pablo Aimar, and Deportivo La Coruna. They did of course win the Champions League and with the purchase of Brazilian superstar striker Ronaldo went on to win La Liga in the next season.

The Match Report.

Two legendary teams took to the field at Wembley, the home of football. Barcelona 1992 “The Dream Team”, led out by captain Andoni Zubizarreta; and Real Madrid 2002 “The Galacticos”, captained by Fernando Hierro. A nice touch before the match began – both teams gave each other a guard of honour, clapping their rivals onto the re-laid hallowed turf of the Cathedral of Football.

Soon after, hostilities resumed – a match full of energy, passion, and a fair few frayed tempers. Barcelona prevailed 2-1 courtesy of goals from Hristo Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman, and survived a late onslaught from Real Madrid after being reduced to 10 men for the last 12 minutes. Real piled on the pressure, but couldn’t find the second goal to take it to extra time, after Zidane scored a goal of fabulous quality.

Real Madrid started the more lively of the two. Roberto Carlos spent more time in the opposition half during the first twenty minutes than his own – putting Albert Ferrer under pressure and restricting Goikoetxea’s attacking chances.

Barcelona began to come into it though, Guardiola and Bakero putting some lovely passes together, keeping the ball from Real Madrid. Guardiola in particular characterised his play with simple, short passes which had Real’s midfield chasing shadows.

The first goal came ten minutes before half time. A slip by Luis Figo letting Michael Laudrup onto the ball in a dangerous position, the great Dane advanced on the Real Madrid’s defence, drifting into the space vacated by Roberto Carlos who had sprinted ahead to give Figo an option. A lovely chipped ball between Hierro and Helguera put Stoichkov through who let it bounce before firing a low shot beyond Casillas.

The young ‘keeper made some amends early in the second half, pulling off a series of stunning saves to deny Stoichkov and Bakero, and also a stunning reaction save to keep a Nadal header out from a well worked corner.

Real Madrid then began to play a bit, showing their strengths. Roberto Carlos continued his tireless runs, Makelele snuffing out Barcelona attacks and distributing the ball to his more creative colleagues. The Real Madrid attack had been quiet until this point, but in the 55^th minute they combined to give Zubizarreta more to do than keep himself warm. Zidane outmuscled Bakero and played in Figo with a glorious reverse ball. Quick feet by Figo found him half a yard in the area, his curled shot had Zubizarreta beaten, but the ball agonisingly pinged off the corner of the bar and left post.

Barcelona seemed to take heed of the warning. Applying more pressure through midfield, they began to press higher up the pitch and were rewarded for their belligerence with a second with just over 20 minutes remaining. Another well worked set piece found Koeman  30 yards out. The Real Madrid wall remained static as Laudrup surprised them by playing the ball laterally to the onrushing Koeman who again cemented his reputation for deadly accuracy and power from range. No keeper in the world would’ve kept his shot out; 2-0 Barcelona.

Barcelona didn’t take their foot off the gas though. They continued to play the possession game, frustrating Real Madrid. Helguera in particular began to take out his frustration on opponent’s legs. Although perhaps it was a ploy to bring out the temper of another hot-head on the pitch. In the 78^th minute Stoichkov was brought down once to many times for his liking, and retaliated by raking his studs across the ribs of Helguera when both were on the floor. Helguera received a yellow for the foul, but Stoichkov got his marching orders from referee Pierluigi Collina.

Real Madrid, a man to the good but two goals down, turned up the tempo in the remaining minutes of the game, and it was then Barcelona’s turn to soak up pressure. Five minutes before the end Zidane produced the moment of brilliance his team had been looking for, setting up a grandstand finish. Receiving the ball from Makelele in the centre circle, he played a one-two with Solari, then laid the ball off for Morientes. Morientes found substitute Steve McManaman down the right wing who made the bye-line before chipping a cross to Zidane on the penalty spot. Bringing the ball down with his chest, he executed a perfect Cruyff turn, bamboozling Koeman before hammering a right foot shot into the top corner of the goal.

In the end it wasn’t enough. An injury time effort from Raul was palmed onto the bar and behind, but Zubizarreta’s touch wasn’t spotted by the linesman or referee, who blew for full time. The Dream Team 2; The Galactico’s 1; a match of scintillating football sent the 80,000 capacity crowd home happy. Everyone present in that grand old stadium will be telling people for years “that match was unbelievable”.

You can follow Tom on twitter @ffootballer or visit his blog The Frustrated Footballer

Milan 2-3 Barcelona:Milan fail to pick up Xavi

Barcelona overcame Milan at the San Siro in a match which differed markedly from the 2-2 draw between the teams in September. In that encounter, Milan scored early on and ‘parked the bus’ before conceding two goals, then snatching an equaliser in the dying seconds. They attempted to be more proactive in front of their home crowd, but this played into the Catalans’ hands.

The teams set out as usual; Milan in a 4-3-1-2 and Barcelona in their well-known 4-3-3. Max Allegri left out captain Massimo Ambrosini in favour of Alberto Aquilani, as if to signal a more positive intent. Barcelona were missing Dani Alves and Gerard Piqué was only deemed fit enough for the bench so Mascherano and Busquets played at centre-back, with Puyol moving out to the right of defence and Keita filling the holding midfield slot. Thiago Alcântara played narrow on the right of attack.

First half: faltering defences lead to a lot of chances
Milan came out of the blocks strongly, attacking the away side and pressing intently. But this rather resembled Manchester United’s start to the Champions league final as Barcelona soon found their stride, taking control for the majority of the game (they finished with 59% possession). Milan’s narrow midfield had its usual problem of dealing with fullbacks motoring forward; as there was nobody to oppose Eric Abidal, he was a very easy out-ball.

As for Milan’s fullbacks, they were having a tough time defensively. Both switched off for the first goal; Zambrotta letting Thiago beat him to a ball which he had no right to win, before Abate failed to see Keita ghost into the far post, the Malian’s ball deflecting off van Bommel for an own goal. The tricky Thiago was giving Zambrotta a hard time, again getting the better of him to set up a good chance for Messi.

Milan’s midfield wasn’t doing a much better job. Despite van Bommel’s attention, Messi was finding space between the lines and was given options by the onrushing Xavi and Fabregas. This was a result of Allegri’s decision to place two playmakers ahead of van Bommel. While this was commendable for positive intent, a ‘runner’ such as Ambrosini or Nocerino could have done better at tracking Barça’s central midfielders. Van Bommel could even have dropped deeper to try to restrict Messi’s space in front of the Milan defence (see the space between him and the centre-backs in the average positions below).

To be fair to Milan, they carried an attacking threat of their own. While Barcelona’s pressing makes it hard to pass through them (especially with all of Milan’s midfield being in the middle), they found some joy with Aquilani playing diagonal balls to the left, giving Boateng or Robinho a one-on-one with Puyol and the opportunity to pass into the box. That was the buildup for Ibrahimovic’s equaliser

This was aided by Barcelona’s own defensive troubles; playing two defensive midfielders in central defence works well when they dominate, as those players play in their usual zone (around the halfway line). However, they seemed unsettled when Milan came at them and at times struggled with positioning. This was exploited in the previous encounter by Pato’s pace; this time round, Ibrahimovic was to profit. First, his ability to hold the ball up led to a chance that Robinho should have converted. Minutes later, he had made it 1-1. Poor positioning and loose marking from Mascherano and Busquets was evident on both occasions.

Still, Barcelona kept attacking and the lack of tracking from Milan’s midfield cost them. Xavi got on the end of a Messi through-ball and while Nesta may not have actually fouled him, they deserved to retake the lead from Messi’s penalty.

Second half: Milan pull it back but don’t learn from mistakes
Pato came on for Robinho at half-time, with Allegri maybe casting his mind back to Busquets and Mascherano’s struggles with his explosive pace a couple of months ago. He failed to provide the same threat as Barcelona were not losing this time, so there was less need for the centre-backs to push up so much. But he still managed to take advantage of their penalty-box uncertainty; winning his header against Busquets (who stands almost 4 inches above Pato), before Mascherano headed the ball to Boateng for another equaliser resulting from direct play.

However, Milan also failed to learn from their mistakes. While their play with the ball was improving, they were still looking vulnerable when Messi ran at them. Inevitably, another through ball found its way to Xavi, who finished superbly.

After an exciting hour, the game started to peter out as Milan searched for an equaliser in vain. Their midfield shape is more suited to counter-attacking or controlling the middle rather than chasing a goal, although long balls to Ibrahimovic looked like they might bring some joy. Nocerino, who could have been on earlier for defensive reasons, was instead brought on for van Bommel to give the midfield some thrust (with Seedorf becoming a deep-lying playmaker in front of the defence). Still, they could not create more clear chances against Barcelona, who did a good job of stopping the supply from deep by bringing on Pedro and Sanchez for Villa and Fabregas to close down from the front; a prime example being Sanchez superbly chasing back to stop Aquilani playing the ball forward in the 87th minute.

Barcelona attacked superbly and will be delighted to have won in the San Siro but this match showed that with both Busquets and Mascherano in central defence, they can be unsettled by direct play. They will be keen to have at least one of their ‘natural’ centre-backs playing in the later stages. As for Milan, they competed well enough against top-class opposition and showed that they have the attacking talent to trouble anyone, but getting outplayed at home brings up the limitations of Allegri’s narrow midfield and suggests that they’re outsiders in the Champions League this year.


-Ihsaan Budaly

A Comprehensive Analysis Of All Goals Conceded By Man Utd This Season

Picture Courtesy-Graeme Bandeira

Manchester United have played 11 games this season and have conceded 11 goals. While they look brilliant going forward they have looked shaky at times at the back. Their opponents have had an average of 15 shots on goal per game, while the policy of you score 3 we score 4 might provide classic entertainment,but the great United sides were always built on a strong defense. Some still blame the midfield, some blame the loss of United's “Captain marvel” Vidic and the rest just blame Carrick, Berbatov or Gibson. Let’s investigate the crime scenes and find out the culprit.

Manchester United Vs Manchester City

1: Dzeko (2-0, 45+1min): With nobody in a red shirt within 15 yards of Carrick, he attempts to make a pass to Welbeck which gets intercepted. From there on City make a couple of passes and United’s midfield now lacks shape as Anderson is too far away from his midfield partner leaving united with a front 5 and a back 5 with Dzeko having all the space and time in the world to let fly from 30 yards. De Gea who was on his United debut,fails to get down quick enough to stop the shot from finding the bottom corner.

Verdict: Carrick and Anderson were too far apart,therefore Carrick had to aim an ambitious pass, and when City launch an attack United are left with a flat back 5 and no one even tries to close Dzeko or get in a block. De Gea who was making his debut and that too in a Manchester derby at wembley was bound to have nerves.This shows that the simple passing game of Michael Carrick is highly effective in retaining possession and building momentum,even though Cleverely's been in good form,i doubt that in the tough away fixtures in the Champions League,Carrick will be watching the game rather being on the pitch.

West Brom Vs Manchester United

2: Long (1-1, 37min): Smalling heads a long ball into the path of Ferdinand who heads it into the path of Fabio who is in the center of the midfield alongside Anderson, with Cleverley nowhere near. Fabio has a poor first touch and gets dispossessed. To be fair Fabio does come back to help out the defence but is easily shoved away by Tchoyi. By the time Tchoyi’s ball comes to the feet of Long,Cleverley comes back to help out the defence and Albion manage to get five players forward. Long plays a one two with Brunt and the move creates a yard of space for Long to hit a shot before either of Smalling or Cleverley can get in a tackle.The shot beats De Gea,who clearly failed to get down quick enough.

Verdict: Cleverley returns slowly and therefore Anderson is left alone in midfield. Fabio has a poor first touch and therefore United concede possession cheaply and are short on numbers at the back. Fabio lacks the upper body strength to make a proper challenge,so he fails to make amends for his mistake and De Gea  makes his second blunder in 2 matches.

Manchester United Vs Arsenal

3: Walcott (3-1, 45+3min): With 2 mins of stoppage time already played and United leading by 3 goals Anderson tries to find Rooney with a through ball that is over hit. Szczesny then finds an Arsenal player and they build an attack, Arshavin’s cross is chested down by Evra but his right foot clearance lacks distance. Ramsey wins the aerial battle against Anderson and slips the ball into Arshavin who finds Rosicky. Now Cleverley, Jones and Evra are close to the midfield two of arshavin and Rosicky thereby leaving plenty of space behind them and no one to mark Walcott as Evra is completely out of position. Rosicky manages to pick out one of Walcott and Van persie who are in acres of space. Walcott fires a low shot from a tight angle that goes through the legs of De Gea.

Verdict: With a minute of stoppage time remaining and United leading 3-0 it was foolish on Anderson’s part to attempt an ambitious through ball and give possession away. Evra makes a poor clearance with his wrong foot and Anderson makes no effort to win the aerial challenge. Evra and Jones both go to close down Rosicky and that results in the defence losing its shape.Clear lack of communication between the defenders.

4: Van Persie(6-2, 74min): United get caught on the counter attack with Smalling on the right wing. Arshavin finds Jenkinson with a superb ball that Young can’t reach and as Evra is infield he is caught in no man’s land. Jenkinson puts the ball into the box and Jones gets his head onto it but his clearance goes straight back to Jenkinson who heads the ball into the path of Van Persie. With Jones’s momentum carrying him into the goal, Van Persie who is onside slams the ball into the net from a couple of yards.

Verdict: It was a superb counter attack from Arsenal who had managed to catch Evra out of position. Jones should have headed the ball out for a corner, but showed his lack of experience by trying to keep the ball in play especially when United were short on numbers at the back and were caught on the break.

Manchester United Vs Chelsea

5: Torres (3-1, 46min): Chelsea start the second half and manage to keep possession for 30+secs. Mata finds Anelka on the left wing and Cole makes an overlapping run to take Smalling with him. Nani is a little infield therefore Anelka has enough time to measure his pass. Torres makes his run in between Evans and Jones who are ball watching and dinks De Gea with a superb finish.

Verdict: Maybe Nani could have closed Anelka down quicker, but Jones and Evans should have kept an eye on Torres instead of looking at Anelka. Jones will get better with experience,but this goal shows clearly why Ferguson prefers Valencia to Nani in the big games.

6: Torres (3-1, miss): United have a have a flat back 6 with Fletcher and Young filling in, but all are ball watching and nobody follows Torres. Carrick too doesn’t get tight on Ramires to prevent him from picking a pass.

Benfica Vs Manchester United

7: Cardozo: (1-0): The goalkeeper finds the left back, who passes it towards Gaitan. Fletcher gets easily turned by Gaitan who sends a superb ball with the outside of his left foot towards Cardozo. Evans gives the striker too much time and space to turn and shoot across goal that gives Lindegaard no chance.

Verdict: Fletcher is not a proper CDM and therefore doesn’t get a tackle in on Gaitan who easily turns him. Evans gives too much space to Cardozo and although he shows him onto his weaker foot, but when you are playing at highest level you would expect the strikers to score with either foot.

Manchester United Vs Basel

8: Frei (2-2): Evra makes a run from left back but doesn’t release the ball soon enough and therefore loses possession. When he does return back to his positon, he is not close enough to prevent the cross. Jones is caught out of position too as he doesn’t know whether to go close to Evra’s man or to come back to help out Rio. When the cross is whipped in Fabio is on the edge of the box and Rio is caught in no man’s land leaving Frei to score with a free header.

Verdict: If the full backs and Jones are going to go on marauding runs into the opposition half,United will need a specialist CDM who just sits in front of the defence and slots in to fill the gaps. The midfield cannot be blamed if the full backs go forward and lose the ball.

9: Frei (2-3, pen): Their midfielder just ghosts past Park and Carrick as if they don’t exist. Jones is on his European debut and doesn’t know whether to close down or to stay back and does something between the two. Although he reads the one-two very well and intercepts it, he tries to be too cute with it and instead of sending the ball into row z, he plays a 5 yards pass into the make-shift right back (Valencia’s) path, who fails to control it and ends up getting the wrong side of the attacker and making a challenge from behind thereby conceding a penalty.

Verdict: Jones will learn from this type of experience that although he is a ball playing defender it isn’t a bad thing to clear the ball when under pressure to take the sting out of the attack.

10: Set Pieces: United conceded 3 goals from set pieces out of the 10 goals conceded ( I am excluding the penalty against Basel over here) - One against Man City when Lescott made a run in front of the defender.  The goal conceded against Stoke was due to Crouch’s movement and the height difference between him and Jones(Vidic was needed in that game or Rio should have taken up the responsibility of marking Crouch). The third was against Basel where in De Gea saved the initial shot from the corner but the snapshot from Frei went in off the post (no one was there on that post to save it).

FINAL ANALYSIS:

1: Jones is inexperienced and is bound to make a few mistakes, but he should know when to clear the ball and when to play it from the back (Van persie goal and penalty to Basel).

2: Evra hasn’t been at his best since his debacle at the world cup and it is wrong to tell him to lead that young and inexperienced back four especially as he is caught out of position so many times.

3: United defenders are the ones that bring the ball into midfield and concede possession and as we don’t have a natural CDM those gaps result in goals.

4: The fitness of the Da Silvas and Rio are a major concern.

5: Some of the goals conceded or the attemps on goal are due to the lack of closing down of the opposition attackers. United players do come back to help out the defence but it often results in them having a flat back 5 or back 6 (Dzeko goal and Torres miss) and there is lack of communication on who should sit back and who should go in and make the tackle (Walcott goal).

-Rohit Shankarmani

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Tactical Mistakes Against Barcelona

Sir Alex’s Manchester United were absolutely decimated on the field yesterday,they were made to look like school boys chasing the ball around.The MVP(Messi,Villa,Pedro) scored and all the goals were assisted by  the three midfielders.The United team looked shell shocked,but SAF should have known better,he should have realised that they are playing a team who beat Real Madrid 5-0 earlier in the season.In 2009 United gave too much respect to the Catalans,and on this occasion too little respect.Certainly no lessons were learnt from that disastrous night at Rome.

The Starting  11

Man United Starting Line Up

This was the line up which SAF used for all the big games this season,and in most of them they were successful,but the matter of the fact they were never up against the quality of a team like Barcelona before.This formation’s best performance came against Schalke,but even though it was a champions league semi final,Schalke is a team which was languishing in the bottom half of the Bundesliga.SAF should have clearly seen that when Madrid played with three holding midfielders,they were able to stop Barca,but still he went with Hernandez up front leaving Carrick and Giggs exposed and they were toyed by Xavi and Iniesta who formed a number of small triangles with Messi and simply passed their way around the United midfield.Xavi as usual was the master and controlled the pace and the direction of the game and in my opinion was the man of the match

And compare this to Giggs’s performance who effectivley is United’s most creative player.

And there is the difference between both the teams,United desperately needed another midfield player(preferably Fletcher) to mark Xavi and to prevent being overrun.So the lack of the additional player in the center of the pitch was a major factor.

Lack Of Changes At The Break

Even a layman could see that United needed someone to stop riot,and that they owed to Rooney’s brilliance that they were still in the game.Hernandez was having a poor game,and Barca’s backline stepped up comfortably and played him offside.He was caught offside many times and was unable to time his runs to perfection.Dimitar Berbatov(Who by the way was not on the bench) who is excellent at holding the ball up would have been better suited as he is on of the few player in the United ranks who had the technical ability comparable to the Catalans.After the break Giggs was shifted to the left and Park to the middle,but this led to more problems as Alves easily got past Giggs and this resulted in more attacks down the right.But the basic fact was that United’s midfield was completely overrun as the following analysis shows that.

Lionel Messi

If you cant stop Messi,then you cant win the game.And Man United couldn’t stop the little Argentinian who looks like a school boy but usually makes the defenders  look like school boys.Jose Mourinho put Pepe in a specific role to stop Messi and it worked in the Copa Del Rey final,and it also worked in the Champions league final till the Portuguese stopper got sent off.Ferguson needed to do the same,but instead Ferdinand and Vidic took turns out to leave their position to stop the World Player Of The Year.It didnt work as Messi was given too much time and space.

No Definite Shape In United’s Formation

The first goal was purely due to a defensive mistake,Evra who should have been marking Pedro was nowhere to be seen,he was in fact dragged into the center by Messi and Xavi acted as a center of attraction as he attracted the attention of both the center halves and this left Pedro free.And as usual Xavi picked him out with a precise pass and he finished off sending Edwin Van Der Sar the wring side.This may not be entirely Evra’s fault as he came off his position to mark Messi who was unmarked,who by the way should be marked by one of the center halves.So clearly there was confusion in the United defence on the roles assigned to each one of them.SAF should have got this worked out in the training ground as this Barca team was no known for ages.

Conclusion

One may say that United got their tactics wrong,but this Barcelona side is one of the greatest ever club sides and in Nessi they have a got the best player in the world who most importantly delivers when it matters.United were simply beaten by the better team,but the manner of the defeat is what hurts the most.Barcelona were playing with a makeshift defense and United weren’t able to trouble it except for Rooney’s goal.Xavi Hernandez is ceratinly one of the best playmakers in our generation and the difference in Messi for Argentina and Messi for Barcelona clearly shows that.It was fitting that Abidal lifted the trophy,it was a great gesture from a great team and as they say Barcelona is Més que un club.

The Greatest Team Ever?

The Champions League Final If I Was God!

Manchester United for the first time in many years are going into a match as the underdogs,very few people are giving them any chance of grabbing their fourth European title.Barcelona possibly the best ever team to have played on this planet with their pass to death philosophy have had a wonderful season with their tiki-taka  style getting even better.
Many of my friends who hate Man Utd(almost all of them) are praying for a humilliation for the Red Devils,and i keep telling them rather arrogantly how United are going to thrash the Catalans.Of course there is this fear in the back of my head that if something goes wrong then it will be two months of unbearable torture from the people who support Liverpool,Chelsea,Arsenal,Madrid,City and even Plymouth Argyle.
So what is my dream Champions League final? How would the game at Wembley play out if i was the Supreme One,if i was God!

15 minutes before kickoff
Both the sets of players are warming up,with Barcelona practicing the short passing which they dont actually need to, and United simply shooting or waving to their fans.Surprisingly Bebe has made the bench for the final,Sir Alex said that it was a tactical decision taken to exploit a weakness in the Barcelona backline,all the Barcelona backroom staff are urgently checking out Youtube and ZonalMarking to compile a dossier on Bebe for Pep,as he didnt have Bebe scouted.

Bebe not expecting to be picked,forgot to bring his Man Utd kit

Back on the pitch,Xavi,Iniesta and Messi were trying out the triangles and Busquets and Alves were fine-tuning their play-acting skills.Pep then came on to the pitch and pointed out to Busquets that Nani on the other side has improved a lot on his body language as well where as Alves and Busquets still use their facial expressions to convince the referee and they need to learn the skill as quickly as possible.

Kickoff

Man United Starting Line Up

Barcelona Starting Line Up

Barca start off as usual dominating possesion,Xavi orchestrating from the center and Carrick unable to cope with him.Just as Man United start to get their tempo going with Rooney dragging Puyol out of place,Xavi plays a delicate one two with Iniesta and then puts in a wonderful ball toVilla who is one on one with Vds.Villa hits it straight at the Dutchman,making the commentator proclaim "Even Berba would have scored that".The same trend continues as Barca miss chance after chance and United look like lost school boys on the pitch.Ferguson has just asked Scholes and Fletcher to warm up.Puyol has Hernandez in his pocket,the little pea seems tiny before the monstrous Catalan,not even able to touch the ball.

30-45 mins

Sergio Busquets then pulls off a brilliant dive which would make Michael Phelps proud,but unfortunately it was outside the penalty box and Barca just get a free kick which Xavi makes a mess of it.Barcelona get frustrated having had so many chances and not even one hitting the back of the net,even Messi gets booked for a challenge on Park who for the whole match followed him like the Hutch dog.The neutrals  get bored and Michel Platini leaves for the toilet not returning until the second half.Ferguson asks Phelan to get back up batteries for his hair dryer.The camera spots John Terry in the stands along with Miss Imogen Thomas.The score remains 0-0 as the referee blows his whistle.

45-70 mins

The teams come out of their tunnels for the second half,Carrick looks a bit dull it seems he faced the full force of the hair dryer.Colin Firth in the stands too seems a bit dull,because it seems he is not the best actor even at Wembley presently and people are wondering how did he get the Oscar.And then it came,the moment all United fans had nightmares about,Messi getting past one,two,three and four United players and poking the ball past VDS.A wonderful goal from the Argentinian sparks wild celebrations among the Barca fans and i get a barrage of texts,tweets with vulgar expletives.
As Ferguson looks at his watch at 65 mins,there is little time remaining.He brings on Scholes for Carrick and Nani for Valencia.Scholes starts out by a nasty tackle on Xavi and earns himself the usual yellow card.

70-90 mins

Time is running out for United as they commit more and more men forward.Barcelona find gaps in the United defence and David Villa misses an excellent chance to double the lead.Then Wayne Rooney wins a corner off Pique and United prepare to take the corner.Ryan Giggs places the ball,and looks over to check his teammates and finds Paul Scholes lurking at the edge of the box.Giggs then sends a delighful ball to Scholes who hits an outstanding volley straight into the net with Valdes rooted to his spot.There is pandemonium among the United supporters,and Gary Neville runs on to the pitch and kisses Scholes.

Paul Scholes Hits A Stunning Volley

Gary Neville Kissing Paul Scholes

Fergie Time

Now we enter the time known as Fergie time,which strangely doesn't end until United score.United make their final substitution and the most shocking one Fergie will ever make,Rooney off Bebe In.The supporters from Manchester are shell-shocked that the homeless man from Portugal has replaced the White Pele,their hero.But as always they chant "In Fergie We Trust".Bebe himself doesnt know what to make of this substitution and is perplexed.Barcelona havent still recovered from the Paul Scholes wonder goal but are still dominating possession.Only seconds remaining on the clock,"Can United Score? They Always Score" are the famous words of the commentator before Teddy Sheringham's goal against Munich in the 1999 champions league final.Giggs puts a wonderful through ball to Hernandez who is one-on-one with Valdes,the whole stadium is standing up,the fans from Manchester are praying that "the little pea" should score,but Alas! Valdes pulls out a brilliant save and the ball rebounds off him.But the ball reaches Bebe,who first doesn't know what to do,Nani makes a run outside,but Bebe decides otherwise.He wants to know for himself whether he is a Man United player or not,he needs to know whether he can make it at Carrington,he needs to know whether he is really worth 7 mill.And so he decides to try out an audacious lob over Victor Valdes.Valdes realises he has no chance of even touching the ball and his and his team's only hope is that it sails over.But that lob was Cantona-esque and it would have made the French legend proud.The ball calmly sails into the goal and Gary Neville once again rushes out to the pitch but this time to kiss Bebe.