I just watched the entire Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before — watch a Champions League match from start to finish. I’ve always been about international soccer, and the World Cup, and club soccer … well, it’s not big in the U.S., and I’m also not a single generation removed from Europe, and no one played soccer when I grew up … so club soccer Over There, it’s come slowly for me.
So. Saw the whole thing. In part because I saw so much EPL while I was in Hong Kong that I had a bit of a feel for Manchester United and some interest in how they turned out, and I copy-edited enough Rob Hughes at the International Herald Tribune to feel as if I knew a bit about Barcelona …
Anyway, the match.
I thought it would be close. It was not.
Aside from the first five minutes, when Manchester United was all over the field, Barcelona dominated the match. And not because it has such a great front line (Messi, Eto’o, Henry), but because its midfield took hold of the game and choked the life out of it.
Xavi and Iniesta, in particular, comprehensively outclassed ManU’s midfield, breaking up attacks even before they were formed, holding the ball and moving it forward to that scary threesome.
Eto’o scored in the 10th minute (without a lot of help), Messi scored in the 70th on a header off a great pass from Xavi.
Manchester’s midfield seemed helpless. They couldn’t win the ball, they couldn’t hold it, they had no obvious plan and marginal touch. It was astounding that a team of that class could be so massively outplayed where games are won and lost. Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Anderson, Paul Scholes … were helpless.
It didn’t help ManU that Wayne Rooney hardly showed up, or that Ji-Sung Park chose this game to look as if he had no business being in the Premiership. That’s two of the three forwards, ciphers. Nor did it help that ManU’s recent softness in the back allowed Eto’o to turn the game with his early goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the few ManU players who looked in form, and he provided about 90 percent of the limited excitement the EPL champions generated. When he was on the ball it seemed as if, yes, perhaps Manchester United could actually score a goal. The rest of the time? ManU was harmless as a kitten.
The Champions League final is described to Americans as the Super Bowl of club soccer. Except we should imagine an event that is over in two hours (instead of almost four), with a fraction of the commercial breaks — and with thousands upon thousands of real fans singing and chanting the entire time. As opposed to the near-antiseptic Super Bowl, where the seats go to corporate clients. I don’t know how UEFA does it, but it made for a great atmosphere oozing out of my TV.
The NFL might want to look into it.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Damian // May 27, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Yes, the Champions League crowd is much more passionate than the Super Bowl crowd, overall, because there are less detached and impartial suits getting corporate hookups in the way of tickets.
Full credit to Barca. They played wonderfully and put on a clinic of possession. Though this is what Spanish teams do, what they are known for, and the final 80 minutes is what I feared and thought would happen once Eto’o put in that goal.
Spanish players and the Spanish style of play is known for being technical and possession-oriented. This game was about 1 thing — who scored the first goal. Spanish teams that score first know how to take the air of the game and its opponent by knocking the ball around, making the other team chase the game and tire themselves out in the second half. This is a big reason why Spain has not lost in something like its last 30 matches.
Hard to mount an attack and get your forwards involved when you can’t get the ball. Barca’s midfield was too technical and too quick for United. United will live to play another Champions League day.
2 Dennis Pope // May 27, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Nice to see a mild post from Damian on soccer, especially Red Devil soccer. I think he’s trying to be gracious in defeat.
I too watched the match and though Man U’s Ji-Sung Park looked totally outclassed. Barca’s defense, to its credit, was stifling and was also effective in quieting Wayne Rooney. Ronaldo does what he does and was mostly unlucky.
And if he wasn’t already, Messi is now the No. 1 player in the world, at least in terms of exposure. Ronaldo may still be big (ok, huge) but there’s nothing like a brand-new star. And Messi’s it.
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