2011 Champions League Final

Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

Saturday, May 28 2011 will go down in history as the day when a truly classic Champions League final was played out at Wembley between two giants of the modern game. The game unfolded as one would have expected but the extent of Barcelona’s dominance was still mesmerizing to watch. Barca are known to pass their opponents into oblivion but to do that in a final is a truly remarkable feat. Xavi is the king of sideway passes and once again he showed that there is a purpose to every square pass, that patience will duly be rewarded and if one looks hard enough, then spaces will appear out of nowhere. In an honest interview back in February, Xaxi talked about his love for finding spaces:

Think quickly, look for spaces. That's what I do: look for spaces. All day. I'm always looking. All day, all day. [Xavi starts gesturing as if he is looking around, swinging his head]. Here? No. There? No. People who haven't played don't always realise how hard that is. Space, space, space. It's like being on the PlayStation. I think shit, the defender's here, play it there. I see the space and pass. That's what I do.

And he once again found space for Barca’s opening goal. Patrice Evra drifted a few steps towards Messi leaving open a space through which Xavi played a perfect pass towards Pedro who calmly slotted home the opener. It was a truly remarkable goal which combined Barca’s passing, intelligent off the ball movement and their remarkable space manipulation.

Messi’s second goal was equally remarkable as well. He picked up a pass from Iniesta, took a few touches, managed to find space where none existed and then in an instant slammed a powerful shot past a static frozen Manchester defense. Barcelona’s constant pressure paid off for the third when Villa curved home a beautiful shot to seal the game. Interestingly, Manchester managed to score a Barca type goal of their own after Rooney and Giggs exchanged passes before Rooney placed his shot perfectly into the top corner to register Manchester’s only shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes.

Overall, it was a perfectly officiated game as well with the referee hardly visible during the entire game as he let the game flow perfectly without any stoppages. The fact that the first half had no stoppage time speaks for itself. Also, it was nice to see Dani Alves and Busquets not ruin the game by taking unnecessary drives.

My Champions League fantasy league for the final featured the following players:

As per the points rules:

A captain earns double points
A striker earns 4 points for a goal scored
A midfielder earns 6 points for a goal scored
A defender earns 8 points for a goal scored
A defender also gets -1 point for each goal conceded

Messi was my captain because I was certain he would score, which he did thereby earning me double points. I had a feeling that one of Hernández or Rooney would score but I picked both of them. Rooney scored but Hernández was invisible because he was left isolated and had no support. Originally, I started this Champions League season with David Villa in my first 11 but I dropped him a few weeks ago. Villa works extremely hard off the ball but I did not expect him to score a goal in the final because he always seems to get subbed off late in the game. This time around, he scored a precious third goal before getting subbed off, again.

My midfield was easy to pick. I picked the players that I thought would likely score or have an assist. Pedro duly scored off an assist by Xavi while Iniesta also notched an assist. However, I had expected to see a lot more from Valencia but that did not happen.

Defense was always going to be a losing endeavor. I did not expect either team to keep a clean-sheet so I knew I would not get any bonus points for a shut-out so at best I was hoping neither team would concede too many goals. Also, if a defender from Man Utd was likely to score a goal, I figured it had to be Vidic from a corner. But Man Utd got zero corners so Vidic never ventured into Barca’s penalty box.

As per the points system for the goalkeeper, each goal conceded is -1 point but a goalie gets 1 point for every 3 shots saved. This created the bizarre situation where Edwin van der Sar earned more points than Victor Valdés, despite Man Utd letting in 3 goals. Valdés let in one goal (-1 point) and got one yellow card (-1 point) but had no saves to make. Therefore, his total ended being 0 points with his 2 points for starting the game nullified by his yellow card and single goal conceded. On the other hand, van der Sar let in 3 goals (-3 points) but made 9 saves (+3 points), which meant he got 2 points (for being named in the starting 11).

[Update May 29:] van der Sar was only awarded 1 point as soccernet's reports show that he made 6 saves thereby earning him 2 points. This is in contrast to the official UEFA reports which show that he made 9 saves. Defense cost me valuable points as my selected 3 defenders + goalkeeper earned me a total of -1 point. Rafael did not play but I had his brother Fabio listed as a sub, who duly earned 0, the same as Alves and Valdés. Vidic got -1.

Finally.....

Apparently, there is a tradition that when an away team wins a final in the opponents country, the winning team cuts the soccer net and takes it home. So Barcelona’s players and staff found a few pair of scissors and went about removing the goal net after the trophy presentation. Piqué happily ran off with the goal net on his shoulders. Maybe, he will present the net to Shakira as a gift?

A Rivalry rekindled

The wait is almost over. The intense rivalry of Arsenal vs Man Utd has graduated from the domestic game to take center stage on the European stage. For more than a decade, this match-up has captured the attention of followers of the English game for a variety of reasons -- the battles of the two managers, who are now the longest serving club managers not only in England but also in Europe, the match-ups of players involved and the intense passion of the fans. In a way, this match-up also presents a clash of two different ideologies as both teams have followed different paths over the last decade. Man Utd were debt free until they were taken over and overnight laden with debt yet they have continued splashing out money on whichever player they have wanted. On the other hand, Arsenal’s transfer spending was restricted because of the debt incurred as part of building the new stadium resulting in Wenger’s youth policy. Even though both clubs have a very rich history, both clubs are a complete contrast in their images as well -- Man Utd certainly have more hype around them not only because of past players but because of off-field promotional contracts. On the other hand, Arsenal have allowed their football to gain new supporters over the last decade as most recent fans can claim to have found love with the Gunners solely for footballing results, be it a player’s skill or the footballing style developed under Wenger.

Regardless of the paths the two clubs have undertaken over the last few years, on Wednesday night they will be standing on the same field side by side trying to achieve the same goal of making the Champions League final.

A changing of the guard that never happened

After Ferguson took almost 7 years to land his first title for Man Utd, he and Man Utd were able to enjoy an unchallenged monopoly on the Premier League title until Arsene Wenger came along. So it was not surprizing that Wenger’s immediate success with Arsenal brought on a rivalry. Plus, Wenger was the only manager to rightly question the lenient decisions that Man Utd kept getting. Unfortunately, after Arsenal’s double in 1998, they failed to narrowly win the title the following season, losing by one point over 38 games (Arsenal’s goal difference was just one behind Manchester’s) and failed to convert a last minute penalty to knock Man Utd out of the F.A Cup semi’s. Arsenal took a few steps backward the next two seasons before they finally managed to assert themselves in the 2001/02 season whey they completed an impressive double and went the entire season unbeaten away from home. The title was clinched in that memorable 1-0 away win at Old Trafford.

It seemed Arsenal were on the verge of dethroning Man Utd’s reign but they surrendered the title the following season to Man Utd by giving up some late goals to drop valuable points. Also that season, Rooney (already a Man Utd player in the making) ended Arsenal’s long unbeaten streak and Man Utd stopped Arsenal’s 55 goal scoring streak with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford. Arsenal managed to get a tiny revenge by winning 2-0 away to Manchester in the F.A Cup, a defeat that caused that mystery shoe to be kicked about in the Manchester dressing room, paving the path for their celebrity star to exit for Madrid.

Even though Arsenal had a historic season in 2003/04 going unbeaten in the league and fulfilling Wenger’s beliefs and comments from the 2003 season, they still could not bury Man Utd. Henry’s bullet of a shot gave Arsenal a lead in the league match-up but Arsenal failed to hold on and allowed Man Utd to leave with a 1-1 tie. A week later, Man Utd knocked Arsenal out of the F.A Cup and their players celebrated as if they had won the cup.

The following season, while Chelsea’s emergence was knocking Man Utd to third spot in the league, Ferguson’s men still provided a major hindrance to Arsenal by halting Arsenal’s unbeaten streak to 49. That defeat essentially derailed Arsenal’s title bid. Arsenal once again got a mini revenge by winning the F.A Cup that season on penalties over Man Utd.

Man Utd managed to rise up again and wrestled the title away from Chelsea while Arsenal once again took a few steps backwards. Still, Arsenal did their part to ensure Man Utd won’t have their way by doing the double over Man Utd in the 2006/07 season. But once again, Man Utd managed to come back the following season and easily knocked Arsenal out of the F.A Cup and defeated them in the league to finally halt Arsenal’s league ambitions. Still, with all their problems this season, Arsenal managed to inflict a defeat on Man Utd 2-1 and remarkably held on despite Man Utd’s 6 gifted minuted of injury time.

A goal or two would be just fine

In the 15 trips Arsenal have made to Old Trafford under Wenger, the record is:
Man Utd with 6 wins (outscoring Arsenal 20-2),
Arsenal with 4 wins, shutting out Man Utd by a 5-0 score,
and three draws.

In these games, Arsenal have scored more than one goal at Old Trafford on only one occasion, in that 2-0 F.A Cup win. Whereas, in the same time period Man Utd have scored two or more goals on atleast 6 occasions (Man Utd got more than 2 only one time in that 4-2 away win). Although, before Wenger came along Arsenal’s away record to Man Utd was worse as they had only won one away trip (1-0, ofcourse, in that league winning 1990/91 season) in a decade.

If one is too read something in these results, it is that when Arsenal have won at Old Trafford, they have had to keep a clean sheet. But this two legged Champions league tie presents a different context to this tussle because of the importance of away goals. In the previous league meetings with points at stake, the number of goals were not the important factor as victory by any score-line would do in landing the 3 points. Same goes for the F.A Cup tie where a win was essential to avoid a replay (note: the league Cup encounter at Old Trafford was a winner take all affair). But in the Champions league, the winner will ultimately be decided after 180 minutes (or more as needed, not including courtesy added ref time). Although, given the number of injuries that Arsenal have had, defending is not going to be their forte (not something that has been in recent years anyway) and they would have to attack while still managing to contain Man Utd. And moreover, as Villa and a certain North London team have shown recently, taking a lead at Old Trafford is much easier than trying to hold onto it.

In recent years Man Utd have tried to play an open style against Arsenal. Maybe it has something to do with Man Utd wanting to beat Arsenal by playing better football as even though Man Utd have all those trophies, some in the media still credit Arsenal as having beautiful football, although that tag has come under scrutiny over the last few seasons.

In the past, Arsenal have failed to get past their other two main domestic rivals in the Champions league as their encounters against Chelsea and Liverpool both came at the Quarter-final stage. But if Arsenal have to finally end their long elusive wait for the trophy, then what better way than to get past their biggest domestic rivals and the current holders en route to the final. And as Old Trafford has been a bother to past Arsenal teams, it is probably much better for Arsenal to get the away trip out of the way first.

Arsenal vs Manchester United

pics from: Arsenal.com, BBC

This is it. The ultimate Battle Royale!! Although this year’s installment features the weakest and even softest Arsenal team to take on their traditional rivals. Injuries and a needless suspension have denied Arsenal a chance to battle on equal terms but Arsenal’s opponents will not care too much for that as they will go out looking to inflict maximum damage, such is the nature of these games.

Then...

Until Wenger came to England, Man Utd were the undisputed kings of English football. On top of that, all decisions went Manchester’s way and when Wenger questioned that, it led to Ferguson taking a cheap shot at Arsene. Back then, Ferguson would have hardly expected that the French man from Japan would cause him so much headache. But after winning a glorious double in 1998, Arsenal were pegged back in their effort to sustain repeated title challenges. Three title less seasons followed but after Arsenal beautifully did the double in 2001/02, it looked like they could finally maintain their dominance and even emulate Manchester. But the following season, Arsenal let Man Utd overtake them in the end as Arsenal’s weakness to defend leads was highlighted. Also, in that 2002/03 Arsenal suffered their first hurdle against Everton when a 16 year old Rooney stunned them in the final minute.

The following season Arsenal did the impossible and went unbeaten through the season but even then, they allowed Manchester to put a dent on their achievement in their 1-0 F.A Cup loss. Things were looking good for Arsenal at the start of the 2004/05 until their visit to Old Trafford. Man Utd were well back of Arsenal and Ferguson tried to rally his team by saying that all of England were expecting Manchester to stop Arsenal. Well, stop they did but not by playing football but by kicking and cheating their way to a 2-0 win. A year earlier as well Man Utd tried to cheat a win courtesy of Ruud Van but his penalty miss was followed by a dishing out of emotions by Keown and company. Unfortunately a year later (Oct 24, 2004) Manchester completed their cheating job and the level of injustice felt by the Arsenal players led to some friction in the tunnel after the game. Up to this day, Ferguson is still waiting for an apology and we are waiting for the full truth to come out. Nonetheless, that defeat led to another Arsenal title bid to falter. Arsenal got revenge in a very subtle way at the end of the season in their penalty shoot-out F.A Cup win over Man Utd. Earlier in the season, Ferguson’s side had stopped Arsenal by kicking the Gunners and stopping them from playing. On the other hand, Arsenal stopped Man Utd by allowing them to play as much football as they wanted. Man Utd dominated possession and freely shot at Arsenal’s net as many times as their hearts desired. It turned out Arsenal’s tactic that day was to give Manchester the illusion of control and were willing to wait until the Red Devils tired themselves out. After 120 minutes, Man Utd were still standing and it required a penalty save from Jens to allow Patrick Vieira to give Arsenal another F.A Cup and as it stands, their last trophy.

In the 2005/06 season, Manchester once again played spoilers to the team at the top, this time it was Chelsea. Both Arsenal and Manchester were fading in the shadows of Chelsea’s monetary constructed team. The summer of 2006 proved crucial for Manchester’s fate. After Ronaldo’s wink at Rooney’s dismal in the World Cup, it looked like that Ronaldo would never play at Manchester or in England again. But Ferguson ensured that didn’t happen and the following season, Ronaldo lifted Manchester to another league title. Although, Arsenal did their best that season to give their rivals something to think about by winning both their league fixtures. In the first game between the two at Old Trafford, Adebayor scored the crucial goal to give Arsenal their first of the season as the Gunners started the campaign winless in 3 games. On the other hand, Manchester had opened the season up with 4 straight league wins only to be stopped by Arsenal. In January 2007, Arsenal once again defeated Man Utd in dramatic fashion when Eboue crossed (no this is not a typo) for Henry to head home the winner. The game was the last time that Henry would play against Manchester in an Arsenal shirt and as it stands, it was the last time that Arsenal won a game against them.

Now...

No Adebayor or Van Persie present for Saturday while Rooney is well rested for Manchester and they are at full attacking strength with Tevez, Ronaldo, Berbatov and Nani. One would consider that this was a chance for Bendtner and Vela to show what they can do but Arsene might leave Bendtner up front on his own. The tactic has the danger of leaving Bendtner completely isolated and not giving Manchester’s defense any worries. In that case, Nasri might be the only real game breaker as Cesc would be too bogged down by doing everything on his own. There are no real leaders in the team and even though he is only 21, Cesc is still the only player in who can vocally lift the team. So it is crucial for Arsenal to start off positively. If there was a game when Arsenal needed the full support of the home crowd, this would be it.

Saying this is a massive test is an understatement. The devil himself is personally coming to London to conduct this young Arsenal squad’s baptism with fire.