Barcelona Champions of Europe!

Barcelona Champions of Europe!

Barcelona defeated Manchester United yesterday 2-0 in the Champions League finals. They are the champions of European football (soccer)! They now have the mantle of the best football club in Europe!

When the match began, the first 9 minutes were dominated by Manchester United. Ronaldo, the Portuguese star of Manchester United, was buzzing early on. He had three chances in the first 9 minutes of the match. Had Ronaldo scored early, it might have been a different match. Yet, in a moment of brilliance, Barcelona's indomitable lion, the Cameroon-born striker Eto'o, made one of the best defenders in the world (the Serb international Vidic) look like an amateur. At the edge of the box, Eto'o turned Vidic like he was used furniture, then proceeded to hit a low drive with the outside of his right foot to give no chance to United's Dutch keeper Van der Saar. Eto'o's maneuver was so lightning fast that it adhered to Muhammad Ali's old adage that he was faster than the speed of light!

After Eto'o knock-out punch in the 10th minute of play against the run of play, the match was essentially decided. United stuttered and sputtered. They could not recover. Only Ronaldo tried to play and the other 10 men on the pitch seemed like they did not show up for the greatest match of the European footballing season. Barcelona began to stroke the ball around the entire pitch with small passes, one or two touch passes that made them seem like the Brazilian national team of the 1980s. The Barcelona midfield of Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta were masterful. Yaya Toure was a rock in the back, but a rock with great technical skill. Puyol, normally a sweeper, was incredible as a fullback running the flanks and making dangerous offensive runs. Messi is a football genius, who makes love to the ball with his delicate touches. His rapid acceleration with the ball is breathtaking. Barcelona's second goal in the 70th minute was a leaping Messi header of sublime beauty off a gorgeous Xavi cross.

The score could have been more than 2-0, but Barcelona was in command the entire match. Henry could have made it 3-0 when he made another great United defender, Ferdinand, look like minced meat, only to be saved by Van der Saar. It is true that United hit a post, but they were never in the match for 10 minutes, not to speak of 90 minutes!

Some questions about the match: 1) If Alex Ferguson is the greatest coach in the world, he did not show it yesterday. He was outcoached by a coaching neophyte, the former Barcelona star Guardiola. He did little to change the Barcelona mastery in midfield. He did nothing to vary his tactics throughout the entire match. Why? 2)Why did Barcelona not score more goals despite their mastery in possession? 3) What happened to United after the 9th minute of the match? 4) Why did United not show the hunger it normally shows on the pitch? 5) Why was the result never in doubt? 6) Did Barcelona win because of tactics or a sheer skills gap?

Congratulations to Barcelona for becoming champions of Europe. Too bad for the violence after the match in Barcelona where 100 Barcelona fans were arrested and another 153 were injured. Football is never merely just about football!

Tamir Bar-On