CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: Barcelona v Manchester UnitedMANCHESTER UNITED have never been here before. With a second consecutive appearance in the final, the club has a dominance in the Champions League beyond all its previous experience. Heads are bound to be awash with hope for prolonged ascendancy as much as for a joyous outcome tonight. "This team has that kind of future ahead of it," said Alex Ferguson, although he was referring to potential rather than proffering guarantees.
Even luck has thrown in its lot with the holders. Darren Fletcher may be suspended but Rio Ferdinand seems fit to play. Contrast that with Barcelona. Their defence has been ravaged with Rafael Marquez injured, while both Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal are banned.
In its way, this is so encouraging a prospect as to be unsettling for anyone, such as a football manager, who is prone to superstition. The disadvantages confronting Barcelona may launch this final into unpredictability. So much the better for those around the world who yearn for a spectacle from an occasion in which the viewers’ anticipation too often curdles into peevishness.
The tournament, with its brilliant marketing, has itself to blame if hope keeps on rising for the sight of a game that enters into legend even while it is in progress, such as the triumphs of Milan in 1994 or Real Madrid in 1960. This is a wholly unreasonable demand to make of footballers. There is always a baffling spontaneity to a night of that nature and the mightiest teams seldom reach that celestial level again.
At least we should be engrossed by the deeds set before us at Stadio Olimpico. The bookies can barely make out a favourite. There is cause to believe the handicaps borne by Barcelona will merely bring out the best in them. Even with Alves and Abidal, defence had never been the speciality of Pep Guardiola’s side. Now there is no option but to commit themselves to that beautiful onslaught of passing and movement that so distinguishes them. Guardiola’s most tortuous decision concerns Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta, who have had muscle injuries. Both are approximately fit but, if the high tempo of Barcelona’s style is beyond them, that pair will inadvertently check the flow.
Then again, Guardiola can have little taste for introducing squad players such as Eidur Gudjohnsen and Alexander Hleb in their stead. Ferguson’s brooding is confined to working out who is to be omitted. Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov, for instance, could both be excluded from the starting XI.
Even if such forwards are to be sidelined, the rationale of this game must be one of adventure. Nothing else makes sense. Pragmatism dictates risks must be taken. It would be illogical of Ferguson not to insist that Yaya Toure, the expected stand-in centre-half, is harassed as soon as possible. The holding midfielder’s head seemed to swim when located in the back four during the latter stages of Barcelona’s semi-final, second leg against Chelsea.
United, by design, are painstaking nowadays, but it would pay for them to perform with a little more licence here. Ferguson has a deep appreciation of any game’s requirements. No one else has his hoard of experience and the freshness to react to each twist and turn of a sport that has changed remarkably over his career.
He first managed in Europe 31 years ago when taking Aberdeen to a Cup Winners’ Cup victory over the Bulgarian side Marek. His team was then eliminated by Fortuna Dusseldorf. It was a run-of-the mill campaign. Ferguson was not to stop there. In 1983 Aberdeen beat Real Madrid in the final of that competition.
Along the way his team had also disposed of Bayern Munich. When the modest means available to him at Pittodrie are taken into account, this was a period that is virtually impossible to surpass for Ferguson. That does not deter him.
The challengers keep on presenting themselves and none is fresher than Guardiola. A year ago the notion Barcelona were about to put him in control would have been outlandish. Ferguson himself was once a newcomer who overwhelmed the old guard and it is part of the cycle of sport that such people are themselves deposed.
As a manager must appreciate, Ferguson is in the hands of players. To what extent will the intelligence of Michael Carrick’s work nudge Barcelona towards unprofitable areas? Can Cristiano Ronaldo prey on the Barcelona back four? Will Patrice Evra once more contain Lionel Messi, as he did in the 2008 semi-final? United’s all-round quality is superior on this night to that of an undermanned Barcelona. All that remains is to prove it. Extending command over Europe will be stressful, but the next task for Ferguson’s team is to win this evening in a way that makes opponents fear the seasons ahead.
Guardian Service
Venue:Stadio Olimpico Kick-off:7.45 On TV:RTÉ 2, Sky Sports 1, UTV
