Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been having personal contests ever since Real Madrid nabbed the Portuguese pretty boy from Manchester United.
So far, Messi in his own magical and yet unassuming way have trumped Ronaldo in all global recognition and awards. This season however, Ronaldo leads Messi in the goalscoring charts and Real Madrid is the runaway leaders for the La Liga crown. It would seem that the limelight hogging Portuguese should finally get the better of the inspirational Argentine.
But then Messi goes ahead, scores five goals and virtually create Champions League history and Ronaldo must be cringing, just wondering what he has to do to be the best in the world. No matter what Ronaldo does, Messi is even better at it.
Here are all 50 of Messi's goals this season. You can see this on youtube link here.
This link shows Cristiano Ronaldo who has been phenomenal as well this season. Who would have thought a once one-trick pony could develop into a fearsome goal machine. He is excellent in the air, blessed with two great feet and has blistering pace with awesome close control.
Once again, Liverpool flattered to deceive. At Anfield, against a Swansea that does not travel well, the mighty Reds laboured to a disappointing draw. An out-of-sorts Liverpool performance was made worse because of a superb goalkeeping display by the Swans' Michel Vorm. His two saves from Suarez highlighted his sterling performance. Another worrying observation was that a poorly performing Luis Suarez automatically meant a disappointing Liverpool.
The Reds used to be known as a two-man team when Gerrard and Torres were in Liverpool red. Now, Liverpool is looking like a one-man team with El Pistolero. When the Uruguayan performs, Liverpool performs. Against Swansea, he seemed strangely lethargic but yet was still the Reds' most dangerous player.
To be honest, Swansea passed the ball extremely well. The Swans hardly lost possession and Liverpool were made to work very hard to get the ball back. So, when Daniel Agger commented "we were like headless chickens", he was spot-on. Barcelona turned possession football into an art-form and if Swansea had Messi instead of Danny Graham. the Swans would have left Anfield with three points.
Jose Mourinho did it again. He has got Inter Milan into the Champions League final with the chance to win it against his old master, Louis Van Gaal. There are lots of similarities in the mannerisms and style of Van Gaal and Jose but I shall leave that to another post.
More importantly, Jose has once again proven that tactical organisation and a winning game plan can triumph over the most talented team. Mourinho is now in uncharted territory, becoming the first manager to guide a star-studded Inter team into the Champions League final.
This is what I picked up from the Malay Mail. It aptly captures what had happened during the match which turned ugly as Inter celebrated progress into the Champions League final in Madrid. Guardiola explains how the dismissal of Inter's Thiago Motta disrupted his team's focus and team play.
PEP'S PRIDE
Humbled Guardiola says Barcelona must focus on Primera Liga
Thursday, April 29th, 2010 10:48:00
BARCELONA: Disappointed Barcelona manager Josep "Pep" Guardiola congratulated Inter Milan but noted the dismissal of midfielder Thiago Motta in the 28th minute worked against his team as the Catalans were knocked out of Champions League at the semifinal stage at Nou Camp this morning.
If anyone wanted to know how the game of football should be played, the Champions League quarterfinal between Barcelona and Arsenal would be it. The two best footballing teams at the moment did battle and Barcelona came up trumps over two legs. It was always a tall order for Arsenal given that their main inspiration, Cesc Fabregas was sidelined.
I don't know how Arsenal players must feel knowing that they have just played a truly magical team in Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. Perhaps they would be wondering if they could ever play at that high standard. This Barcelona team was put together from their youth squads, with Ibrahimovich as the only significant addition this season. Barcelona (and also Arsenal) are shining examples of how investing in youth talent are the best way of achieving sustainable success. These clubs are a credit to the football industry as they are the ones who are enriching and producing the players to ensure the football industry does not suffer talent drains.
We have seen how Abramovich's money can buy success but it is almost always unsustainable. Memories of Blackburn and Portsmouth come to mind. A much more viable model is the Barcelona model where youth and talent are nurtured and nursed into first team action, giving rise to long term success and champagne football. With such incisive, imaginative football and solid all-round work rate, who's to say that Barcelona will not be the first team to successfully defend their Champions League crown.
And finally the "Dream Final" that everyone wants is here. The team news have just come through from Rome, and I will be covering the game on a minute-by-minute commentary.Manchester United's usually formidable defence let them down today. Two defensive lapses and two goals by Barcelona. It is rare to see even Wayne Rooney looking jaded and tired after a long season. In the end, Barcelona were deserved champions and clearly the sucker punch first goal dramatically affected the minds of both sets of players.
For Barcelona, the first goal brought about a change in mindset and a flood of confidence which permeated through all the players. For Manchester United, that goal took away all the good work in the first ten minutes. The self-belief that they could overcome Barcelona faded away.
Excellent final. Romance still exists in football after all. A victory for fan power? Yes, I think so.
So where do we begin? The two most attractive teams on the planet is gearing up to do battle at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. And it will be only the second time that Manchester United and Barcelona contest in a European final. The first being the 1991 European Cup Winners Cup in which Manchester United won 2-1.
The corporate-styled Manchester United against the fan-owned FC Barcelona...how fitting is that? If Barcelona wins, it represents a victory for the fans and a fillip to the corporate bigwigs that dominate the game these days. If Manchester United wins, it will mean that club owners and directors demanded it, success means profitability and sustainability.
But I digress, without a doubt, both Barcelona and Manchester United are incredibly attractive to watch as they play a passing game with an emphasis on attack. This is what the football purists will term a "Dream Final".
Barcelona plays a high possession game, they keep possession of the ball 62% of the time in a match. They have scored 2.5 goals per game and conceded 1.1 goals per game. Xavi Hernandez (6 assists) and Lionel Messi (5 assists) are the creative influence of this team. Messi (8 goals) is also Barca's as well as the competition's top scorer.
United also keep the ball well, having it 54% against any opposition. They have scored 1.5 goals per game and conceded only 0.5 goals per game. The selfless Wayne Rooney (3 assists) and Ryan Giggs (3 assists) contributed the most to the goals that Manchester United have scored in the Champions League. Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov are joint top scorer with 4 goals each for Man Utd.
So what do we have in store for Wednesday's Rome final?
Barcelona will be without Eric Abidal, Danny Alves and Rafa Marquez for sure. Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta are questionable but I doubt they will miss a final as significant as this one. Defensively, Barca will be weakened and it may prove fatal. Manchester United's superior attacking prowess will test Barca's defence to the hilt.
Barca's famed attack of Messi, Henry and Eto'o will be up against the Ferdinand-Vidic partnership which has only yielded 6 goals throughout the competiton. Barca should look to get their little generals, Xavi and Iniesta pulling the strings quickly. Pep Guardiola must task Seydou Keita to protect Xavi and Iniesta while United will try to disrupt the rhythm of play.
To overcome Manchester United, Barcelona must keep the ball and pass the ball accurately. Any misplaced pass will create a counter-attacking opportunity for the Red Devils. Barca must capitalize and punish United whenever freekicks are awarded. Vidic tend to give away many "cheap" freekicks and with Henry, Xavi and Eto'o, freekicks could be where Barca can profit from. Barcelona will need to stay patient and continue to probe for openings in Man Utd's defence.
Manchester United are relatively injury-free. The big news will be whether Rio Ferdinand is fit to play. Again, as is with the Barca duo, Rio will not want to miss this final. The suspended Darren Fletcher will be missed as the midfield battle is crucial in this game.
Barca's weakness is obvious - the defence. Quick counter attacks could be the option to overcome a Barcelona side who has conceded 13 goals. The Red Devils need to impose themselves in midfield and put in some crunching tackles early on to disrupt the fluent Barcelona midfield.
Once Anderson and Carrick start winning the tackles and regaining the ball in midfield then space should open up, enabling the quick ball release to Ronaldo to strut his magic. I believe Ronaldo will be playing up top as a striker. Having been disappointing in last year's final, this could be the final where he cements his reputation as arguably the best player in the world.
The key to this match lies in midfield. Once the creativity of Xavi and Iniesta are stifled, Man Utd can and should go on to win the match. Ronaldo's pace upfront against the big Gerard Pique and Toure is a weapon that Man Utd must try to exploit. Support from Rooney and Park who will be running from deep will be difficult to track.
Just like Chelsea, Sir Alex will try to contain and thwart the initial onslaught from Barca. Anderson and Carrick will have a crucial role to play as they will be told to break up the creative flair that is oozing out of Xavi and Iniesta. Once the ball is won back, you can expect Carrick to spray 30-40 yard passes for Rooney and Park to attack and put the Barca defence on the back foot.
Manchester United (4-5-1) Van Der Sar-O'Shea-Ferdinand-Vidic-Evra-Giggs-Carrick-Rooney-Park-Anderson-Ronaldo Subs: Kuszcak, Rafael, Tevez, Berbatov, Scholes, Evans, Nani
Some more interesting stats and gems ahead of the upcoming Champions League final,
Of the previous three finals to be held in the Stadio Olimpico, two have been won by Englishsides (both Liverpool) and two have needed penalties to find a winner, including one of Liverpool's wins.
Four of the last seven finals have ended in penalty shootouts.
This will be United’s fifth final and their fourth in the Champions League/European Cup. The Red Devils have won all of their previous finals.
These two sides have met on nine previous occasions, with United managing three wins toBarcelona’s two.
Barcelona have only managed to win once in their last eight Champions League fixtures against an English side.
The Catalan side have scored just one goal in their last four European games against a team from England.
United are unbeaten in their last seven Champions League meetings with Spanish sides. However, in their last six games against a side from Spain in the Champions League, they have only scored one goal, but have kept a clean sheet in each match.
Manchester United are currently on an all-time record 25 game unbeaten run in the ChampionsLeague.
United have kept a clean sheet in 13 of their last 18 Champions League matches.
Edwin Van der Sar has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the Champions League this season – seven.
Manchester United vs. Barcelona - a mouthwatering final? Let's hope so...lest we forget these two teams treated us to two 3-3 thrillers in the group stages of the Champions League 1998.
If we get even 50% the amount of goals and action, then we are in for a treat....
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