Barca: Mission impossible is actually very possible
As the final whistle sounded at Old Trafford, United had beaten Schalke by four goals to one, 6-1 on aggregate. Winning by a five goal margin in a Champions League semi final had not been seen since the competition’s inception. The watching Guardiola must have been silently frustrated to say the least; witnessing in essence a United second string side trounce Schalke, not what he expected upon hearing the line up. But he would have watched enough video-tapes of United’s games this season to know that Saturday could be the most intriguing and career-defining game of his life.
The former Barcelona skipper firmly believes that the United class of 2011 is superior to the one the Catalans faced in 2009, a team that included the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. Whether Guardiola was playing mind games, he has been locked in a head to head battle with Jose Mourinho all season, or if he actually meant it is as good as anyone’s guess.
A battle of wits and experience
For all that the Catalan has achieved over the last two years, Ferguson remains a master of the game. Guardiola can be likened to that of a learning disciple who has become successful in learning his master’s practices in a short time. The Scotsman however, has seen his charges come and go. Legends, seemingly irreplaceable players like Schmeichel, Hughes, and Keane have left Ferguson, but there is still a consistent success to be found: three finals in the past four seasons tells it’s own story of the vast experience the manager has accumulated at this level. His team has garnered the same from many years competing in Europe.
Van Der Sar, for instance, has been to four European finals. The Dutch veteran was victorious on two occasions with Ajax back in 94’ and United three years ago in Moscow. He will partake in his fifth final this weekend, and his final game for Manchester United after a glorious sending off at Old Trafford last Sunday. Only until Guardiola finds a way to build a championship-winning team without a Messi or Xavi, players who will leave the club one day and players whom he inherited, will he be regarded in the same breadth as the United legend.
The Barcelona manager has yet to experience a true humbling; he has not experienced much failure in his career so far, with the possible exception of last year’s narrow loss against Inter and losing the Copa Del Rey to Madrid on one occasion. Even then, it was down more to Inter and Mourinho’s credit than Barcelona’s failings that saw the Spanish side miss out on the final, while Madrid’s cup win this season was seen as little more than mere consolation. The Camp Nou outfit are on the verge of completing a double, the same with United who lost their right to be in the FA Cup final ironically to another arch-rival in Man City. To say that a lot will be at stake when the two titans of football meet is a glorious understatement.
There was also a boy schooled in the academy of La Masia, who eventually grew into one of the best centre-halves in the world after leaving and returning back to his homeland. Gerard Pique’s time in England had been a transitional period for him to mature into the important player he has become for the Blaugrana today, and he offered some insight into the contrasting styles of communication both managers employ to rifle their troops.
“They both have the ability to motivate sides, although Guardiola speaks more calmly while Ferguson will try to harangue his troops.”
It has always been premature to determine if a manager can be credited as a sole factor for turning games around. Could Ferguson or Guardiola attempt to win the trophy on their own via superior tactics or through the fascinating art of motivating their players for the final 90 minutes of their season? It is a tribute to both sides that there are simply too many permutations to consider, that both managers are no longer as decisive a factor as they might have been otherwise. They have cancelled each other out.
How will United line-up?
No one can deny that the current United team lack the imagination and excitement of Ferguson’s more swashbuckling, glamorous teams of past. That has set a dangerous precedent as many have assumed United’s play to automatically translate to mediocrity on the field.
Manchester United have always been a mix of pragmatism and flair. And if the flair quotient has decreased this year, then it is only right that the former be increased to achieve the same results. That has been exactly the case. United have not been brilliant this season, but they have grinded results as usual and produced when it mattered most. One need only look at what the team has achieved this season: a record 19th domestic title in the bag and a Champions League final outing at Wembley.
Barcelona though, are justified favourites for the European Cup. It presents an interesting dynamic for United this season; they have never been seen as underdogs in European competition this season (Against Chelsea both were partial favourites to go through).
All talk has inevitably zoomed in to Barcelona and their stars, notably Lionel Messi. Manchester United may need more than one player to counter the threat of the Argentine; they need two. Darren Fletcher and Anderson present a considerable risk, especially taking into account Anderson’s erratic form at times with Fletcher still clocking up match fitness. They however, could perform a dual-marking role Messi, and forming a solid defensive unit spearheaded by Barclay’s player of the year Nemanja Vidic, there is every possibility this combination can make meat out of Xavi and Iniesta if they play to the levels everyone knows they can. Anderson has previously shown he has the ability on occasion to dominate world-class midfielders like Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas in the Premier League, and if deployed properly he could be the destroyer United so desperately seek and need.
Click here for the second part of our analysis of the big game.
Anderson’s style would complement Fletcher well, as they both perform holding roles shielding the back four. There has also been a significant improvement in the Brazilian’s passing ability and goal threat this season; he broke his goal-scoring duck last season against Spurs after playing over 100 games for the Red Devils, and has added four more to his tally this season. Three of these strikes have come in Europe – a promising sign indeed if he were to start the final.
There is one caveat in this proposed midfield composition: Michael Carrick, who has been the subject of derision from United fans in recent times, will miss out. Carrick was arguably their most important player in the latter European ties against Schalke and Chelsea, controlling and dictating the tempo of play. He has had his fair share of quiet supporters and vocal detractors ever since that fateful night in Rome, but will get the chance to vanquish his professional demons if he plays against Barca’s star-studded midfield again.
The one thing he does not offer and the one characteristic which could prove crucial in beating Barca however, is energy. In this department, players like the aforementioned Anderson, Fletcher and Ji-Sung Park shade him by a mile, and would offer more feasible options if Ferguson’s men are to get past Barca’s possession game by packing their midfield with activity.
Up-front, the Rooney and Hernandez partnership looks set to resume it’s usual day at the office. The Mexican has acclimatised to English football like a pea to it’s pod, no pun intended; he has scored 20 goals, making him the first since Ruud Van Nisteelroy to hit the 20 mark in his debut season.
But it is not goals that have warranted his first-team selection ahead of Dimitar Berbatov. If it were, the Bulgarian would start as he is still United’s top-scorer, despite only starting five games in the last seventeen. Instead, it is the Mexican’s consistency in finding the back of the net, be it the occasion or opponent which is of high value in Ferguson’s eyes. Although Berbatov has scored more goals, Hernandez has in fact scored on more occasions than the Bulgarian.
Waiting in the wings is the newly awarded United players’ player of the year, Luis Nani, who has been United’s chief orchestrator this season when creativity and excitement has been lacking. The Portugese winger is set to be one of Ferguson’s aces in the pack as he shuffles his line-up, with Valencia almost a certainty to start on the right. The Ecuadorian has added extra depth and a new dimension to United’s wing play ever since his return, with Ferguson calling him a ‘revelation since joining the club’. He adopts a direct approach while others go for the spectacular, and does a neat job. The ex-Wigan man is, at the moment, one of the best deliverers of the ball at the club, and that will be important if United are to make the most out of every attack when they are not defending. Valencia also tracks back often, always a welcome bonus if you are playing the best team in the world pinging the ball around with ease.
The other spot is likely to be a toss-up between Giggs and Park. Both offer different strengths if chosen; the inclusion of Ryan Giggs’ would mean a slightly more attacking line-up infused with the years of hardened experience the Welshman has gone through. Giggs still possess the creative vision to pick out a pass and is suited to a playmaking role, evident in the quarter-finals against Chelsea where all three goals were created by the Welsh Wizard.
Much has been made of the Red Devils’ resilience, and yet there is something compelling about Ferguson’s side this year. As the saying goes, the more ordinary your opponent looks on paper, the more dangerous it is in reality. The Blaugrana would do well to heed such advice. This is a team which has gradually climbed up the domestic ladder, albeit in a passive fashion, overtaking the superpowers of domestic football Arsenal, Chelsea and City along the way. This is a team which swept aside semi-finalists Schalke with ease, beating the Blues and breaking their Stamford bridge hoodoo to get there. Rising to challenges is what Manchester United do, and they are so good at it. This is what the Red Devils incarnate is all about.
A grandiose plan to stop the best
Ferguson insists he knows what exactly went wrong in Rome two years ago. We have been led to believe he has discovered a bane to Barcelona’s tika-taka, mesmerising style of play, a plan to stifle the world-class, seemingly uncontrollable midfield of Xavi and Iniesta, and an elusive way to stop the second best player in football in his mind, Lionel Messi. And even if he gets past these three key candidates, Ferguson’s side will still have to be more than a match for the formidable internationals in the Spanish side, like Villa, Pedro and Busquets.
On 28th May, Ferguson will let fly at Wembley. United’s legendary manager has an old score to settle with Pep and Barca, and his desire to beat an opponent that has got the best out of him on their last meeting will be secretly brooding. Barcelona will not underestimate United. Guardiola would have drilled that into them, and are likely to be as wary as United in approaching the game. A schoolboy mistake or slip-up could be the determinant of whether the trophy heads back home to Spain or England.
And Manchester United don’t make the same mistake twice.