Spanish Inquisition: Can Barca Prevent Another All-English CL Final?

As three Premier League sides march into the last-four of Europe’s blue ribbon competition, Goal.com’s KS Leong asks if mighty Barca can spoil the all-English party.

Apr 18, 2009 9:20:08 AM

Spain, Italy and England are the only three nations to have provided two teams in the final of the Champions League in the same year, but none have so far managed to do it twice, let alone in successive seasons. However, the Premier League could become the first association to pull off that feat.

The only problem is, standing in their way – for the second year in a row – will be a Barcelona side who have scored more goals and won more domestic matches than any other team in Europe’s top leagues. And they are playing, without question, the best football anywhere on planet Earth today and they are the bookies’ hot favourites to become the new kings of the continent.

As bubbly and vibrant as their champagne football might be, style alone can’t win them massive encounters like these in a competition like the Champions League, and certainly not the title itself, although they would beg to differ.

It’s true that Barca have swept past all comers with swashbuckling ease this season, blitzing French champions, Lyon, and the German champions, Bayern Munich, in the last two rounds of the competition. And they were overpowering against their own Spanish champions, Real Madrid, back home in La Liga in their El Clasico clash back in December.

However, they have not been tested against the tactically astute and physically superior English. Until now. If Barcelona wish to hoist the European Cup for the third time in their history, they will have to navigate past the rampant Premier League mob, like it or not.

Guus Blues; Pep’s Barca

The first obstacle for the Blaugrana is Chelsea. The biggest threat that the Londoners pose is that they have a team full of superstars, a world class footballer to occupy almost every position. Up until now, Barca have never had to deal with a rival who had more than one or two key players on the pitch at any one time.

The Pensioners do have a dazzling array of stars and, their fans would argue, that they have the manpower in their squad to match, or even outmatch, the Catalans. But let’s be honest, Barca simply have too much class.

For every Drogba, the Spaniards have Eto’o and Henry. For Bosingwa, there’s Dani Alves. For every Lampard, there’s Xavi and Iniesta. And for every Malouda, Anelka, Ballack and Deco, there’s Lionel Messi.

Chelsea’s only hope is Guus Hididnk. In the veteran Dutch maestro, they have one of the most well-respected and consistently successful tactical minds in world football today. And the inexperienced Pep Guardiola will certainly have his work cut out if he is to outsmart his counterpart.

But Hiddink has worries of his own, especially his leaky defence, having shipped in five goals in total against Liverpool over two legs in the quarter-finals and three more against unfancied Bolton in between. This will be music to Barcelona ears, considering the irresistible form they’ve been in. They took just 43 minutes to score four times against Lyon in the first leg of the last 16 and exactly 43 minutes again to score another quartet of goals against Bayern in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

Chelsea will have good reason to quake in their boots whey they step onto the Camp Nou turf for the first leg. And it won’t be because of the 90,000-plus bloodthirsty fans bellowing a cacophony of noise. But if they can get past the first 43 minutes in one piece, they might just have a chance.

Repeat Success Or Revenge Mission?

If Barca can get past Chelsea, they will be confident of lifting the trophy in the Eternal City on May 27, as the most problematic test would have already been negotiated. No disrespect to Manchester United or Arsenal, but the Blues are Barcelona’s trickiest hurdle, albeit not necessarily the toughest.

If Pep’s entertainers do make the final, it’ll be down to a question of what they prefer most: a rerun of the 2006 final against Arsenal, or, if they feel up to the challenge, go on a revenge mission by taking on a Manchester United side who heartbreakingly sent them packing in last season’s semi-final.

Barcelona vs Manchester United will indeed be a dream final for almost every football fan, neutral or otherwise. It will pit, without doubt, the two most dominant club sides in Europe this season.

United outfoxed the Blaugrana last term, relying almost on a catenaccio game plan to stun their Spanish counterparts coached then by Frank Rijkaard. Even though the Red Devils have increased their attacking firepower this season, there’s every chance they could employ that same strategy to conquer the Catalan colossus again.

Only difference is, Barca were a dysfunctional family last season. This time around, they are playing like a well-oiled, well-drilled attacking battleship where every pass is precise and every assault destructive. And Sir Alex Ferguson’s tactical wiliness may no longer be enough to trump them.

Then, of course, there’s the little matter of the personal confrontation between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. The two best players in the world will finally be on the same stage – post-end-of-year individual awards season – big enough to end the debate of all debates and it will be a straight fight to see who the best footballer really is, with no two-legged contests to hide behind.

A Barcelona-Arsenal final will also have quite a symbolic precedent, especially in today’s football climate, as it will see the two 'youngest' sides in the competition lock horns. The Blaugrana may have a finely balanced team of experience and youth, but coach Pep Guardiola is very much a freshman.

Arsene Wenger, on the other hand, is one of the most experienced and successful club managers today, but his squad, with an average age of just 23.5 years, look more like a boys’ church choir group than a professional men’s football team.

Should they both make the final, it will prove that you do not need a big bank account, or the most seasoned coach, or a squad full of big-game players to win the most coveted trophy in club football. It will also be one for the purists as the Gunners are the only side left in the competition who can match the Blaugrana in terms of collective entertainment.

And if a United showdown will produce a collision between The Messiah and CR7, an Arsenal showcase will allow Cesc Fabregas and Xavi to square off in what will be another mouth-watering dispute to indulge fans and determine just exactly who is Spain’s most gifted deep-lying playmaker.

One way or another, you just get the feeling that this year’s Champions League final will be a humdinger, provided Barcelona go through. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First stop, the Camp Nou.

KS Leong, Goal.com

CL Comment: Man Utd Broke The Porto Jinx, But Cursed Carlos Tevez

Although the Red Devils are through to the semi-finals, Goal.com's Greg Ptolomey wonders how Man Utd managed to keep Carlos Tevez benched throughout a crucial Champions League encounter in Portugal.


Let's not beat around the bush, Manchester United were very professional in the way they went about their business at the Estadio do Dragao. They flew out of the traps - Cristiano Ronaldo scored a 35-yard screamer after six minutes - and the first ever English win at Porto followed. The Red Devils are through to the Champions League semi-finals to face Arsenal, and that should be a cracker.

However, we're at the business end of the season now, and there's some strange business to be noted: Carlos Tevez didn't get a run-out.

United's performance tonight was a textbook away performance in Europe: a really satisfying grind against an outfit who showed during the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford that they have some claws and are willing to scratch without provocation.

There were solid performances throughout, to be sure. Edwin van der Sar was confident between the sticks, barring a few flaps towards the end, and his defence, off-colour Patrice Evra aside, looked back to their best. The four man midfield put in a power of work, with the vintage Ryan Giggs masterful on the left and Wayne Rooney bullish and honest on the right, of all places. Up front, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo put themselves about and did the simple things well. Yes, even the laconic Bulgarian looked up for the battle.

For all that, though, a late equaliser on the night would have sent the hosts through and the European champions crashing out. Nani came on for Berbatov on 69 minutes and was shockingly off the pace, and United were perhaps lucky that Porto didn't muster more of a cutting edge.

Sitting on the bench throughout - and Sir Alex Ferguson only made two substitutions - was the powerful Argentine Tevez. There were tired legs out there, and the hard-working forward would have relished the contest. There's few in the game who provide the blend of raw energy, versatility and attacking quality which the floppy-haired buzz-bomb guarantees, so to bring the unpredictable and unproven Nani on ahead of him spoke volumes.

Tevez is on loan from his parent company MSI, of course, and United are yet to stump up the money to secure him on a permanent basis. This latest snub was needless and detrimental, and I'd guess wouldn't have happened to a permanent Red Devil.

The striker has done more than enough this season to merit a higher standing at the club, and can have a massive say in the run-in if Fergie puts his trust in him. If there's more going on behind the scenes regarding his complex contract scenario, then the United fans need to know. This uncertainty isn't fair on anyone, and Tevez is a United player on merit. The club should certainly be bigger than this silly loan arrangement, and his sketchy future shouldn't have a say in a Champions League contest.

Manchester United can be very satisfied with a fine away performance, but the Tevez scenario leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It simply didn't make sense not to involve a crucial player in a crucial match.

One gets the feeling that the full story isn't being told to the media or to the United faithful, and it's clearly not good enough. Okay, Federico Macheda has emerged, but there's room for both in an attacking pool light on numbers. Sure, it'd cost them an arm and a leg to secure Tevez's permanent signature, but it would have cost more if Porto had converted a last-gasp half-chance. Worse, he may just come back to haunt them in the colours of Real Madrid or Inter next season.

Greg Ptolomey, Goal.com

Carrick: We always believed

15/04/2009 23:00, Report by Steve Bartram

Michael Carrick insists United's players always held an unwavering confidence that Porto could be overcome, despite the Portuguese champions' away-goals advantage and their proud home record.

With two Old Trafford strikes safely in the bank and their much-heralded unbeaten record against British opposition in the Stadio do Dragao, Porto were confident of dumping the reigning European champions out of the competition on Wednesday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo's wonderful early goal, allied to a mature, disciplined team display sent the Reds through to a semi-final clash with Arsenal, and Carrick was delighted by United's timely return to form.

"Obviously it's a tough place to come and get a result, but we knew it was in our hands," the midfielder told MUTV. "We really fancied ourselves to come and score here, and defend right. It was a good team performance all round and we're delighted to go through.

"We started the game very well and looked good, and to get the goal was a big bonus. From then I thought we were in control. They came at us, which you'd expect, but we defended very well, even though it was still on a knife-edge.

"From going through, all of a sudden you can be going out. We were well aware of that and knew we had to defend right to the final whistle, and I thought we did that very well."

Porto vs Manchester United

FC Porto v Manchester United

Ferguson calls for the spirit of '99 at Dragao

Sir Alex Ferguson has called for Manchester United to invoke the spirit of 1999 when they take to the field against Porto on Wednesday.

A decade ago, United came from two goals down away at Juventus to win their semi-final 3-2 after drawing the first-leg 1-1 to send them into the final against Bayern Munich, thanks to an inspired performance from Roy Keane.

They then came back from 1-0 down to beat Bayern in the final few minutes to lift the trophy, but Ferguson wants to draw on the experience of Turin when comparing the size of the task his side face if they are to progress this year.

The holders face an uphill task if they are to qualify for the last four of the UEFA Champions League after drawing their quarter-final first leg 2-2 at Old Trafford last week, but the boss wants to draw inspiration from one of their best-ever European nights.

"Juventus is the game that springs to mind," Ferguson said. "We drew at home and then had to win away, which we did. There are plenty of performances we'd like to replicate - it's not as if we're short of them.

"The players have to go out there and play to the standard expected of Manchester United.

"All of the players have to be up for it on this occasion, it's not just about individuals. The players are going to have to step up to the plate."

Meanwhile, Manchester United winger Nani is confident that the Red Devils can knock his boyhood heroes Porto out of the UEFA Champions League.

"Why am I confident? Simple, because we have the best players in the world," he told The Sun. "We have the confidence wherever we go. OK, we know Porto are a very good team, play good football and showed their own strengths at Old Trafford but it may be more difficult for them now.

"When you're at home you have to go forward more, and that could leave them under pressure. We are going there to win and we're confident we can do it."