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Champions League Final preview: FC Barcelona - Man United
FORM GUIDE
FC Barcelona
May 23 FC Barcelona 0-1 Osasuna (LA LIGA)
May 17 Real Mallorca 2-1 FC Barcelona (LA LIGA)
May 13 Athletic Bilbao 1-4 FC Barcelona (COPA DEL REY)
May 10 FC Barcelona 3-3 Villarreal (LA LIGA)
May 06 Chelsea 1-1 FC Barcelona (UCL)
Manchester United
May 24 Hull City 0-1 Man United (EPL)
May 16 Man United 0-0 Arsenal (EPL)
May 13 Wigan Athletic 1-2 Man United (EPL)
May 10 Man United 2-0 Man City (EPL)
May 05 Arsenal 1-3 Man United (UCL)
TEAM NEWS
FC Barcelona
The big problems for Barcelona are in defence where they will be without 3 first-choice players and will have to shuffle their pack.
Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves both picked up suspensions in the last round, whilst Rafael Marquez is injured and will be replaced by former Manchester United player Gerard Pique.
Seydou Keita has already denied that he will be the one to fill in at left-back so it seems like that Sylvinho will be chosen, whilst Carles Puyol could be shifted to right-back, with Yaya Toure in the middle.
Elsewhere, Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry are both fighting to be fit and they are expected to start the match.
Probable Starting XI: Valdes - Puyol, Yaya Toure, Pique, Sylvinho - Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta - Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Henry
Manchester United
Whilst FC Barcelona have a few key absences, Manchester United only have one; that of suspended midfielder Darren Fletcher.
Brazilian Anderson seems likely to be the one to replace the Scotsman in the centre of the pitch whilst the experienced pair of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs battle it out for a spot in the starting XI.
Rio Ferdinand is confident that he will be fit to start but if he can't then Johnny Evans will play at centre-back with Nemanja Vidic.
Probable Starting XI: Van Der Sar - O'Shea, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra - Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Anderson, Wayne Rooney, Park - C. Ronaldo
PREDICTION: FC Barcelona 1-2 Manchester United
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I Do Not Fear Lionel Messi, I Respect Him - Cristiano Ronaldo
The Champions League final will not be about a game between two players, but Cristiano Ronaldo admits that he is a big fan of Lionel Messi...
Cristiano Ronaldo is relishing the prospect of testing himself against Barcelona in the Champions League final - and against Lionel Messi - but he is not fearful of the Argentinian.
The game in Rome is being billed as a showdown between the two best teams and the two best players as the English champions meet la Primera Division winners.
While the media continue to hype the game up, Ronaldo was keen to play down his and Messi's roles in the game, and stated that he is a big fan of the Barca trickster.
"It is not good to go on to the pitch in awe of somebody but I very much respect Lionel Messi as a player," he is quoted as saying by the News of the World.
"He has a great style of play and I am sure he will be as excited about the final as I am."
Manchester United are confident that they can win the Champions League for the second consecutive year and Ronaldo embodies that belief.
"This year, it is the final between the two best teams in the world and I think it is the showpiece that, perhaps, the football fan wanted to see," he continued.
"They have an excellent player in every position on the pitch but so do we. We know how well we have to play to beat them and we know how much respect we need to show them by playing to the top of our ability.
"But we are full of confidence at the moment and believe we can be the first team to win it back-to-back."
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Massimo Busacca va arbitra finala Ligii Campionilor
Arbitrul elveţianul Massimo Busacca a fost desemnat să oficieze la centru finala Ligii Campionilor dintre FC Barcelona şi Manchester United, programată miercuri la Roma, informează site-ul UEFA.
Busacca, în vârstă de 40 de ani, îi va avea ca asistenţi pe conaţionalii săi Matthias Arnet şi Francesco Buragina, iar arbitru de rezervă va fi Claudio Circhetta.
Centralul elveţian este arbitru internaţional din 1999 şi a condus în cariera sa 77 de meciuri în competiţiile europene. Cel mai important eveniment UEFA care l-a avut la centru pe Busacca a fost finala Cupei UEFA din ediţia 2006-2007, disputată la Glasgow, între Espanyol şi FC Sevilla.
Massimo Busacca este directorul unei companii, fiind totodată un mare amator de schi.
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Cruyff : Fergie is an old fox
Jordi Cruyff is convinced Sir Alex Ferguson has a surprise up his sleeve for the Champions League final against Barcelona.
The former Manchester United forward, who progressed through the ranks at Barca, spent four years at Old Trafford, where Ferguson's cunning impressed him.
And he has warned the Primera Division champions to expect the unexpected.
"Like the old fox that he is, he will have a surprise prepared to beat Barca," Cruyff told RAC1. "In my time at Old Trafford he used to make incredible decisions and if he used an unexpected player he would usually get it right.
"He is unpredictable, but his gambles almost always work out."
Much has been made of the so-called 'dream final' with Barca seeking an unprecedented treble, while United are looking to become the first team to retain the Champions League.
Seydou Keita believes that while there might not be a favourite, Barca will have the backing of most of the world and he has urged his team-mates to do their best to cap an incredible season.
"The season has been very good," he told El Mundo. "But there's still a small step remaining,
"We have to win. Spain, Catalunya, Barcelona, the whole world, will be very happy if we achieve it."
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Ferguson: Manchester United Can Cope With Barcelona's Lionel Messi
The Scotsman thinks that his side have the personnel to neutralise the Argentine's threat...
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson kept his calm amidst a somewhat shambolic press conference in Rome this afternoon, ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League final with Barcelona. After some difficulties with microphones and leads, Ferguson was able to confirm that he respected the talent of the Catalan's iconic forward Lionel Messi, but also that his side had the ability to deal with him.
"Yes, Messi is a fantastic footballer," Ferguson said. "We played against him twice last season, so we know exactly how powerful he can be. We can cope with that. We have the players to do that. It won't be easy, you have to respect great players and tomorrow we'll definitely respect him."
As for whether Messi or United's Cristiano Ronaldo was the better player, the Scotsman refused to be drawn, exchanging some humorous gestures with the Portuguese star, sitting to his right, before answering, "They're two fantastic footballers. Both with the ability and the courage to attack defenders all the time, no matter how many times they're tackled, how many times they have fouls [committed] against them, they get up and they want the ball and that's the kind of courage we love to see in footballers, and both have that.
"Both have different types of qualities. Physically they're different types of footballers, but at the end of the day how can you separate them? It's very difficult."
Ferguson will be overseeing his 153rd Champions League tie tomorrow night, but he played down the importance of his vast management experience when compared to that of his opposite number at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola.
"I think you're better to have it than not have it," the United chief opined.
"But the plus side is that Pep is at a football club that has got a great history in European football. He himself as a player had a good record in European football. I hope it matters, but it's not the most important thing tomorrow."
As for whether United's strength on the bench could make a difference in the game, Ferguson pointed out that Barcelona's squad hadn't yet been decided, with Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta possibly missing at this stage.
"I think when we line up we have very good subs, that hopefully can make a difference if needed.
"We have to play well to in tomorrow. Certain things will be important: the concentration, a bit of luck that all teams get in certain moments of a game. Hopefully we have that little bit of luck."
And the Scotsman, who once termed Real Madrid 'Franco FC', warned any Catalans in the crowd, who might think that United's chosen all-white kit meant that another 6-2 result was on the cards, "We're better than Real Madrid."
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FACTS
- 4 of the last 7 finals have ended in penalty shootouts.
- This is the fifth successive season that the Champions League final has involved an English side.
- The last 3 Champions League finals have been lost by an English side.
- United have won all of their previous finals - 4-1 vs Benfica in 1967-1968, 2-1 vs Barcelona in 1990/1991 (Cup Winners' Cup), 2-1 vs Bayern in 1998-1999 and they won on penalties against Chelsea last term following a 1-1 draw.
- FC Barcelona have played in 5 Champions League/European Cup finals prior to this match - winning twice and losing on 3 occasions.
- The last time that FC Barcelona reached a Champions League final, they defeated an English side (Arsenal) to lift the trophy.
- These two sides have met on 9 previous occasions, with United managing 3 wins to Barcelona's 2.
- They have met in one final prior to this game, in 1990-1991 when United defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.
- These two sides came face to face in last season's Champions League semi-final. United prevailed 1-0 on aggregate thanks to a Paul Scholes goal in the second leg at Old Trafford.
- FC Barcelona have only managed to win once in their last 8 Champions League fixtures against an English side.
- The Catalan side have scored just one goal in their last 4 European games against a team from England.
- They have, however, conceded only 2 goals in their last 5 European fixtures against an English side.
- United are unbeaten in their last 7 Champions League meetings with Spanish sides.
- In their last 6 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 Champions League.
- United have kept a clean sheet in 13 of their last 18 Champions League matches.
- Away from Old Trafford in the Champions League, United are unbeaten in 13 successive matches - including last season's final vs Chelsea.
- Lionel Messi is the leading scorer in this season's Champions League, with 8 goals to his name.
- FC Barcelona have scored more goals (30) and shots (165) than any other side in the competition.
- Xavi has managed more assists (6) and has created more chances (36) than any other player in the Champions League this season so far.
- Edwin Van der Sar has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the Champions League this season - 7.
- Manchester United are one of only 3 sides to have appeared in a European Cup/Champions League final on more than one occasion and have a 100% record (1968, 1999, 2008). The other sides are Nottingham Forest (1979, 1980) and FC Porto (1987, 2004).
- Pep Guardiola can become only the third person to win the Champions League as a player and a manager of the same team. Miguel Munoz (Real Madrid) and Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan) are the two previous individuals to accomplish this feat.
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