[sumitrocks]

Originally Posted by polpot

I know this isn't contributing much. But please please PLEASE can the transfer muppetry start AFTER the CL Finals?


PS: Brilliant post no 750, eh?

a) Congos on tthe 750th post.
b) Let's start with the 'muppetry'

Originally Posted by chuck_gopal

What a game. Was at Sports bar at Phoenix Mills. Am not a regular footie watcher and probably don't have the right to post here, but any casual footie fan could see that Barca walked all over United. It was really a no contest, and even though at times in the second half it looked like miracles like 1999 could happen, but that brilliant Messi header really sealed it.

Sadly, I was watching a live streaming feed which would get stuck at inopportune moments. Hence, I missed the Messi header. But overall, yes it was a cracker of a match.

Barca

[Abhishek_fr_CAT]

Its 8:00 am and I haven't been able to get a second's sleep. That image of CR7 walking past the silverware without even having the right to touch it just baffles me, no end.

But yes, the fact is Barcelona deserved it. Xavi and Iniesta were absolutely special in the midfield with their control and poise. They did not seem overawed by the occasion at all. The back four weren't even tested and Puyol even managed to make attacking runs down the right. Messi was almost typically superb and Vidic and co. found it real hard to tackle him without conceding a free kick.

Man Utd was virtually non-existent in the midfield. Carrick, Anderson and Giggs looked woefully off-color. The back four did not look like the force they were. Rooney did not get enough attacking opportunities though his commitment right till the very end, was there for everyone to see. CR7 did his bit but on the night that belonged to the men from the Catalan, he also could not produce that one special moment which would have inspired a repeat of the '99 heroics.

Overall, Pep Guardiola's simple but efficient strategy worked and he has done a wonderful job in his first season and will find it difficult to emulate himself in the future. Kudos to him and his boys!!

Manchester United, we are still proud of you. It was just one bad day and every Red Devil is pretty sure that under SAF, we'll be back again next season and back with a bang, we'll be.

[chandraaDa_08]

" The Beautiful Game " is still very beautiful.
Courtesy ~ FC Barcelona.
All hail Gerard Pique !!
Another good thing to come out of the match is that now we all know who the Best player in the World is !!

[soumyadut]

Honestly speaking,we were outperformed by a better team.There's no shame in a defeat like this.Xavi and Iniesta were awesome.Messi-Eto'o-Henry were marvelous too.But my MOM was Gerrard Pique.After all he's an United product (do I sound too egoistic ).CR7 was a shadow of his prime,and to our disappointment Rooney wasn't much better either.The way Messi got the free header to seal the match proved how our strength,the defense,didn't click either.All in all a bad 90 minute stint.It's absolutely ok.The law of average got the better of us.But the Spaniards really are having a great time.From Euro triumph to Alonso to Nadal to the Tour de France Champion (probably Carlos Shastre) and now the Barcelona football team.Hats off pals,you deserved to win the way you played.

N.B.

The obvious question which crops up is does they deserve to be in the finals?How can we forget the role of the Norwegian referee at Stamford Bridge?This point was rightly raised by the commentators and the murmurs wont stop anytime soon



Now SAF has some important decisions to make.The fate of Carlos Tevez and Christiano Ronaldo(no matter what the two say)are still undecided.Players like Neville,Giggs and Scholes ae also there about whom SAF has to decide soon,when and how to use them


Score sheet----------3 out of 6
World Club Cup,League Cup,Barclay's Premier League
European Super Cup-----We weren't quite ready then
FA Cup-----------Tried out the youngsters,but wasn't our day
UCL-----------A bad day in the office,and that too against a terrific opponent


So all in all,the season went well for us.It could have been better,but we'll take that

Long Live SAF

Long Live Manchester United

[abhish1]

The Gods must be Spanish

Just a quickie on the contenders for the coveted awards:

1> FIFA player of the year.

There is not even a shadow of doubt that Messi desrves the award. Let's see why I think so.

a) Treble for Barca. By the way he has managed to get into no 4 in the running for the "pachichi" (Spanish Golden boot) in spite of not being a striker...with donno how many assists...and how many match winning performances
b) Olympic Gold for Argentina (he even assisted the final winner)
c) Tremendous performance in the world cup qualifiers (I think he scored twice and assisted once in the 4-0 winner in the first match under Maradona as the coach)

I can't wait to see Argentina and Messi in the Confed cup

2> European Golden boot

Diego Forlan currently leads the tally at 31. He was 1 behind Eto'o before the weekend but with his hat trick over Bilbao he is now 2 ahead. He has shared the "Pachichi" with Eto'o on an earlier occasssion.

3> Ballon D'or

Xavi? Quite possible with his Golden ball performance in the Euro and for Barca.
But this will be a relatively closer contest.

What a season this has been

[chandraaDa_08]

Originally Posted by soumyadut

The obvious question which crops up is does they deserve to be in the finals?How can we forget the role of the Norwegian referee at Stamford Bridge?This point was rightly raised by the commentators and the murmurs wont stop anytime soon

What ??
Do Barca deserve??
Going by yesterday's performance i think Manchester United didn't deserve to be in the finals.Even Hull City could have played better football then them.
Just look at what they were upto.Especially the overrated CR7, he was frustrated to see even Puyol play better attacking football then him.And the midfield of Manchester United wasn't even close to Iniesta and Xabi.
Barca played like true champions that they are.Look at the number of goals that they have been scoring.And more than that look at the way they have been playing . It was like watching snooker on a Football field.Their passing was immaculate and precise.About the semis , barca also got some hard tackles , but they didnt stop playing their natural game ie. passing the ball.I mean , how many teams can boast of having just one shot in the whole match and that too a goal .
So lets not talk abt desrving.Coz, the best team of the tournament definitely won.
Cheers

[soumyadut]

Mate there's absolutely no doubt the better team won last night.It was Barca all the way and I accept that.But my point was different,had any of the umpteen penalty cries(some of them almost sure penalties) been awarded to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge,who knows if Barcelona could have even played in Rome?Both the fans and the experts are saying the same thing,should it at all have been Manchester United - Barcelona final or Manchester United - Chelsea final,had that Norwegian guy's decision gone a bit on the other side,one never knows




But if you judge by the 90 minutes of last match , there's no doubt Barcelona was the better of the two teams

[godhelpsme]

I had written a long time ago on this forum that the only teams that deserve to win the UCL this year were either Barca or United. Barca for their wonderful football they have played this season and United for being undefeated in UCL second season in a row. So whether Barca deserved to win the semis clash is not worth contemplating at all at this moment. the Reason why is say is, read below,

Yesterday's win summed how Barca have played all this season. I was very happy to see the start United had but the goal in the 10th minute was a big blow. Carrick lost the ball and it resulted in a goal. From there on Barca'a dominance started in the mid-field. We were always chasing game and never looked dangerous. Xavi and Iniesta as usual played fabulous football. For me they were the diff. We looked very nervous after the early goal and that didnt help either. Also, Pique performed really well. He made some vital blocks which SAF would have been proud of.

Barca have completed the treble and finally Henry was part of a team won the Champions League, one trophy that he has not had the opportunity to lay his hands on after missing out at Arsenal. The better team won and the best team in Europe won. Its sad we didnt put up a tough fight but yes we will be back next year because we know we have the squad to win the UCL.

[vish@144]

Being an ardent United Fan for more than a decade now... this was the most awaited game for me...some of the best talents on disposal...wanted to c United take the titile nd create history...But i have no problems in saying that the best team on the day won the title...United could not dominate the midfield..Nd wen u cannot do that with Barca...the result was goin to be imminent..Iniesta was brilliant as usual...Never felt that he was coming bak from an injury layoff...According to me he is the best player in the world right now...nd Gerrard comes closest to him...Could not c giggs in the whole game...As far as Park was concerned...he was not up to it...Missed Fletcher Probably...As far as the most awaited clash is concerned "ronaldo vs messi"..I kno everyone ll say that messi was better...his goal was just the icing on the cake...but i still believe Ronaldo is better... Tho I hav to say that We started the game on a more positive nd attacking note...
Lost the game to probably the only team which was better than us in the course of the season...
I hope we come back stronger next season...nd continue the good work..
Glory Glory Man United

[No_Talent]

Can't resist myself from chipping in :-)

Let me firts inroduce myself as an ardent Messi fan. yup yesterday I was supporting BARCA for MESSI, if MESSI moves to MANU someday I will support them. Can't resist this bias.

About yesterdays match I think it was the over reactiveness that every opponent shows to Messi (obviously he desreves that) that earns BARCA an adavantage. Every time he gets the ball atleast 3 people are trying to cover him up. So Henry and Eto'o got anough space to press from both wings. XAVI and INIESTA gets through middle. And MESSI just passed the balls towards whome he wants. He did not even need to dribble. Thats how they have played most of the time yesterday.
Its not about RONALDO or MESSI but about (IMO) how the things were strategised. For a team like MANU strategy comes first and their strategy of Zonal marking did not work. Because there are atleast 5 players in BARCA who deserve equal respects. So MANU needed atleast 12-15 players to cover them !!!
IMO it is the difference in the cumulative brilliance of both the teams that made the diff.