Manchester United will party like it’s 1999
Roar Guru By jimbo, 27 May 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Barcelona football, Chelsea, ECL, European Champions League, football, Manchester United, World Football
Manchester United's Ryan Giggs celebrates after scoring a late equaliser against Celtic during their Champions League Group E soccer match at Celtic Park Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008. AP Photo/Jon Super
I met another person in my travels at work today who agreed with me that Chelsea was robbed and should have been in the European Champions League final instead of Barcelona.
I didn’t even know he followed football, let alone the Blues.
The Barcelona versus Chelsea ECL semi final was full of controversy and had many talking points.
But enough of that.
Tomorrow morning’s ECL final is a fitting way to finish off Europe’s biggest club competition, with a showdown between two of the most famous teams in world football – Manchester United and Barcelona.
Between them they have five Champions League titles, including Manchester United’s victory last season, and they are the reigning and defending heavyweight champions of world football.
This is the first time they meet in the Champions League final and everyone hopes they put on a classic at a heavily sold out Olympic Stadium in Rome.
“When we get a game that paints the real story of football, then we are all lifted. Barcelona and Manchester United can do that,” said United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
“The players we both have suggest it will be a great final. I hope it lives up to it. There’s the opportunity for us to put ourselves among the pantheon of teams who have won the competition four times and that would be fantastic for us.”
He’ll need a Pantheon all right to put all his trophies in it.
Sir Alex, who is chasing his 26th trophy in 23 seasons with the Red Devils, arrived at Old Trafford in October 1986 after being hugely successful in his native Scotland with Aberdeen.
He is without doubt one of the most successful football managers in the world today.
The Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola is not as famous or as successful as Sir Alex. Not just yet, anyway.
Guardiola took over from the sacked Frank Rijkaard and in his first season in charge this year, has already taken the team to the Spanish league title and an ECL final.
While Ronaldo v Messi and Rooney v Henry might be two of the biggest match ups on the field, the manager’s clash of Ferguson versus Guardiola in their first ever head-to-head contest, will be just as significant in determining the winning tactics and the 2009 ECL Champions.
If Manchester United win, it will give them another treble.
Who can forget their last treble back in 1999 when they clinched the ECL title in the last few minutes of the game in a dramatic win over Bayern Munich (don’t mention the war).
As the one formerly known as “the one formerly known as” once sang – they will party like its 1999 in the Red Heart of Manchester – all over again.
What about the referee: is he going to play another big part in deciding the winner?
Massimo Busacca of Switzerland was announced yesterday by UEFA as the referee for the Champions League final, which will be Busacca’s second European club competition decider, after the all-Spanish UEFA Cup Final between Sevilla and Espanyol in 2007.
The 40-year-old Busacca was in charge when Barcelona and Manchester met in the controversial semi-final of last season’s Champions League.
He awarded visiting Manchester United a hotly disputed penalty for a handball after only three minutes of the match.
In this year’s Barcelona Champion’s League semi-final, Chelsea could certainly have used his expertise in determining what constitutes a handball in the penalty area.
Cristiano Ronaldo shot high and wide and didn’t convert the penalty on that day and the match ended scoreless.
I can’t see a scoreless draw happening again tomorrow morning, can you, but controversial decisions?
Recommend this story.
May 27th 2009 @ 12:27pm
Slippery Jim said | May 27th 2009 @ 12:27pm | Report comment
Kazama, I can only hope UEFA recognize the ratings loss of two such crucial football fans as you and as a calamity that can only be prevented in future UCL finals by providing four (4) decent officals for all UCL matches that are held in future, and by compensating Chelsea and their fans heavily for emotional and financial loss.
Barcelona players should also be fitted with long sleeved electronic gloves that detect handball occurances for all future matches in European competition, and possible ankle-fitted GPS transponders as wel to ensure that fouls committed in the box are given as suchl.
To protect our gentle readers sensibilities I will not be posting my lengthy list of alternate suggestions for UEFA and certain officials and staff of the organization.
May 27th 2009 @ 12:30pm
dasilva said | May 27th 2009 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
Good article Jimbo
However there’s one thing you are missing
BOTH teams are going for the treble
Manchester won the Carling Cup, Premier League
Barcelona won the Copa del Rey and La Liga
Has this ever happen before when two competing teams in a European finals are both going for the treble?
May 27th 2009 @ 12:45pm
jimbo said | May 27th 2009 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
Ah Slippery James,
I’m still trying to forget Black Wednesday.
Interpol managed to catch up with Herr Referee in his Scandinavian Hideaway and not only did our ECL judicial of dubious character fail his eye sight test, he also failed the drugs test.
Seems he was loaded to the eyeballs with Spanish Fly and that’s why he failed to see five obvious and blatant fouls inside the penalty box and failed to award them to our most deserving Blue heroes.
I’ll be watching – only to make sure that appropriate British Steel revenge is inflicted on the team that robbed us.
May 27th 2009 @ 12:49pm
jimbo said | May 27th 2009 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
Good pickup dasilva.
A certain double chance of a treble – one of them must get it.
May 27th 2009 @ 1:12pm
Slippery Jim said | May 27th 2009 @ 1:12pm | Report comment
By your tally, dasilva, don’t Sir Alex’s lads already have the treble, since they won that world club cup joke trophy earlier in the season? You know, the comp that included such mighty world clarsh representatives as Adelaide Utd? So you are both wrong: Carling, EPL, World Club Cup = 3
Of course, the real reason you are both wrong is that, as everone knows, you can only really count a treble in England if you win -
1)Premier League
2)FA Cup
3)Champions League
As the red devils have in the past.
May 27th 2009 @ 1:33pm
MVDave said | May 27th 2009 @ 1:33pm | Report comment
SJ Kazama
UEFA duly note TV audience for the game at 200 million -2!
BTW That sham of an FA Cup comp where ManU were robbed of a penalty vs those Blue Scousers. Therefore l will not watch the FA Cup final…hopefully still celebrating a famous win to achieve the Quadruple by Man U…yes League Cup, EPL, WCC, UCL
May 27th 2009 @ 1:42pm
Slippery Jim said | May 27th 2009 @ 1:42pm | Report comment
Never fear, Real Dave, Chelsea will be your avenging angels and execute summary justice on the toffees.
May 27th 2009 @ 1:50pm
Kazama said | May 27th 2009 @ 1:50pm | Report comment
Agree with Slippery Jim – Carling Cup is a plastic trophy and should never count towards a treble, or for anything at all, really.
I think you have a good idea there Jim – I also have a few but I don’t want to anger the natives here, especially those that wear red and think that the ball only has to get somewhere in the general vicinity of the goal line to count as a score (FACT!).
I’ve already forwarded the bill from my psychiatrist to UEFA. It’s the least they can do after all of the heartache their competition and very ordinary officials have given me over the last few years.
May 27th 2009 @ 2:17pm
Brian said | May 27th 2009 @ 2:17pm | Report comment
Never mind useless trebles including the Copa Del Ray or League Cup. If Man U win they will have won their domestic league and the European Cup back to back. I don’t think this has happened since the 1970s when football talent was spread much more widely across the globe & continent. Thus if Man U win they will become the greatest club side to have ever graced the earth!!!
SJ – loved your piece but I recommend you watch as per my explanation above.
Given the political correctness of those at FIFA the winner will also determine the player of the year (Ronaldo v Messi) seeing as it was Kaka (2007) and Ronaldo (2008).
May 27th 2009 @ 2:28pm
Slippery Jim said | May 27th 2009 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
Brian (I can’t help imagining you as the dog from Family guy for some reason), the player of the year is without doubt Drogba, for his commitment to honesty, passion and telling it like it is when all others cower and toe the UEFA party line like the lickspittle toadying cardboard-cutout fakes that they are.
In fact, I honored the SJ World Player of the Year 2009 (Didier Drogba) by buying the new season Chelsea shirt the other day with full “Drogba No.11″ shirt printing. I am sure CFC’s resident African Lion appreciates my gesture and it makes up for the three match ban the demonic denizens of UEFA impose on him for his honest and accurate match appraisal.