As Andres Iniesta left the field in added time, the substitute who was about to replace him, was joyfully applauding as much as he was smiling. Like all of us, Pedro Rodriguez had been wowed by one of the best midfield performances of recent years. Alongside the equally impressive Xavi and the amazingly mature Busquets, Barcelona controlled the midfield with a deceptive ease that hid the superior technique, hard work and application of the players.
Before the match, much had been made of the gaps in Barca’s defensive unit and how the absence of first choice players Marquez, Daniel Alvez, and Abidal would give United room to exploit with their superior pace. On the night, apart from the opening ten minutes and a late flurry towards the end, Victor Valdes had very little to do. The back four had as comfortable an evening as they could have imagined, to the extent that Puyol and Toure were seen exchanging passes on the edge of the United penalty area in the first half, as if they were in a practice match.
The reason for their defensive comfort was that Barcelona pressed so effectively that United had to resort to either pumping long balls from the back which lacked both direction or angle or the midfield attempting to locate the ineffective Ronaldo and Rooney with hopeful “hail mary” passes. In contrast, Barcelona’s midfield trio kept possession by passing the ball accurately and crisply before waiting for the right moment to penetrate, as evidenced by Eto’s opening goal which was founded on Iniesta’s sharp change of pace and beautifully weighted pass.
Ferguson had no answer to the mastery Barcelona steadily built as they took control of the match and which they rarely looked like relinquishing at any time. It must be particularly galling for him to have to acknowledge the superiority of a 38 year-old manager in his first season. Guardiola was a teenager when Ferguson took over at Old Trafford and he has been a manager for some 35 years.
So much for Fergie’s experience and tactical nous, when he brought Tevez on as a second half substitute there was no change to the pattern of the game which had swung inexorably to Barcelona and his team appeared increasingly naïve compared to the sophistication of their opponents. The introduction of the talismanic Argentine might change the course of a game against the Wigans of this world but failed to ruffle the Catalans’ feathers. Tevez looked as nonplussed as his teammates within a few minutes of chasing around forlornly in search of the ball.
Lionel Messi, who was a constant threat with his clever movement and flawless control, rubbed salt into the open wounds with the free header midway through the second half, twisting in the air to artfully curl the ball beyond Van der Sar who could only watch as the ball sailed into the corner. Ferdinand was also a distant spectator.
When Paul Scholes committed one of his customary rash and spiteful challenges on 21 year-old Busquets we knew the game was up. All United had left was some futile, unpleasant aggression as Ronaldo’s simmering discontent with Puyol’s shackling ended up in a booking as did Vidic who finally got in touching distance of Messi and got some petty revenge.
To be fair to Ferguson and his players, they readily accepted that they had been out-thought, outfought and generally overwhelmed by the better side. Their expressions of grim resignation as they waited for the ceremonial crowning of the new European Champions, bore testimony to the undoubted superiority of Barcelona, the worthy victors.
