UEFA Champions League Final Preview – Manchester United versus Barcelona: Key Battles (Part 1)
As the UEFA Champions League final draws closer and as Manchester United and Barcelona prepare to take on each other at the Wembley stadium on 28th of May, 2011, it is time to shed some light on some of the key battles
and aspects of this match in question. Both the teams have met each other before in European competitions.
Manchester United defeated Barcelona en route to their UEFA Champions League final triumph over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 in 2008 and Barcelona bested the Red Devils in the pen-ultimate encounter of the 2009 UEFA Champions League. Both the outfits
have different philosophies when it comes to football but in the shape of Sir Alex Ferguson and Joseph Pep Guardiola, both the teams also have master managers at their side.
Interestingly enough, United and Barcelona have won only three European titles each. Thus creating a precarious situation through which the winner of the 2011 UEFA Champions League final will overhaul the loser when it comes to
success at the biggest stage of club football. Nonetheless let’s take a look at some of the key battles that are bound to shape the tie between Barcelona and Manchester United as a whole...
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rio-Ferdinand-c31173 versus Lionel Messi
Three years ago no one would have doubted Ferdinand’s ability to step up and meet the mesmeric http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296. In fact Rio was being hailed as one the greatest defenders of time by his club’s supporters as well as experts and pundits
alike. However in the past two years, Rio Ferdinand’s injury troubles have gotten the best of him. He has lost that yard in pace and he has started to make some errors in United’s big matches. Fortunately for Ferguson and co. the ex-England http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Captain-c8314 has returned
to his best form in the 2010-2011 Premier League season.
Ferdinand has frequently featured for Manchester United in both domestic as well as European competitions. An experienced campaigner as he is, he is a sure shot starter for the UEFA Champions League final as far as Manchester United
are concerned. The speculation is already rife in media that Ferguson will call on his veteran campaigner to drop into the midfield region in order to mark Messi. However such a thing is easier said than done.
In the 2009 UEFA Champions League final, Pep Guardiola started Messi as a false nine which thwarted United’s plans for doubling up on him on the left wing. This time the Argentinean wizard is set to start as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604’s main striker
in tandem with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 to drop deep with him whenever Lionel Messi descends into the midfield region to collect passes from Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. The risk of adopting this strategy is that
given Messi’s pace and trickery, Ferdinand can easily be turned and then Manchester United will be left http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 will be well aware of.
In 2009, it was Messi who emerged as the winner but this time around will it be Ferdinand who keeps the little Argentinean in his shackles or will the FIFA World Player of the Year strike once again to break the Red Devils’ hearts?
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