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Featured Sport News

Barca show the way to go

Author: Sir David Smith
Date: 31/05/2009

Barcelona topped off the 2009 UEFA Champions League campaign with a superb performance in defeating Manchester United 2-0 in the Rome final.

The English Premier League had seemed like the dominant force in the competition by providing three of the four semi-finalists, but Barca upset the applecart - and the football betting odds - to give Spain the bragging rights across the continent.

Their national team became European champions for the second time a year ago, with the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta to the fore during the run to glory in Vienna and the Barca pair were at it again for their club side this season.

The midfield duo simply ran rings around a United side who were sportsbook favourites to retain their crown, a feat which no team has still achieved in the Champions League era.

Before the game, much of the focus had been placed on Barca's defence and attack, leaving the midfield to quietly sneak up and prove crucial.

The defence was shorn of suspended full-backs Dani Alves and Eric Abidal and the injured Rafa Marquez, leaving Carles Puyol to fill in at right-back and midfielder Yaya Toure to withdraw to centre-back.

However, Toure and co were rarely troubled by a much-vaunted United attack, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez looking strangely toothless on the night.

In attack, Barca coach Pep Guardiola started with the outstanding trio of Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi, although the latter was dropped a little deeper to help out his midfield retain possession.

Henry, such a superstar during his time with Arsenal, looked as muted as United's attacking aces, while Eto'o dazzled only briefly, although his opening goal ten minutes in was undoubtedly the pivotal moment of the game.

That left the dazzling duo of Xavi and Iniesta to dominate United with their exquisite passing exchanges and fluid movement in the heat of battle.

Neither man is blessed with blistering pace, neither is particularly tall, but both have the skill and know-how to outplay a much stronger looking unit.

While the summer transfer talk with centre around Ronaldo's flirting with Real Madrid again and whether Kaka will eventually be prised away from AC Milan, surely Xavi and Iniesta should be the two most wanted men in European football.

However, both men came through the youth system at the Camp Nou and are unlikely to want to leave a club who have just won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Not only that, Barca did it playing the game the right way and also achieved success with a whole host of homegrown players in their squad.

That should be the blueprint for every other club seeking glory, as this year at lest it proved to be a more successful blend than the bloated egos and chequebooks polluting the game in England.

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