Getting a ‘Doing’

It was 1994, Nou Camp. Matchday 4 of the Group Stages of the Champions League. After a 2-2 draw in the home leg, United went to Barcelona where they got soundly beaten 4-0. Sir Alex described the match as one where they got a ‘doing’. Going into the UEFA Champions League Final of 2008-09, you would have thought that this match would not be brought up for comparison at any time. You would have thought wrong.As a minor digression, much thanks to Justin TV for attempting to stream the match live for the first ten minutes, after which the Sky Sports lawyers (or hackers) stepped in and cut the feed. After that, thanks to Sumangali Cable Vision, who fed TEN Sports on the free channel cable, and thanks to Anush for letting me know they are doing so! (For those of you who don’t understand, we in Chennai actually pay for the ‘Pay’ channels. We have our Hon’ble IT&Telecom Minister to thank for that. And I don’t pay for TEN Sports)

The whole gladiator-theme opening for the night was all great, it being Rome and all. The match itself was entertaining. One minute it’s kickoff, then you look up and the clock shows 40 minutes. After Eto’o scored in the 10th, United players went into one of two modes – turn the back on the ball when they had posession or go to sleep when they didn’t. Sir Alex replicated the formation used to devastating effect against Arsenal, with Giggs replacing the unfortunate Fletcher. And that, somehow, was the difference. With Xavi, Iniesta and Messi simple not losing the ball when they had it, all the United midfield could do was chase shadows. The midfield of Rooney, Park and Carrick that is. Giggs was apparently playing ‘up front’ and Anderson was not playing at all.

I think Man U lost their confidence after the first goal and never got it back.

- Fellow football fan on a 100-post thread about the finals

I think Man U lost the ball after the first goal and never got it back.

- Reply to above comment on the same thread. From a neo-football convert.

This, from a person who started watching football from the first leg of the United-Arsenal semifinal, and who ‘will go with Liverpool, cos of the Beatles’. Just goes to show how much control Barcelona had over the match, and how much United were clutching at straws.

Barcelona were accused of not having a Plan ‘B’ against Chelsea. Yesterday night, they showed that with a Plan ‘A’ like that… United neither had an anti-Plan A, nor a Plan Alpha of their own. All of the first half, there was only one thing Carrick tried – the diagonal to Rooney on the left. Mostly he failed, with Puyol intercepting the ball and then running down the wing like a wounded bull. Ronaldo was having one of those nights – try to do everything on his own, and not pulling it off. Iniesta, was having the exact opposite sort of night. Oh sigh!

The Fab Four were on the pitch at the hour mark, but Barcelona isn’t Tottenham and all said and done, Berba isn’t really a game-changer. Still, they were tasked with getting a goal and making it one more of ‘those nights’ for United. Well, the goal came. At the other end. From one of the three shortest players on the pitch. Against the two tallest. Defying gravity. Suspended animation. Shocked United bench. Game over.

In the end, it all just came down to the oldest thing in football, really. When you have the ball, keep it. When you don’t have the ball, get it back. If the posession numbers were fairly even, it’s because United’s passes were Rio-Vidic-Evra-Carrick-out of play. Whereas Barca’s usually were Pique-Xavi-Iniesta-Messi-Iniesta-Xavi-Henry-Messi-Eto’O-Iniesta-Henry-Xavi-Eto’O-cross/shot/foul. Rooney and Ronaldo barely got to see the ball, and therefore the threat to the stitched-up back four of Barca never materialized. It was also, in many ways, a complete telling off of the pride of so many people in the ‘physical’ nature of the English game. Messi came out of every three-man tackle unscathed, as did Iniesta, and then got on with the game. Giggs, Park and Rooney lost the ball at the slightest bit of pressure. What physical?

At the end of it all, there was only applause. Wild and cheering from the Barcelona camp, downcast but appreciative from the United camp. It was a showpiece final, it was not unsavoury, it didn’t have referees being hounded on the run, it was all that a season-ending game could have been. But on top of all that, it was Football. And United played their part in that, if only a minor one.

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