Ducky’s Note: is here because there is no Maddy’s Note. As already explained, he’s trying to turn around two big trucks and 142.5 small trucks around single-handed. The other two writers have nothing to write home about (and I don’t blame them). Which leaves me, who has been quite busy over the past few days trying to figure if CNN-IBN or NDTV has the hotter reporters. Times Now is just too loud for my liking. Therefore, good friend Vishwa has rescued me with this United-Barca Preview. That too from someplace 4 hrs from Chennai in an A.P.S.R.T.C bus.
“It is easier to comment than to write a post”
– Found on an anonymous grave in Sambunithopu (14° 25′ 0″ N, 79° 58′ 0″ E. At an average elevation of 18m from mean sea level, I think)
The idea for writing this post was conceived on Monday, the 18th of May, 2009 to be precise. That was two days after United clinched the title at Old Trafford. That was roughly 362 days after John Terry’s eyes resembled the October skies of Cherrapunji. The idea was basically a question which is “are we (Man Utd) going to create history(with me going one more beer down) or is it going to be Ronaldo doing a John Terry (and me going into the bathroom to start crying like a baby) this time around?” If you ask me, I’d echo what Fergie said in one of his latest interviews but the truth could be very far from it.
So I set about the task and was talking about this match with my mentor so far as “playing or watching football goes” who happens to be my Dad. Although he claims he does not support any club it wouldn’t be hard to comprehend his disposition towards Barcelona and Arsenal (why dad? Why??..). When posed the question of who’d win the champions league, out came the answer “Barcelona”… and he seemed to know the score too… 2-0 with Messi scoring both of them. That is the general perception, a lay man’s view. Of course, my dad still thinks Kluivert (who he prefers to call Kulvert) is still in Barcelona, and believes that a certain Isaac, an SBI player of the 80s could have become better than Maradona but for his womanizing habits. Hi Ho! Welcome to the real world.
Coming to the match, I seriously believe that we are far from the lay man’s view. The reasons for which I quote are as follows.
- By the look of things, we are going to start the same team that tore Arsenal to shreds. Except Giggs will replace the unlucky-not-to-be-in-the-final Fletcher. So you can expect a solid and very competent midfield with Rooney, Park, Anderson, Carrick and Giggs. Three people who can run all day and two of them can pick out enviable defense splitting passes and one of them still is very dangerous with corners and indirect free kicks.
- Lady luck seems to be on our side. Barcelona will be missing their full-backs due to suspension although I d have liked the decoy-runner Abidal against us. And I was also reading a piece which says Iniesta and Henry are doubtfuls for the finals as on Friday,22nd of May,2009.Roughly 365 days after October skies resembled John Terry’s eyes.
- Ferdinand looks set to return and form a formidable partnership with Vidic. Evra looks “back-to-form”ish, and O’shea well….is just O’shea.
- Sir Alex
- Sir Alex Ferguson
- Ronaldo
- Christiano Ronaldo
- The luxury of calling upon the likes of Berbatov, Tevez , Scholes whenever we feel we are not doing anywhere near acceptable.
The Potential threats, as I see:
- Lionel Messi when deployed on the left.
- Lionel Messi when deployed on the right.
- Lionel Messi when deployed.
- Lionel Messi.
- Nerves, a lot of them (Kramer style).
- John O’shea’s clearances.
- The absence of a proper ball-winner-by-trade in the midfield (both Fletcher and Hargreaves).
- Bad luck, poor refereeing, return of Iniesta and Henry. Return of Iniesta and not Henry. And return of Henry and not Iniesta.
- Plane crash, Aliens, natural disasters etc.
- GOD
These are just some of them.
Now for my prediction. After a hardly-fought first fifteen minutes Man Utd will take the lead with a Rooney header from a Ronaldo cross, on the counter. And then to go 2-0 up in first-half injury time from a Giggs corner headed in by Ronaldo. Somewhere between the 69th to 77th minute I can see a nervous clearance from O’shea fall to Yaya toure who lets one fly and then the ball deflect off Samuel Eto`o to make the score 2-1. And in the last 8 minutes of regular time Man Utd will concede 7-10 corners. From one of those Pique will head one against the woodwork. And one Messi attempt will be ruled out for off-side. Arguing against which Puyol will get his second yellow. I will leave the stoppage time for your imagination. My verdict 2-1 to United. Therby retaining the trophy with big ears that the whole of Europe craves for.
It is going to be a battle between two sets of people born thirty years apart. Pep and Alex. Me and my dad. Expect a cracker!
“Total Football can be undone by Total dedication”
-Mandira Bedi (just a guess)
“Predictions are like arseholes. Everyone’s got one”
– Overheard in a bar.
awesome post!
Glory Glory Glory Manchester United!!
Somehow i doubt United will go 2-0 up and all at halftime. Very optimistic Vishwa. I predict a very very tight, non free flowing, non open game where Messi will finally score against English opposition and lead Barcelona to victory.
And Tanaya, there is an extra Glory in your line that isn’t actually there 😉 (in the song i meant)
‘Very optimistic Vishwa’
Is it only me or does anybody else also smell an irony here???
Oh you are alive dude!! Been very busy i see. Bastard.
And dude. It’s not an irony exactly. Generally people tend to you know favor their predictions towards their teams and it’s up to a neutral third person to temper things down.
Though sometimes people do go overboard and get their tongues clipped too 😦
Maddy,
Yeah…the one you mentioned is also one possible combination But given that Barcelona will not have their first-choice full-backs and Yaya Toure will be playing centre-half barca will be more vulnerable on the counter. So 1-0 is a very bright possibility, that is if barca try and impose the game on Utd which i think they will. As for the second goal(The Ronaldo header), it is entirely governed by Gut feeling. So i cant defend that point from a footballing perspective, i think Man Utd are well equipped to curtail the usual Messi threat. What i am afraid of, although, is the moment of briliance that players of his calibre are capable of producing. Like the Ronaldinho moment against Chelsea, Maradona “goal-of-the-century” moment against England. I feel no team in the world would be equipped enough to handle moments like those.
And maddy dont advise a man u fan about using the word Glory.
@ Maddy :
I sincerely hope that you will be proved wrong. Whatever be the result, I hope it comes out of an open game, with lots of fluid moves from both sides (the last clause is necessary after what happened last year).
Your prediction of Messi scoring has (obviously) come from the way Barcelona have played this year. However, there are three problems which are going to really hurt :
(a) you must realize that without Dani Alves sprinting up and down the right flank, Messi will not get the width that he uses to start his mesmerizing runs. (b) with no (at least, a not-fully-fit) Iniesta, the creativity in the midfield will be seriously compromised. Making Xavi will become that much easier, and the bulk of creating sublime moves will fall on Messi. Messi might even be forced to play a more central role, without the freedom to run to the right!
(c) With no Henry (again, not fully fit) marshaling the left (no Abidal too!), Messi will again have the bulk of the work on the center/right. Most of the attacks will come from the right, and this will allow the United defense to offset themselves slightly towards Messi, thus supporting Evra in his thankless job of stopping Messi.
Xavi is good. Very good. But, without four first team players, Barcelona will find it very difficult to stamp their authoritative dominance onto the game against a full-strength United squad (the loss of Fletcher is nothing as severe as what Barca face).
Man Utd should pull through. A couple of foals is not too bad an estimate, although a safer bet would be one on either side of the half-time whistle.
Remember : This is a more mature United. They are quite capable of going up a couple of goals and shutting shop!
Well, all that is well and good da Keda. Very cerebral your article is. I was speaking from a totally Anti-United perspective 🙂
What you said might a probably will happen. Yet if i were to speak cerebrally myself, this is the kind of situation Messi has excelled in, in the past. Where the weight of the entire team has rested on his young and very small shoulders. hat-trick in the 3-3 against Madrid and so forth. So whatever be the situation you cannot put it past Messi to finally do what i said he might do.
“Total Football can be undone by Total dedication”
Awesome!!! 🙂
However,your Dad seems to be a soccer purist and a much better predictor . I will also go for a 2 goal margin victory for Barcelona…thougn without Alves and first choice center backs, I expect Man U to score atleast 1 goal. Though it doesnt happen too many times in finals(Liv AC Milan comes to mind), I will go for a high scoring final (3-1 for Barca with Eto’o and Henry both scoring).
Aps,
United will adopt a cautious approach and will try to attack mainly through counters. So the 3 goals conceding thing looks like a distant possibility. I am sticking with my 2-1 or may be a 1-1 on to penalties.
Talking about my dad, his footballing calendar refreshes only in late-march or early april well into the champs league knock out stages. Well i am sure he is a cricket purist, given his love for test cricket and the outright rejection of IPL as a “marketing gimmick”. He is someone who has seen the Maradonas, the van Bastens , the valderramas live and supports(ing) Tamil Nadu in Santosh Trophy(he might be in the stadium watching them as i type).
I agree to ur mentioned strategies and gameplans that Man U wud adopt. And I myself am a big believer on the game being half won out of the pitch. But to be honest, for once I will let my gut feeling take control. Vishwa,this Barca team plays football at a totally different level. Like you mentioned in your article(which was a terrific read to say the least), they have players like Messi, Iniesta, Xavi who can really make a mockery of all these strategies. And Iam sure Man U is going to be mucch more adventurous than Chelsea in its approach.I still agree with Maddy that it might be very tight and not very open, but I still expect goals from sheer moments of magic rather than an end to end match.
And your Dad is really the purist man!!! Maradona,Van Basten, Santosh Trophy!!! hats off.
“…expect goals from sheer moments of magic rather than an end to end match.”
as i said earlier there is not much one can do when they exhibit brilliance except expect a coupla ur players also try and exhibit the same. Lets wait and see. damn the match is still 15 hrs away.
Like I said, your Dad is a genius.
Humbled!
Someone made a prediction. Someone proved he has gotta big-dirty-arsehole. 😀 😛 😀
Prasanna,
FA cup final is not very far away sweetheart…..