by Sargamraja Mahat

Indomitable Barcelona have won the 2008/2009 UEFA Champions League by defeating the holders, Manchester United, convincingly with the score of 2 to nothing.

This was a very special game. Yes, it was the final of the pinnacle of European football, but what made it even more special was it was the clash between the champions of two different leagues. It would have been apt to herald the winner as the best team in Europe. It has not been like that for the past few seasons. For example, Manchester United battled against Chelsea in the final of last season, but Chelsea definitely were not one of the best last season. Two seasons ago, AC Milan played against Liverpool in the final, but both of the teams were in a domestic slump during that season. Yes, AC Milan did win the Champions League, but I doubt anybody could call them the best team in Europe that season outright. However, this season, things are different. Anybody who wins the final could rightly be heralded as the best team in Europe without any reluctance. Therefore, after the victory, Barcelona can now be anointed officially as the best team in Europe.

It was a sumptuous display of attacking football. Well done Barcelona. Throughout the whole season, Barcelona have played the best football in Europe, and this victory was totally well deserved. This was not just the triumph of Barcelona, it was also the triumph of football because Barcelona were the only team that played football like the way it should be played for much of the season. So dominant were Barcelona that even the whole United squad had no choice but to admit the superiority of the champions including the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, the captain, Ryan Giggs, and the star forward, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Catalans simply outplayed the Red Devils.

Barcelona started nervously. For the first ten minutes, it was all Red Devils. Ronaldo had couple of chances during the first ten minutes, but he could not score. After flurries of United’s attack, Barcelona finally attacked for the first time in the 10^th minute, which resulted in a fantastic goal by Samuel Eto’o. He turned past arguably the best center back in the world, Vidic, and sent the ball to the back of the net. It had been all United up until that point, but after that goal, the momentum shifted towards Barcelona, and United never got it going after that. They were chasing shadows for the majority of the game. Barcelona had most of the chances after that. Henry shot the ball straight at the goalie, Edwin Van Der Sar, after completely embarrassing Rio Ferdinand. Messi missed couple of chances. Iniesta had a shot blocked. Xavi hit the post with his free kick. After missing couple of chances, Messi atoned by scoring the second goal off of a header in the 70^th minute to seal the game. Xavi made a perfectly weighed cross to Messi’s head, and the diminutive forward rose high up to head that ball past the goalie. To say that it was an utter domination is itself an understatement. They were so imposing that just two goals was actually a very flattering score for United. It could have been way worse.

Kudos to Barcelona’s makeshift defense for a bravura performance. They were superb. Yaya Toure, a center midfielder, was deputized as a center back because of the injuries to the first choice center backs, Marquez and Milito. Carles Puyol, a center back, was deputized as a right back to fill the void of Dani Alves, who was serving a match suspension. Sylvinho, second choice left back, started in place of Eric Abidal, who also was serving a match suspension. They were ravaged with injuries and were expected to suffer especially because they were playing against the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, and Tevez, but they rendered the potent attack of United inefficient during the game. Captain Puyol had Ronaldo and Rooney in his pockets. So frustrated was Ronaldo that he had to resort to making some cynical tackles against Puyol. Rooney also had to switch side because Puyol was having such an amazing game. But, even by switching sides, Rooney could not get the ball because Sylvinho also was having a phenomenal game. Finally, Toure and Pique played like seasoned veterans and nullified every United attack. And, the much maligned goalie, Victor Valdes, also made some good saves. So, they deserve special adulation.

Much was hyped up in the media about the clash of 2 of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, before the game. There was only one clear winner after the game, and it was none other than Lionel Messi. He is now destined to win the Player of the Year award by completely outclassing the current incumbent in the biggest show in European club football. Ronaldo started brighter of the two, but at the end, Messi had the last laugh. Not only he scored in the final, he also made more passes than Ronaldo with a better success rate, and he linked up better with his team mates. They said that Messi is weak at headers, but he surprised everyone with a well taken headed goal. What a player he is. And the scary thing is, he is just 21. He is nowhere near his prime. He can only get better with years. If he continues like this, only sky is the limit for him. I am not trying to undermine Ronaldo here. Ronaldo had a good game as well. It seemed like he was the only one trying to do something, but he was left frustrated by the lack of support from his team mates.

Having said that, Messi was not the best player on the pitch. He might have overshadowed Ronaldo, but it was the likes of the midfielders, Xavi and Iniesta, who masterminded the victory of Barcelona. Without them pulling the strings in the midfield, I doubt Barcelona would have been that imposing. They are definitely the best center midfielders in the world right now. They completely overran the midfield pairing of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs. The game was won in the midfield. While Carrick and Giggs have been very good in that position during the season, they were no match against the masters of possession, Xavi and Iniesta.

They made the United midfield look silly as Giggs admitted after the game. They rarely gave up possession and rarely made bad passes. The first goal resulted from a brilliant through ball by Iniesta, and the second goal resulted from a perfectly weighed cross by Xavi. Not to mention countless number of times they recovered the ball. After the game, Wayne Rooney declared that Iniesta is the best player in the world right now ahead of Messi and his teammate, Ronaldo. He was indeed phenomenal in the game. His passes were delicious, and his dribbling was exemplary. He was waltzing past United defenders like if they did not even exist. Having said that, Xavi was the man of the match for my money. He ran the show in the midfield. His passes were exquisite. He created Messi’s goal and created one-on-one chances for Thierry Henry and Carles Puyol. Not only he created chances for his teammates, he also had 2 great chances with  free kicks. One of the shots slightly went wide of the post, and the other shot hit the post. He was a dominant figure in the midfield. He rightly got the Man of the Match award from UEFA for this virtuoso performance.

So, Barcelona have won the UEFA Champions League 2008/2009, and by doing that, they have made history because no Spanish team has ever won the treble of the league, Copa Del Rey, and the Champions League in a single season. It is a feat that will not be repeated any time soon. I am not over exaggerating when I say that this Barcelona team is one of the best teams in the history of world football, if not the best. It is not just because they won the treble, but it is because of the way they won it. Like I already mentioned, they played the best football throughout the season, and they truly deserved it. Manchester United also won the treble in 1999, but they definitely did not play as beautiful as this Barcelona side do. So, all hails to the European and Spanish Champions of 2008/2009 season