Poll: Champions League Final - Barcelona vs Manchester United - 27th May 2009 *SPOILERS*

Who will you be supporting on Wednesday

  • Barcelona

    Votes: 87 36.4%

  • That other team

    Votes: 152 63.6%
  • Total voters
    239
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Ripper said:
PIG, Evans, Brown, Scholes, Nani, Tevez, Berbatov
.
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You would waste a spot on Nani - rather than put Welbeck or Kiko there?( Im not sure if either has flown out mind you)

I just think Nani would be more of a liability than youth in that kind of game

Certainly Brown instead of Neville
 
Nabz said:
Coming from a Neutral this game is the game that i have been looking forward to for the past month. Its Barcelona Vs Manchester Utd. Its got the makings to be one of the greatest football matches of all time with the likes of Messi,Ronaldo,Henry,Rooney,Eto,Xavi,Inesta,Tevez,Berbatov ETC ETC included. I Fully expect this game to live up to its hype, barca are going to be going all out even with their frail defence i still think its strong enough to keep man utd at bay with patience and outwitting the opposition.

I think the keybattles are

Messi Vs Patrice Evra

This is gonna be one of the highly anticipated clashes of the night, i think Messi is going to roll this dude over left and right. If messi has his dancing boots on evra is in for a rough night. a key factor is his close control so expect plenty of Messi trying to dribble his way through the man utd defense as well as beating evra on the wings.

Henry Vs O'Shea

Clear winner is gonna be Henry here although o'shea might keep him at bay. Henry is world class, hes absolutely excellent, his age hasn't slowed him down a bit and he's a big a threat as messi,ronaldo,eto etc etc......i think o'shea will be in for a tough night with henry tryign to run down the wings and whip in some crosses or even attempting some of his own..

Rooney Vs The Defense

I don't think Rooney will be specifically targetting anybody tonight, his job is to pick the ball from deep and run at defenders, do the dirty work and get the ball moving. hes the engine, barca need to stop him. hes world class, he's the best striker in the world and arguably the best player in the world. I think he will have a go at all the defense tonight, especially puyol and caceras.

The Midfield Battle
Xavi/Intiesta Vs Carrick/????

Xavi And Iniesta IMO are the best midfield partnership int he world today, they know each other like the back of their own hands. Everything from their possesional play to their through balls and the link up play is world class, as usual i think Xavi will play the more disciplined role with Iniesta being given the liscene to roam. Expect plenty of trickery from these two.
However, it won't be easy as going up against Carrick/Anderson/Park/Whoever? im not sure but it is going to be tough, carrick is always getting stuck in can pass, shoot and do just about everything xavi/iniesta can do. Its going to be a spectactle in the midfield and a LONG night for all in Midfield.

Key Man: Ronaldo

I think tonight Ronaldo NEEDS to shine, being outdone by Messi last year has to hurt him and theirs always a who's better debate. I think tonight we will find out the answer to that queston (messi imo). IMO messi is the greatest player the world has ever seen, strictly my opinion but Ronaldo is not far behind, actually its debatable and its a hard debate and we WILL find out the answer tonight. Barca need to watch out for the dancing feet Of Ronaldo, his quick skills, crosses, audacious shots and pace. Ronaldo will be an instrumental figure as usual in manchester utds game tonight.

Defense

Vidic/Rio > Puyol/Caceras Of Course, however Rio has a question mark over his head and it is notable Rio compliments vidic. I think The overwhelming discussion of Barca's defense is questionable, sure its frail but i 100% think they have what it takes to close down man utd and keep them at bay. Puyol is a leader, caceras is up and coming but as good as if not better than evans and i don;t think any1 would complain if Evans was starting. The full back Sylvinho is old and experienced and can play a huge factor in tonights game but WHO IS PLAYING ON THE OTHER WING lol????

Conclusion

As a neutral i dont care who wins, i just want to see one of the greatest games of all time and i think thats a huge possibility. Theres a HUMONGOUS amount of talent on that pitch tonight but if i was to stick my neck out i think:

3-2 Barcelona.

And yes i do want barcelona to win because of their positive impact on football and their world class talent coupled with the fact messi is my favourite player in the world.

NabZ
A Villa Fan.
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Anybody think any different or have i got it spot on :P
 
Ripper said:
Yes.

You do remember Nani holding his nerve to take our most important penalty last year? I'd much rather have him in reserve should he be required.
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Fair point - although he had had a much better season at this point last year

Nabz said:
Anybody think any different or have i got it spot on :P
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Quite the opposite - I just couldnt be ***** to correct all the errors lol

For eg - Evra and Rooney stopped Messi last season - Evra might have had a dip in form around March, but has got a lot better recently. Its not just down to Evra either , Rooney will do a lot of tracking bakc and hassling Messi (or on the right if SAF throws a curve ball)

Same with OShea / Park

Im not saying Barca will definitely lose - or that either of those partnerships will definitely prevail over the other, its just nowhere near as cut and dried as you seem to suggest
 
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I think it's going to be a classic tonight. Hopefully as memorable as the '99 game.

I'm going to say 2-1 United

Rooney - Around the 30 minute mark
Messi - 45(+1) Just before the break
Park - 90(+2) At the death!

What would be funny:

Edwin VDS up for a corner in the last seconds of the game, scores from a back heel clip like Tevez's vrs Wigan :) 1 - 0 United.
 
Ripper said:
Not really. It will be Anderson, Carrick and Giggs probably.
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Think he's ready for such a challenge? He's 21 and to be honest i don't watch enough of united to have a valid opinion but from what I've seen i can't say he looks good enough to start a CL final

Poor Hargreaves :(

Slightly disappointed to see united have to wear white :( Ferguson seems to be happy with it though :D
 
Then you havn't watched United enough :)

If anyones going to get at the feet of Xavi/Iniesta/Messi, it will be Anderson. Infact I wouldn't be surprised to see Anderson start further forward, leaving Giggs and Carrick to play deep.
 
Gustov said:
Think he's ready for such a challenge? He's 21 and to be honest i don't watch enough of united to have a valid opinion but from what I've seen i can't say he looks good enough to start a CL final

Poor Hargreaves :(
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Without question - Carrick and Anderson will hopefully control the midfield for Utd for years to come (and tonight with Giggs as well)

Anderson has come on incredibly over the last year, he HAS to start

edit - Hargreaves has been a huge loss for majority of this season, however because of Anderson's huge improvement the last few months its not such a big loss tonight

The only thing I would say is that potentially we could have used only two in midfield if OH was available, (and therefore gone 4-4-2, or 4 - 2 - 4 if you prefer lol) however with Anderson currently he plays - and the whole team does - much better as part of a three man central midfield
 
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Ripper said:
Then you havn't watched United enough :)

If anyones going to get at the feet of Xavi/Iniesta/Messi, it will be Anderson. Infact I wouldn't be surprised to see Anderson start further forward, leaving Giggs and Carrick to play deep.
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Iniesta is very clever at going down so anderson will have to be careful with that. He knows exactly how to shield the ball with his body and if he feels and unnecessary contact he'll go down and 9/10 win the free kick.

It's something i noticed vs Chelsea, I'm not saying he dives but he knows how to win his team a set piece.

As a chelsea fan I'll be cheering United on tonight. I'd much rather see Rooney/ Carrick/ Ferdinand lift the cup opposed to Henry/ Xavi / Messi

Helps that I've put all my cash on united too :D
 
Ripper said:
Then you havn't watched United enough :)

If anyones going to get at the feet of Xavi/Iniesta/Messi, it will be Anderson. Infact I wouldn't be surprised to see Anderson start further forward, leaving Giggs and Carrick to play deep.
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Quite a few websites Ive read have suggested Giggs further forward - but Im with you in having Anderson there instead, much better dynamics imo that way round
 
The Pat said:
Sorry, I know it's meant to be funny, but if it's 0-0 why would Van Der Sar be up for a corner?
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It's what a load of keepers do in the last minutes of a game if only one goal is needed to win a game. Cech did it against Barcelona only a few weeks ago. Most of the time it achieves nothing but it gives a slim advantage to the team having an extra man in the penalty area.
 
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