Was it shocking to me? Did it surprised me? Was it humiliating to lose 3-1 in a final?
No would be the answer, if you were means you don't know much about football and definitely don't know how Barcelona team plays. There were no second guessing on how they will approach the final, pass, pass and keep passing, hold for possession, move when you are off the ball, hold some more and finally drill a diagonal or a straight direct through ball to beat the defenders on the run. Everyone knows how they play, but its how you stop it, can anyone do it? I have no idea, maybe you gotta play real dirty in order to do so. We are talking about the world best players in a team, Xavi the midfield maestro, a guy i often say have 3brains and 6eyes with the ball. Iniesta the baby looking heart breaker of a football match (ask Netherland & Chelsea) and not forgetting Lionel Messi who isn't human. Then there are 8 other players who can walk into any team in the world, so its a huge task to beat them. Obviously every team can be beaten, they lost a few games this year, but if they manage to play anything above 70% of their game, you are doomed and yesterday i rated them at 99% and thats because they conceded a goal to United.
Consolation prize for United is at least we turned up this year, compared to the final 2 years back (we lost 0-2) I honestly cant blame any players performance last night, i am sure there were a few who dint manage to play at their best, to name a few like Evra, Carrick, Valencia, Chicharito. But sometimes you need the ball to play well, in terms of statistics i think the average possession of the ball was about 70-30%, shots were about 17 to 3 or something in that range. You can't really focus too much at stats when you are up against this Barca team, most importantly is take chances if you get any. Wayne Rooney certainly did it, 1 shot on target and a goal! So to point fingers who suck on the night is just plain brutal. We have seen the best players and teams tried to mark them, and still find no answer. Netherlands tried 2 defensive midfielder (Van Bommel & Nigel De Jong), Germany tried (Bastian Schweinsteiger & Khedira) Real Madrid tried 5 times (manage to only win once) with some of the best players in the world (Xabi Alonso, Khedira, Diarra, Pepe, Sergio Ramos) not forgetting best tactical coach Jose Mourinho on their side too.
So another season comes to an end.. Overall i believe we did a great job on winning the league (one of the hardest in years) clinched the no.19 to be head and shoulder above the rest is a monumental achievement, so well done guys for that. To be so close in the FA Cup final & Losing in the final of the Champions League is just heart breaking. The squad isn't complete, hopefully and i believe we will sign a few key players for the 2011/2012 campaign we will come back stronger, faster, hungrier, focus ever. It wasn't the fitting end for all United fans, but congratulations once again to the Barcelona FC team, and many thanks to the whole Manchester United squad including the staffs and coaches for such a wonderful season! Never in my expectations thought we will be in the final at the start of the season.
Manchester United fan til i die.