primus inter pares Nivo: Forumski doajen Registriran(a): 31-01-2008 Odgovori: 20460 IP: Maskiran
Re: FC BARCELONA
27.05.2009 23:45
Messi crowned king of the Champions League
Jordi Clos
In a Champions League showdown billed as Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo to see who is the best player in the world it was the Portuguese international that began brightly, but the Argentinian that came out as a hero.
The Barcelona and Manchester United stars drew nearly all the attention during an intense build-up to the Champions League final in Rome as they have been cited as the best by FIFA and France Football magazine and neither disappointed, but just like in the Bernabéu against Real Madrid, Messi was able to move in field more, while Ronaldo also took up a central role as he did against Arsenal in the semi finals.
Imposing Ronaldo
ZUERAS_FC.BARCELONA_-_MANCHESTER_UNITED_FINAL_CHAMPIONS_27-05-09_040.JPGIn the opening minutes it was Ronaldo that shone as he saw a free-kick from 25 yards that saw Vítor Valdés parry the ball and have Gerard Piqué clear the rebound and again the United player took aim from 40 minutes soon after with a drive that was off target as he looked confident and ambitious. There was to be another effort in the eighth minute that flew past the far post too.
Eto´o opens the scoring
Manchester United´s early promise and attacking intent had the brakes firmly put on it after ten minutes though when Barcelona netted the first goal of the game with their opening attack as Samuel Eto´o beat Edwin van der Sar. Practically of the Red Devils´ attacks came through Ronaldo and in the end he was having to be stopped by any means properly as Gerard Piqué proved when being booked in the 16th minute.
Growing in confidence
WEB_02.jpgBarša grew in confidence and improved throughout in the Olympic Stadium and within the team Messi also looked better and better as he linked up well with the ever-impressive Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández to keep United chasing the game and chasing the ball. The Argentinian had his first chance of the game in the 19th minute when he looked up from outside the area and sent a drive that flew just over Van der Sar´s crossbar. Before half-time he then embarked on a run towards the centre of the Manchester United defence before shooting.
The second goal
In the second half the game opened up even more and Messi had claims for a penalty waved away in the 50th minute. His statistics were also well on the way to being impressive as he completed 51 passes, with 84 per cent success rate, while Ronaldo managed 31 passes, with a 68 per cent success rate. In the 70th minute the two players were separated at last as Messi was p****d out by a sublime cross from Xavi and he rose behind Ferdinand to send a stunning header beyond Van der Sar and into the far corner of the net. Ronaldo´s game concluded as he received a card for a tackle on Puyol and left Messi being crowned as the king of the Champions League with nine goals.
primus inter pares Nivo: Forumski doajen Registriran(a): 31-01-2008 Odgovori: 20460 IP: Maskiran
Re: FC BARCELONA
Barša complete historic treble in Rome (2-0)
FC Barcelona created history on Wednesday evening as they won the UEFA Champions League in Rome to add to the domestic title and Copa del Rey thanks to goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi. In a superb display of the type of football that has typified what has been a magnificent season, Barša became the first team from the Spanish league to complete the unique treble as they ended Manchester United’s run of 25 games unbeaten in the European competition. Slow start The predictions that the homegrown mix of players with star international names would find the Red Devils a difficult team looked to be correct in the opening minutes as Cristiano Ronaldo looked and lively, but Barša held tight and took control of proceedings. The Portuguese was said to be one of the men to watch and he forced Víctor Valdés to make a save early on that required Gerard Piqué to then meet the rebound and clear. The opening goal Guardiola’s team have won plaudits from around the world for their passing and possession game and the more Xavi and Andrés Iniesta came into the game the tougher it became for Ronaldo and United to employ the style of play that has seen them win the Premier League, Carling Cup and World Club Cup this season. After the English side’s bright start, Barcelona showed them the way to goal with almost their first attack after ten minutes. Eto’o was p****d out on the right of the area and he stepped inside Nemanja Vidic before taking aim with a shot that Edwin van der Sar met but was unable to keep out and the Cameroonian striker wheeled away to the corner flag to celebrate the opening goal. Style and technique That goal gave the Blaugrana the confidence that they required and they lifted their game as United began to have to chase and work in order to gain possession and try and find a way back into the game, but they were unable to as Guardiola’s players started to enjoy themselves. Lionel Messi was the focus of much attention in the build-up and he sent a drive just over the bar from 25 yards out before Xavi lined up the first free-kick of the evening and saw his effort curl just over the near post as Van der Sar came across to cover. Attacking changes After half-time, Sir Alex Ferguson looked to bolster his front line with the introduction of Carlos Tévez in place of Anderson, but even that move did not allow United to prevent Barcelona from creating more chances to wrap up the encounter. Henry moved away from Rio Ferdinand in the 50th minute and sent saw his shot saved by the keeper before Xavi sent a low free-kick around the wall and saw it cannon back of the post soon after as the Catalan outfit continued to dominate. Last season Gerard Piqué p****d up a medal as an unused player for Manchester United and just a year later he became the first player to ever win the trophy with two different clubs in consecutive years. Not only did he create history, but the defender was also outstanding in the second period as he prevented his former club from finding a way back into the game. Even Dimitar Berbatov came on to give United even more going forward were they unable to regularly break Barša down. Messi heads home Valdés proved that he was still focussed as he raced to deny Ronaldo from close range, but the keeper did not have a busy evening as the midfield dominated and a second goal for Barcelona always looked likely and when it came it was a superb effort. Xavi looked up from a few yards outside on the right of the area and clipped a cross beyond the defence where Messi rose and stayed up to nod a textbook header beyond Van der Sar and into the far corner of the net with 70 minutes on the clock. That was the signal for the celebrations to begin being planned as Roma joined Wembley and Paris in the Barša history books. An historic win on an historic night in an historic city was a fitting tribute for the team of the season to complete their memorable treble.
Dan nakon velikog trijumfa u modernoj gladijatorskoj areni Vjeènog grada nove nogometne kraljeve Europe novine diljem Starog kontinenta doèekale su s hvalospjevima. Divili su se magiji Inieste i Xavija koji su svojom igrom presudili bivšem prvaku. Barcelonin maestro veznog reda Andres Iniesta nikada u životu nije dobio takav epitet, ne od protivnika. A Wayne Rooney nije štedio rijeèi:
- Iniesta je najbolji igraè na svijetu...
List Sport izašao je s naslovom “Barša, Barša, Barša!” - uz objašnjenje kako je nakon dvije loše sezone san napokon ostvaren. U 15 dana osvojili su tri najvažnija trofeja.
I engleski tisak divio se velikoj Barceloni. The Sun se bavio izjavom Cristiana Ronalda:
“Naša je taktika bila kriva”, èime je jasno ocrtao Fergusona kao velikog krivca. A Fergie je dodao da je veæina njegovih igraèa podbacila i neka se sami zapitaju zašto... Za rimski “masakr” imali su i prigodan naslov - “Messi predvodio Messicre”. Ni Independent nije štedio momke s Old Trafforda. Manchester United nije se u srijedu pojavio u Rimu. Ostali su bez zraka poslije Iniestine èarolije.
PORT HARCOURT - Navijaè Manchester Uniteda iz Nigerije ubio je èetiri osobe kada se minibusom zaletio u gomilu Barceloninih navijaèa nakon što je njegov klub izgubio u finalu Lige prvaka, objavila je policija u èetvrtak.
Gomila je u gradu Ogbu slavila Barceloninu pobjedu nakon utakmice u srijedu kada se minibus zaletio u njih. Glasnogovornica policije je izjavila da je deset osoba ozlijeðeno a da je vozaè uhiæen.
"Vozaè je prošao gomilu a onda je napravio krug i zaletio se u njih", rekla je glasnogovornica.
Re: FC BARCELONA
