Barcelona Wins The UEFA Champions League
Barcelona Defeats Manchester United to Claim European Club Glory
May 27, 2009
According to Barcelona head coach, Josep Guardiola, the game plan for his squad was to keep possession of the ball and use their speed to break down the Manchester defense. A plan which worked to perfection as Barcelona maintained possession of the ball for 51percent of the match and scored two goals while exposing the Manchester defenders. It was Samuel Eto'o who opened the scoring at the 10th minute of the first half by running past Nemanja Vidic and firing the ball under the body of of Edwin van der Sar. For Samuel Eto'o, it was his fourth UEFA Champions League goal this season. The second goal was scored by Lionel Messi who had not found the net in ten games against English opponents in the competition. Xavi Hernández was able to find Messi with a beautiful cross, which the Argentinian headed back across the goal and over Edwin van der Sar.
Lionel Messi Scores
Lionel Messi is only 21-year-old but he has already managed to establish himself as one of the world`s premier players. Messi has prevailed in this year`s Champions League tournament as the leading scorer with nine goal, and finishing ahead of Liverpool FC's Gerrard and Miroslav Klose of FC Bayern München, both on seven goals.
Manchester United Unable To Defend Title
The match began with good opportunities for Manchester who dominated the ball early and allowed Christiano Ronaldo to have a few good scoring opportunities against Víctor Valdés. Unfortunately for Manchester United they lost ball possession for most of the game and they allowed the speeding Barcelona players to expose their slower defense. Afterwards Wayne Rooney commented to the media that he was disapointed with his effort and that of his team. It was a difficult match for many of the Manchester United players who played cautiously against a powerful Barcelona. United were bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era, they were unable to hold on however and lost to a stronger Barcelona squad.
Barcelona Establishes Spanish Dominance in Champions League
Spain has become the most successful country in European Champion Clubs' Cup history after Barcelona triumphed in Rome. Clubs from Spain have won the tournament a record 12 times, Real Madrid by themselves have won the European championship a record 9 times. Clubs from England and Italy have lifted the trophy eleven times, Germany and the Netherlands occupy fourth place on the list with six wins apiece.
