Champions League Final 2009: FC Barcelona vs ManUtd: Champions of Europe!
- Thread starter nebeer
- Start date
United
New member
This is my predicted lineup against you guys.
As you can see, we'll probably play with Ronaldo as the deep lying striker. But we will have some build up play unlike Chelsea. That's for sure.
I think Barca's tactics will change slightly for this game. People keep saying Barca will just go and attack as thats all they know but just look at it logically -
If it was a tie over two legs then yes United would most likely adopt a more defensive approach to the game but the fact is its not a two leg affair but a one off game were your going to need to score to win more or less. So United are not going to close shop and defend like they did in the Camp Nou last season. Highly unlikely in my opinion.
Pep is no fool and obviously knows United are by a mile the best counter-attacking side in the world. Uniteds game has always been based on counter-attack for many a year now. Add to this the fact Barca are missing 3 key defenders it would be suicide for Pep not to adapt his own tactics somewhat.
Attacks down the right channel are going to be massively limited now regardless of who plays there as Alves cant be properly replaced in that role. Puyol or some think Caceres could play RB but either way we all know they wont bomb on and be as attack minded as Alves and neither of them are really capable of beating a man and putting in a cross in the first place.
Will Messi stay out on the right then with not much support ? I think we could see him moving toward the centre a lot more in this match.
If Henry is injured attacks down the left are also seriously hampered. I thought Iniesta on the left against Chelsea didnt really work as it wasnt to effective. In fact I was screaming at the tv for him to be moved back to midfield - remove Keita and bring on Gudjohnson/Bojan on the left.
If the above scenarios play out then we are looking at a lot of attacks being channeled through the middle and I really cant see to much success trying to pass the ball past/through Rio and Vidic with Carrick, Park and Anderson sitting in front of them. I think the game could be squeezed very much into the middle for Barca which in my opinion will make things a whole lot harder. In last seasons two games Barca whilst having numerous efforts never really cut through that United defense and United were happy to watch Barca pass the ball around for the most part but once it came into the final third they were very quick to close down the play.
If it was a tie over two legs then yes United would most likely adopt a more defensive approach to the game but the fact is its not a two leg affair but a one off game were your going to need to score to win more or less. So United are not going to close shop and defend like they did in the Camp Nou last season. Highly unlikely in my opinion.
Pep is no fool and obviously knows United are by a mile the best counter-attacking side in the world. Uniteds game has always been based on counter-attack for many a year now. Add to this the fact Barca are missing 3 key defenders it would be suicide for Pep not to adapt his own tactics somewhat.
Attacks down the right channel are going to be massively limited now regardless of who plays there as Alves cant be properly replaced in that role. Puyol or some think Caceres could play RB but either way we all know they wont bomb on and be as attack minded as Alves and neither of them are really capable of beating a man and putting in a cross in the first place.
Will Messi stay out on the right then with not much support ? I think we could see him moving toward the centre a lot more in this match.
If Henry is injured attacks down the left are also seriously hampered. I thought Iniesta on the left against Chelsea didnt really work as it wasnt to effective. In fact I was screaming at the tv for him to be moved back to midfield - remove Keita and bring on Gudjohnson/Bojan on the left.
If the above scenarios play out then we are looking at a lot of attacks being channeled through the middle and I really cant see to much success trying to pass the ball past/through Rio and Vidic with Carrick, Park and Anderson sitting in front of them. I think the game could be squeezed very much into the middle for Barca which in my opinion will make things a whole lot harder. In last seasons two games Barca whilst having numerous efforts never really cut through that United defense and United were happy to watch Barca pass the ball around for the most part but once it came into the final third they were very quick to close down the play.
Thierry
New member
Manure..?..something different... Manure..? since when.?
it's all been the same old stinky stuff.. Manure, & Ronaldo gets scared when he plays us. I'd use some extra manure to plant celebration trees for the new season.
Manure different..
, ha,haThese manc's are exciting.
Way to miss the point.
I didn't say Peps tactics were bad I just said Man Utd would of tried similar things against Chelsea to what we did, trying to stretch the defense by pulling it out wide and putting crosses into the box to be attacked. Ribery will play on our left hand side, and he won't change anything. Even if he drifts past 2 or 3 of them he will get nothing. How do I know? because Iniesta did the same. Ribery can run with the ball but Chelsea gave our players nowhere to run to.
You can buy height without compromising your game. There are alot of good ball playing players out there who are tall. The point is our weakness right now is our lack of height in attack, no matter if Alves hits a peach of a cross in there is no Barça player within 10 yards of it and on the rare occasion there is hardly any of them are tall enough or good enough in the air to challenge effectively against an English back 4.
Same with set pieces, we have Pique and that is about it to aim for in set pieces. Marquez and Puyol get joy in the Liga but they get nothing against English teams whose midfielders are as tall and good in the air as they are, not to mention the defenders. Toure rarely gets stuck in in corners, usually hovering at the edge of the box incase the other team tries to break. So it is left to Pique whose height intimidates opponents in La Liga when he goes up for an attacking corner because there aren't many giants like him about, but in the EPL the likes of Terry, Vidic and Rio all deal with people his height week in week out. That coupled with the fact Pique hasn't exactly been superb at winning aerial duels during atacking corners this season...
There is no harm in adding an extra dimension to our game with a player like a Dzeko or an Adebayor (preferably not him, but i'm talking types of players here) who can challenge and win the ball aerially with the English centre halves. Alves often put in early balls for Sevilla because Fabiano and Kanoute would attack any cross, and currently we don't do it enough. Villa and Ribery would be fine against defenses who let us keep the ball at our feet and play it, but against strong teams who will muscle them off the ball we need another dimension...we need a bigger and stronger forward who can tussle with them, can attack crosses from Alves and just generally make the CB's night uncomfortable because he is good in the air aswell as with the ball at his feet.
Last edited:
United
New member
Manure..?..something different... Manure..? since when.?
it's all been the same old stinky stuff.. Manure, & Ronaldo gets scared when he plays us. I'd use some extra manure to plant celebration trees for the new season.
Manure different..
These manc's are exciting.
Aah... real classy stuff. Way to go with the discussions.
Gnegneri
immaculately conceived
you can put park & rooney on the same line as Anderson.
and ronaldo will stay deep as he doesn't defend and that's the pattern for 90 minutes.build up play, i don't know. ronaldo will be 80% of your attack, the other two fill the other 20% on certain occasions. i hope i'm wrong but i fear i'm right
Guardian
New member
I think that SAF will start the game carefully and will start with his most experienced players. He will give more freedom to Ronaldo and he will choose a more defensive startegy:
-------Van der Sar
O'Shea--Rio--Vidic--Evra
--Scholes--Carrick--Anderson
------Rooney-------Park
----------Ronaldo---
Tevez is not going to start, he's under pressure and his future is not clear yet, Berbatov is too slow for the counter attacking united style and Giggs will start off the bench. I believe that SAF will play with Park, because the Korean is damn quick.
I think that Man United are the favourites for this clash and sadly, usually the favourites win the final. The only real chance for Barca is if Henry and Iniesta are 100 % fit, unfortunately I don't think it will happen. Messi and Xavi are the keys for winning the cup for Barca now. Considering that Pep doesn't trust Sylvinho and Caceres I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for this line up:
Valdes
Puyol--Toure-Pique--Keita
---Busquets---
Xavi---Iniesta*
Messi--Eto'o--Henry*
*if they are fit.
-------Van der Sar
O'Shea--Rio--Vidic--Evra
--Scholes--Carrick--Anderson
------Rooney-------Park
----------Ronaldo---
Tevez is not going to start, he's under pressure and his future is not clear yet, Berbatov is too slow for the counter attacking united style and Giggs will start off the bench. I believe that SAF will play with Park, because the Korean is damn quick.
I think that Man United are the favourites for this clash and sadly, usually the favourites win the final. The only real chance for Barca is if Henry and Iniesta are 100 % fit, unfortunately I don't think it will happen. Messi and Xavi are the keys for winning the cup for Barca now. Considering that Pep doesn't trust Sylvinho and Caceres I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for this line up:
Valdes
Puyol--Toure-Pique--Keita
---Busquets---
Xavi---Iniesta*
Messi--Eto'o--Henry*
*if they are fit.
Ronaldo will not be a deep striker. Berbatov is 100% going to play as the guy is brilliant at holding the ball up which will be important for United. How many times do you see Berbatov being dispossessed ? Not many. He will be used to allow United to get players forward in my opinion. I will be shocked if he doesnt start to be honest.
E
Esteve
Guest
I have a feeling Ronaldo will bottle it.....again.
We'll own the ball in midfield as the likes of Carrick & Anderson are no match for Xavi, Iniesta, Yaya. We'll struggle to create chances if they play with nearly every man behind the ball as Chelsea did. Being a final, I expect United to attack a lot more than Chelsea did but as people have mentioned, playing us in an open game of football would be suicide.
We'll own the ball in midfield as the likes of Carrick & Anderson are no match for Xavi, Iniesta, Yaya. We'll struggle to create chances if they play with nearly every man behind the ball as Chelsea did. Being a final, I expect United to attack a lot more than Chelsea did but as people have mentioned, playing us in an open game of football would be suicide.
United
New member
I also hope that he starts. Many people dismiss him as lazy and useless. His languid style gives that illusion of laziness. The man oozes class. He isn't very quick but as you said, he is very effective in holding up the ball and waiting for support. Also, his passing, vision and technique are excellent and could create a lot of chances.
Btw excellent post about Barca's tactics :beer2:
F
flower 1897
Guest
tickets for the final !!!
Hi to aLL!!
I'm italian, my nick is flower!!!
I have 2 tickets for the final match of champions league in rome 27th of may.
They are category 3 and are near.
If someone are interested, don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail : feb.m@libero.it
I'm a serious person, I had buied these ticket with hope to see juventus in final but ....
contact me, don't miss this historical match !!
Ciao
flower
Hi to aLL!!
I'm italian, my nick is flower!!!
I have 2 tickets for the final match of champions league in rome 27th of may.
They are category 3 and are near.
If someone are interested, don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail : feb.m@libero.it
I'm a serious person, I had buied these ticket with hope to see juventus in final but ....
contact me, don't miss this historical match !!
Ciao
flower
Home of Barca Fans
