give Barcelona some credit. e papers have mostly been centring ard how Fergie planned n went out to choke e opponents, n totally gave up any intentions to attack. some ppl have commented tt Manchester United looked Italian n played like catenaccio. near, but if u analysed e match closely, United were kept out of havin a go at Barcelona, by Barcelona.
this is Man Utd. a team tt prides on possession play, swift killer blows, n swaggers ard pitch. even when they're down against top teams, they usually dominate possession til e final whistle. it is how Fergie learnt football should be played, n what he passed on to his old guard, who then impose it on e newer generations. this season, they've perfected e art. remember 5-1 Newcastle, 6-0 Newcastle, n 3-0 Liverpool? these are reputable opponents who are supposed to be close in quality to United. but if u had been living on another planet n only watched these matches, u would have thot tt Newcastle and Liverpool are in a different league from United. such was e Red Devils' domination of e matches, n how they smothered e ball ard e field like e opponents wernt there. they easily stringed together 20-odd-pass sequences in e closing stages of e matches.
n at Nou Camp, e final possession count read only 27% to United. please do not say it was just Fergie's conservative tactics. this team is built to be arrogant. but Barcelona controlled e tempo of e match thruout n didnt allow United to play.
e line-ups did not say much. Barcelona preferred a single out-n-out striker in Samuel Eto'o, but e attackin nature of e team was obvious. Lionel Messi returned, n e midfield also boasted Deco n Andres Iniesta. only a fool would think this was a cautious line-up. durin Barca's all-conquerin days of 2006, their irrepressible midfield was e crux of their offense, when they worked as a unit to dismantle oppositions. in fact, Man Utd's line-up also looked fine. Paul Scholes n Michael Carrick continued their reliable partnership in e middle of e park (although some believe Owen Hargreaves and Anderson are more continental and hence more suited), n e only notable change was Park Ji-Sung's run-out over club captain Ryan Giggs, who was ready on e bench.
but from e whistle go, some things became obvious. winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been allocated as sole striker, much owing to his goal-scoring record this season; Carlos Tevez fell deep, while Wayne Rooney went out right. Scholes, usually the perfect fold for Carrick, was given similar duties as e latter, to sit in front of e defence as e second anchorman. there were many question marks over e strategy of Fergie. why was Scholes, infamous for his lack of tacklin skills, used as a destroyer n restrained from what he does best, in e attackin midfield hole? by joinin Carrick, we can see clearly Fergie's defensive approach. why was Rooney used out right when he's an instinctive striker but lacks flair? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was experimented before by Fergie to be moved out to e wing, but he succeeded to an extent as Solskjaer played simple, direct wingplay, and he had pace n a fair amount of flair. Rooney was almost invisible whole night n did not excite e Catalan crowd, a letdown to e hype ard him, as compared to Messi, Bojan Krkic or Geovanni. e choice of Ronaldo upfront was simple math - 38-goal return, n this man would give e Barca defence something to think abt whole night. but wrong. Ronaldo is best maraudin from deep, in momentum n in full flow. he cant wait. hes not a natural striker, but more a forward. n as a forward, he needs someone to complement him, all season being Rooney. so this night, he only succeeded in scarin e Barca defence, but there was only so much he could do.
i would have to admit United were astute in defending n one could easily see tt their main duties for e night were defensive. Barca controlled e match. basically e scenes were repeated. Deco or Xavi would control e tempo, decide e next move, n start playin. Messi, Iniesta and Eto'o would usually get e ball, n try to work something out. Man Utd sat back. when e time was ripe, Scholes or Carrick or Evra or Hargreaves would stick in to make e tackle. if at best, Barcelona made it to e last line, Rio Ferdinand would blast e ball away into safety. Rooney, Tevez and Park did their part by harryin opponents from e midfield region. if United did get e ball under control, they would give it to Scholes, Carrick, Rooney or Tevez. unfortunately, this was e main disappointment of e night for United. usually so adept at it, Barcelona's close attention left Scholes, Carrick and Rooney dead most of e time, 3 players who arnt exactly good in tight situations. so e ball is lost n returned to Yaya Toure, e main destroyer for Barcelona. in essence, there was no link-up to Ronaldo, let alone threats to e Barca goal. but if one does not consider Man Utd as Man Utd this night, it was an exceptional defensive display.
maybe he was being cautious in such a cauldron, but definitely not negative. Ronaldo might have been moved inside as a tactical change; Eric Abidal or Gianluca Zambrotta are two of e best at fullback. but no, w e confidence of Fergie in Ronaldo this season, i dont think he would think tt way. Rooney? i felt tt he was played simply bcoz he's Rooney. Fergie has to choose e best team for e occasion, not e best individuals. other than his lung-bursting defensive contributions, his selection was off.
however, this match was for e taking, if Fergie hadnt realised. Barcelona was in a slump. they're not e team of before. not tt team tt passed ard so lightning-quick like only vintage Arsenal can. n Nou Camp hasnt been tt formidable this season. well, we can only understand tt maybe it was Fergie's experience, tt u must always show respect to e biggest clubs of e world. maybe coz Champions' League semi-final is just too huge. maybe he has last season's football lesson by AC Milan at e back of his head. but if he had dared n allowed us fans to dream, he would have taken e game to Barca, n there could yet be a better result.
make no mistake. conceding nothing at Nou Camp is an achievement in itself. tt was most prob e idea in Fergie's head when plannin his strategy. but this is a two-legged affair. u bring e opponents home w a 0-0 aggregate, means u have to do better than e 1st leg to win e tie. once they score at Old Trafford, u have to beat em, bcoz a scoring draw n ur out. Old Trafford is e Theatre of Dreams, but it still cannot claim to be a fortress like Anfield, Stamford Bridge or San Siro. essentially in this tie, it doesn matter much who has home advantage. when Barcelona come by, please watch out. they are a team tt can score in any ground in e world. we'll have to control n dominate, but not slip up behind to an early Barca goal. n we've never needed e Old Trafford crowd more than now.
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