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Manchester United vs.
Barcelona
The Red
Devils of Alex Ferguson are almost a cinch to win the
Premiership and are one game away from a finals berth in
Moscow that would give them a chance for a treble of
sorts (they did win the Community Shield in a match
versus Chelsea at the start of this campaign). Early
this year, they faced some stiff competition from
intrarivals
Manchester
City
that greatly reloaded with the arrival of owner and
former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and former
England boss Sven Goran Eriksson. But the Citizens,
after pacing the league in its early stages, faltered
and surrendered the lead to rivals Manchester United and
Arsenal. And Arsenal, beset by erratic play and injuries
to key players, soon found itself struggling to keep up
with the Red Devils.
Dipping
into the rich free-agent transfer market, Fergie’s
purchases of Nani, Carlos Tevez and Anderson have given
Man U more attacking flexibility. And Owen Hargreaves’s
midfield savvy (he did score the winner that forced
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to concede this year’s title
to Man United) will make it easier for Wayne Rooney and
Cristiano Ronaldo to find the back of the net.
Manchester United’s strong defensive backline and their
renewed attacking spirit make them a strong favorite to
move past Barcelona, which has been an implosion in the
making for the last two years.
On the
other hand, the Catalan club’s fortunes eerily mimic
those of Chelsea’s. For two years, they ruled the
Spanish La Liga. Then, last season, they surrendered the
title in the final game of the season to age-old rivals
Real Madrid. Had they won last year, would this team be
experiencing its current troubles now?
For the
answer, one will have to rely on that sports truism
where winning hides the bad but losing brings to a head
the warts and all. And at Barca, sometimes their
off-field troubles are tabloid page fodder.
In his
early years at the Catalan team, manager Frank Rijkaard
took over a dysfunctional club and with a modest budget
turned them into winners in the domestic league and in
Europe. He took a chance on Ronaldinho, who clashed once
too often with Luis Fernandez, the manager of his
previous club Paris Saint-Germain. Rijkaard’s victories
gave him the clout and rein to build a galactico project
that didn’t seem to work with their Madrid rivals. And
in many ways, it’s not working for his side.
Over
time, he brought in Lionel Messi, Sam Eto’o, Juventus
refugees Lillian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta and Bojan
Krkic. In fact, the squad played better without
Ronaldinho as the Argentine Messi looked better to take
over the scoring mantle from the disgraced Brazilian.
With
Real Madrid looking good to defend their crown,
Barcelona’s last hopes lie in a Champions League title
they last won several years ago against Arsenal which
then featured their current striker Thierry Henry.
Barcelona
is coming in having drawn most of their last few matches
in the La Liga. If they keep their head in the game and
play with a renewed sense of purpose, they just might
possibly even turn the tables on
Madrid in
Spain and land a berth in the Champions League Finals.
Prediction:
Manchester
United by a hairline where they’ll face the
pre-Premiership face of English football, Liverpool. |
