Manchester United take on Barcelona in the Champions League final on May 28 at Wembley, with the Red Devils looking to win the double after clinching the Premier League title against Blackburn. With the Spanish side on scintillating form, we must not forget the collective strength, experience and will to win of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team or write them off; here are some recent reminders of their abilities.
Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1 – May 8th 2011, Premier League
With United in supposedly inconsistent form with a 0-0 draw against Newcastle, a narrow 1-0 win over Everton and off the back of a 1-0 defeat at the Emirates by Arsenal, Chelsea visited Old Trafford earlier this month three points behind the mighty Reds and looking to win the match and the title. Carlo Ancelotti’s side had beaten United 2-1 in the league at Stamford Bridge in March, the Blues had won their previous five league games at a canter and pundits were claiming that United were rattled and there for the taking.
Not this Manchester United team. Goals from Javer Hernandez in the first minute and a header from the towering Nemanja Vidic secured victory for the Old Trafford club and effectively handed the club their 19th top flight title.
West Ham 2 Manchester United 4, 2nd April 2011, Premier League
With West Ham struggling, a revival was on the cards as the Hammers beat Liverpool and Stoke City in consecutive weeks and took a 2-0 lead against Manchester United at Upton Park in April. Half time and United were up against the ropes, whilst the London club were looking like easing their relegation woes. Sir Alex gave one of his renowned half time team talks and the side came out with renewed vigour in the second half, and a Wayne Rooney hat-trick and a Chicharito late goal secured a 4-2 comeback.
United used the game as a springboard for the rest of the season, going on to beat Chelsea in the Champions League in their next game, whilst Avram Grant’s side lost their impetus and their Premier League status soon after.
Manchester United vs Chelsea, Champions League 2011
Whilst United were enjoying more domestic joy than stumbling Chelsea in March, the Champions League is a whole different ball game, and Roman Abramovich’s lust to win Europe’s top club competition has been widely acknowledged in footballing circles. With the two sides meeting in the quarter finals of this year’s tournament, United were not fancied as Chelsea had started to turn the corner in the league and were looking more focused, whilst Man Utd had not looked convincing in the previous round against Marseille and suffered domestic defeats against lowly Liverpool and the Stamford Bridge club in the weeks before. Despite this a Wayne Rooney strike in London and a dominant performance at home ensured the Reds won both legs and progressed easily 3-1 on aggregate.
Arsenal 1 Manchester United 3, May 5th 2009, Champions League semi final
United took a slender 1-0 advantage to the Emirates in the semi finals of the 2008/09 Champions League, and with a youthful Arsenal side full of promise the tie stood firmly in the balance. Despite this a sublime attacking performance saw United race to a 2-0 lead on the night after 11 minutes, and win 3-1 after 90 minutes of excellent play. United looked a class above the Gunners, Arsenal chased shadows whilst Sir Alex’s men counter attacked with pace and utter ruthlessness.
Ji Sung Park, a regular in the big games, opened the scoring after eight minutes with a clinical strike, before Cristiano Ronaldo rifled an unstoppable long range effort past the hapless Almunia. The Portuguese scored again in the second half to complete the victory, but 3-1 could have been 5-1, 6-1 or 7-1 as United showed their class and dominance.
Manchester United 1 Barcelona 0, 30th April 2008, Champions League semi final
After a 0-0 stalemate at the Camp Nou and a defeat at Stamford Bridge on the Saturday before the second leg, the Champions League semi final of 2007/08 went back to Old Trafford with the Manchester club needing to find a way to outplay the Blaugrana’s purist, free flowing football. Although the performance was not the most exciting or top notch, the tie was enthralling due to the sheer passion and desire to win shown by the English side. Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (who played in Nemanja Vidic’s absence) commanded the defence, whilst Patrice Evra neutralised Lionel Messi and kept the Spanish side goalless over 180 minutes.
The winning goal? Enter United legend Paul Scholes. The ex-England midfielder is a big game player, and whilst the teams qualities cancelled each other out, a touch of class and a strike from 25 yards won the tie. Barca’s total football, much applauded and raved over, was thwarted and cancelled out whilst United’s class prevailed.
Looking back over these games brings back nostalgia of just how good a side United are, and how their mental toughness wears teams down and goes far to winning the side games. The old moniker of ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ applies to this record breaking side, and at times during this season and many before the side have been off the boil or against the wall and bounced back to get the results they needed to be successful. Barcelona may be the form side in Europe currently, but United are the most consistent and revered side of the last decade.
Sir Alex has been there and done it, and come May 28th, his brilliance along with the side’s unity and doggedness will mean the Spanish side will be in for a difficult night.
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In Fergie We Trust – thats all the inspiration we need.
Still remember the commentaries words after the ginger prince’s goal.
“What about that?! What about that?!”
i think patients is the key, barca play a similar version of football to the arse, fergies philosophy recently is to allow them to have the ball where they cannot hurt us, watch the slipped through balls then nail them on the counter. Hernandez vrs Puyol should be fun. i just fear we dont have a quick defender to match messi.
You guys are going to love this. Some Barca memes I found in another forum I frequent.
http://i.imgur.com/cFhGs.png
http://i.imgur.com/00Lgk.png
http://i.imgur.com/EzP2y.png
http://i.imgur.com/Wl04r.png
http://i.imgur.com/rveqY.png
I literally almost fell on the floor laughing.
that awkward moment when a l’pool fan asks what’s the time and it’s 19:18
been saying it all year spanish league is shit and barca are overrated,utd will win just a better mentally tough team.
we need a fair ref that’s going to be the key because these cheating cunts will be diving all over the place.i’m convinced park will get the marking job on messi,keep messi quiet think utd could win this easy.although pique is part of the barca hype he’s slower than fuck,forwards can have their way with that barca defense.
Something tells me that on May 28th we could soak in more pressure than any of these games. Imo the best guide is the Barcelona game from Rome. Just look what we did right in the first 10 minutes and how we completely deflated after Eto’s goal. We have to make sure we avoid defensive mistakes.
As I said the other day, getting more confident now. One off game at Wembley, we can beat anyone on our day. We’ve done it before. Also, I think the criticism the players have received this season, by everyone, including a section of our own fans, will drive the lads onto victory.
@Costas, Yup mate. United on the first 10 mins of that day were devastating. Barca were totally outplayed for 10 mins. Of course, we all know what happened after that. But it is worth mentioning that we had a few good chances to take the lead in the 10 mins.
This game will be very difficult. One thing is that as King Eric has mentioned times before. This Barca team is very tired. They are practically on their last legs now. Of course, we can’t know for sure how that is going to affect their performance.
And United have peaked at just the right time. And no matter what formation Sir Alex plays and what players he uses, we know that there will be XI men on the field very keen on erasing the bad memories of Rome in 2009.
Plus, we’ve got Sir Alex himself. The man rarely repeats mistakes twice and needless to say he will spend the next two weeks tearing Barcelona apart. Good thing is that Barcelona are not going to change their tactics, they play one way and it is very effective in their league. All Sir Alex has to do is break down that style and I don’t know a better man to do that.
All in all, I am very confident for this match. Of course, no predictions from me but my confidence is high which was not the case in 2009. (What with the no team winning consecutive titles and all that.)
*I meant to say – This game will be very different.
I remember that goal against Arsenal, the commentator said it was too far for Ronaldo to score before he knew it was in the back of the net.
I’m optimistic, but not confident. I thought we had a better chance in 2009 actually, with their injury-ravaged defence.
But I’m always looking forward to United’s matches.
And I think, and I hope, May 28th will be one leaving us with smiles on our faces.
the last game i was convinced utd couldn’t lose,as alot of lads pointed out in different threads ronaldo was a hinderence that night.all year as willie pointed out this utd team have been getting slagged off,evra made a comment the other day this is a better team than 09 because back then everything was geared around ronnie now utd play as a unit.
the lads will go out and prove to everyone this team is better than 09 and barca are a bunch of overrated cheating cunts.
guys as goes by my name i am a barca fan.just wanted to clear the air out…if nani dives does man u become cheaters,every club have somebody,,,,what abt CR7 in a man u jersey ,the guy who said cheaters is just too ignorant .anyways would want to know from u guys how would man u be difft from RM ,, i mean only counter attacks or any other way to get more ossession of the ball
cule – I don’t know about anyone else on here, but I don’t know how Sir Alex is gonna set up the team. Maybe he’ll set it up like how he did against Chelsea at OT in the league, maybe he’ll set it up to absorb pressure. Also, it’s United, not Man U.
Who is man u? Am I missing something?
@cule
your team is great you are right that evry team does dive
your team has a whole bunch of divers
biscuits is probabaly the most hated player in the world
alves pedro villa biscuits are diving cunts and pique charging at the ref is disgusting
biscuits is involved in racism also
@clue difference is diving isn’t part of utds practices and nani gets the shit kicked out of him,doesn’t get brought down by the wind.the way the whole barca team acted against real was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever watched and don’t have any respect for that bunch of cheating cunts fucking disgraceful.maybe your slow assed defense should worry about utds attackers,fucking pigue looks and runs like a 40 year ffs
@cule
mate your team has over the past three years played great football
but in 2009 champions league semi v chelsea it was the most one sided perfomance from a ref in the history of football u beat us in the final but u should not have been there it should have been us vs chelsea
and this semi vs real was the worst in history to be honest although i dont like mourinho i dont think barca would have scored a goal in the first leg had pepe not been wrongly sent off and alves after being carried on a strecher from the challenge by pepe was later running faster than usain bolt i wonder wat treatment he took
Let’s butcher those bastards. Roll on the 28th.
“whilst Man Utd had not looked convincing in the previous round against Marseille and suffered domestic defeats against lowly Liverpool”
“lowly liverpool” haha priceless
Arsenal 1 Manchester United 3, May 5th 2009, Champions League semi final: The 3rd goal was counter attacking football at it’s majestic best. We are still the masters of that.
Cule,
For me, it depends what your lot do with the ball. If you’re going to pass it sideways then I’m sure the boss will be happy to squander possession. Thing is, we have numerous systems and players who are able to play various roles…wingers to play narrow and support the central area, Forwards who pass like Scholes who drop back, midfielders who used to be great wingers who also like to play in the hole… what appears to be a 4-4-2 can morph into 4-1-2-2-1 and back.
Manchester United pot jugar a futbol de moltes maneres diferents, el meu amic. El cap li agrada mantenir les seves intencions a si mateix. Així que, per respondre a la seva pregunta, no ho sé!
HAHAHA
Fergie time is ridiculous!
We score first, we have a big chance,We concede first,i’m afraid, thats it.
I take your point cule, every team has divers and united have their fair share too. eg. rooney from time to time, nani every time. the difference is, with barcelona it is continuous. I mean, united are not perfect in this regard, but barcelona are a disgrace with the way they all roll around the place like they have been shot. that ‘classico’ was a classic example of a shite game of football. Every team has players who dive, but Barcelona are at it all the time. it is a disgrace and embarrassing to watch.
ps I think Man United will set up to attack every single time they get the ball. Barcelona defenders push up almost to the halfway line to allow them the extra bodies in the opposition half, so that they can pass the ball around and when they lose it, crowd the opposition players into making mistakes. With those defenders pushed so far up and Hernandez being so fast and always looking to make runs, there will be goals.
There will be goals. Awww I can’t wait.
sorry guys my bad MANCHESTER UNITED it is MY BAD
at sachu
dude Abidal was sent off for nothin in that game absolutely nothin .we were ten men for half the match.u call that one sided is it .
it was just THE rub of the green dude it can go either way it did against inter our goal disallowd and militos goal WHICH WAS OFFSIDE stayed .did we ever cry no cos MY CLUB is bigger than other cry babies around .PeP guordiola said well Played and moved on .The rent boys would cry cos its about stature they havent gotten to bein a BIG CLUB .
go watch the match before the first leg we were kicked like dogs ,stamPed on and we didnt comPlain.they shud have had 3 men sent off but nothin .Mourinho wanted to win by injurin by hook or crook just win , i aint sayin busi isnt a diver but many out there r,and racist give me a break go watch the video and u ll know ,racism is too big a word for a Pathetic video released by mourinho fc
Pedro and villa divers oh god trust me dude that was Pedros first and if u see that arbeloa did hold him off the ball to make a run thats what madrid did all year and he exaggerated cos the refs would never know
i ve watched barcas every single match the whole year and am fukin Proud like how u r of bein on the Perch
but anyways can u tell me what could united do Possession wise cos u guys r confident ..is it cos of SAF or some weaknesses in barca
@Cule
Uefalona are the greatest cheats in football history.
but thats what madrid did but didnt succeed cos v r no arsenal to give the ball away cheaply.if u gono play on the counter trust me u would not get more than 2 chances for the 9o mins .but ya a fascinating tactical battle for all of us between saf and pep..ya chicarito is awesomely quick but i dont think he would start to be frank how much ever u would want him .he would be better as a sub
This games already over !!! The Winner Has Already Been Decided by Fate & Already a minority are calling them the best team in the world.
There is only team capable of winning on may 28th & thats Not Barcelona.
Man.United Will Win 1-0, I Put Every LowLives Life as a bet on This FACT becoming a reality.
They will not get past our defence, pedro is useless, villa’s been crap this year & Messi doesnt perfrom in england (check his stats hes an appendix away in europe)
Valencia, Park,rooney, chico,carricks,vidic etc work rate will frighten them.
We Will Expose their weakness (crosses in the air) & there bad defence of 2 CB’s & 2 attack full backs with our Wing Men.
May 28th, They Dine In Hell
Cule.
As you are about to discover on the 28th United may be wearing the White strip but that’s where the resemblance to Real ends.United are an animal that will tear Barca to pieces,I in fact anticipate United scoring at least twice.and fail to see how anyone could think Barca can score against the only team not to concede an away goal in the competition and United Are Away.
I hate Barca so much
C’MON UNITED!
I’ll pick one from not so recent past:
Man United 3-0 Barcelona (1984) Europen Cup winners Cup :
The stars came out in their numbers, none bigger than the legendary Diego Maradona. However, even the God himself couldn’t stop the Red Army on a night where Maradona was no match for ‘Captain Marvel’ Bryan Robson. No one in their right mind gave United a chance, as the Reds were 2-0 down after the first leg in Camp Nou; but what transpired must have felt like a dream for those in attendance at the Theatre of Dreams. Make no mistake, it was hardly a vintage United eleven, the lineup reading as Gary Bailey, Mike Duxbury, Arthur Albiston, Ray Wilkins, Kevin Moran, Graeme Hogg, Bryan Robson, Arnold Muhren, Frank Stapleton, Norman Whiteside, Remi Moses; this team was no match to the might of Barca on paper. However, driven by the passionate Old Trafford crowd, the one ‘Robbo’ produced arguably his best performance in a United shirt, and the rest as they say is history. At the end of it all, Robson was carried off the field by delirious supporters. It was a night when the legend of OT gained further strength and momentum. To those lucky enough to be present at Old Trafford on that epic occasion, it would undoubtedly rank as a night to savor and narrate in folklore, one of those rare moments were they can proudly say “I was there.”
Give this a read, worth it : http://www.thehardtackle.com/index.php/man-united%e2%80%99s-corner-dear-abus-are-you-watching-and-counting/
i think tactically none of u have much to offer ,anways all the best .guys visca el barca
indiandevil great shout fantastic game one the best of the 80′s
another fucking great memory was 85 cup semi replay win against the scouse
i dont even remember it even bein on tv i was only a nipper and had to follow on radio 2 or whatever it was
and i didnt get to see the goals till breakfast tv in the morning!!!
fuckin screamers n all robbo and sparky
what before the days of sky and 100 cameras covering every angle!!
@indiandevil and scan74, how ole ar you guys, I wasnt even born during thos matches. I was born in ’86. I would love to see the game you have described.
Lets us not write of these guys and let us not build them up, let us respect them for who they are. We are confident we shall win. I like it if they have their best in their field for the sole reason that we may not relax in our appraoch or the players minds. Barca are good, we are good, we have different systems but I always believe we shall win any match regardless of what we have going against us. Our flexibility is our great weapon. We have hard to fight to get the league and I believe all that fighting has prepared us for this match. The players know there are some games we shouldnt have won but we did and that can only help as see Barca as not so special.
The final’s winner is the one who is remembered, not the runners up, or how the game is played so regardless of how we play it, attackingly or on the counter or even if we get an own goal, a victory is a victory.
@Cule, is that as in Hercule? Are you a big Poirot fan or have you merely lost your Miss Marples?
Either way, the fact that you have come on here and attempted to have a polite conversation is
commendable yet at the same time you have far too much to say about something which you must know at the back of your mind is complete bollocks.
Farcelona are a pretty decent club, I think that can be agreed. I went to the Camp Nou to see you play Valencia last season on my mates Stag do- the stadium was impressive (despite the obvious incarnation below the stands of an underground car park) , Messi incredible, fans laughable. Didn’t hear anything from them until the second half when Messi scored (a fucking peach to be fair) apart from whining and generally bemoaning that they hadn’t seen a goal in 45 minutes. At Wembley they’ll be drowned into nothing by wave upon wave of “We’ll do what we want”.
As for your cheating blatantly racist diving matador of a muppet Busquests- how the FUCK did he get away with the simulation as if he’d been hit in the face, then calling Marcelo a monkey??! What a cardboard cut-out cunt, gutless wonder doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Mascherano is a granny robbing prize bellend too and reminds me of Monkian from Thundercats yet less amusing, hate him. To finish off, get that toolbag Perdro involved and it’s the most perfect depicted three ami-ho’s.
I just hope that karma comes home to roost on the 28th because it would be for the good of football that United emerge triumphant- and roosting is fucking simple when you’re sat on top of the perch.
I’d rather Matalan than Catalan.
Sing up Reds.
United>Chorizo
at clayton
.i am surre of one thing ,if v loose u ll call us worthy finalists ,if v win u ll tell they were goood and if u are a cry baby u would say … united just didnt show uP,,,,,,,, so dont hide like a pussy be here on the 28th
@ Cule which handily rhymes with ‘tool’- simple coincidence? I think not.
I am not Clayton, I am the glorious orange glow which surrounded him you fucking poor excuse for a cock-hungry badger.
Anyone can give it the Charlie Big Bananas on an internet thread so well done you. Glad you found time to write (although the wording and general poor attempt at this art suggests that you have sticky hands after you wipe off the man-fat from your laminated picture of Abidal’s arse)
Hide like a pussy on the 28th? Literally, you are an enormous stroker aren’t you? I won’t be here on the 28th for three reasons:
1) United stomp you and i’ll be up a tree singing ‘From the banks of the River Irwell’ until I pass/fall out.
2)We lose (after being reduced to ten men following a Puyol stamp on Vidic which, due to new regulations implemented immediately by the referee via his headset link up with Platini, renders even setting foot on the same pitch as your tiny-tears mob, a crime) thus I will be finding a small mono-browed Mahou drinker named Manuel and squarely introducing his nose to my size 9
3)I’ll be round your Mum’s again for some spread eagle Paella munching.
Either way, you’re a twat.
All the best lad,
-Cockney Red-
your hilarious absolutely hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!28th buddy ,conversing with u is like talkin to my 8 yr old cousin …
Ah, so now we know where you get your spelling and grammar from Cule.
You’re hilarious, how difficult is that? Never has an apostrophe been so glaringly overlooked. Your eight year old cousin must be grammatically superior to you which must hurt, unless of course you’re (see, ‘you’re, as in, you are; e.g- you’re a moron) actually six years old which would explain the prose written in the style of a person who has suffered a nasty head injury, thus rendering their capacity to grasp simple writing/ language skills impaired significantly. Hang on, you can’t even be arsed to write ‘you’ how lazy is that? Goodness fucking gracious.
I never realised that the person who cleans the toilet in my office was a Barcelona fan. Today is full of revelations.
For just one pound a month, you can help Cule live a happy, normal life.
You’ve been done son, everyone can see you’re just embarassing yourself now so just pop on your Nike Air Jerusalem’s and jog on, there’s a good girl.
Kevin too old mate 37 fuck me feels ancient hearing you were born in 86!!
that was the year of my first game I saw United at Watford in sparkys lasts game for he went to Barca
I started going to OT the following year big ron was in charge ha ha it was fergies first year
jeezus i sound a fuckin grandad
Forget my English u worthless dick . shitheads like u need to get out of ur bubble.on 28th ROME will be repeated and this time we ll give u a whooping to remember for the rest of ur pathetic life
Insprired Cule, inspired.
Bit touchy aren’t you? Is it because I remind you of your eight year old cousin who is also dipping your old dear (She loves a high reading age that one, can’t get enough of it)? Auntie shagging is extremely popular in Catalonia it would seem.
You’re brilliant, please, for the sake of all of us; keep writing (again, loose term for the muck you spout of poorly punctuated drivel) because taking you apart piece by illiterate piece has made the day simply breeze by.
-WE’RE MAN UNITED, WE’LL DO WHAT WE WANT-
PS: Didn’t realise you were such a celebrity, bravo you insignificant brittle haired inbred, bravo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS7nqwGt4-I
Loved it when the Gaffer said yday…We will WIN it !!
We are more of a team than last time..after the 1st 10mins last time..we were down and out and Ronaldo was practically non existent…
I bet that was the first time every single one of us got the team selection right !! Very predictable..there full backs were there for the taking,,and we played Rooney and Park..!! We shud have got Ronaldo on the wings that day and killed them with Rooney upfront giving Pique and co a hard time.. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing !!
I know the GAffer knows it..and is still haunted by it !
Come on you REDS !!
One thing probably no Manchester United fan realisez, is that Barca has a new tactic, which they used against Real Madrid. They do not push up, thus denying Real room to counter-attack in, which ruined their gameplan. Now, they had to attack against an established defence, if and when they got the ball. Barca played with very little risk, and only had Villa, Messi, Pedro, Xavi and Iniesta a bit high in the pitch. They waited for mistakes or breakthroughs, and defending WITH the ball in the team.
I think we’ll see the same against Manchester, as defending and counter-attacking will be their gameplan, most likely. It’s going to be interesting anyway.
I really doubt that dude that tactic was for the physicality of RM and cos with di Maria and Ronaldo they had amazin pace and we were without our startin 4 defenders .and it wAs an away match and 0-0 was a good score to take back home .man utd don’t have that type of a midfield …man utd have better defense so I except barcas fullbacks to run back and forth and midfielders to hound u guys when u don’t have the ball
With park nd valencia at d wings, rooney nd hernandez upfront, its gonna be nice, nd i expect fergie 2 use fletcher in d midfield, united should stop xavi 4rm giving his dangerous passes and they should watch messi very well. I bliv united is gonna win