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Champions League Final 2011 - Decade Best to Meet in London
By Joe, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Google+: Joe Bexpert
Two giants in European football will meet in the Champions League final at Wembley this weekend, both Barcelona and Manchester United are within distance to claim their Double. Both Barcelona Lionel Messi and Manchester United Wayne Rooney are set to light the fire for the millions watching this Saturday.
Champions League Final 2011
On Saturday, the 28th of May, Champions League fever will rock London where the stadium of Wembley will be staging its sixth appearance and 47th Final in this prestige tournament. Manchester United would welcome the thought to play in a stadium that they have previous lifted the F.A Cup and League Cup trophy, so winning in Wembley is part of their strategy under Sir Alex Ferguson. Barcelona returns to London in sight to repeat the same feat as they did in 1992 and also the win over Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final in Italy, Rome.
Barcelona will take center stage once again in a champions league final in which they are used to since they have won two of them in the last six years. Their most recent champion status came against Manchester United in Rome, 2009 where a 2-0 win with Lionel Messi scoring one of them settling the a comfortable win. On Saturday, a virtually similar team will be taking on the field at Wembley with a slight change of David Villa leading the strike force, Busquets and Pedro to enter the midfield area and former Manchester United defender, Pique and Abidal to hold down the fort. The team is regarded as one of the best teams in Europe with their slick passing and fluid movement around their play. Coach Josep Guardiola has got his men playing in a way that defending seems simple and attacking look so easy by which if you look closely, when Barcelona attacks, they always have 3-4 players around each other in an almost diamond shape. If they were to lose the ball, it would be also a quick way to defend by pressuring their opponent to lose the ball and when the opponent loses the ball, Barcelona just keep it. By just having this strategy, Barcelona would find it easier to attack and defend at all times and yet, it is always in their control. The only time, Barcelona were rattled were in the last 16 when they travelled to Emirates for the first leg against Arsenal in the 2-1 defeat. Their second half saw Barca being bullied by the physical rough treatment from the Arsenal players and there were signs where a more experienced leader was needed. So the comeback of skipper Carlos Puyol will be an immense boost for the team and as the captain does what it takes to keep things firm at the back, Lionel Messi will be the man of the hour to terrorize the Manchester United defense. The Spanish Champions are about to complete their double of the year and if the starting eleven are not able to do it, then certainly the depth of the team can help out with Javier Mascherano, Adriano, Afellay and Keita all awaiting on the sideline.
Arguably one of the best managers in the business, Sir Alex Ferguson will be leading out his strongest eleven in search for his third champion league trophy after fourth attempts. Their latest appearance saw them losing to their opponent on Saturday so revenge is on the card but on a positive side of the finalist, United won on penalties against Chelsea in Moscow, 2008. As old age is creeping in, Ferguson will be hoping to triumph once again with goalie Van Der Sar as the tall Dutch keeper is set to retire after the game. Manchester United start the season slow but in the 2nd half of the season, they became explosive in their play. One of the best buy this season in the Premiership has got to be Javier Hernandez for 8 million pounds, he has become the Ferguson preferred choice striker to partner up with Wayne Rooney. They will be support with the ever so big game player, Korean Park Ji Sung with his ever running shoes on which can run all night and score goals. The midfield is crying out for a player that can defensively crack the Barca attack and Scotsman Darren Fletcher could be the answer, his fitness is still questionable whether he can last the 90 minutes with the high tempo Barca players will bring. Portuguese Nani is also doubtful so both Giggs and Valencia will slot into midfield to help the width options. Defensively, the rock solid partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will be the key to keep Messi and David Villa quiet all night. Their experience and with the huge presence of fans in London could be yet another major factor to spur them on to pick up their Double this season.
Both teams have their little battle in the run up to the Champions League Final. Manchester United was hit by the media frenzy surround Ryan Giggs private life. Barcelona had to change their plans by traveling to London early to avoid the Iceland ash cloud that might prevent them from an optimal run up to their Final. This is a case of the 4-4-2 direct football meets an offensive 4-3-3 attacking style of play, but of course, we have seen this before and Barca triumphed 2-0 on neutral ground last time these two met. Funny enough, Josep Guardiola was part of the team that lifted the last European Cup Final in Wembley 1992 against Sampdoria and with fond memories, he returns to the same pitch that gave him the only European medal as a player. Manchester United could treat Wembley as their second home and their counter attacking style of football should surely be their show piece while the Catalan giants will surely see more of the possession, living up to their weak favorite status.
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