A Common Fan’s Sports Diary

Xavi and Andres Iniesta kept Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso out of the Spanish starting eleven during their triumph in Euro 2008. Do we expect to see anything different in the World Cup or after that?

The simple answer is no, because there is no point in changing a winning formula, especially in the case of Spain, who rarely if ever get their formula right. Going by that logic, Alonso and Fabregas will continue to warm the benches, at the 2010 World Cup and beyond, unless the Barcelona pair suffers a major loss in form.

The loss in form doesn’t look like happening anytime soon. Xavi was the player of the tournament at Euro 2008 and has since enhanced his reputation to become arguably the best central midfielder in Europe.

And while Iniesta might be inferior to Fabregas, he has something special which the Arsenal captain doesn’t have: a chemistry with Xavi; borne out of all the match-practice they get playing together in the same position for Barcelona. Why would you break a pairing which has worked on their understanding throughout the year and is a proven alliance, for another one which has very little time to find its bearings?

Therefore, Fabregas and Alonso can either wait for Xavi or Iniesta to suffer a major loss in form

or

start to get some match-practice as a pair themselves. They can either join hands with one another – that will happen if Cesc decides to move to Real. If that happens then the pair of Alonso and Fabregas would get a chance to prove to the whole of Spain that they are better than the Barcelona pair, when they lock horns in the the El Clasico. If they take that chance then great, else they will atleast not have reason to complain.

But its unlikely that Cesc will move to Real. The team is a mess and more importantly, he is a Catalan and proud one at that.

He could go to Barcelona instead. The club is his natural home and they are his long time suitors. Even Xavi has publicly appealed to him to move to Barca. He will get to join on his own terms and command a starting place immediately.

That will give him a chance to pair up with Xavi. He will then get all the time to develop a chemistry with Xavi and show to the entire world, what a fine mid field pair they can be. Once that happens, its only a matter of time before they start for Spain together.

He might not be able to do that before the South Africa World Cup but he has a long time left in the game and lots of international matches to play. The current Spanish squad is young and they will be good for years to come. For all the glory Cesc Fabregas wins at club level, his career will be unfulfilled if he doesn’t achieve the same at international level. And for him to even start doing that, he needs to make a move to Spain sometime really soon.

Time to look at all the sup-plots from the 2009 Champions League final

It’s a little late to be doing this and it hurts as I remember the match but I needed to write this. So let’s quickly get this over with.

The White Jerseys

I am not implying that United lost because they played in white and not in their traditional red. But I can’t remember United winning a major final playing in white. There had been a lot of talk of United never having lost a major final but someone forgot to mention that they had actually dressed as the ‘Red’ Devils for all those finals they won. I didn’t have a good feeling as I saw them come out of the tunnel in white. I think it’s unfair to let only one side wear their home colours. If the jerseys clash then ask both to wear some other colour.

Memories of the 1994 Final

Barcelona were missing most of their defensive stalwarts and were expected to be vulnerable at the back. And then when United started in whirlwind fashion it looked as if a repeat of the 1994 final was on the cards. That was when another Barcelona side dubbed the ‘Dream Team’ had been played off the park 4-0 by AC Milan. Suddenly, the white jerseys looked like a good omen –Milan had also played in white ‘away’ jerseys on that night in 1994. Sadly, all such hopes vanished when Eto’o scored.

Memories of the 1999 Final

Even the commentators kept mentioning this. First there was an early goal like in 1999. Then United failed to mount a strong comeback finding no rhythm whatsoever. Van Der Saar, like Schmeichel in 1999, kept his side in the game preventing Barca from scoring again. And then it looked eerily similar when Xavi hit the post, just like Mehmet Scholl had done ten years ago. Then Messi scored to ensure that there were no more similarities.

A story of two tackles

United’s defensive lapse in the first goal has received less attention than it should have. First they allowed Iniesta to go on a long surging run with no one making an attempt to close him down or tackle him. The diminutive midfielder managed to thread the perfect pass to Eto’o who easily beat Vidic’s wild tackle and scored. A little while earlier, having been beaten by Ronaldo, Pique body checked the Portuguese to stop him from entering the Barca box unattended. United were supposedly the stronger defensive side but on this night Barca made the more important tackle.

Pique – from not good enough to too damn good

Unable to give him regular first team football, United let Gerard Pique go to Barcelona for almost nothing. The Catalan has since established himself as the defensive mainstay of Barca. And on this night he marshalled the makeshift defence superbly and single-handedly outshone the pair of Vidic and Ferdinand. Apart from the body check, he made a crucial block and was there to snuffle out every single one of United’s attacks. When United loan out players, they stipulate that the player cannot play against the Red Devils. If only they had made a similar agrrement then they let Pique go to Barcelona

What about Cristiano Ronaldo

How does this performance affect his plans to go to Madrid? He conclusively lost his ‘best player in the world’ battle with Messi. Going to Real Madrid gives him two guaranteed shots at renewing the rivalry every year. He might not get a chance to do that United in the near future. On the other hand, United have a good young nucleus which will return to many more finals and Ronaldo will always be the centre of their attack and of media attention. He is the crown prince of premiership football. He will have to challenge Messi for that title in Spain. And with Raul still around, he will not even be the numero uno star at Real Madrid. Alex Ferguson always learns from his defeats and will do everything possible to ensure that Ronaldo and United are not humiliated like this again. There is a very good case for him to stay back at Old Trafford

A depressing night for United

United have been embarrassed in Europe before, most recently by AC Milan in the second leg of the2007 semi-final. But this was worse. This was the biggest stage of them all – the final between two champion sides – two sides who take pride in playing attacking football of the highest quality. Other than losing the title of European Champions, United were also embarrassingly rendered as toothless and impotent as they failed to even make a match out of it.

And as Red Devils, who have been feed on a diet of beautiful one touch passing, you couldn’t even hate Barcelona for displaying something that you have long admired. And that made the experience even more frustrating – you couldn’t even vent your disappointment at your opponent. Hats off to Barcelona for having managed to do that

What were United missing?

Last year, I did an analysis of United’s European defeats and they showed some common traits, most notably an absence of mid-field toughness and lack of leadership on the pitch. The currently injured Owen Hargreaves had been signed to give steel to the mid-field and protect the back four. Anderson has been a suitable replacement on most occasions but on this night his inexperience clearly showed. As for their leader, Rio Ferdinand, he wasn’t even a patch on the likes of Roy Keane and Gary Neville.

And finally

The defeat takes nothing away from the fact that United had another fantastic European campaign with some memorable wins and have the side to be back in many more finals. Alex Ferguson has built a wonderful side which on most nights can compete with any side in Europe. Thanks to Fergie and his men for giving us another season full of great European nights.

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