Barcelona wins Champions League

 

 

LONDON

Barcelona lived up to the hype tonight at Wembley Stadium, brushing aside Manchester United in masterful fashion, securing their fourth Champions League title and cementing their legacy as the greatest team of this - or perhaps any - era.
Led by a blitzing Lionel Messi, Barcelona again broke United's hearts, downing them in a final for the second time in three years. Both times the Catalans have done it with such majesty that both here and in Rome, (two years ago) it seemed there was only one team on the field.

Hyperbole? Try fact. United were out-run, out-thought and outplayed in a comprehensive fashion, made all the more startling by the fact that this team had showed real fire and grit in winning their record-setting 19th English crown. But goals from Pedro, David Villa and a sublime winner from Messi shut down the Premier League champs and capped an amazing run that has seen Barcelona win three league titles in a row and two European Cups while forming the heart of Spain's 2008 European Champions and its 2010 World Cup winning side.
"Everyone saw we played a great match," Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola told Spanish TV immediately after the game. "We were delighted to win, but this takes a lot out of you."
Perhaps more telling, Guardiola had the tactical edge over a man thought to be a master of the game. Sir Alex Ferguson's United failed to press, looked afraid at times, and allowed Barcelona to get into their rhythm with such deference that the match might well have been over inside of half an hour.
"We were beaten by a better team," said a clearly disappointed Sir Alex Ferguson. "But there is no shame in losing to Barcelona."
"We never controlled Messi," added Ferguson in a sometimes testy post-game conference. "Barcelona are the best team we have ever faced. No one has given us a hiding like that."

To be fair, there may be no team that can handle this Barcelona side, one that is making a serious case to displace the so-called "Dream Team" of 1992 as the club's best ever. Led by a scorching, harrying performance by Messi, Barcelona left United's two fine center backs - Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic - in a muddle, leaving their great goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar at an utter loss.
That said, and to United's credit, Sir Alex Ferguson's men came out to play, and the contest was a riveting one for 70 solid minutes. But the exact same Red Devils lineup that had stunned Schalke in Gelsenkirchen last month found the trick harder to repeat against a team that boasts eight World Cup winners and five of the finest players of their generation. United did not try to foul in the style of Real Madrid, but perhaps they should have. On the night, their midfield tandem of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs was nearly invisible, a weak link that was ruthlessly torn apart by a fluid, almost serene Barcelona machine fueled by Xavi, Andres Iniesta and the irrepressible Messi.
Messi seemed to relish the occasion more than anyone on the field, with the possible exception of Wayne Rooney. But it was so obvious that Rooney's supporting cast comes nowhere close to matching Messi's that to deservedly praise Rooney for his approach is to simultaneously question the resolve of those beside him.
The stats — usually meaningless in this sport — told the truth tonight. Barcelona had 19 attempts on goal, 12 on target. United had only four, and just one on frame. Barcelona made an astonishing 772 passes, completing 86 per cent of them. United could only manage 419. It’s fortunate that United put their one look on target in the goal - Rooney nicked a lifeline late in the first half out of sheer force of will - but they had no other answers for the swarm that surrounded them.

Messi was the creator, setting up one goal and scoring the match-winner, a 25-yard blinder that deserves to make highlight reels. Collecting a simple tap on from Andres Iniesta, Messi raced towards United's goal like a mad dog, jinked left to create a yard of space, and then blew his shot home. It was genius. Even a chain-link fence wouldn’t have stopped it.
Messi would not have been as potent had it not been for the fulcrum formed by Xavi and Andres Iniesta, two men rightly considered the best passers in the sport. Xavi's assist on the first goal - a seemingly insouciant flick right to Pedro that the scorer buried - was actually a brutal diagonal that took Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Giggs completely out of the play. And Iniesta's little taps, so simple in execution, were truly deadly in effect. And Dani Alves, always standing unmarked on that far touchline? He was the outlet, pulling Park Ji-sung and Patrice Evra out of the game, allowing his midfielders space to roam.
But it does begin and end with Messi. United had to expend so much energy in a futile attempt to contain him that they were unable to muster a response when they most needed it. When Messi seized the game, the jig was up for what was supposedly the home team.

There will be some who say that United played to its actual level tonight, that their league title owed much more to will power and grinding efficiency than to any real skill. That would be unfair. Manchester United tonight simply could not match the brilliance in front of them. Even the most loyal supporters of the Old Trafford side must have lost count of the near misses and late, frantic tackles that kept Barcelona to just three goals.
Ferguson was right about one thing, however: It was an historic occasion. Barcelona won their second European Cup at Wembley tonight, third in the Champions League (and of course fourth overall) and also equaled their arch-rivals Real Madrid’s total Euro haul of 11 pieces of silver. While that has to be the sweetest thing of all, there also will be a realization that they did it their wa:, with home grown talent, a defining style that others cannot imitate, and a resolve that produces the best of performances on the biggest of stages.
And for England, which hosted the final and hoped to win it, come questions. First and foremost has to be about their league. It is indeed the wealthiest, the most competitive and arguably the most enjoyable. But of late, it has struggled to produce European champions. Only two teams - Liverpool and Manchester United, who have done it twice - have won it over the last twenty seasons, after a long period of competitiveness and dominance. And Liverpool - lest we forget - was being played off the field by AC Milan before their comeback for the ages. In retrospect, that remarkable victory may have papered over the cracks now so apparent when you match the best of the Premiership against the best from Spain.
What does that say? Perhaps that brilliant, precise football, relying on tactical awareness and marvelous individual skill is superior to the cut-and-thrust of the weekly EPL game.
Or, maybe more to the point, Barcelona has three of the world's greatest players in Iniesta, Messi and Xavi. Manchester United tonight had Rooney but no one else who looked like he might have been able to perform for Pep Guardiola's cast.
NOTES: Reports that Dimitar Berbatov left the stadium after being dropped from United’s lineup were denied by Ferguson, who claimed the striker had stayed in the dressing room.

By: http://msn.foxsports.com/

Fergie fronts up to challenge

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson insists he is not "afraid of the challenge" of trying to catch Barcelona, despite Saturday's humbling.
The challenge has been laid down - and Ferguson intends to spend his summer holidays working out what to do about it.
The Scot has never been scared of a challenge.
In the aftermath of United's record 19th league title, he spoke about his willingness to face the threat to his side's domestic supremacy posed by Manchester City.
On Saturday night at Wembley, Ferguson encountered a problem of a different kind.
In previous meetings with Barcelona there has always been an explanation.
Three years ago it was the story of United's sensational defending in keeping two clean sheets in the narrowest of semi-final wins on the way to Moscow.
Twelve months after that, Ferguson could point to his team failing to turn up in Rome.
They turned up on Saturday night. At times they implemented his game-plan to perfection. They even scored.
Ultimately though, United were reduced to chasing shadows, overwhelmed by one of the greatest sides to play the game, containing the best player in the world and two more from the top five.
"Finding a solution is not easy but that is the challenge," said Ferguson.
"You should not be afraid of the challenge.
"The one thing we have shown is that we are consistent in Europe. We have got better and better over the past few years.
"Maybe this could be the kind of stepping stone we had when we lost 4-0 (to Barcelona in 1994).
"We improved from that. We want to improve. Next season may see us improve even more."
Not that it is Ferguson's problem alone.
It has long been established Roman Abramovich views the Champions League as a Holy Grail.
If the Russian truly believes Chelsea can play the Barcelona way purely by luring Pep Guardiola to Stamford Bridge, he is deluded.
Arsene Wenger has suffered at Catalan hands two years on the trot. Real Madrid have been trampled, even if their manager, Jose Mourinho, can still crow about beating Barca with Inter Milan.
AC Milan and Bayern Munich, two more giants of the game, are staring up at a higher power.
"We all have a challenge with Barcelona, not just Manchester United," said Ferguson.
"It is not any consolation to say you are the second best team. We don't enjoy being second best.
"Any club with the history we have; Real Madrid, AC Milan, would stay the same."
There is comfort for United fans in believing their club appear to be on the brink of spending some money rather than talking about how much they have.
Yet even that brings questions.
Atletico Madrid's David De Gea is the man who looks certain to assume Edwin van der Sar's status as number one keeper.
De Gea's promise has been evident for some time.
However, at 20, he clearly has much to learn and must also cope with the physicality of the Premier League.
On the basis that Michael Owen is unlikely to get a new contract, Dimitar Berbatov's Old Trafford future must be in severe doubt.
United do have the option of adding an extra season to the single year Berbatov has remaining.
However, there appears to be little point in keeping a player who has slipped so far out of contention, especially as Ashley Young and Wesley Sneijder have both been tipped strongly for an Old Trafford move.
Paul Scholes is yet to state his intentions and Ryan Giggs looked every inch a 37-year-old as Xavi and Andres Iniesta buzzed around him like determined little bees.
It suggests at least one midfield reinforcement is required, along with the required emergence of Anderson into a genuine world-class talent.
All these conundrums will be fizzing through Ferguson's head before his team return to Wembley to face City in the Community Shield, underpinned by the realisation that even if he gets every call correct, it still might not be enough to even give Barcelona a decent game.
"Of course, where we start to find a way to do that is something we will mull over during the summer," reflected Ferguson.
"We are not lost on ideas at our club. Hopefully we come up with the right ones."

by: http://msn.foxsports.com/

Let's win even more, roars Leo

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has warned the world that Pep Guardiola's team are hungrier than ever for more silverware.
Barca confirmed their place among history's greatest sides at Wembley on Saturday night.

The revered Catalans earned Guardiola his second Champions League trophy in three seasons and the club's fourth in total with an awesome 3-1 win over Manchester United in London.
It was Guardiola's 10th trophy in his first three years as a top-flight coach and effectively sealed Barca's place as one of the game's finest.
Messi, who characteristically scored Barca's winner with an excellent opportunist strike in the second half, has now won the European Cup three times. But the Argentinian, still just 23, wants so much more.
"This team is incredible," he said. "I think today we can't really fully appreciate what we're doing, what we are achieving.
"We want to keep winning trophies - and we can keep going further and further."
Even the modest Messi had to acknowledge the gulf in class.
"We were superior against Manchester and deserved the win," he said.
"It is another cup for us and I managed to score a goal again. I saw a bit of space there, the goalkeeper came out a bit and luckily it went in.
"Now we're going on holiday - after taking the cup home to our people - then we will start thinking about what we can achieve next season."

Victory saw Guardiola lift the European Cup as a coach 19 years after winning Barca's first as a player at Wembley.
It came, too, against the side Barca edged in Rome two years ago when the Catalans' class prevailed in a 2-0 win over Sir Alex Ferguson's United.
This time, victory was even more comprehensive.
Pedro, the most under-rated of Barca's illustrious line-up, gave his side a deserved lead when he coolly buried from Xavi's incisive pass.
United, who had started brightly, recovered well and went in at the break level following Wayne Rooney's well-worked equaliser.
But Barca's spirit and class told after the break as United struggled to keep answering questions posed by their opponents' dominance of the ball.
Guardiola's side, so often accused of trying to walk the ball in, won it with two uncharacteristic strikes.
First, Messi received a square pass from Andres Iniesta, carried it forward casually and, looking up, bent the ball past Edwin van der Sar with deceptive power.
Barca were not done, however, and wrapped it up with a deserved third when David Villa curled home a beautiful shot to really kick-start the victory celebrations.
Guardiola was then forced to spend time deflecting questions about his future, having been linked with the Chelsea job recently.
While he is known to be keen to avoid going stale at the Nou Camp, the local boy seems content to continue building a phenomenal legacy.
"We're pleased with the win because of how we did it, against Manchester United, one of the greats," he said.
"We have produced something extraordinary, though, and we have four European Cups now, joining Ajax and Bayern Munich."
The win took Barca ahead of United, who boast three, and one behind Liverpool, with five - though they remain five off record-holders Real Madrid.
Guardiola also highlighted the progress made since 2009, when he led Barca to an unprecedented treble in his first season in charge.
"We played much better than two years ago in Rome," he said. "And against a superb team that has also improved."
Barca forward Ibrahim Afellay, who came on as a substitute at Wembley, is desperate for Guardiola to stay.
The Dutchman, who only joined from PSV Eindhoven in January yet finds himself a European champion, said: "He signed a new contract (in February), so we think he is going to stay.
"We hope he stays, because he is the best coach in the world.
"He was part of the reason I joined. If a coach like that tells you he wants you then you come. But with a club like Barcelona, you don't have to think for one second."

By: http://msn.foxsports.com/

Barca celebrations turn violent

Street parties in Barcelona celebrating the victory of the city's soccer team in the Champions League final turned violent early Sunday and at least 18 people were hospitalized, according to local media reports.
Police said more than 80 people were arrested after revelers attacked officers with bottles, flares and other objects, and destroyed park benches and bus stops. The scuffles broke out hours after Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in England on Saturday night. About 50,000 people flooded the streets of Barcelona to celebrate.
A police officer was among those hospitalized. AP photographs show plainclothes police officers, who were wearing Barcelona jerseys to blend in with the crowds, making arrests. More than 100 other people were hurt, but they didn't require hospitalization and were treated at the scene by paramedics for cuts and bruises.

An unnamed 17-year-old woman died accidentally when she slipped and fell into a deep hole beside a fountain while celebrating the win in the northwestern town of Santa Comba, local newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported.
Soccer fans had poured shampoo into the fountain to create bubbles, which concealed an uncovered manhole that led to the fountain's pump, the paper said.
The team was expected to arrive in Barcelona with the Champions League trophy Saturday afternoon, with tens of thousands of fans expected to line the streets to celebrate the victory. The festivities will culminate at the 98,000-seat Camp Nou Stadium at around 9 p.m. (1900 GMT, 3 p.m. EDT), the club said in a statement.

Park: We all need to stop Messi

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung says the job of shackling World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi cannot be left to one player.
The Barcelona forward, scorer of the crucial second in the Catalan club's 2009 Champions League final win over United, has hit 52 goals this season but that statistic highlights only part of his importance to the side.
His link play and trickery with the ball makes the Argentina international a threat anywhere in the opposition half and, for that reason, Park believes United have to get their team tactics spot on.
"He is one of the best players in the world - everyone knows that and everyone knows one defender can't stop him so we have to defend as a team," said the South Korea international, who was omitted from United's squad when they won the Champions League against Chelsea in 2008 but played the following year when they were defeated in Rome.
"We have to keep an eye on him in the game. Some players have said to me that I can stop him - that sounds great but one man can't stop him, we have to play as a team.
"Everyone will give 100% to stop him."
Messi's roving forward role is supplemented by the passing, movement and vision of Barcelona's midfield.
Their ability to retain possession of the ball is unmatched in world football and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has to come up with a plan to disrupt their rhythm.
Park's non-stop running and high energy levels are bound to play a key role but the 30-year-old believes United have a few midfield stars of their own.
"I don't know which role I will have in the final but I have to do it 100% and play only for winning the game," he added.
"We have great midfielders as well: Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Anderson - they have great ability to stop them.
"If we play as a team like we showed against Chelsea (in their victorious title showdown at Old Trafford earlier this month), or in other big games we can match up against them.
"Javier Hernandez, Anderson and Nani have had great seasons and it is all about our squad being stronger (than it was at the start of the season) and that will help us in the final."

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Champions League final: Key player comparisons

Head-to-head comparisons of key players ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United at Wembley:

Attack:
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) vs. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Messi is two years younger than Rooney but his feats easily surpass those of his fellow striker. Although Messi is just 23, FIFA has made the Argentina forward its world player of the year in each of the past two years, and commentators regularly suggest he needs only success with his country to join Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Pele as one of football's all-time greats.
While Rooney's physical power and spectacular goals have helped inspire United to four Premier League titles in five seasons, Messi has scored at the rate of two goals every three games over seven years with Barcelona and won two Champions League titles to Rooney's one.
This season neatly illustrates the difference in consistency between the players. Rooney labored through the first half after a poor World Cup performance and media allegations over his private life, but ''The Flea'' led the Spanish league with 19 assists and scored an incredible 52 goals from 54 games. He helped Barcelona to a third straight Spanish title and his fifth overall.
But despite the goals, neither player is an orthodox striker. Both spend long periods in deep-lying positions, picking up possession, drawing opponents and linking with teammates before surging into the space they helped create.
Messi's movement and dribbling ability will make it difficult for United's players to decide whether he should be picked up by Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic from central defense, or marked by a midfielder such as Darren Fletcher. Likewise, Rooney could cause problems for Barcelona's Carles Puyol.

Midfield:
Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona) vs. Michael Carrick (Manchester United)
Xavi and Carrick perform the role of midfield prompter in very different ways.
A pivotal figure for Barcelona as well as world and European champion Spain, the 31-year-old Xavi is the more mobile of the pair. As illustrated by the cross he sent from the right channel for Messi to make it 2-0 in the 2009 final against United, he is not pinned to a central position but drifts all over the pitch - making full use of its width.
Xavi is simply the brains of the team and his vision and ability to thread a seemingly impossible pass are arguably unmatched in world football. Much of his success stems from the seemingly telepathic relationship he has built with Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, who like him have spent their whole careers with Barcelona after progressing from the youth team.
While Xavi struck once in 28 league games this season, Carrick has been even less productive with no goals in the same number of matches.
Carrick has won four league titles with United without truly winning over fans, but any player would have struggled as a replacement for the inspirational Roy Keane. Carrick is not a snappy tackler, surging runner or frequent scorer like Keane, but instead breaks up opposition attacks with interceptions and prompts attacks from deep positions.
His long passing is especially notable, but whether he will get the chance to show that off is doubtful against a Barcelona side that enjoys about two-thirds of possession in Champions League matches.
Defense:
Carles Puyol (Barcelona) vs. Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
First choice in the heart of defense for Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and Spain's Vicente del Bosque, the 33-year-old Puyol has been with the Catalan club since joining at 17. Captain since 2005, the versatile Puyol has appeared at right back, left back and, most commonly, center back to help Barcelona to five titles in seven years.
Captain for two of Barcelona's three European Cup titles, the lion-maned Puyol is only 1.78 meters (5-foot-10) tall but his timing and leap make him an attacking threat with headers from corners and free kicks.
He is also a stabilizing influence on Gerard Pique alongside him, constantly yelling to the younger player to keep him alert.
Like Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, Puyol has seen the frequency of his injuries increase with age and has played only three times since January because of a knee problem. United's Javier Hernandez could trouble him with his pace if he can turn him toward his own goal.
But the United player Puyol most resembles is Vidic, who also captains his team and is commonly cited as the best central defender in England's Premier League.
The Serbia international is commanding in the air, a superb timer of tackles and a regular scorer of crucial goals from set-pieces and open play. Only five United players managed more goals than the five Vidic scored in this season's Premier League, with one coming in the high-pressure 2-1 win over Chelsea that effectively clinched the title.
While he has four red cards over the past three seasons, Vidic has been fortunate not to be punished more often for handling the ball while trying to intercept crosses into central areas. Barcelona may try to expose him by dragging him out of position.
Goal:
Victor Valdes (Barcelona) vs. Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United)
Overshadowed at national level by Real Madrid stalwart Iker Casillas, Valdes has still won the Zamora Trophy awarded in Spain to the goalkeeper who concedes the fewest goals for three straight seasons.
Barcelona's domination of possession does mean that Valdes has few shots to save but that also demands that the 29-year-old keeper maintains a high level of concentration for long periods.
Lapses in that concentration can be blamed for the occasional gaffe, but Valdes remains one of the best shot blockers in Europe. His great reflexes make him especially strong in one-on-one situations with an opposition striker.
United's Van der Sar is in many ways completely different to Valdes: Calm and unruffled where the Spaniard is volatile, commanding in the air when coming off his line, and first choice for club and country throughout his career.
The 40-year-old Dutchman is making a final appearance before ending a career that includes four league titles and a Champions League winners' medal with both Ajax and United.
UEFA's goalkeeper of the year in each of the past three years and four times overall, Van der Sar made a national record 130 appearances for the Netherlands and was still so strong that he was asked - unsuccessfully - to rescind his international retirement at 38. That season, he set a world record by not conceding in a league match for 1,311 minutes.
Still agile and mobile, Van der Sar has looked as commanding as ever this season and is retiring only to spend more time with his family following a serious illness suffered by his wife.

Giggs scandal hangs over Man United

The Ryan Giggs imbroglio consumed England for the second straight day Wednesday, casting a long shadow over the upcoming Champions League final — the biggest match in European club soccer — against Barcelona (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, FOX) and having a profound impact on British politics.
Giggs, one of the most popular and successful players in British history, is alleged to have consorted with a reality TV show contestant named Imogen Thomas. In and of itself, this would merely make for sordid tabloid fare and an awkward conversation around the married Mr. Giggs's dining room table. What made this story explosive is that Giggs apparently sought a controversial gagging order, called a "super-injunction," to prevent newspapers from reporting this. Monday, he saw that order shattered by a Member of Parliament.
The case has riveted the chattering classes and led to some ugly scenes in Manchester on Tuesday night. Journalists were attacked by masked men outside Giggs’ home, with some cars being damaged in the process. At Carrington, a frosty Sir Alex Ferguson attempted to ban The Associated Press' Rob Harris, who had asked a straight-forward question about the midfielder in an open press conference.
Sky Sports cameras and microphones caught Ferguson asking press secretary Karen Shotbolt who the questioner was and then saying, “Aye, then we’ll get him. Ban him on Friday.” Several journalists who attempted to ask Giggs’ teammates about the affair also had their interviews abruptly terminated.
The incident prompted a torrent of outrage from other members of the media, with the Times calling Ferguson in a sports editorial “a one-man Politboro.” TV and newspapers delighted in showing clips and stills of the manager attempting to sabotage one of their own Tuesday, and there was more than a whiff of getting even about the whole affair.
This turn of events has turned what was an ill-timed headache for Manchester United into an outright fiasco. Ferguson’s attempt to use the crisis to reinforce his self-built bunker mentality at the club has backfired badly, taking the gloss off a week in which his team was handed a record-setting 19th title as he won his third Manager of the Year award. While he has often tried to turn provocation into a positive, this time he has succeeded only in making himself and the club look petty.
For his part, Giggs did show up and play for a half hour at Tuesday night’s Gary Neville testimonial match at Old Trafford, a 2-1 loss to Juventus that saw David Beckham’s return to a Manchester United uniform. He did not address the media.
More details emerged about the gag order Tuesday, with the revelation that Justice Michael Tugenhadt granted it because he suspected the topless model at the center of the case was attempting to blackmail Giggs.
Justice Tugenhadt has left the injunction in force, even though it was blown open by MP John Hemming in Parliament on Monday, when he said there was compelling evidence that Imogen Thomas had sought $170,000 from Giggs in return for her silence. Thomas is also said to have claimed that the Sun newspaper — which sued to lift the injunction — had offered her money for her story.
Wednesday, the Sun did little to dismiss that impression. The paper ratcheted up the pressure by splashing a shot on its front page of Thomas wearing a skimpy Manchester United shirt and publishing a series of new accusations about the embattled midfielder.
More information about the super-injunctions — the very existence of which are supposed to be secret — was also leaked to the press Wednesday. According to information obtained by the Independent, about 333 orders are in effect, the vast majority of which are shielding children in a variety of cases.
However, according to several sources, at least 10 gagging orders are in effect on Premier League footballers to cover up evidence of promiscuity; one covers a prominent soccer manager, and two others cover up soccer players who have been threatened by blackmail. Another order, since exposed, covered Chelsea’s John Terry.
Finally, the justification that Hemming used to break the injunction — the alleged threat of legal action by Giggs’ lawyers, the Schillings firm — has itself been called into question. Schillings insists that, contrary to published reports, it never had attempted to file legal action against Twitter or four celebrities, including Piers Morgan and Boy George, who tweeted the news. Hemming on Tuesday also insisted he had in fact not used Parliamentary privilege because Giggs’ name had been made public via Twitter.
This circuitous logic may make folks’ heads spin, but it has become a matter of pressing urgency in legal and media circles as well as a major embarrassment for the government, which is now trying to deal with an ugly confrontation between the media, its elected officials and its judiciary system.
But for United — which just wants to win a football game against Barcelona on Saturday — this is a spotlight they are clearly uncomfortable with. How much of an effect it has on the team remains to be seen, but as it stands, United will have a ready-made and predictable excuse if they lose: that old punching bag, the media.

By: http://msn.foxsports.com/