Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Ideal Final of Champions League

Champions League Final: Manchester United versus Barcelona. With all due respect to the supporters of other good clubs, this is the ideal desired final European soccer fans and even the world.Barcelona is regarded as Europe's best team now faced with 2008 champion Manchester United. 

Both also almost become champions in their respective leagues.The "less" is, the two clubs who entered the ranks of Europe's elite is quite a bit in the Champions League achievements: Barcelona and Man.United just have 3 cups each.

The prediction emerged because Barcelona are currently considered the best technique capable of Europe, while Manchester United are regarded as having the most complete game variations. The similarities between the two is the instinct to attack. But not just a style of play and technicality, the history of both clubs was also the same height.

"Mes que un club", not just a club, the motto of Barcelona. Indeed the history of Barcelona is the history of resistance, the history of the attitude determination, the history of freedom of thought, part of the history of citizen struggle to fight against domination of Spain that made them as "only" part of a country.
History records how the citizens of Catalan has never really able to accept themselves as part of the Spain completely, even up to now. Through Barcelona - the Catalan club's most successful - Catalan citizens feel free to continue to realize their resistance.That's why the game against Real Madrid is regarded as the fight against Spanish colonizers because once the club's favorite of Spanish dictator General Franco, bringing an aura of not just a football game, but deeper.

In the early 1970s, Rinus Michels came to Barcelona and then followed by Johan Crujff to introduce Total Football. System with all its complexities and demands a very high level understanding.Barcelona under Michels just won La Liga in 1974 and the Copa del Rey 1978.But more important was the style of game they were considered more superior than arch-rivals, Real Madrid.Catalan may be colonized, but they felt won the moral values, at least in this football.

Then there was a symbiotic mutualism. Barcelona find form of the games they wanted to play, and became the most disciplined students adhere to this system, outside the Netherlands of course. Barcelona are reluctant to release moral victory whatever they have in future.
No wonder that dozens of Dutch players ever to play in Barcelona. In addition to Rinus Michels, Louis Van Gaal was recorded, Frank Rijkaard, and of course Johan Crujff had become coach at this club. Names above were thick with the concept of playing Total Football.

Barcelona teams that are playing now are the direct descendant of the football in time of Michels. Pep Guardiola, Barcelona's current coach, was captain of La Liga Barcelona dominated the 1990s and when they won the first Champions League in 1992. And Barcelona coach was none other than Johan Crujff, the golden boy system of Total Football.

Pep Guardiola is not shy to admit that he just simply continue what he had learned from Crujff. Pressing relentlessly and attack without any mistake, whatever the situation and the conditions. Players position do not same as Total Football, but the blueprint that every player stay together, attack together, narrowing the field of opponent attacking stubbornly persists.

Manchester United is a club that also holds the philosophy of attack as its main weapon. The term 'Red Devils' have a long history, the history of the club itself.
Starting from a club called Newton Heath in the end of the 19th century, they earned the nickname 'The Heathen'. It was said that the 'Red Devils' title came from the this Heathen. Because even though Heathen means players from Newton Heath, but the Heathen in the dictionary also means those who oppose God, or Devil. 
When in the early 20th century they decided to change their uniforms to red, the audience who saw they were running and attacking non-stop crazy, saying things like watching the devil himself in a red uniforms, red Heathen or Red Devils. The nickname was attached even though Newton Heath had been changed to Manchester United.

The club's board since the beginning, or at least after changing its name to Manchester United, intended to bring the attacking game and an entertaining spectacle, faithful to his nickname as the Red Devils. Manchester as one of the world's largest industrial city in early 20th century required a mass cheap entertainment for the residents, and Manchester United wanted to provide the entertainment. One more thing that they want : to recruit as many local players.

If Barcelona find people who injected moral victory that they are desired in Rinus Michels, Manchester United found it in Sir Matt Busby in the 1950's.

Sir Busby kept attacking football soul and introduced the balance. Basically, a strong defense is needed to build a good attack and the attack was not built with only kick as far as possible into the opponent's defense line and handed it over to the duo of striker who are usually high, but slow and small but nimble. The attack can be done in the ground with the midfield and the wings are nice and powerful.

But once again there must be a balance, defenders primary task are to defend, midfielders cover the defenders and create chance to strikers, then the strikers to score goals. The concept of conservative football should be held with high discipline, according to Sir Matt Busby.

Sir Busby is one of the coaches in the Britain who then also introduced the concept of deadly counter attack by quickly accurate pass along the ground supported by fast winger, just as imitated Sir Alex Ferguson today. Of course a good player is required to execute the concept of an attack like this because sometimes the interval of time to perform this attack is only about 40 seconds maximum from goal to goal. Cristiano Ronaldo's third goal to Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final is the example.
By leveraging a network of Catholic churches in Manchester, Manchester United is not religious but the club hierarchy of ownership and training used to be a Catholic, Sir Busby got local supply of talented players. The result was the Busby Babes I team who worshiped not only in Britain but also Europe, but unfortunately did not get to fulfill its potential as a plane crash in Munich in 1958. Busby Babes II was not as good as the first but led MU became the first British club to win the Champions League in 1968.

Sir Matt Busby became gods at United and not a coincidence that this club always keep the game blueprint laid by him. Moreover, Alex Ferguson is one of his admirers and admitted keeping the Busby playing style is a liability for him.

Barcelona vs Man United, If both are faithful to the style of their game, faithful to their history, really going to be a ideal final.

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