UEFA Champions League Final | FC Barcelona v Manchester United | Pre/During Match Discussion [R]

Vamos a roma!!!

is that the kits they will be wearing?

Everything was decided during the quarterfinal draw.
The team that survived the Liverpool/Chelsea/Barcelona/Bayern part of the draw was to be the designated home team in Rome.
Thus, Barcelona will have the choice of selecting which kit to wear. And we know they will choose the famous Blaugrana.
United will most likely be forced to wear all white since their home red and away blue shirts clash with Barça's.

Football needs to win this...Manchester can´t pull that sorry shit they did last year now.

VISCA BARÇA

There used to be a curse, but I guess we can afford to wear our home kits now...

Wes Brown will most likely be fit by the time this game comes around, he may make the bench.

ppl would think u were Villareal/Valencia or whoever but that that would probs be good for Barca. ManU always seem to play better in there 2nd or 3rd kit.

Weren't they rocking the Orange kits?



Besides, they won their second wearing the blaugrana...

We've had a great season and there is no way we should let the outcome of this game change that, but man, I want this badly.

Meh. Of course we wear the blaugrana. Said that on the official site as well. Not that it was ever a question.

Agreed: I want to win this badly as well. Without it the season is just great, but with winning this would make a truly exceptional season. Yet it's better to lose the final to not make through the round of 16 I guess.

Hard to say if Man Utd will play much differently than Chelsea , they just might because our backline is almost like nobody's there, how will they stop Rooney and Ronaldo is beyond me .

I know this may sound a bit weird but when Iniesta scores a goal in those circumstances you just think one thing, it's our season and we'll win the final. Doesn't everyone else get that vibe?

Iniesta's goal had that fate/luck moment that all championship teams get at somepoint along the road.

But there is no way that Fergie will make ths an open game. He could care less about making this a game for the neutral's enjoyment. He's going to play just luck he played Barcelona last year, only possibly harder, seeing what Chelsea got away with in the semifinals.

Henry will be essential, and Eto'o shouldn't play any games between now and then, if they can manage it. Put in Bojan for the league games.

Guilleme Balague said in his podcast that one unnamed United player told a firend that they think they will lose the league becuase they are so tired they have absolutely nothing left. United are still fighting for their title, Barca, hopefully can wrap it up and rest a little.

After these last few weeks, they desperatley need a rest.

Not very encouraging about Henry's continuing knee problems...

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=644604&sec=uefachampionsleague&cc=5901

I have feelings he will recover in couple of weeks from now! We need him!

Eto' should play 45-60 min each game. He really needs to get a few goals before the final to get confidence. Liverpool won today to tie United, who have two games in hand, so hopefully United drop points to City; United also still have to play Arsenal. Hopefully they will have to be focused on the league right till the end.

I am optimistic about him, the stories saying he is doubtful for the final cite nothing new and just seem to be trying to sell papers due to a lull in any real news. The only reliable source is the original statement that he will just miss 2 weeks.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5XOnrm0KLA"]Just a lil' bit of history repeatin'... [/ame]

It will be interesting if it pans out like that: rested, but depleted by injuries and suspensions Barca vs. exhausted but almost fully available ManU

There are too many match threads right now. It's hard to keep track of all of them

Shame the Abidal and Flether have to miss this match. Damn UEFA!!!

Alves too...

The pace & power of the Reds against the total football of Barca. Barcelona v Manchester United. The CL rarely gets the final it deserves but this time around the football Gods have provided the perfect cocktail.

FC Barcelona, is there a better advert for football than this fantastic club? In a week they destroyed Real on their own patch before sorting out Chelsea in London with just 10 men, who would make more worthy European champions than the Catalans?

If ever justice was served on a football pitch it was the moment the little wizard Iniesta's rifled shot fired into Cech's top corner. No time for a Chelski rethink. No time for Hiddink's side to pull down the sandbags they had piled up around the penalty area over both legs. Instead, all that was left was the sight of those two pantomime dames, Ballack and Drogba, taking centre stage with another disgraceful contribution. Overpaid, overrated faint hearts.

Listening to the experts in England you'd think Chelsea were mugged of a second straight CL appearance by an incompetent Norwegian referee. BS!

It was the night "ant-football" got the kicking it desreved. Normally a phrase reserved for those who have non interest in making a game of it & there have been many guilty of this over the years. A few had little alternative to "park the bus", held hostage by the calibre of staff at their disposal, against the Catalans. No shame in that BUT Chelsea (AND Man Utd too)? Unforgivable.

Even considering reductions in spending etc there won't be another club on the planet with a bigger wage bill than Abramovich's. A collection of players most managers would die for. YET last season's beaten finalists, 90 mins from the final in Rome & infront of a home crowd set up like Liechtenstein. Even when a man up they still wouldn't venture over the halway line. Had Barca done the same in the Camp Nou, we'd have witnessed 90,000 white hankies waved aloft in utter disgust.

It is this loyalty to the Spanish club's demanding traditions of total football which saw them humiliate Real @ the Bernabeu & probably sees them adopt the role of the neutral's favourite to win in Rome, admired as they are across the globe.

Even when a man down in London they never stopped passing, moving & probing with a tempo that made Chelsea look pedestrian.

Predictably the Kings Road drama queen, whos should have been booted after the Moscow CL final when he screwed Chelsea's chances of winning, couldn't shut his strap. There he was, having missed a sitter at 1-0, Cheslea's penalty-chasing, ref-baiting forward blaming everyone but himself. Drogba has the desire it seems BUT it is all about him & him only.

Guus should also shoulder some of the blame for the gameplan which backfired on him.

It should be a great final. Without the two-legged format, Man Utd will surely, this time around, attempt to play a bit more. I certainly wouldn't of banked on it if it were Chelsea in the final. I hope Barca win the trophy for the 3rd time but have a feeling Man Utd will take it.

Overrall Man Utd deserve credit but would anyone want to see the trophy in the arms of the Malcolm Glazer? Now a subsidiary of Glazer's parent company First Allied Corporation, Man Utd was taken into private ownership against the will of the supporters.

In contrast, Barcelona is a democracy of the people for the people - a members' club where 156,000 votes are cast in the election of the president. United would sell their soul for a quick buck, the Catalans have far more respect for their heritage. You wouldn't find the corporate logo of bankrupt American insurers AIG on Barca's shirt. That privilege is reserved for children's charity UNICEF, who also receive 1.9 million euros annually from Barca.

For football's sake I hope the Catalan colours prevail in the Eternal City.