“Nobody’s given us a hiding like that. In my time as manager, it’s the best team I’ve faced.” – Sir Alex Ferguson.
“The Wembley final was one of the best matches of that generation of players, without doubt. It was one of the best games in the history of Barca.” – Xavi.
Even the most ardent Manchester United fan could only sit back and admire how helpless Barcelona made them look in the 2011 Champions League final. It finished 3-1 to Pep Guardiola’s side but it could’ve been so much more.
The performance was described as ‘football perfection’ by Jamie Carragher, however, Barca ‘faced an opponent who enabled them to showcase their brilliance.’
A decade on from that stunning exhibition by arguably the greatest team to ever play the game, it’s clear that legendary Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson got his tactics wrong. Big time.
To fully appreciate the enormity of Fergie’s mistake, we must go back three years when United drew the LaLiga giants in the semi-finals of the competition.
The boss took pride in his teams playing good, attacking football throughout his 26-year premiership but the triumph over Barca was not done the ‘United Way’.
“We won the tie in 2008 by sitting back and frustrating over two legs,” Wayne Rooney told Carragher in his Greatest Games book. “In my opinion it was the only way we could beat them.”
The Red Devils won the competition and made the final a year later where they met Barcelona. The holders rightly felt they were favourites with many of their players at their peak, meanwhile Barca had a novice manager in Guardiola and a number of injuries and suspensions to key players to deal with. The Spanish side won 2-0 in Rome, though.
They had the chance to learn that going toe-to-toe with this Barca side was a bad idea from future Man United boss Jose Mourinho, who suffered a 5-0 humbling at the hands of Guardiola in November 2010.
The Portuguese made sure that didn’t happen again and although they were beaten by Barca in the Champions League semi-finals, the tie was very competitive as Real Madrid adopted a far more conservative approach. Los Blancos did claim a consolation prize of winning the Copa del Rey against the Catalonians.
“We almost needed Jose Mourinho to manage us just for those two games in 2009 and 2011,” Rooney quipped.
Fergie had his own ideas, though, and played a 4-2-3-1 system for the 2011, something that even surprised Barcelona, Xavi told Carragher.
As mentioned, Rooney didn’t believe in this approach while defender Rio Ferdinand has since said he disagreed with the boss’ tactics.
Not only were United’s midfield fighting their instincts on account of their manager’s orders, Barca’s front three left the defence in knots, too.
Pedro and David Villa continued to stay wide until reaching the final third, while Lionel Messi roamed free as a false nine, which was a relatively new phenomenon at the time. Giving one of the game’s greatest ever players time and space was always going to throw up big problems.
Barca’s first goal perfectly demonstrates how confused United were left feeling. Pedro, who scored the goal, found himself in oceans of space on the right and slotted past Edwin van der Sar.
Amazingly, despite being thoroughly outplayed, United went in at half time level thanks to a fine strike by Rooney. But it was during the break where Fergie made another mistake as he made no changes at half time.
In an interview with Sport Bible, Fergie admitted he should have tasked Ji-sung Park with man-marking Messi, insisting Man United would have won the final if that happened.
That’s a big assumption to make but had Park been stalking Messi in the second half, what was ultimately the decisive goal may not have happened.
The Argentine fired through a crowd and Van der Sar from 25 yards out as he found space once again.
The final was wrapped up on 69 minutes as Villa curled in a beauty to make it 3-1.
As mentioned, Fergie was magnanimous in defeat but why did he set the team up the way he did?
“Ferguson’s common sense surrendered to romanticism,” Carragher added.
“He was two years from retirement and knew this was one of his last chances to win the Champions League.
“The game was held at the venue where Sir Matt Busby won United’s first European Cup in 1968 and if it was going to signal the beginning of Ferguson’s grand farewell on the continental stage, being part of a thrilling, end-to-end attacking final which he might lose served legacy more than constructing a turgid, dull match in which his team could compete by stifling flair and representing the antithesis of everything he stood for.”
Thomas Tuchel would be advised to not fall into a similar trap when his Chelsea side meet Guardiola’s Manchester City in Porto on Saturday.
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https://talksport.com/football/886704/barcelona-man-united-champions-league-final-tactics-lionel-messi/
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