The 2009 Champions League Final brought to an end another great season of European competitions, with entertaining games, spectacular football and goals, drama and unfortunately also some controversial decisions.
The Barcelona vs. Manchester United final consecrated two greats in modern European football. First and foremost is Lionel Messi, who tormented the United defence for long phases of the game and scored a spectacular goal through a flying header even though he was the shortest player on the pitch! Second but definitely not inferior in importance is Guardiola, the 38 year-old Barcelona coach. In his debut year as a coach, he won the Spanish Liga, Spanish Cup and none other than the Champions League. Pretty impressive for someone who many believed didn’t have the necessary experience to coach such an important and world-wide known club. Watching Barcelona play this season has been a joy, with their slick passing epitomised by the midfield duo Xavi-Iniesta and the huge number of goals scored by the team in general.
Hats off for Manchester United in graciously accepting that on the night Barcelona were the better team and did not create any sort of controversy.
The host city was praised for its organisational procedures that worked like clock-work and the lack of knife attacks that many feared would take place. The atmosphere inside the stadium was as expected electric and full of tension and full of colour and joy. Hopefully all major football finals will be like the 2009 Champions League Final!
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