Overload

OVERLOAD - Jesus, today's a tough one, I've got upward of 40 tabs open in Firefox right now, and they're all related to the Champions League Final, so today's paper round up may lack much coherence, and may miss out the odd thing, and the grammar and spelling may not quite be there... But anyway, let's get straight down to it.
Let's start with the infamous James Lawton, who seems to want Barcelona to win tonight. Here he is, after starting by mentioning Sophia Loren, talking about Messi:

Messi's kind may never be transferred to celluloid but it was real enough when his name swept down the pavement cafes. The resulting crowd spilt into the sunlit street and put the police and security guards under considerable pressure.

What kind of glamour precisely? It is that which comes with astonishing accomplishment and the promise of unforgettable deeds, and if you don't happen to be utterly committed to the cause of Manchester United it is impossible not to grasp the sense that the great anticipation of the Eternal City is for a performance from the little man to transcend the normal expectations placed on a single player in a single game.

A little bit of every football fan, whatever his allegiance, wants it be so. He or she wants to see the ransacking brilliance of the little man on a flood tide in the Stadio Olimpico, however underwhelmed he might have been by the statement from Messi that he and his Barça team-mates have already established their right to put their hands on the greatest trophy in the club game.

But then who will store up indignation if Messi proves as good as his word, if he outstrips the Adonis, Cristiano Ronaldo, if he does with wit and mesmerising acuity what his Portuguese rival to the title of the world's greatest footballer does with an imperious surge and ball-striking which can render feeble so much of happens around him?

Not many, you can be sure, because there is nothing quite like the sight of an ultimate player to blur the old boundaries of partisanship.

Manchester United, who so many times have been carried on tides of romance and affection which had as their origins emotions which were as much about an idea as a reality, can hardly complain if Barcelona are guaranteed the most passionate support in the big and beautifully set stadium beside the Tiber. It is odd yet indisputable that it is not United but Barça who represent the romance tonight, who promise the greater capacity to make beauty on the football field.

You wonder if Lawton watched us destroy Arsenal in the semi-final, or watched Barcelona struggle against a workmanlike Chelsea at the same stage with Messi anonymous (although remember how Lawton bizarrely spent much of his match report of that game on Messi's brilliance). You don't have to wonder long though, because he mentions it as evidence of the romance of Barcelona:

The suspicion here is that United will sooner or later rejoice in their new casting as the hard and practical men. To reach this conclusion you do not have to draw out some elaborate form line. You just have to recall how perilously Barça lived at Stamford Bridge in the semi-final a few weeks ago, how seriously they were arrested by the power and the application organised by Guus Hiddink, a work of stifling so close to complete that not only was Messi reduced to the rag ends of his brilliance, Iniesta was directing the team's first shot at goal in stoppage time when he conjured the goal that carried him here.

And then you think of United's dismantling of Arsenal in the same round, admittedly with a little help from fate early on, but in the end with a certainty that so cruelly laid bare Arsène Wenger's belief that his young, and defensively inadequate, team had indeed found some of the unity and the innate brilliance of the greater sides he had before. After seeing that, and then the way Chelsea hounded Barça in a way that could have brought only one result but for the hapless work of the referee, the magic of Messi and his team-mates could never be quite so persuasive this side of tonight's kick-off.

Of course the magic lingers.

So he spends the first half arguing about how romantic and magical Barcelona and Messi are and how we're not, and then cites games in which the opposite was proven. So great was Barcelona's "magic" that Lawton admits that they had a mere one shot, yet the magic lingers? We're cast in the role of ruiners of the dream? It may very well be an easy option to portray a final as a game between two different types of football, the beautiful and the ugly, and yet is it really necessary to do it so cackhandedly? (and here's Johann Cruyff, a man who knows something about good football on us:"United play good, daring football and it will be a great spectacle.")
I think James Lawton should have consulted with Martin Samuel before submitting his rubbish. Samuel is not quite so taken in by Barca:

You think you are the best team in the world? You think you play the most beautiful football? OK, now show us. Here, where it matters, against the reigning champions.

Here, against Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. Here, with the world looking on. This is the night on which Barcelona must step up if their pre-match tub-thumping is not to be exposed as hollow noise. ...

So questions remain; not that one would know this from Barcelona's recent pronouncements.

The process of revisionism began almost immediately after the second leg with Chelsea, when Catalan cheerleaders such as Johan Cruyff began making immodest claims. It was total football, according to defender Daniel Alves, total hyperbole, to many who saw the two games, in which Barcelona were first out-muscled and then outwitted.

Chelsea executed a negative game-plan perfectly at the Nou Camp and should have won at Stamford Bridge. The referee got the major decisions wrong for both sides, but did more harm to Chelsea's cause. Barcelona's crowing since then, as if they were at any stage in charge of the match rather than washed towards Rome by the vagaries of official incompetence, greatly overplays their influence on the outcome. ...

Barcelona's dedication to victory in a certain manner makes them, like Arsenal, the friend of the purist. Yet, talk of deserving to win a competition as hard-fought as the Champions League, particularly when a team as cultured, expansive and consistent as United are the opposition, cries out for rebuttal.

And one sentence that could well have been written with James Lawton in mind:

The trophy should be handed over by Don King, rather than Michel Platini. Barcelona's preening could be mistaken for the confidence of Muhammad Ali, except it does not always come with the smile attached.

If anything, it smacks of a dangerous sense of privilege. Barcelona's most fervent defenders tend to paint their opponents as one-dimensional, and this includes United.

Henry Winter is not taken in either:

For all the paeans to Barcelona, for all the trumpeting of Lionel Messi’s fabulous talent, and admiring glances at the tempo-setting skills of Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Manchester United look ready to assume their place among the greats of the game. “When you have a team that is talented and doesn’t want to lose, you are talking about a special team,’’ said Sir Alex Ferguson.

Special? Yes. Cristiano Ronaldo is back to his match-winning best, Rio Ferdinand is fit, Wayne Rooney is the 'Total Footballer’ for the 21st century, all touch and energy, while Nemanja Vidic will storm into Barcelona’s defence at United’s first corner with a venom not since in Rome since the Visigoths.

A final that looks great on paper should end with Ferguson and his History Boys in the record books, becoming the first side to claim back-to-back Champions Leagues while the Scot equals Bob Paisley’s mark of three trophies. The powerful conviction that Ferguson’s team will prevail stems from one unanswerable reality: United have a better balance between defence and attack.

Oliver Kay also makes a lot of us defending well:

Last season Sir Alex Ferguson unashamedly placed the emphasis on defence in both legs of the semi-final against Barcelona. It was an approach that was more than justified as they won 1-0 on aggregate, but it led Frank Rijkaard, the Catalan club’s coach at the time, to wonder what happened to English football’s spirit of adventure. “It is not the most beautiful way to play football,” the Dutchman said.

Ferguson was far from apologetic that night. “What he is saying is that we didn’t go whoosh,” the United manager said, making a theatrical gesture with his hand. “We didn’t go hell for leather all the time and attack too early. I think he would have liked us to.”

Spool forward 12 months to yesterday in Rome and Ferguson, while guarded about his plans, was not encouraging the belief that United will go “whoosh” this evening. Whereas Pep Guardiola, the Barcelona coach, was urging his team “to feel good, to feel beautiful, to be daring”, Ferguson was saying that “defending is a part of the game”, even if he added, quite pointedly, that “we are a different team to Chelsea, a different style.”

Different to Chelsea they may be, but United will play with ten men behind the ball when Barcelona are in possession this evening, with Rooney and Park required to double up at times to support their full backs. Park, in particular, has an important job, helping Evra to combat the threat of the mercurial Lionel Messi, but United’s defensive strategy will be two-layered, with Anderson, the Brazil midfield player, detailed to break up Barcelona’s passing game in the role vacated by the suspended Darren Fletcher.

Farther forward there will be the flair of Ronaldo, supported in numbers when the opportunity arises, as Park, Rooney and others did in the semi-final, second leg away to Arsenal, but entertaining will not be top of United’s list of priorities

Where his argument breaks down is that we were very entertaining against Arsenal (how much more entertaining than that third goal could we have got?), we defended well when necessary and played brilliant attacking football when necessary.
Shaun Custis in The Sun has a look at the Messi vs Ronaldo debate and says their's only one winner:

There is a reason why Barcelona's Argie star Messi finished runner-up to United ace Ronaldo in both the World and European Player of the year awards - he is not as good a player.

A team of 11 Ronaldos against 11 Messis would win easily because Ronaldo can do it all.

Give the king of Portugal a free-kick from 40 yards and in and you would never back against him scoring.

Put the ball at his feet and defenders turn to jelly.

Stick him in the middle when a cross comes over and centre-backs panic because they know he can beat them in the air.

Need to hold onto a lead and defend a corner, get Ronaldo in there. He is as likely to win the header as Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic.

He's probably a great goalkeeper as well.

Ian Herbert in The Independent trots out the usual boring and disproved Ronaldo argument:

The suspicion that Ronaldo bullies only weak opponents, especially within the safety of Old Trafford, and struggles against his peers still lingers. But it is one which fades with time. Sulks and complaints might have remained a part of his make-up all season but United's journey to the banks of the Tiber has been filled with reminders of Ronaldo's ability to almost defy the laws of physics.

There was the 40-yard, 64mph strike which stunned and defeated Porto in the Estadio do Drgao in the quarter-finals, the 41-yarder which stunned Arsenal in the semis, and the goal of the tournament – the seven-pass, box-to-box move at the Emirates which he ended by sweeping home the goal which confirmed United's passage to the Stadio Olimpico.

So in what sense does it still linger, in the same way that the Barca "magic" still lingers I guess... Oliver Holt approaches the same argument, with a more sensible approach:

The days when his occasional critics could accuse him of being a flat-track bully, dominant against weaker teams but quiet against better opponents, have long gone. He scored in last year's final against Chelsea. He scored the stunning goal that rescued United when they were in danger of being eliminated earlier in this year's competition against Porto. And then he destroyed Arsenal.

I also like this brief vignette from the press conference:

"Who," he said, "is better: Ronaldo or Messi?" Ferguson smiled and looked past Rio Ferdinand to where Ronaldo was sitting, one place further along the row.

Ronaldo did not smile. He looked back at Ferguson and then, with just a hint of the arrogance he showed towards his boss when he was substituted against Manchester City recently, he made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

The message could not have been clearer had he shouted it out. "Go on," he was saying, "tell him."

Even Mark bloody Lawrenson thinks that Ronaldo is better:

Cristiano Ronaldo will prove he is the best player in the world by helping Manchester United write another piece of history in Rome.

There has been endless comparison and debate as to whether Ronaldo or Barcelona’s superstar Lionel Messi is top dog in European football.

But if Ronaldo plays anywhere near like he did at the Emirates in the Champions League semi final then the Portugese winger will settle the argument once and for all.

Ronaldo was simply unstoppable that night and, when both players are at the top of their game, then United’s kingpin comes out on top every time.

The difference is that Ronaldo can get behind defences in a way that Messi cannot to anywhere near the same effect.

Ronaldo is strong, good in the air and has a better all round game than Messi in each and every department.

Steven Howard in The Sun looks beyond the obvious battle to give praise to Rooney:

The build-up to the Champions League final has been dominated by the meeting of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Wayne Rooney appears to have been overlooked. Which is probably just how he likes it.

For much of his career he has been the man in the spotlight and sometimes to his detriment.

Tonight he can come in under the wire and produce what many of us hope will be the performance of a lifetime.

Rooney is the only player on either side to have played in all 12 Champions League matches.

Much of United's resilience and ability to hold off Liverpool's title challenge was due to his continued presence in the side and a growing understanding of his responsibility.

Most admirable of all has been his acceptance to play out of position for the good of the team.

There's a good article of praise for Sir Alex by Oliver Holt, I'll only quote this section (the rest is worth reading though), a little demonstration of the pettiness of a certain Rafa Benitez:

It was at the Britannia Stadium, straight after Stoke City had held Liverpool to a draw at the beginning of January, when I noticed it first.

As Rafa Benitez spoke again and again about Sir Alex Ferguson, he refused to refer to him by his proper title.

It was ‘Mister Ferguson this’ and ‘Mister Ferguson that’. Never Sir Alex, even though the United boss was knighted long before Benitez arrived in England.

Benitez knew what he was doing when he spat out the words and tried to justify his recent rant about the things Ferguson had been doing to undermine Liverpool.

‘Mister Ferguson’ was his way of withholding respect, just like he did when he refused to congratulate him on winning the title a couple of weeks ago.

There's no point attaching too much blame to Benitez. It’s a little petty, maybe, but gestures of defiance are all any of Fergie’s rivals have got left.

It’s their only sanctuary, their only weapon against a man who has defied the football norm by getting better as he gets older. There’s nothing else left but the empty gesture. All other resistance is futile. Sir Alex’s legend is secure. He is untouchable now.

David Pleat has an analysis of the two sides' plans here.
(now suffering from cut and paste fatigue) Kevin McCarra in the Guardian basically says anything could happen..
Paul Hayward contrasts Ronaldo and Messi:

Ronaldo's game is built around the ­dramatic moment, the sudden impact. His whole bearing is constructed to convey the star quality of an immaculate prancing horse. Messi, on the other hand, appears to view fame as an unfortunate offshoot of his astounding ability to carry the ball into tight spaces and bamboozle defenders with his scuttling. He could never say, as Ronaldo did this week: "I'm really a winner and therefore I'm going to want more [European titles]." From Messi comes the deep mistrust of language and talking of one who disdains engagement with his audience. "Anyone who likes football admires a player like Ronaldo," he says. "But I think it's about two great teams and it won't just depend on one player."

Onto comments from the participants. Sir Alex:

"When you have a bunch of talented players who don’t want to lose, then you’re talking about a special team,’’ said Fergie in Rome.

"I’ve said many times that this club should have won more European Cups and this is an opportunity for us to win it again and put ourselves up there with the great clubs in Europe. This team has that kind of future. It’s a young team with the right kind of experience that could very well go on to win it more in future years.

"We’ve won it three times. Matching Real Madrid’s nine triumphs is the long-term goal. Possibly not in my time, but it’s something to aim for.

"It’s unusual that no club has ever successfully defended the Champions League. But at United we’re good at doing things for the first time.

"During the 1960s and 1970s, when it was the old European Cup format, it was done regularly with great teams like Bayern, Ajax and Real Madrid.

"I can’t give you a reason why it hasn’t been done since the change to the Champions League, but we have an opportunity to change that and I hope we take it."

Rio Ferdinand:

"I just want to win," he said. "I don't care how the game goes. It would be nice if it was a great game with loads of skill and loads of goals for us.

"But people don't remember it for being a great final. People only remember the winners, that's all."

John O'Shea:

“Obviously you’re thinking who you might be up against, whether they start on your side or on the opposite side,” the Ireland defender said. “To be fair, the Barcelona team are like us. They pop up all over the place. You’ve got to be prepared for every eventuality. If Henry plays on the left, it could be him, but equally it could be Messi. Even easier, then . . .”
“I would never just stay at a club for the sake of winning a medal,” O’Shea said. “I would have to play a part. There was a case where the manager brought in a few new additions and it was probably the hindrance of me playing in so many positions that came into play. But luckily I’ve stuck at it and I’ve played a part in every season so far when we’ve been successful. Hopefully that will continue.”

Ryan Giggs:

"this season we have won the league for a third successive time and I think if we win the Champions League as well you will not get very many people arguing against it being rated as the best-ever United side.

"Nobody has ever defended the Champions League. To accept that challenge and succeed would, on it's own, be brilliant.

"But to have won a hat-trick of leagues as well, you have to talk in terms of this being the best team the club have had."

"It has been my most enjoyable season. You appreciate things a lot more as you get older and obviously beating Barcelona would be the ideal way to finish it off."

And Giggs on Ronaldo's future:

"He is at the best club.

"Cristiano has proved he is the best player in the world over the last couple of years and he has done that at United, so why leave? He's still a young player, still learning the game and can still improve. He can do that at United."

Thank god that's over...