CHAPTER 72: 17/05/2006

"This is it. Ground zero. Would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion?"

- Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

This is it.

What we all been waitin’ for.
Especially for those concerned with either Futbol Club Barcelona or Arsenal Football Club.

The final is upon us.
The European Cup awaits its new victor, its rays shining brightly.
It’s awaiting its new abode of pride and passion, it’s awaiting its new bastion of glory, illustriousness and victory.

On this night, despair and anguish cross those defeated, where the emerging conquerors will be hailed as heroes for ever.
The glory awaiting on this night makes it pathway on those men yearning to clinch it, and it is as once in a lifetime, a possibility of almost never.

It’s a night when legends are born, and myths and suspect yet can only remain for long.
A night to behold for.
The night a million aspirations
and dreams are carried, and hoped upon,
on the shoulders of several men.
Several men who had been destined to be here on this night, men who will fight, fight for the rights of another million ambitions….
The ambitions that universally foremost cling to the fact,
…the fact that is….
being champions.
'Two nations’ will succumb to this.
The biggest event of the Beautiful Game before the drape of the World Cup arises.
The Final of the UEFA Champions League.
It happens on this night, and those nations will take heed.
In the City of Lights.
Paris.

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By the time I publish today’s post, it will be about a day left before the final of the Champions League begin on Wednesday night (European time).
Around two days……(and some hours,…some minutes.…some seconds…...some milliseconds…..….ARGHHHH! THIS ANXIETY IS KILLING ME! I CAN’T BLOODY WAIT!!) to go...so..

The final game of the competition, for those unfamiliar with football/soccer, will be contested between Barcelona, of Spain and Arsenal, of London and England. It’s another intriguing Spanish-Anglo affair resuming from the prior UEFA Cup final last week.

Both teams made their way to the final based on their own merits. And they disposed of great teams on route to the final. Arsenal defeated Real Madrid, Juventus and Villareal. BarcelonaChelsea, Benfica and Milan. Both being winners deservedly so and both being efficient. On Arsenal’s side, they had been impressed based on their defensive aspect. Barça on the other hand showed great attacking prowess throughout the competition. And both teams should great collective team effort.

This one here is promised to be an exciting and fantastic affair.
And here are along some reasons to justify that statement;

• It will be a game between two excellent teams of football, two respected clubs, both possessing excellent, talented football players, among the highest and best in the game itself, as well as having a touch of history and class between themselves throughout the years.

• Both teams hold distinctive records, statistics in the current edition of the tournament. Arsenal is the side who have conceded less amount of goals in the competition, where as Barcelona is the team who have scored the most amount of goals. Quite simply, in another sentence, it’s a battle between the best defense against the best offense. Besides, they have remained undefeated thus far in the competition prior to the final.

• Both Barcelona and Arsenal play attacking, free flowing football. This is one of the major factors that made people anticipate this match so match. A match especially delightful for the purists of football. Football in its pure form. A sense of ‘Joga Bonito’.

• It will be a battle between two teams who are consisted of many players, eager to prove themselves on the world. Those currently dominating on the top, the newer generation paving their way through football superstardom, and those several few who are in their swansong years, who would be leaving their respective clubs by the end of the match…..

• ………….and there are various other angles to look at the perspective of this match. I’m trying to be concise and simple as possible, but I have to mention this last fact that makes this match eagerly expected by many…..it’s because it will be a battle between two teams who, in their ranks has two of the best, if not the best footballers today.

Ronaldinho. Thierry Henry.

These two are currently and (without much argument) the two best players there is on this world right now. Ronaldinho’s the current FIFA World Footballer of the Year (twice in a row now), aside being the latest Ballon D’Or (and awarded other hosts of individual accolades). Thierry Henry also has numerous awards to himself. Whoever follows football, whether on a small or large basis, will surely know about these two.

The great thing about this final is that it’s gonna display the skill, talent and artistry of these two great ‘magicians’ of football. The best of Brazil against the best of France. And no doubt it’s between the best player from the Spanish la Liga against the best from the English Premier League.

What even adds up the spice is that it’s these two individuals are the virtuosos that carry their respective teams. The talismans that each club rely on for victory and glory. As both are forwards in the game of football, it’s usually through these two that goals are scored from either teams. The pace and skill that both Henry and Ronaldinho possess is more than aptly enough to make any defense line suffer. Not only do they score and create goals, they are among the best at set-pieces too! And considering that, they are the first choice free-kick takers are them for their respective sides! Both Barça and Arsenal defenders are going to have to be on their peak condition and full alert when they come up against the threat of either two.

It’s also going to be interesting to see Eboue lining up againts Ronaldinho, Cole against Messi or Giuly, Toure and Campbell to take on either one and also to counter up giants Eto’o. On the other side, you got the Barça defense, marshaled by captain Carles Puyol who’ll go up against Henry. Then you got the other defenders like Marquez, Van Bronckhorst, Oleguer and to some extent Edmilson who’ll be vying to break the Arsenal attack, especially through their wings like Hleb, Pires or Reyes as Arsenal’s been playing the 4-5-1 formation in the Champions League.

Both teams have shown great strength in defense. As mentioned before, Arsenal haven’t conceded a goal in their last 10 matches in the competition, and a big part of it is thanks to the resilience of Kolo Toure (who’d really stepped up for the Gunners this season) and of their keeper Jens Lehmann. Toure had scored the winning goal that made Arsenal progressed to the final, and Lehmann had made a last-minute penalty save against Riquelme (in the dying minutes) at El Madrigal.

On the other side, both Puyol and Marquez have been immense for Barcelona. I still get excited over the fact that both made it to the final, considering that they carried yellow cards in the previous game against Milan (and the danger of being excluded in the final). Puyol is vital with pace and tackling, combined to that of Marquez’s positioning and aerial presence in defense. These two are the rocks of this Barça team.

Puyol will have the duty to mark out Henry, with Rafa (below)

The other interesting aspect of this match is that it will display the play of the two young players that are currently headlining football worldwide: Fabregas and Messi.

The compelling thought is that both players were brought up under the Barcelona youth system, and these two had been friends from their time together. Although now Fabregas is with Arsenal, Wenger had guided him well into an impressive midfielder, stringing the passes for the Arsenal attack and heavily involved in building up play for the Gunners. Messi on the other hand is an attacking forward that complies well with the duo of Ronaldinho and Eto’o, as he has the pace, vision and control of the ball that makes him an indispensable asset for the Blaugranas. Both Messi and Fabregas are not even 20 yet! Yet the performances they had been giving to their teams this season especially have been very eye catching towards a lot of people.

While Fabregas is without doubt will be a starter on Wednesday, it’s still unsure if Messi can get fit in time for the match (or if he’s able to play the full 90 minutes), as he’s been out injured ever since the game against Chelsea back in March, although the Argentinean had reportedly began training with the Barça team.

The other tantalizing prospect is to see how it will turn out between Fabregas performing for Arsenal against his expected counterpart Andres Iniesta. Iniesta, playing in a similar position as Fabregas, has been earning rave reviews validated by his performances against AC Milan in the semi-finals. Both are presumed to be the ‘playmakers’ of each side when they clash against each other, and it’s up to them to vie for a gain in hand of controlling the important aspect in a game of football, dominating the midfield half. What is even more intriguing is that just like Fabregas, Iniesta himself is another product of the Barcelona football youth academy. So they themselves have a point to prove in the final.

Besides, Barcelona also got Xavi in the ranks. Xavi is one of the main midfielders in Barça, and is the first choice of Rijkaard. But he was out of football for a long time due to serious injury, and during his absence, Iniesta has taken his place and proved as an adequate replacement for the little man from Terressa. It was reported in SPORT that Iniesta would be given the nod to start in Paris.

On another note, the final will be the last match that two model professionals of the game would be able to take part in for their respective clubs. Dennis Bergkamp of Arsenal and Henrik Larsson of Barça.

Last slalom

Both being more than 30 years old already, this match could be the culmination that can highlight their long, illustrious career in football. Unfortunately, only one can be winner, and they will surely be thinking about that as it is their last chance to win the major trophy that they still have not won.

Apart from all this, it has to be said that this final will be full of ‘debutants’ of this kind of match. It’s the first time for like most of the players of both teams to be involved in the final of a Champions League, so that’s another fantastic prospect.

But the unique aspect is that Deco, Barça’s no 20, is the only one among the whole lot to have already won the Champions League. As we all know, Deco was the influential player of Mourinho’s Porto that won this competition back in 2004.
No doubt that Deco himself will be playing a key role for Barcelona as always, as it’s being often agreed that football pundits view Deco as the ‘engine’ of the Barcelona team. They would be relying on him as an aid in attack and also as an enforcer in midfield, always looking for the opportunity to break down the opposition’s attack.

On a different side of things, I’m sure that the venue of this match, Stade de France will be impressive on this night.

It’s one of the best stadiums in Europe, and being located in such city is only fitting enough for the glamour and prestige of the final. Let’s not forget that 50 years ago, the first Champions League final was itself held in this same city. I hope it will host to a wonderful spectacle of football, played between two teams striving on attacking football. I hope to see magic in Paris! (on Barça’s side that is! Haha)

The French capital awaits the two teams.....and the new champion...

The final aspect to look at here is that it will be (if not mistaken) the first time that Wenger and Rijkaard will go head to head. Wenger had been at Arsenal for almost a decade now, while Rijkaard’s the younger of the two, but had the exception of being a great player before. For Wenger, winning this will be the conquest of his ‘Holy Grail’, as he had vagrantly attempting in guiding Arsenal for European glory for long. For Rijkaard, it’s the opportunity to join the elite few who had won both competition as player and coach. Both coaches have a lot at stake, and pride. Considering that Wenger’s now building up a new Arsenal squad (and their new stadium awaits them), whereas Rijkaard’s on the threshold of creating a new legacy at Barça, looking for the creation of the successors of Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’.

It’s hard to make a prediction, ‘Cause in football you can never make predictions. Anything can happen. In my opinion, for Barcelona to gain victory over Arsenal, they gotta stifled up the Arsenal midfield more than so, and block the supply line to Henry. I hope that Deco and Edmilson can come up big time on this, as they are vital if they want to counter up the threat posed by Fabregas, Hleb, Ljungberg, Pires and Reyes. And more so important is that the Barça’s attack trio can be faster than the backline of Cole, Campbell, Toure and Eboue.

Both teams will depend on these two for a touch of brilliance & magic, to obtain victory

But I see as this way. Arsenal are a ‘young’ team, on the rise. They have good young players in each position who are ready to conquer England and Europe in a few years time, with Wenger at the helm that can be assure red. Especially when you have guys like Fabregas, Van Persie, Reyes, Clichy, Adebayor, Toure, Eboue, Flamini, Senderos, …then waiting in line are Lupoli and Walcott.
Barcelona on the other hand, has been a ‘project’ that had been going on, developed over the past three seasons now. Laporta’s project, with Rijkaard as the man in charge and the best footballer on this planet as the catalyst of this venture (alongisde other well experienced players as Puyol, Xavi, Marquez, Deco, Eto’o, Edmilson, Giuly, Larsson, Van Bommel to name some), has now earned two back-to-back La Liga titles, and trophies it seems are the certain hope of optimism that still lingers on this Barcelona team.

And as already mentioned, Arsenal have the best defensive record whereas Barcelona have scored the most number of goals. So, I figure that either Arsenal are going to keep another clean sheet, or they gonna get thrashed.

But I’m only expecting (& hoping) the best from Barcelona.

It’s been a long time. And now the time is finally here. Just one more step….
Good luck for both teams, I wish that we’ll be treated to a fantastic game of football, spearheaded by both Ronaldinho and Henry.
And for the sake of Barcelonistas all over the world, let’s hope that the 2^nd trophy will be ours.

¡VAMOS Barça!

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Thanks to Master_Prime from Xtratime.org (Big thanks, mate)

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