Clash of the Titans: Ronaldo v
Messi
The patriots and the tacticians will anticipate the
Chelsea v Liverpool Champions League semi-final with relish, and
with plenty of pride too. But for the purists and the fantasists,
it is the road to Camp Nou that glitters this month.
Barcelona versus Manchester United in the semi-final of the
Champions League. It sounds sexy just saying it. The two most
adventurous teams in European football will come face to beautiful
face with more at stake than ever before. Can this fixture live up
to its remarkable promise? For once, even the protagonists are not
seeking to play it down.
United midfielder Owen Hargreaves is not known for expansive
statements but he said yesterday: "I've never played against
Barcelona but I must have watched them on television every Sunday
for the past two years and they're a fantastic team. "You know
exactly how they're going to play. They're going to try to play
right through the middle of us and we're going to have to defend
very well. But we will play the same as them.
"We're two very attacking sides and are going to go for it and
try to create chances. There will be a lot of chances at both ends
and the better side will win. We have to play our football and
we'll get chances. When we attack, we're difficult for any team to
handle."
United will face Frank Rijkaard's team in Spain on April 23 with
the return leg at Old Trafford six days later. For many it would
have been the perfect final. Sir Alex Ferguson's men have played
the most exciting domestic football in Europe this season. In
Cristiano Ronaldo they have, perhaps, the world's best player.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have played poorly in La Liga this season
and will be without the talismanic Brazilian Ronaldinho and Deco,
both supposedly injured but also accused of disruptive
indiscipline. However, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi
do not occupy their places in most people's European dream team for
nothing so Ferguson will pray defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja
Vidic arrive in Spain in good health in just 11 days' time.
The memories are plentiful, for both clubs. Ferguson won his
only European Cup in Camp Nou nine years ago and as a 19-year-old
Hargreaves watched from the stands as his Bayern Munich team-mates
had glory torn from their grasp. "I was in the stadium screaming my
lungs out," said Hargreaves last night. "Afterwards I was in shock.
We all were."
United and Barcelona have not met for nine years. In United's
1998-99 campaign, the teams played out two 3-3 draws in the group
stage, while four years earlier Ferguson had been chastened by a
4-0 thrashing in Spain.
"I left Peter Schmeichel out that night," laughed Ferguson this
week. "So obviously that worked out well for me!" Such history
counts for nothing on the field, of course, but it adds greatly to
the general lustre of a tie that will be watched by 160,000 fans
over the course of the two games. With the second leg taking place
at Old Trafford, United will perhaps start as slight
favourites.
A domestic tussle with Chelsea for the Barclays Premier League
will not aid their preparations, although Barca are struggling to
reduce a seven-point deficit on Spanish leaders Real Madrid, having
won only one of their past six League games. Ferguson may have
reason to fear a repeat of last season when an AC Milan team, long
since left behind in Serie A, were able to focus solely on a
semi-final with United that — in truth — they won comfortably.
Ferguson said last night: "We have learned from that and I think
we are in better physical shape this season. "The energy levels in
the team were gone by the time we got to that tie last season and
there was nothing we could do. The squad was not deep enough to
cope. This season we have much more energy and I just pray that
everybody will be fit."
For their part, Barcelona will perhaps not miss Ronaldinho too
much. His contribution this season has been negligible. But they
will sweat on the fitness of their Argentinian safebreaker Messi
and will fret about the defensive absence of the suspended captain
Carles Puyol. He is one of the best man-markers in Europe and if
anybody could look after Ronaldo in Catalonia, it would be the
dogged little Spain star.
Hargreaves added: "We can cope this season. I know we can. We
haven't lost in the Champions League this season. We're the only
team who can say that. Plus, we've won 11 games in a row at home.
So far, so good. "It's going to be two fabulous games against
Barcelona and after that we'll see what happens. We've got a good
rhythm, everyone's contributing and we're playing well.
"Barcelona are not in the best form at the moment but when you
look at their squad it's among the best in the world. They are
going to be a threat, that's for sure. But we've been playing
exceptionally well for the past couple of months. "We've been very
consistent and put ourselves in a good position. We're in the home
stretch and this is where it counts."
Hargreaves has won the Champions League before, with Bayern in
2001. Such is the quality available to Ferguson this season, he may
not even be in the team for the semi-final. There will be only 11
lucky ones. And millions watching who will envy them like never
before.
