The moment the referee blew the final whistle, my first reaction on twitter was so spontaneous that I still cant believe how fitting it turned to be. And by fulfilling my wish, Barcelona crowned their night in perfection, or should I say the two teams did so? Because you need two teams to create a perfect night of football, and Manchester United made it happen, same as Barcelona's brilliance.
Manchester United is the reason why this match was so wonderful to watch.
There will be lot of tactical talks about the game. The two coaches decided to go for the tested horses rather than the ones -theoretically- more appropriate while planing their game plan. The hindsight pattern will demonstrate that Pep got it right - because his team won, Sir Alex got it wrong -because his team lost. No one can deny that Pep was on the driving seat in this battle (especially with his Busquets-Xavi trick in the second half that changed the match dynamics), and the Sir could have done a bit better here or there. Yet, at the end of the day it was all about players' quality and football perfectionism that you cant counter in one or two weeks of preparations. Evra put it eloquently:
""Every time Messi gets the ball he knows Xavi is going to be there, Pedro is going to be there, or Iniesta. It is amazing"
That's all the tip of the iceberg, though. Such matches should be seen in boarder perspective than merely results. This was a match that revived football in its right essence. From a respectful buildup, to the hug between the two managers before the game, to players' behavior on the field, to Abidal's epic message holding the cup as a champion in the face of cancer, to Manchester United players reactions after the game and most importantly Sir Alex Ferguson comments that summarize what is so underrated and ignored in football most of the times. He admitted -showing self security, and mental balance in defeat- that his team lost against a better team, and considered it a challenge for the future to rebuild his squad for the moment he meets FC Barcelona again and get his revenge. Isn't that how its supposed to be? As obvious as it may sound, there are some who still cant get it.
The moment the match ended, I was extremely fulfilled. I had no appetite to voice any opinion or make any comment. I wanted to hear it all, read it all, and see it all so I miss no moment. But I also wanted to check what the lost souls had to say about it. The group of dead-soul fans are minorities in different clubs having nothing in life to do beside trying to bash success and hate the Catalan club for their own reasons, whether its pure historical rivalry (the most understandable), or sense of inferiority, envy or jealousy. All that without generalizing the fans of any specific club. And the reactions of the dead-souls group never fails to catch you by surprise.
Manchester United is the reason why this match was so wonderful to watch.
By the end of the match, the dead souls group started rambling here and there and everywhere pointing out how this match proved Mourinho right. By not playing as thugs, Manchester United handed the victory to Barcelona. They missed that Barcelona reached the final after defeating Mourinho himself, and his "winning by all means" approach. Even the claim that Barcelona reached the final because they dived, bribed the referee or hired UNICEF children as serial killers, that won't serve their case of "winning by all means" as they sound like someone with dissociative identity disorder. Is it by all means or not? If it is then fair enough, if not then bow to Manchester United who dictated the right way to play this final, and ask yourself a question: Will you prefer to watch this final ten more times again or that semi final once more? Based on the answer you figure whats football and whats not.
Manchester United approached this match as a team that wants to honor its name in victory or defeat. By not applying dirty tactics, Manchester United sent a significant message to Barcelona players that: "We are here to play football, just football, and nothing but football". They came to play football and decided to play it the right way. Wait! Is there a right way and wrong way to play football? No. There is only one way. Playing within the rules and ethics of the game. The so called "wrong way" is not football in the first place. Is it a crime that teams play defensive football? No. There is an increasing number of people who are getting confused, or pretending not knowing the difference, between defend and defendo , catenaccio and Kenjutsu. Playing defensive tactic is all good and fair in football. Playing like a thug committing career assassinations is not. Just so we rest that case aside and proceed to the core. Is diving and being theatric good for the game and meet the ethics of it? No. And thats EXACTLY why:
Manchester United is the reason why this match was so wonderful to watch.
Barcelona met a team that dictates respect, and they behaved per se. They didn't find themselves in a situation where the opponent is too dirty to compete against by being honest. The comparison between the semi final and the final is there to learn the lessons. And there you can figure what kind of football each approach will lead to. FC Barcelona can win playing fair and may lose, the same as they can win or lose if they try "unappreciated" antiques. Against the right team they can contribute with the opponent in creating a master piece of football, and they are fragile to getting dragged into the mud against a dirty approach creating a disgusting show.
By expecting Barcelona to counter dirtiness by honesty, the dead souls are putting the Catalan club players above the level of humanity, which is as ironic as it can be. This is a club passing through an amazing cycle with lot of quality to cheer the world and they would love to do so. But its not all for them to plan the show.
After the game, while every football lover was cheering and applauding the beauty of football, the ghosts of dead souls were hysterically rambling in the shadows mourning months of work where they tried every dirty way possible to ruin FC Barcelona's image and legacy. All continuous poisoning for public opinion ended in one night of magic. Every word of praise toward the greatest team of all times chopped the haters' heartless chests like bullets. They will crawl to their caves for a while then try another attempts as they always do, but there is a lesson learned through this experience: You can use a thug holding a knife to leave a mark on a beautifull face, but if the beauty comes from within, its unbeatable and will always find a way to prevail.
Manchester United came to the final as a great team with an ambition to add another victory to their wealthy cabinet, and left the final as a great team with lot of determination to comeback. They lost the game, but they were not the ones who were actually defeated.
