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Tears of goodbye from Inter’s Mourinho?
The Special One finally allowed emotion to get the better of him on Sunday when tears were clearly visible in his eyes after Inter Milan wrapped up a fifth straight Serie A title and the second part of a potential treble.
Jose Mourinho is normally so clinical, so self-confident. Were they just tears of joy after retaining the scudetto or did he cry because he knows he will leave Italy after Saturday’s Champions League final with Bayern Munich?
“This is not my home. This is not an easy place to work and be happy,” he told reporters after his side’s 1-0 win at Siena on the last day of the Serie A season.
“There has been no time to think. Now it’s an historic week for Inter and we want to give everything we have. Then I need to relax, spend two or three days thinking about myself and what will make me happier and then I will decide.”
It’s probably more likely he will depart, to Real Madrid or wherever, if Inter do complete an unprecedented Italian treble in Madrid. What else would there be left to achieve at an ageing Inter?
But if there are no jobs immediately available, he might decide to stay one last season but the chances of him seeing out his contract until 2012 look all but over.
Are Inter fans getting overexcited too early?
Reaching a European Cup final for the first time since 1972 is success in itself for Inter Milan fans, as witnessed by the delirious scenes at Milan Malpensa airport as the team arrived back from eliminating holders Barcelona.
Jose Mourinho’s side are on for a treble, unprecendented in Italian soccer, but they have not yet tied up Serie A (two points ahead with three games left), the Italian Cup (final against Roma May 5) or the Champions League (final against Bayern Munich May 22 in Madrid).
Could their excitement at this stage come back to haunt them? Mourinho, normally very shrewd despite his outspokenness, said outdoing Barca with 10 men for over an hour was better than winning the Champions League with Porto in 2004.
Dangerous talk with a very good Bayern side, and a rampant Arjen Robben, waiting in the wings at the Bernabeu.
Looks like France has a chance. France appears favored to host football’s European Championship in 2016 after UEFA published evaluations of the three bidding nations. 20:26
What price Barca retaining the trophy in the Bernabeu?
Manchester United palpably failed to become the first team to retain the European Cup in the Champions League era but few would bet against Barcelona managing the feat next season.
And where would be the perfect place for Pep Guardiola’s stylish side to achieve it? The Nou Camp? No, next year’s final is in Madrid and the Barca fans I spoke to in Rome after the game could not think of a better venue to show their rivals and world football that they are undisputed kings.
May 22 next year is a long time to wait for the first Saturday final but Guardiola will quickly turn his attention to that quest once he recovers from all-night revelry. (When he was hurled into the air by his players during the on-pitch celebrations, he looked a little scared their weary limbs would not support him).
What’s scarier still is that Barca easily overcame United 2-0 without needing to play especially well.
Barca were definitely not at their best in the semi-final with Chelsea and yet still they went on to complete the first ever Spanish treble.
Guardiola is 38 and in his first season in charge. He must think this management game is easy, and I guess it can be when you have players of the class of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. (Were Inieista and Henry ever really doubts for the final? They looked in fine fettle to me)
As an football fans and NFL jersey lover, I wish every player will perform the best.
Try your best, guys!
Barcelona beat Manchester United — your views
Barcelona deposed Manchester United as European champions with an outstanding 2-0 victory in the Champions League final at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Samuel Eto’o struck the opener after 10 minutes when he cut in from the right past Nemanja Vidic with surprising ease and his low shot beat United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar at his near post. Xavi cracked a free kick against a United post at the start of the second half before Lionel Messi sealed the win after 70 minutes when he scored with a beautifully timed header from Xavi’s cross.
It was a curiously subdued performance from United, while Barcelona got full value for a performance that was thoroughly professional but hardly brilliant.
Alex Ferguson was content to say the best team won. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.
PHOTO: Barcelona’s Xavi (R) and Victor Valdes celebrate victory over Manchester United. REUTERS/Albert Gea
The 2011 Champions League finals had a rematch between the two giants of football. And again, it was Barcelona that was victorious, clearly, the better team won. Though Manchester had their revenge in the pre season games, I’d say Barcelona still has an edge in terms of attacking football.
Champions League final: Barcelona 2 Manchester United 0
Pre-match:
Now the teams are in, and there are no big surprises (see below) here’s Mike Collett’s view from the press seats at the Stadio Olimpico:
Manchester United first out to warm up with 40 minutes to go before kickoff — wearing royal blue tops and white shorts with thousands of fans sainging “Glory Glory Man United…”
Barcelona following them out a couple of minutes later in vivid orange tops reminiscint of the colour they wore when they first won the European Cup in 1992 …. Weather absolutely fantastic, sky still blue, can hardly hear myself talk to colleagues next to me!
No small-talk in the back room for UEFA president Michel Platini, who is out in his seat already. Platini, of course, has decided that this will be the last CL final to be played in midweek. From next season in Madrid the final will be played on a Saturday. Platini wants more familiies and children to have the chance to see the match live and thinks a midweek final restricts schoolkids from going. What about the cost of the tickets?
And this from Mark: The “opening ceremony” starting with what looks like about 50 women dressed in red and green wearing swimming caps and holding shields. Quite what that has to do with Rome or soccer, no one is quite sure…
Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 5-Carles Puyol, 24-Yaya Toure, 3-Gerard Pique, 16-Silvinho; 28-Sergio Busquets, 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 10-Lional Messi, 9-Samuel Eto’o, 14-Thierry Henry.
half time and United look like they are chasing shadows….awful. my only saving grace is i predicted Utd to go 1-0 down and win 2-1. Unless Tevez comes on & Scholes, take the useless (never scored a goal) Anderson off and Park who (for a change) looks all at sea, Utd will lose easily. barca do not look great but United look worse than Crewe Alex!!
Who will be the Angels and Demons in Rome?
The new Angels and Demons movie is based in Rome so it got us thinking who might end up being an angel or a demon after Wednesday’s Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Will one of the goalkeepers drop a clanger or will Cristiano Ronaldo belt one in again from 40 metres? It’s a big pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, but I can see Lionel Messi running the length of it with the ball at his feet…
My money’s on a poor backpass and a nervous error from Valdes, 1-0. And ROnaldo to miss another penalty at some point.
Vlog on the pitch – Who are Romans supporting in the Champions League final?
The Champions League final is almost upon us and the views of the Roman locals are quite interesting.
As Paul Virgo explains above, AS Roma fans are rooting for Barcelona while Lazio supporters want Manchester United to win.
The Stadio Olimpico is eerily quiet but it will soon be buzzing on Wednesday when the hordes of fans descend on the venue for what many are calling a ‘dream final’.
A Champions League final with no fear of failure… It could be a classic
Major finals featuring the best teams and the best players, the ones we talk up in advance as being for the connoisseur, often turn out to be the most disappointing, don’t they? Maybe it’s stage fright, too much respect for the opposition or the stakes being just too high, but great teams often seem to save their worst football for finals.
There are exceptions, of course. The 2005 Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool produced exquisite football in the first half from the Italians, and drama that will live long in the minds of anyone who watched it as Liverpool came back.
But when you look back on other Champions League and World Cup finals, how many can you remember for the quality of the football more than the result itself?
There was little on show in last year’s game between Manchester United and Chelsea so why are so many people expecting this year’s contest between United and Barcelona to be so different?
I think there is a reason, and I hope I’m proved right by the events on Wednesday in Rome.
A football match can be ruined by almost anything but the surest route to a damp squib is fear of failure.
Neither side on Wednesday has any need to fear the consequences of a defeat. They’re both at the top of the tree domestically, and both have had recent experience of winning the Champions League. It goes without saying they’ll be desperate to win, but no one’s job will be on the line, no project will stand or fall by this one result. Both teams will expect to be back in another Champions League final soon enough.
UEFA show no mercy to United, Barcelona
UEFA are rarely willing to overturn refereeing decisions and so it proved on Monday, with the Control and Disciplinary body rejecting appeals from Manchester United and Barcelona over Darren Fletcher, Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves:
UEFA, announcing the decision on Monday, said in a statement that the two clubs had failed to get their appeals in on time, but even if they had made the deadline they would have been rejected.
“There were no grounds for contesting the referees’ original decisions,” the statement said.
All three players will serve one-match bans during the final in Rome on May 27, although UEFA added the clubs would have three days in which to lodge appeals against Monday’s decision.
I’d say Barcelona will be hardest hit by the decisions. United can play Scholes in place of Fletcher but Barca have no one of the quality of Alves to play in his place.
What do you think?
As a Manchester United fan, I was personally glad the appeal went the way it did, as I agree that Barcelona stands to lose more from their suspensions than MU do. MU has ample cover for Fletcher in midfield, while Barça has to travel to Rome with what are at best second-choice full-backs.
So are we set for another all-English Champions League final?
There’s still a long way to go to the final in Rome but from what we saw over the first legs of the opening knock-out round of the Champions League a lot of people will be expecting another all-English affair at the Olympic Stadium.
If you take Mark’s dad as an authority, and I’m sure he knows as much as anyone, serie A sides are unlikely still to be challenging but is there anyone else capable of preventing another Premier League tour match?
Manchester United are actually the most precariously placed of the four English sides. A goalless draw away from home is not a great result, as United will doubtless remember from their trip to the Bernabeu in 2000.
Arsenal and Chelsea had better results at home to Italian sides, winning their home legs 1-0 against, respectively, Roma and Juventus, while Liverpool nicked a great result, 1-0 away to Real Madrid thanks to a late Yossi Benayoun header.
Barcelona should probably go through after salvaging a 1-1 draw away to Lyon but their performance in France will have given rise to more doubts from their fans.
Have Pep Guardiola’s team peaked too early?
Let’s be fair to the rest of Europe – it will be two English clubs in the final, but not an all-English final.
When we see Wembley host the Champions League final, then we’ll call it an all-English final.
