La noche del 28 de Mayo fue otra noche mágica para los barcelonistas:
el FC Barcelona se alzaba con su cuarta Liga de Campeones de la historia tras vencer al Manchester United en la Final por 3-1. El resultado, sin embargo, había pasado a ser lo menos importante en tanto que todo el planeta fútbol rindió pleitesía al juego que de los azulgrana.
Qué menos que recordar las palabras de Sir Alex Ferguson: "Nobody's given us a hiding like that but they deserve it" acompañado de "They play the right way and they enjoy their football. They do mesmerise you with their passing and we never really did control Messi. But many people have said that" y terminando con un contundente "In my time as manager, it's the best team I've faced". Y ojo, porque la carrera de Ferguson son 25 años de puro fútbol. Un cuarto de siglo.
Hechas las declaraciones de Ferguson y sabedor del espectáculo que había ofrecido mi equipo en
Wembley, el origen de todo, me dispuse a leer la prensa internacional los días siguientes, con el añadido de la prensa americana, que habla de
soccer y no de
football y que no suele dedicar muchos esfuerzos a dar a conocer el fútbol en USA, para intentar comprender el alcance de la gesta lograda por el FC Barcelona de Pep Guardiola. He aquí algunos artículos tanto de la prensa americana como de la británica.
"Barcelona beat Manchester United, 3-1, staking claim to the most prestigious club title in the world, and fueling a debate about whether it is one of the beast teams in soccer history", en referencia a la posibilidad que sea el mejor equipo de fútbol de la historia.
"Yet Barcelona dominated with its usual panache. No team works better in cramped spaces. If the game were played in a closet or on a pool table, Barcelona would still find a way to keep the ball away from its opponent", en referencia al juego de dominio y control del FC Barcelona.
"Xavi moved the ball straight upfield, as if it were attached to him by an invisible string, before lacing it wide to his right for Pedro again", en referencia a la capacidad técnica de Xavi que le permite mover el balón a su antojo para así controlar el ritmo del partido.
"More important than the 3-1 victory was the message that, when left to players, this most global game can still be what many dream it to be", en referencia al hecho que el fútbol sea fútbol y que el Barcelona esté contribuyendo a ello con su juego.
"He (Xavi) was the ultimate in perpetual motion. He (Xavi) seemed to be everywhere, snuffing out danger with a sixth-sense perception, rolling out the passes that define Barcelona's rhythm, seeking out the best teammate in the best positions to exploit gaps", hablando de Xavi como el cerebro del equipo, un jugador con un sexto sentido para leer el fútbol.
"I didn't see any tactical discussion of the fact that Barcelona won without using a traditional forward. Tactically, the didn't play 4-3-3. They played 4-6 [...] Is this why Barca's system works so well, why Xavi and Messi and Iniesta always seem to have multiple options going forward when they have the ball at their feet? Will other teams try this, or does it take the kind of special talents that Barcelona has to make it effective?", haciendo referencia al juego azulgrana y su facilidad para generar espacios.
"And the biggest question of all: can anyone do anything to stop this?".
"Soccer commentators had said before the game that Barcelona, which already had won a third straight Spanish league title, would be ranked among the sport's truly great team with a victory over United. Now, with four European titles, only Liverpool, AC Milan and Barcelona's fierce rival Real Madrid have won more"
"United could do little to disrupt Barcelona, the pevailing force of European soccer", reconociendo la hegemonía futbolística impuesta por la filosofía azulgrana.
"After all, compared to most soccer heavyweights, Pep Guardiola's team is distinctly unconventional. It's packed with small, technically gifted players in an age where many opt for size, power and athleticism", escribe sobre la diferencia en la que reside el juego del FC Barcelona: sus jugadores característicos.
"Then, on Saturday, Barcelona overcame the champion of England's Premier League in a match between the winners of the top domestic club competitions in the world. There could be no argument: Barcelona is the world's best."
"A Barcelona side of rare skill, coherence, and imagination shower the better side of football last night when they beat Manchester United 3-1 to win the European Champions League at Wembley"
"Barcelona's memorabl victory was a reminder that the game on the field can still aspire to beauty [...]", aludiendo a la belleza que atesora el fútbol del FC Barcelona.
"For the second time in three years, brilliant Barcelona denied Manchester United Champions League glory with a sensational performance at Wembley tonight", remarcando la actuación brillante del Barcelona en la final de la Liga de Campeones.
"It was the template United needed to follow. To have done it for the entire 90 minutes would have required additional lung capacity. And once Barcelona got into their stride, they were relentless."
"Manchester United players are not used to being humbled but that is exactly what happened on Saturday. Put simply, Barcelona all but refused United admission to their own final. And that is how they looked at the end: like a sheepish bunch of teenage lads turfed out of their local nightclub and with nowhere to go but home.", describiendo la sensación que sintieron los jugadores del United tras ser superados con tanta claridad por el FC Barcelona.
"To lose a final is bad enough. To lose it in such a one-sided fashion is even worse. But to contemplate the possibility that the same could happen next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, is enough to break the natural ebullience of even the likes of Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand."
"On both occasions Barça simply took hold of the game and refused to let go. The passing statistics tell their own story. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi completed four more passes (305) than the whole United team managed. The pattern repeated itself over and over. United strung two or three passes together but, come the next, they would be under pressure and losing control of the ball.", explica a la perfección qué juego se desarrollo sobre el campo: pase y control, presión y recuperación.
"No excuses, no complaints. Manchester United were in agreement they had been beaten by a better team, indeed, a great team, but true to character Sir Alex Ferguson said this presented a challenge which he would not shirk from attacking."
"Barcelona's performance was an education for any footballer or coach watching. That was how to play football. Not just in posession, not just with the ball, not just in their movement - and they always seemed to have an extra man in all areas - but in the way they closed down, pressed and hunted the ball.", palabras que permiten comprender cómo se desarrolló el juego del Barcelona en la Final de la Liga de Campeones.
"Lionel Messi, in particular, was sublime. He gave an unbelievable performance; we talk about big players performing on the big stage, and he has done it every time."
"Our coaches should look at that game and realise that it represents the future of football. Barcelona play total football, that's their philosophy - not just in terms of what they do on the ball but also what the do off it.", hace referencia a la filosofía de juego blaugrana, en la que probablemente el juego sin balón es aún más importante que el juego con balón.
"Barcelona delivered a masterclass to inflict another Champions League final defeat on Manchester United as Lionel Messi inspired and emphatic victory at Wembley.", considerando una clase maestra lo que hizo el FC Barcelona sobre el césped de Wembley.
"United had hoped to add a fourth victory in Europe's elite club tournament to a record 19th domestic title - instead they received a brutal lession in the standards they must achieve from the Barcelona benchmark."
"The rest of the game was merely a conclusion of the formalities as Barcelona lifted the famous trophy for the fourth time and United were left to wonder how they can halt what seems to be an unstoppable force.", refiriéndose al Barcelona como una fuerza imparable.
Brillante, espectacular, magnífico, fantástico, insuperable, imparable, aleccionador, superior, controlador, dominante, infranqueable, invencible. Estos son algunos de los adjetivos utilizados por la prensa de todo el mundo para referirse al juego que el FC Barcelona desarrolló en la Final el pasado último sábado de Mayo. Y disfrutar, saborear, repetir y rememorar es lo que debemos hacer los barcelonistas para darnos cuenta de lo que está logrando el equipo. Desde que Pep está en casa, 10 títulos de 13.
Tres Ligas y 2 Ligas de Campeones para ver jugar al que ya es uno de los mejores equipos de la historia.
Nunca un equipo había sentado tanta cátedra.
Gerard Caelles, Balón Raso.
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