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2009 UEFA Champions League final

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2009 UEFA Champions League Final
File:Cl2009 logo.png
EventUEFA Champions League 2008–09
Barcelona Manchester United
Spain England
Date27 May 2009
VenueStadio Olimpico, Rome
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The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final will be the 54th final of the UEFA Champions League football tournament and the 17th final under the current format. The final is to be played at the 72,698-capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the home of Roma and Lazio, on 27 May 2009, for the fourth time following 1977, 1984 and 1996.[1]

The match will be contested by Barcelona and holders Manchester United, who are the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997, and will be looking to be the first team to retain the European Cup since Milan in 1990. This is the fifth year in a row in which the final involves at least one English team.

Background

Manchester United and Barcelona have faced each other nine times in European competitions: three times in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and six times in the UEFA Champions League. Of those nine matches, Manchester United have recorded three wins to Barcelona's two, with the remaining four matches finishing in draws. The only time that the two teams have met in a final came in 1991, when they contested the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup final. The first meeting between the two sides came in the third round of the 1983–84 Cup Winners' Cup; Barcelona won the first leg at the Camp Nou 2–0, but Manchester United won the return leg 3–0 at Old Trafford to reach the semi-finals. That result marked Manchester United's biggest win over Barcelona; Barcelona's biggest win was a 4–0 home victory in the group stage of the 1994–95 Champions League. The most recent meeting between Manchester United and Barcelona came in the semi-finals of the 2007–08 Champions League, when United held Barcelona to a 0–0 draw at the Camp Nou before beating them 1–0 back at Old Trafford.[2]

Route to the final

Further information: UEFA Champions League 2008–09

Barcelona

By virtue of their third-place finish in the 2007–08 Primera Division, Barcelona entered the 2008–09 Champions League at the third qualifying round stage. Based on their UEFA coefficient, Barcelona were seeded for the third qualifying round draw,[3] and drawn against Wisła Kraków of Poland.[4] A 4–0 win in the first leg at the Camp Nou made a 1–0 away defeat immaterial and Barcelona were entered into the group stage draw.[5][6]

Barcelona's UEFA coefficient placed them in the top eight seeds for the group stage draw, meaning that they would avoid having to play against Internazionale, Liverpool, Chelsea or holders and their semi-final opponents from 2007–08 Manchester United, but they could still draw Bayern Munich, Roma or Juventus.[7] In the end, Barcelona were drawn against Sporting CP, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk.[8]

Four wins, a draw at home to Basel and a home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk placed Barcelona on top of their group with a game to spare and the third-best record amongst the qualifiers for the first knockout round.[9] As group winners, Barcelona would avoid being drawn with other group winners, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich, but they could still be drawn against runners-up such as Chelsea, Internazionale and Arsenal.[10] The draw eventually paired them with Lyon and, as group winners, they were given the right to play the second leg at home.[11]

In the first leg in Lyon, Barcelona fell behind to a seventh-minute free kick from Juninho Pernambucano, only for Thierry Henry to equalise half-way through the second half, giving Barcelona an away goal to take back to the Camp Nou.[12] They needed a win or a no-score draw to guarantee passage, and the win was all but guaranteed within the first 45 minutes of the second leg; two goals from Thierry Henry and one each from Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o gave them a 4–0 lead. Goals from Jean Makoun and Juninho reduced Lyon's deficit to two goals, but a goal from Seydou Keita in the fifth minute of injury time secured a 6–3 aggregate win and a place in the quarter-finals.[13]

In the quarter-finals, Barcelona were drawn against their fellow leading-scorers in the competition, Bayern Munich, who had beaten Barcelona's group stage opposition, Sporting CP, 12–1 on aggregate in the previous round.[14][15] However, despite Bayern's impressive scoring record, goals from Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o gave Barcelona a 2–0 lead within the first 12 minutes. Messi and Henry also scored to seal a 4–0 home victory before half-time.[16] The lack of an away goal meant that Bayern Munich would have to win by five clear goals to qualify for the semi-finals; after a goalless first half, they took the lead through Franck Ribéry in the 47th minute, but it turned out to be too-little-too-late for Bayern as Seydou Keita equalised in the 73rd minute to clinch a 5–1 aggregate win.[17]

The quarter-final draw also determined the teams' routes to the final, with Barcelona facing the prospect of meeting either Chelsea or Liverpool in the semi-finals.[15] After a 3–1 win at Anfield,[18] Chelsea qualified for the semi-finals with a 4–4 draw back at Stamford Bridge.[19] The semi-final first leg was played at the Camp Nou; although Barcelona enjoyed the majority of the possession, Chelsea's defence was resolute and they became the first side to keep a clean sheet in Barcelona in this season's competition, coming away with a goalless draw.[20]

Main article

Chelsea F.C. vs FC Barcelona, 2009 UEFA Champions League semi-final, second leg

With Barcelona needing to avoid defeat to reach the final, they got off to a bad start; after they failed to clear Frank Lampard's pass into the penalty area, Michael Essien fired a left-footed volley past Víctor Valdés into the roof of the net. The rest of the match continued much the same as the first leg, with Barcelona retaining most of the possession. Despite this, their discipline let them down on occasion, with Chelsea making four unsuccessful penalty appeals during the match, while Daniel Alves received his third yellow card of the knockout stage, ruling him out of Barcelona's next match, and Éric Abidal was given a straight red card for a foul on Nicolas Anelka as the French forward was through on goal, although replays appeared to show that Anelka tripped over his own feet. Just when it looked like Chelsea were about to secure a repeat of the 2008 final, Norwegian referee Tom Henning Øvrebø allowed a minimum of four minutes of injury time; in the third of those four minutes, Lionel Messi played the ball across the edge of the penalty area to Andrés Iniesta, who shot just past Petr Čech's outstretched hand for the away goal that would send Barcelona to the final.[21]

Manchester United

As the defending champions of the UEFA Champions League, Manchester United began their title defence at the group stage, for which they were given the top seed. This position amongst the top eight European clubs meant that they would avoid drawing former European champions Barcelona, Internazionale and Real Madrid until at least the first knockout round, although they were faced with the prospect of drawing Bayern Munich or Roma. Nevertheless, United ended up being drawn with two familiar opponents: Villarreal (whom they had drawn in 2005–06) and Celtic (2006–07); and a new face in Aalborg BK.[22]

Two victories – away to Aalborg and at home to Celtic – and four draws were enough to secure passage to the knockout stage of the competition, and a Celtic victory over Villarreal in the final group match meant that United went through as group winners.[23] This meant that they would avoid Roma, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Porto and Juventus in the first knockout round; however, their potential opposition still included Internazionale, Lyon and Real Madrid. The draw paired Manchester United with José Mourinho's Internazionale, but since United had won their group, they were rewarded by having the second leg at home.[24]

United started the first leg the better of the two sides, and although Inter improved in the second half, neither side was able to find the net during the match, and United took a 0–0 draw back to Old Trafford. The draw was also United's 20th match since their last defeat in the UEFA Champions League, breaking Ajax's 19-match record that had stood for 13 years.[25] The lack of an away goal at the San Siro meant that United could not afford to concede a goal in the event of a draw. A fourth-minute headed goal from Nemanja Vidić, however, settled United hearts and, although Zlatan Ibrahimović hit the bar with a header in the first half, Inter never looked like scoring. Cristiano Ronaldo doubled United's lead four minutes into the second half and, with that, booked their passage through to the quarter-finals.[26]

The draw for the quarter-finals paired United with Porto, whom they played in the first knockout round of the 2003–04 competition. The draw also determined the semi-final pairings, with United drawn against Arsenal or Villarreal.[27] The first leg of the quarter-final was played at Old Trafford, giving Porto the chance to put the pressure on Manchester United with an away goal. Unfortunately for United, that away goal came in the first four minutes of the game. Wayne Rooney equalised just 10 minutes later and Carlos Tévez gave United the lead in the 85th minute, but with only a minute left in the game, United suffered a defensive lapse, allowing Mariano to score an all-important second away goal.[28] Those away goals meant that United travelled to the Estádio do Dragão in Porto needing a win or a score-draw of 2–2 or higher to remain in the competition. They showed their intent with a 40-yard goal from Cristiano Ronaldo in only the sixth minute, and although both sides pressed for another goal, it proved to be the only one of the game, making Manchester United the first English side to win in Porto.[29]

Meanwhile, a 1–1 draw in Villarreal and a 3–0 win at the Emirates Stadium secured Arsenal's status as United's semi-final opponents.[30][31] The draw determined that United would play the first leg at home, and they started the match in perfect style; after Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tévez and Cristiano Ronaldo had early chances, John O'Shea opened the scoring, firing home a Michael Carrick cross after Arsenal had failed to clear a corner. United continued to make chances throughout the game, but despite Arsenal making a couple of chances themselves, the match finished at 1–0 and United travelled to London a week later needing only to avoid defeat to become the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997.[32] Arsenal remained hopeful of overturning their one-goal deficit, but those hopes were dashed within the first 11 minutes of the match, as Park Ji-Sung took advantage of a slip by Kieran Gibbs to double United's aggregate lead in the eighth minute before Cristiano Ronaldo fired home a 41-yard free kick in the 11th. With two away goals on the United scoreboard, Arsenal now had to score four goals to reach the final. However, it was United who scored the next goal, as they hit Arsenal on the break and Cristiano Ronaldo scored within 15 seconds of Arsenal losing the ball at the other end of the pitch. 15 minutes from time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty kick after Darren Fletcher brought Cesc Fàbregas down in the penalty area, a foul for which Fletcher was sent off – despite replays showing that Fletcher had won the ball before making contact with Fàbregas. Robin van Persie scored the penalty to make the score 3–1, but it was not enough to prevent United from reaching the final unbeaten for the third time in their history.[33]

Knockout stage

Barcelona Manchester United
France Lyon
A
1–1		 Henry 67' First knockout round
First leg		 Italy Internazionale
A
0–0
France Lyon
H
5–2		 Henry 25', 27'
Messi 40'
Eto'o 43'
Keita 90+5'		 Second leg Italy Internazionale
H
2–0		 Vidić 4'
Ronaldo 49'
Germany Bayern Munich
H
4–0		 Messi 9', 38'
Eto'o 12'
Henry 43'		 Quarter-finals
First leg		 Portugal Porto
H
2–2		 Rooney 15'
Tévez 85'
Germany Bayern Munich
A
1–1		 Keita 73' Second leg Portugal Porto
A
1–0		 Ronaldo 6'
England Chelsea
H
0–0		 Semi-finals
First leg		 England Arsenal
H
1–0		 O'Shea 17'
England Chelsea
A
1–1 (a)		 Iniesta 90+3' Second leg England Arsenal
A
3–1		 Park 8'
Ronaldo 11', 61'

Match

Team news

Two Barcelona players will miss the final through suspension: right back Daniel Alves, who picked up his third yellow card of the tournament in Barcelona's semi-final second leg against Chelsea on 6 May 2009, and left back Éric Abidal, who was sent off in the same game for a professional foul on Nicolas Anelka.[34] Defender Rafael Márquez will also miss the match after he picked up a knee injury in the first leg of the semi-final, ruling him out for the rest of the season.[35] Carles Puyol, however, will be available for selection after he served a one-match suspension in the semi-final second leg.[35]

Following John O'Shea's winning goal in Manchester United's semi-final first leg victory over Arsenal, United manager Alex Ferguson suggested that the Irish utility player would be guaranteed a place in the starting line-up were United to reach the final.[36] Midfielder Park Ji-Sung has also been promised a place in the team after he missed the 2008 final.[37] Meanwhile, midfielder Darren Fletcher will be forced to miss the final after picking up a red card in the second leg of the semi-final. Although replays suggested that Fletcher played the ball before felling Cesc Fàbregas in the penalty area, the UEFA appeals process only allows for cards to be rescinded in the case of mistaken identity.[38] Despite this, an appeal was submitted by Manchester United on "compassionate" grounds,[39] and the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body will meet on 11 May to discuss the case.[40] Two players from United's starting eleven in the 2008 final – Owen Hargreaves and Wes Brown – will both miss the match because of long-term injuries that saw them play little part in the 2008–09 Champions League campaign.[41][42]

Match details

Barcelona SpainvEngland Manchester United
Barcelona
Manchester United

UEFA Man of the Match:

Fans' Man of the Match:

Assistant referees:


Fourth official:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Stadio Olimpico". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  2. ^ "United versus Barcelona". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Continental powers to learn fate". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Schalke-Atlético pick of the draw". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  5. ^ Ramírez, Delfín (13 August 2008). "Brilliant Barça sweep Wisła aside". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  6. ^ Mera, Luciano (26 August 2008). "Cléber rouses Wisła but Barça pass test". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Europe's finest set for group stage draw". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  8. ^ "Hard work ahead for Laporta's Barça". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  9. ^ Brassell, Andy (26 November 2008). "Breathtaking Barça continue goal glut". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  10. ^ "Europe awaits UEFA Champions League draw". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  11. ^ "Holders United to take on Inter". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  12. ^ Spiro, Matthew (24 February 2009). "Henry header brings Barça reward". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  13. ^ Hunter, Graham (11 March 2009). "First-half flurry seals Barça passage". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  14. ^ "English teams dominate draw lineup". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  15. ^ a b "Porto placed in United's path". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  16. ^ Turner, Graham (8 April 2009). "Barça brilliance turns tables on Bayern". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  17. ^ Jackson, Gavin (14 April 2009). "Bayern save face as Barcelona keep apace". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  18. ^ McNulty, Phil (8 April 2009). "Liverpool 1-3 Chelsea". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  19. ^ Fletcher, Paul (14 April 2009). "Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool (agg: 7-5)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  20. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (28 April 2009). "Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  21. ^ McNulty, Phil (6 May 2009). "Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (agg 1-1)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  22. ^ "Man Utd to face Celtic in Europe". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  23. ^ McNulty, Phil (10 December 2008). "Man Utd 2-2 Aalborg". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  24. ^ "Man Utd to face Mourinho's Inter". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  25. ^ Ashenden, Mark (24 February 2009). "Inter Milan 0-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  26. ^ McNulty, Phil (11 March 2009). "Man Utd 2-0 Inter Milan (agg 2-0)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  27. ^ "Liverpool draw Chelsea in Europe". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  28. ^ McNulty, Phil (7 April 2009). "Man Utd 2-2 FC Porto". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  29. ^ Fletcher, Paul (15 April 2009). "FC Porto 0-1 Man Utd (agg 2-3)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  30. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (7 April 2009). "Villarreal 1-1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  31. ^ Dawkes, Phil (15 April 2009). "Arsenal 3-0 Villarreal (agg 4-1)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  32. ^ McNulty, Phil (29 April 2009). "Man Utd 1-0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  33. ^ McNulty, Phil (5 May 2009). "Arsenal 1-3 Man Utd (agg 1-4)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  34. ^ McNulty, Phil (6 May 2009). "Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (agg 1-1)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  35. ^ a b "Hiddink pays tribute to defence". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  36. ^ Bostock, Adam (29 April 2009). "O'Shea savours birthday gift". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. p. 2. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  37. ^ Tanner, Richard (7 May 2009). "Un-Sung hero gets the nod". Daily Express. Northern and Shell Media Publications. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  38. ^ "Fletcher red card to stand - Uefa". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  39. ^ "UEFA to rule on Fletch". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  40. ^ "UEFA Champions League semi-finals statement". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  41. ^ Bernstein, Joe (18 January 2009). "United's Hargreaves undergoes second knee operation to save career". Mail Online. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  42. ^ "Brown set to miss Man Utd run-in". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.

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