Spanish champions Barcelona beat Premier League giants Manchester United 3-1 in the final of the Champions League on Saturday to win the tournament for the second time in three years, and former Argentina international Osvaldo Ardiles was full of praise for the Catalans’ display. “Barcelona are the team to beat, they are the best team in the world,” Ardiles said. “I think they are going to reign in football for a long, long time. They are all very young as [...]
Rio Ferdinand believes that Manchester United will return a much stronger side, after having lost the Champions League final to Barcelona. The Red Devils were outclassed at Wembley on Saturday, as Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa managed to score one each and help the Catalan club to their fourth European triumph. It was also United’s second defeat in the final in the last three years, with a previous loss coming at the hands of the same opponents back in [...]
Pep Guardiola has labelled Lionel Messi as the best player he has ever seen following Barcelona‘s resounding 3-1 win over Manchester United in the Champions League final. The Catalan side steamrollered United at Wembley and Messi, who scored his 53rd goal of the season to put his team 2-1 up, orchestrated proceedings in London. Now, his manager Guardiola has insisted that the Argentine is a one-off phenomenon. He told The Sun: “Lionel is the best player I’ve ever seen, probably [...]
MANCHESTER, England (AP)—To chants of “Fergie sign him up,” David Beckham made a one-off return to the Manchester United team on Tuesday to mark the end of best friend Gary Neville’s career in a friendly against Juventus. The Los Angeles Galaxy gave their star midfielder permission to miss the Major League Soccer match against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday to return to Old Trafford. The former England captain reprised his partnership on the right flank with defender Neville that worked [...]
Dutchman reveals he has had second thoughts about hanging up his gloves but is focused on winning one last game with the Red Devils After making his last Premier League appearance against Blackpool, Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar admitted life will be difficult after retirement but vowed he would not be carrying on after Saturday’s Champions League Final with Barcelona. The Dutchman joined his United team-mates to lift the Premier League trophy after the 4-2 victory over Ian [...]
Spanish coach in the mood for Wembley as he sets tone ahead of Euro final Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has shifted the focus onto the Champions League final against Manchester United after his side strolled to an easy 3-1 win over Malaga to end their triumphant La Liga season. A weakened Blaugrana side came from behind for the victory despite a number of first team stars, including Lionel Messi, being rested ahead of Satuday’s Wembley final as the coach wants [...]
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi is adamant that winning the coveted Champions League on Saturday against Manchester United matters more than scoring goals on British land. The dazzling forward has netted a staggering 52 goals in all competition this season 11 of which were scored in the Champions League and he could share Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 12 goals scored in a single campaign in Europe. However, he insists that he puts Barcelona’s interests in pole position when it comes [...]
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is confident that his side will avoid reliving their 2009 heartbreak when Barcelona netted twice to lift the Champions League Cup when the two teams meet at Wembley on Saturday. Ferdinand admits that the defeat was such a blow that he could did not want to swap shirts with Barcelona players but he believes that this time, it will be a different. He told News of the World: “Revenge is not the right word. But [...]
