History beckons as dream final is upon us

The joy of winning a major tournament now appears to have been eclipsed in importance by the act of adding another trophy to your tally. Note the enormous amount of coverage given to Manchester United winning a record equalling 18th League title this year. And don’t expect the media coverage to die down on that front, next year United and Liverpool will battle it out to be the first to 19. Banners at big club grounds proclaim the number of European or domestic titles won, while the five stars over Brazil’s badge are merely a gloat concerning the frequency of their World Cup victories. Football’s rich history is one of the reasons so many of us are hooked on the sport, but this everyday obsession with the past is a relatively recent.


It is for such historical reasons that Wednesday night’s Champions League final is of such magnitude. Everyday Barcelona and their supporters must live with the knowledge that Real Madrid have won the European Cup nine times compared with their two. The fact that six of Madrid’s triumphs came before 1970 is of little importance to football fans desperate to better their rivals. Both Barcelona’s wins came since the advent of the 1990’s, during which time Real have picked up the pot three times. If Barca win a third on Wednesday it will, in the eyes of supporters, provide some sort of parity with Madrid, at least in the modern era. A win for the Catalans would also elevated them into joint six place on the all time list, out of a large group of clubs who have been champions twice.


Alex Ferguson’s dominance of English football is unquestionable; this year was his 11th league title. However, his record in Europe stands up less well to scrutiny. Two, some would say, slightly fortuitous wins in 16 years of competing for club football’s greatest prize does not make happy reading for the Scot. After all, United have been almost guaranteed entry since 1993 and boast the kind of financial resources other clubs can only dream about. That said, on Wednesday night, Ferguson can enter the pantheon of greats by equalling the record of 3 European cup wins as manager 28 years to the day since the feat was first achieved. The great Bob Paisley won his third continental crown on 27th May 1981, Liverpool defeating Real Madrid in Paris. Having recently matched Liverpool’s domestic benchmark there are no prizes for guessing what Fergie’s next target will be. Liverpool currently hold five European crowns, United with three can become the first team to defend the title since it became the Champion’s League.


People have described Wednesday’s game as being the dream final. In all honesty, though, with the stakes so high, the dream final is the final that your team wins. Unless an early goal for either side loosens up the defences, allowing the game to become stretched, this will surely be a cagey affair. That does not mean the match will not be enjoyable for the spectator, just that we are very unlikely to have a hatful of goals. Ferguson himself said as much last week.


The fact is Manchester United will have to watch Lionel Messi like a hawk. If they don’t and the little Argentine destroys United in the first half then Fergie will have his tactics heavily criticised. Likewise Pep Guardiola is duty bound to stop Ronaldo from taking the game away from his side. Having so much attacking talent on show can make managers and defenders very nervous indeed. And in such a big game, with so much history at stake, no one wants to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.