Evansville Courier Press, May 31, 2009
Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United broadcast live on ESPN was the highest-rated and most-watched UEFA telecast in U.S. cable television history, viewed in 1,066,000 homes for a 1.1 rating.
That represented an increase of almost 34 percent over the previous record set last year when Man United beat Chelsea.
The game also was the most-watched ever for ESPN Deportes, as the Spanish-language telecast earned a 9.9 Hispanic coverage rating, representing 474,000 homes, the biggest audience and second-highest rating the network has received. The only higher rating was 10.1 for the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany.
Not only was it the opportunity to watch the two best teams in Europe, but it also offered players and coaches of all levels some valuable lessons.
* A tactical game of "chicken:" The players influence the game more than anything else, but tactics played a hand in helping tip the scales. Sometimes the dilemma comes at seeing whether either team will change tactics for the other.
Barcelona is so talented in possession that the teams that have had the most success against them — Chelsea in the previous round and Manchester United in last year's semifinal — have stayed compact in defense and played off the counterattack. Manchester United is one of the premier counterattacking teams in the world with an ability to get out quickly in transition, and that appeared to be an advantage in this match-up.
But manager Sir Alex Ferguson appeared to lose the game of "chicken," opting to come out at Barcelona right away. That generated some good early scoring chances but also left them susceptible to counterattacks by a very dangerous Barcelona midfield. Samuel Eto'o's goal in the 10th minute put Man United's backs to the wall, trying to claw back from a one-goal deficit against a team that is very capable of killing off a game.
Ferguson looked to inject life into his team at halftime, inserting sparkplug Carlos Tevez and reverting back to his more offensive alignment with essentially four attacking players. But that conceded too much space in midfield, which seemed to play into Barcelona's hands.
The midfield opened up significantly in the second half, which allowed Barcelona's midfield led by Iniesta and Xavi to dictate the game from there. Lionel Messi's goal in the 70th minute ended United's hopes of a comeback.
* Three in midfield get the work done: Because of the demands placed on the central midfielders, many teams prefer to play with three as opposed to the traditional 4-4-2 with two central midfielders. That allows more support and balance on the attack, while also providing cover to combat the counter.
Barcelona's use of a holding midfielder to sit in behind Xavi and Iniesta allowed them the freedom to roam on both sides of the ball and gave them ample opportunities to be their team's playmakers. Manchester United traditionally plays in an alignment similar to a 4-4-2, but plays primarily with three in midfield in European competition.
* Pace on the flanks: The use of wingers to flank a center forward creates quite a trinity in attack for Barcelona. Having the combination of Messi, Eto'o and Henry forces a team's backline to always be on guard, and the flexibility of those players to be in different roles allows them to unbalance a defense. Messi, who normally is deployed on the flanks, spent most of the match centrally. United has played striker Wayne Rooney on the flanks for most of the past month to give them more flexibility in their attack.
I am seeing more and more youth and high school teams adopting these systems that we have seen at the international, professional and collegiate levels, and getting the opportunity to see teams at the highest of levels in European soccer only lies credence to what seems to be in vogue for styles and systems of play.
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