Barcelona’s hopes of winning back-to-back European trophies were crushed by Jose Mourinho and his Inter Milan side last night, and in doing so they have set up a final which few would have predicted at the start of the tournament. It is testament to the coaching abilities of Mourinho and Bayern Munich manager Louis Van Gaal that their sides will be facing off for Europe’s most coveted trophy in what should be an intriguing final.
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Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan overcame the Champions League favourites last night, coming from behind to beat Barcelona 3-1.
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As we reach the climax to the 2009/2010 football season across Europe, it’s fascinating to see that a whole host of clubs are in contention for honours across the continent. In Europe’s top leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, nothing is certain, especially at the top, where fans are primed to witness a set of thrilling finales to whet the appetite for this summer’s World Cup.
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Forget the new money of Manchester City or Chelsea. Never mind wealthy investors who inject millions in a bid to see their club become upwardly mobile. Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Manchester United was a reminder of ‘Old Europe’, a battle between two of football’s greatest empires. In Spain there is Real Madrid, a team that has an estimated 13.2m fans in Spain alone, a bastion of governmental centralism. Ruling over its own semi-autonomous territory is Barcelona, a powerful symbol and expression of Catalonia’s independence. Over in Italy, the ‘Old Lady of Turin’, Juventus, enjoy the support of 32% of football fans. In all of these cases, their popularity has been bolstered by success on many levels.
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OK, so AC Milan aren’t the side they have been in recent times and the likes of Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Seedorf and Beckham could be considered senior statesmen of the game. However, Manchester United still needed to get a result against them at Old Trafford this evening, and they ended up demolishing them. Is this a sign of things to come?
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