ANOTHER LION-DEL MESSI
Yes Masherano’s red card was a litmus test of how hungry Barca were for the trophy and were they determined! The sending off meant that Barca had to dig deep and the stars had to work hard.
I also saw Gerald Pique, Jordi Alba, Jeremy Mathieu and Dani Alves play long balls from the back! Wow! So there are many ways to win a game!
The 97th and 120th minute of the Copa Del Rey final however, were the most important.
If anyone was in doubt as to who the King of Soccer is, take that again from Lionel Messi.
Two moments of genius and inspiration; the weight of the passes, the timing of the passes, the feints and the little dummy to buy that extra space and yard before the killer pass, only a genius can do that on the big occasion. Football is blessed to have Messi who just keeps making the difference.
Kudos to Luis Enrique who has now won seven titles in two seasons including back to back Laliga and Copa Del Reys, who is bold enough to bet against Messi’s managers?
One thing I have to give to Enrique is utmost respect for his game and player management skills yesterday. One central defender down, cup final, needed to sacrifice a player, the natural inclination would be to substitute one of the front three of Messi, Suarez or Neymar – so whose ego would you dent out of the Suarez or Neymar on such a big night – but Enrique won the battle and he removed Rakitic instead, a bold move but one which was balanced eventually when Suarez got injured and Rafinha came in for him. He kept his stars on the pitch, on the night that could have gone wrong, and that gesture would not have been lost on the stars, they would pay him back handsomely with loyal displays next season for sure.
Well done Enrique, well done Barca.
LVG FINALLY LANDS A MEDAL AFTER TWO YEARS AND £230 MILLION
He says ‘expectations are too high’ from the United fans.
He says United is still ‘a work in progress’ even after a £230 million shopping spree.
Let’s not forget that United were still in the hunt for a Champions League place because all the other contenders were extremely poor and became pretenders as the season went on.
Only LVG can say things the way he says it and expects everybody to understand.
When he was appointed as Bayern Munich’s coach, he graced his initial press conference with the words “The club is like me: self-confident, dominant, arrogant, honest, hard-working, innovative – but also cordial and familial…. I am who I am”
His close friends in native Netherlands call him ‘The king’ and even his daughters have been said to address him in a formal manner
Uli Hoeness once said that van Gaal’s ego makes him lose sense of reality,the problem with LVG, Hoeness said, was that “Van Gaal’s problem is not that he’s god, but he’s god’s very own father. Louis was already there before the world even existed”
I like him however, not just because he has given some of my colleagues and friends the chance to excel in football in the last two decades, but because his ego still makes him one to discard experience for the youth, giving them a chance to excel, regardless of the superstars in his squad. Rashford, Lingard, Martial, Fosuh-Mensah, Forthwith-Jackson, Kane, Mcnair, Blackett, Depay, Smalling and Hererra have all been exposed and given the opportunity to come through at United just as he discovered Muller and Alaba among others at Bayern several years ago.
The question marks however always hang on his training methods, tactical approach and his ego.
Yes for £230 million, LVG has won the FA Cup this year but has cost Manchester United Champions League qualification.
Individual displays from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard have taken United to the podium at Wembley and if United are to ‘meet their expectations’ it’s time for LVG to step aside.
Next season would be tough with the new managers arriving at the Bridge and at the other side of Manchester. You know what you would get from Wenger is a fight for the fourth position anyday and if you throw Pochettino’s army and Klopp’s brigade into it, including Ranieri’s men, there would be many disappointed fans again next season.
How long can United stay without a Premier League title? Or would it be a thing of the past in a few years under Wenger and Moyes?
Over to the fans, players and the board at United.