Stop the ride, Man Utd want to get off!

Is it so wrong to have gigantic man-crushes on Xavi, Iniesta and Messi?

Well, if it is, I don't want to be right! For, if football teams were women, and your own favourite team was your wife, then, quite frankly, millions of football fans around the world spent last night committing adultery with Barcelona. And boy, it was hot.

I was so desperate to see last night's game, that I managed to avoid the score until I finished work at 1am - thankfully, even in Inverness, the Champions' League final kept people indoors where they are less likely to hurt themselves and end up in A&E, and various loud-mouthed nurses were successfully threatened with GBH if they mouthed off - and got through the game by about 2-30am. And whereas I often run through games recorded on SkyPlus with the fast forward button in regular use, you just can't do that with the Blaugrana - it's all just too beautiful to skip. So I had a late night, but it was well spent indeed.

Man U were, admittedly, guff. Ferdinand looked a bit unfit, the full backs provided no attacking impetus, Rooney and Park were completely ineffectual, and, worst of all, Michael Carrick and Anderson chose Rome for the worst double act performance since George Bush and Dick Cheney. The young Brazilian could perhaps be forgiven for freezing in the headlights, but Carrick displayed ball retention skills better associated with eunuchs (right, there's my candidate for worst joke of the year in). If nothing else, the value of Darren Fletcher to United is now crystal clear; how they missed his energy in midfield (see my "dream final" post and watch me bask in the knowledge that, for once, I was actually right about stuff). After the opening goal, nobody could get remotely close to Xavi, Iniesta and Messi.

On the other hand, if Messi the hobbit is scoring against you with headers, then, lets face it, it is not your day.

Ultimately, in the same way that Spain's Euro 2008 victory was a triumph for beautiful football, then Barcelona's 2009 Champions' League final is as well. Both proved that modern football does not have to be about strict tactics and physical power; instead it can be about pace, technique and skill. And of course, the common denominators for both Spain and Barca were Xavi and Iniesta. The latter was the best player on the pitch last night, and because you can't predict whether he will play a short pass, a long pass, or choose to accelerate past you with the ball glued to his feet, he is simply a nightmare to defend against. Xavi, lauded as Euro 2008's best player, has remained remarkably consistent; as Louis Van Gaal once said, "I think I remember seeing him give the ball away once, back in 1996."

Is it too much to hope that this boom in attacking football lasts through the 2010 world cup? For the next dream final would be,surely, Argentina v Spain, with Messi on one side, and Xavi and Iniesta on the other...

L.