Di Tangan Pep Guardiola, Barcelona Mampu menjadi Raja Eropa

Akhirnya gelaran liga sepakbola Eropa 2009 – Champions League – tuntas juga, dengan Barcelona sebagai jawara dengan mengkandaskan juara bertahan Manchester United. Skor yang ditorehkan dalam 90 menit pertandingan juga lumayan meyakinkan, 2-0. Samuel Eto’o dan Lionel Messi lagi-lagi menjadi ‘pahlawan’ bagi klub Catalan, yang baru saja meraih gelar La Liga musim 2008/2009.

Seperti yang aku tulis di blog ini tempo hari – beberapa saat setelah Barcelona menghempaskan Chelsea di leg-2 semifinal – untuk final kali inipun Barcelona pasti akan tetap menampilkan permainan sepakbola modern, menyerang dengan umpan cepat dari kaki ke kaki. Karena dengan kemampuan skill individu pemain yang merata, dari pemain belakang, gelandang sampai penyerang, Barca akan mudah melakukan strategi skema pemain yang diturunkan.

Dan dini hari tadi, terbukti. Meski 10 menit awal Manchester United – dengan menonjolkan kemampuan individu Cristiano Ronaldo di depan – sepertinya akan dengan mudah memenangkan pertandingan, karena mampu menekan Barcelona, baik melalui serangan cepat maupun spekulasi tendangan keras dari luar area petak penalti. 

Toh gol cepat Eto’o di menit 10 membalikkan semua skenario Sir Alex Fergusson (pelatih Manchester United), yang semua ingin “menghabisi” Barca di menit-menit awal. Mudah ditebak, pertandingan selanjutnya dengan leluasa di kuasai Barcelona, karena pemain-pemain tim setan merah – yang bertekad akan memecahkan mitos menjadi juara di dua tahun yang berurutan – mulai kehilangan konsentrasi. Bahkan, di 30 menit akhir babak kedua, rasa frustasi pemain sekaliber Ronaldo, Scholes dan juga Vidic dituangkan dalam permainan keras, yang membuahkan kartu kuning bagi meraka.

Menurutku, selain permainan tim Barcelona yang cukup konstan sejak putaran awal Liga Champions, kemampuan pelatih Joseph “Pep” Guardiola dalam meramu pemain muda penuh talenta (seperti Messi dan Pique) dengan yang penuh pengalaman (seperti Puyol dan Henry) adalah kunci kesuksesan Barcelona. Buktinya, di level lokal (Spanyol) pun Barcelona mampu menyandingkan 2 gelar sekaligus, La Liga dan Piala Raja, sehingga tahun ini Treble Winner ada di genggaman tim Azulgrana.

Yup, lagi-lagi Pep Guardiola – yang masih minim pengalaman melatih tim la liga (dan usianya pun masih 38 tahun) – mampu menjungkir-balikkan ramalan pengamat sepakbola. Di tengah kepungan 3 tim liga primer Inggris di semifinal, toh Guardiola yang hanya berpengalaman sebagai pelatih tim B Barcelona, mampu berkelit dan menjadi campeone. Sekaligus, ini prestasi membanggakan Pep Guardiola di Barcelona, yang mampu menjuarai Liga Champions saat menjadi pemain (1992) dan pelatih (2009). Luar biasa !

Players Profile: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Manchester United unveiled Everton striker Wayne Rooney as their biggest signing of 2004 just before the transfer window was due to close in August. The Red Devils signed the 18-year-old in a deal that could eventually be worth £30million.

Rooney signed a six-year contract and Everton will receive 25 per cent of any transfer fee if he leaves Old Trafford. Contingent payments, dependent on club success, the player renewing his contract and his appearances at international level, could see the transfer fee rise to almost £30million.

Manchester United beat off competition from Newcastle United for Rooney's signature. A naturally gifted striker, Rooney scored 15 goals in 67 Premiership appearances for Everton since making his debut for the club in August 2002 in the 2-2 draw with Southampton.

The teenager's record for England is outstanding - his excellent Euro 2004 displays brought his tally to nine goals in just 17 appearances for his country. It was these performances which really instigated the bidding war between United and Newcastle for the teenager's signature.

But Rooney chosing of United was vindicated by a superb debut season at Old Trafford. Since his move he has flourished under the close guidence of Sir Alex Ferguson who has an excellent track record with youngsters. In his debut - a baptism of fire in a Champions League group game against the tough to beat Fenerbahce - he scored a sensational hat-trick as United went on to trounce their Tukish opponents 6-2.

Since then he continued his fine form. He added 14 further goals (including a vollyed wonder-strike in United 2-1 home win against Newcastle) to his tally and has clocked up 43 appearances, justifying his high price tag. He was an undoutbed highlight in United's otherwise lacklustre season. He was also named the PFA Young Player of the Year beating off stern competition from Jermain Defoe, Arjen Robben, Cristiano Ronaldo, Stewart Downing and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

However, he sometimes let his tempremental nature get the better of him. His frequent on-field swearing encouraged the English Schools' Football Association (ESFA) to drop him from a guest appearance claiming he was "not a good role model". FIFA president Sepp Blatter made further comment, saying that Rooney needed "a clip round the ear".

Rooney's antics off the pitch did little to dispel these criticisms when a student accused him of assaulting him in a Manchester club. Rooney denied this and was later vindicated as the claim was dropped. As his second season for Manchester United emerges the only thing, it seems, that can stop Rooney is if the media interest surrounding him and celebrity girlfriend Coleen McCloughlin distracts him from his football.

He continued to impress in the 2005/06 season for United, often seeming like the only thing keeping them going in some tricky spells, and was rewarded with his first major medal in the Carling Cup final, where he scored twice against Wigan and received the Man of the Match award.

However, his season ended in heartbreak as he suffered a metatarsal injury against Chelsea, putting his hopes of playing in the World Cup in jeopardy. He did manage to recover in time, though he probably wished he hadn't bothered, as he was forced to play up front on his own, failed to score and was sent off against Portugal.

A dubious pre-season red card lead to Rooney having to serve a three-match ban early on in the 2006/07 campaign and it took him some time to regain his match fitness and sharpness after such a chaotic time. However, when he did come into form his goals played a hugely important role in winning his first ever Premiership title.

This fine form continued in 2007/08 as he once again scored a handful of vital goals to steer United to Premier League and Champions League glory.

Players Profile: Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)

West Ham United snapped up Carlos Tevez on a permanent contract in August 2006, along with fellow Argentina international Javier Mascherano.

The pair, who had been linked with Manchester United and Arsenal, made the surprise move to Upton Park from Brazilian club Corinthians.

It was thought that the company which owns Corinthians, Media Sports Investments, wanted to showcase the pair in Europe for a season in order to boost their transfer values.

Tevez was voted the Argentine football writers' Footballer of the Year in 2003 and 2004, and also Sportsman of the Year in 2004, after he helped Boca Juniors win the Argentine championship and the Copa Libertadores.
He continued this fine form for the Hammers in 2006/07 as, after a slow start, he almost single-handedly kept the team in the Premier League with seven vital goals.

However, the legal ramifications of his third-part ownership dogged his season and when he decided to move on, a very complicated battle ensued that almost went all the way to the High Court. In August 2007 he finally completed a move to Manchester United.

His first season at Old Trafford proved wildly successful as he settled in well, played in most of the games and proved vital in their Champions League and Premier League double.

History of Manchester United FC

Manchester Utd are probably England's most famous club; they were formed in 1878 as Newton Heath and elected to Division 1 in 1892. The pre-war years saw the league championship at Old Trafford twice whilst the FA Cup was won in 1909 but since the second World War, they have been far more successful under two different managers.

The first was Sir Matt Busby who arrived in 1945 and won 5 league championships and 2 FA Cups. Tragedy befell Utd in 1958 when their young team known as the 'Busby Babes' was decimated in an air crash in Munich while returning from a European Cup tie in Belgrade. Busby himself was almost klled in the disaster, and his team, which had looked like dominating English football for years to come, was no more.

However, 10 years later, he led a new team including greats like Bobby Charlton and George Best became the first ever English team to lift the European Cup, beating Benfica 4-1 in the final. Flamboyant managers such as Tommy Docherty and Ron Atkinson followed but none could bring the championship back to Old Trafford.

Scot Alex Ferguson was appointed in 1986 and to begin with, it looked as though he would go the same way as his predecessors. However, the FA Cup win of 1990 heralded the start of good times which were continued with the European Cup Winners Cup success a year later. In 1992, Utd grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory as their late slip-up handed Leeds Utd the title but the advent of the Premier League finally saw them triumph 26 years after their previous title win.

The following season saw Utd better this by winning the double (beating Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final).They were the first club to achieve the 'double double' in 1996 as Ferguson continued to bring trophies galore back to Old Trafford. As if that were not enough, the 98/99 season saw them achieve the unthinkable - the treble of league, FA Cup and European Cup.

That earned Ferguson a knighthood and he followed it up with two more back-to-back league titles. When he announced his plan to retire at the end of the 2002/03 season, it looked like an illustrious era in English football was coming to a close, and the uncertainty about the future contributed to United's worst-ever finish in the Barclaycard Premiership - third. However, by then, Ferguson had changed his mind and was on hand to mastermind their return to the top a year later.

The rise of big-spending Chelsea and the controversial arrival of new owner Malcolm Glazer brought some dark times for fans in the next few years, but back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 (plus another Champions League triumph) put United back on top.

Thierry Henry tetap di Barcelona

Juara Liga Primier Inggris 2007/2008 Manchester United, yang sampai pertengahan Mei kemarin sudah optimis akan mendapatkan striker Barcelona – dan sempat bertahun-tahun jadi ikon di Arsenal – Thierry Henry, akhirnya harus gigit jari. Adalah Josep Guardiola, pelatih baru Barcelona pengganti Frank Rijkard, yang menggagalkan upaya transfer mengejutkan Manchester United tersebut.

Henry hampir saja mengenakan kaos United setelah menyepakati kontrak yang diajukan Setan Merah. United akan memboyong Henry kembali ke Inggris dengan nilai transfer 10 juta poundsterling atau sekitar Rp. 183 miliar.

Tapi, pelatih Barcelona Josep Guardiola langsung menghentikan proses transfer tersebut. Seperti dikutip Sunday Mirror dari sumber internal Barcelona, Guardiola meminta Henry agar tidak pergi. Henry akan menjadi pemain utama Barcelona musin depan.

Asal tahu saja, Henry hanya menjadi pemain cadangan dang agar bersinar di klub yang membelinya seharga 16 juta poundsterling. Makanya, Henry pernah bilang akan kembali ke Inggris jika klub asalnya, Arsenal, mau menerimanya. Waaah…, ternyata gertakan Henry manjur juga ya ?