UEFA Champions League Final 2009

This year, in fact mere hours from this writing, FC Barcelona and Manchester United will face off in Rome for the European soccer crown. This match is always exciting, and this particular match-up has great promise. Despite my admitted strong dislike for Man U, they have a great chance of defending their title and making it the second straight year for winning the double of Premier League and Champions League titles. However, the Barcelona side is no slouch either, and if any team in the tournament has a chance to dismantle United, FCB is it.

Barcelona have outscored opponents 34-14 thus far in the tournament, with the Argentinian Lionel Messi currently holding the #1 spot for individual goal-scorers (8 goals). Messi is not the only major scoring threat, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o and French captain Thierry Henry can both contribute to the attack for a squad that has dismantled several teams by scores of 4-0 and 5-0 this year. Defense could be a potential weakness for Barcelona, with stars Rafael Marquez and Carles Puyol seeming to have a bit of trouble recently. Fortunately, Victor Valdes is certainly capable of clean sheets against most any team in the world. Depth also may be a soft spot for FCB, they don't seem to have quite the same quality off the bench as United.

On the other side of the coin, Manchester United seem to be extremely hard to crack this year. One would be hard pressed to find a more solid team all around, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney leading their attack. Ronaldo came in second place for most goals scored in the Premier League this season, with 18. Not quite as many as last year, probably mostly due to his stint on the sidelines after having surgery. At the moment, however, he seems fit and ready to punish Barcelona's defenders should they slip up. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is also at peak form, and appears unafraid of the multi-pronged attack that Barcelona will bring. Ryan Giggs is a lynch pin in the Man United midfield, recently playing his 300th match for the club. If he is allowed to roam free and distribute the ball, FCB will be in serious trouble.

This match is a tough one to predict because of the sheer talent and ability of both teams, but I for one will be pulling for Barcelona to dethrone the defending champions. There will certainly be goals, I doubt very much either side will play a tight, conservative match until they are forced to. All that's left now is to wait and see how the ball rolls in Rome, and who comes out on top.

I predict a 2-1 victory for FC Barcelona, although if it goes to penalty kicks I think Man U will come out on top.

No Name Creek: #1

It's been a long time coming after some complications, but here's the first of (hopefully) many comic strips of mine. I couldn't post it here, but here's the link to it :)

http://no-name-creek.blogspot.com/