Manchester United: Just Another One of Aristotle's Puppets?

When the term 'Greek Tragedy' springs to mind, we often think of the philosopher Aristotle, and his works Poetics.

We may also think of tragic plays, with notable ones including the work of Sir William Shakespeare and his 'Big Four': Othello, King Lear, Hamlet, and Romeo & Juliet.

But on Wednesday 27th May 2009, only one thing sprung into mind upon hearing the term "greek tragedy."

It was the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final in Rome's magnificent Stadio Olimpico, home of AS Roma and SS Lazio, where historic Catalan giants FC Barcelona emerged 2-0 victors over English champions Manchester United.

As described by many pundits and United fans worldwide, their performance was "tragic."

And from United's performance, it seemed that they did indeed have all the elements of an Aristotlean protagonist: hubris, hamartia, and catharsis.

Hubris - Excessive pride, or just plain arrogance...

According to Aristotle, for the character to be a tragic protagonist, they must display excessive pride in themselves (otherwise known as arrogance), and it will be this excessive pride which ultimately leads to their downfall.

Leading up to the most prestigious game in World Football, it could be said that Manchester United displayed excessive pride, and well...we all know what the outcome was.

United had just been crowned Premier League champions, they had won the Carling Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, and were on course for an historic quadruple of trophies in their 2008/09 campaign.

Ahead of the encounter in Rome, Cristiano Ronaldo was reminding the world it's him who is the best player in the world at the moment (as he has the trophy to prove it).

Patrice Evra said he could contain Argentina superstar Lionel Messi (as he had done previously) and even went as far as claiming himself to be "the best left-back in the world right now."

And FC Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola was paying his respects to Manchester United, with the team from Lancashire doing little to pay those respects back.

All of these factors could show that United displayed excessive pride, and it was this hubris which lead to the next element, hamartia, and ultimately their 2-0 downfall.

Hamartia - Flawless are flawless, United are not...

In Poetics, Aristotle claims the next element a tragic protagonist must have is hamartia, a fatal flaw which directly causes the downfall of the protagonist.

Whereas Britain's most popular dance act, 'Flawless' from the ITV show Britain's Got Talent, are literally flawless, from their performance in Rome it clearly seems Britain's most popular football team are not.

Manchester United's hubris from before kick-off had rubbed off on the pitch, and after a period of sheer dominance in the opening 10 minutes, the Red Devils perhaps thought they did not need to defend, as Andrés Iniesta and Samuel Eto'o sliced through their opponent's defence like a knife through butter.

Before the English champions knew it, they were 1-0 down, and after surviving on numerous occasions, their luck was out.

In the second half FC Barcelona capitalised on this flaw in the Manchester United ranks and provided the killer blow.

Xavi Hernandez found himself in a brilliant position to pick out Lionel Messi, who had the pleasure of killing off English dreams by heading home unmarked into the back of the net.

The word "unmarked" says it all. Again United thought they did not need to defend, and so arguably the world's greatest player at the moment, Lionel Messi, capitalised and punished the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final's tragic protagonist for their fatal flaw.

If you ever wanted to see Manchester United's downfall in such a literal sense, their slumped bodies lying on the pitch at the final whistle will show you the true effect of their fatal flaw.

Catharsis - Just let it all out son...

At the final whistle, whilst of course condemning Manchester United's fate, according to Aristotle, the sound of that referee's whistle (i.e. the end of the tragedy) is meant to "purge the human soul of it's excessive passions."

For all the coaching and playing staff and everyone connected with Manchester United Football Club, watching that 90-minute tragedy in Rome unfold would've meant enduring a build-up of anger, pity and fear elicited from the players' hamartia.

That final whistle brought the tragedy to an end and would allow catharsis, a purification of emotion, to take place for all those connected to the tragedy's tragic protagonist.

Through the slumped bodies, tearful eyes and that look of sheer disbelief, the players, coaches, fans, and executive businessmen of Manchester United alike, let out their emotions following the match in Rome.

It was over now, and for those in United colours, the final whistle meant they did not have to suffer any longer.

Finally, according to Aristotle there has to be some sort of benefit for the other characters or the audience following the tragic protagonist's downfall.

The fall of Manchester United in front of the world in Rome of course was very tragic for millions across the globe.

However, this downfall from United meant that FC Barcelona could achieve something no Spanish team has ever done before.

In winning the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, FC Barcelona became the first-ever team in Spain's history to achieve La Triple Corona (the Treble), following their success in the Copa del Rey and La Liga.

At least if there was one positive from Manchester United's Greek tragedy in Rome, it's that by becoming an Aristotlean puppet, they allowed Spain's greatest sporting team to make history.