FC Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United: Re-Lived in Sensational Detail

As the whole world now knows, on Wednesday, May 27 2009, the greatest ever sporting team in Spain, the Kings of Catalunya, FC Barcelona, made football history.

They became the first ever Spanish team to achieve the remarkable La Triple Corona, having won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the greatest prize in world club football, the extremely prestigious UEFA Champions League.

However, at least for the beginning of their adventure in Rome it wasn't all plain sailing for the Spanish Champions, as attempting to stand in their way for this remarkable achievement was the current English, European, and World Champions, Manchester United.

Aided by now the most expensive player the world has ever seen, it was expected that Manchester United would put up a decent fight in an attempt to defend their European crown at the Stadio Olimpico, the greatest sporting stadium in the Italian capital of Rome.

This highly anticipated match between the footballing Kings of two countries, England and Spain, was expected to be a monumental fight in which both Kings would be so strong they would both end up simply destroying each other.

But, for the first 10 minutes, it was the English Champions who rose up high above their opponents, using their finely-honed and skilled craft to slice open the defence of their opponents and give them no chance.

Knowing they were being destroyed by their opponents, FC Barcelona instantly looked the weaker, and managed to use this to their advantage.

Their opponents knew they had the upper-hand, and so a certain degree of arrogance, it could be argued, crept into their tactics. And what an absolutely massive, fatal flaw this turned out to be.

Like a knife through butter, only that slight bit more deadly in this case, FC Barcelona smoothly carved through their opponents, leaving a killer wound.

The Kings of Catalunya unleashed their African King; a man trained in the fine arts goal-scoring; a man who goes by the name of Samuel Eto'o.

Powered did he past the helpless Nemanja Vidic, the famous Serbian superstar proclaimed as the greatest centre-back in the world for his rock-solid displays, who simply was not up to the task.

Next on this African's agenda was the goal, and he ensured that Edwin Van der Sar, the shining light and instrumental key to the English team becoming Champions, would have no chance as he blasted a deadly vicious shot past the flailing arms of Van der Sar and sent the ball crashing into the back of that net.

It was the most significant moment of the match, that pinprick on the time-map where no longer were Manchester United the dominant team, the current European Champions.

At that very specific moment in time, Manchester United became the losers, and FC Barcelona were winning. They were dominating. They were there, the new favourites to achieve that prize up for grabs, the UEFA Champions League trophy.

And after many minutes of hard-fought battles, epic duels on the wings, sheer skill, magic, and absolutely beautiful play, FC Barcelona knocked the current Kings off their throne.

Millions have hailed him the greatest on earth, and a diminutive Argentinian rose up to that burden in the 70th minute of the time-map, the match.

Spain's greatest current midfielder, Xavi Hernandez, calculated the angles and explored all possibilities, before producing the perfect move.

He delivered the set-up for that ultimate killer blow, where Lionel Messi (who many liken to a God called Diego Maradona) and rose up high and placed that ball, the one which had the cameras of the world trained on it, beyond the again helpless Van der Sar, who could only watch as he saw his team knocked off their throne, right in front of his very eyes.

It was that second, very specific pinprick on the time-map that lead to the demise of Manchester United Football Club.

It was the moment where global dreams were shattered, broken, obliviated.

It was the moment where global dreams were made.  

It was the moment where Lionel Messi entered the annals of FC Barcelona.

It was the moment where FC Barcelona made history.

It was a sad moment in the life of Manchester United.

But above all, it was the greatest moment in the life of Fútbol Club Barcelona.

It was the moment nobody will ever forget.