Manchester United: Champions League Exit, Europa League Berth a Subtle Blessing

If there is anything I learned from watching the final 2011 edition of El Clásico, it was that a camel has a greater chance of passing through the eye of a needle than Manchester United has a chance of defeating Barcelona.

Upon considering this clearly observable truth, I figured that the Red Devils' elimination from the 2011-12 Champions League may have actually been a blessing in disguise.

In fact, had United ended up drawing with or defeating FC Basel to finish second in the group, I could foresee only two scenarios.

In the first scenario, United sneaks into the group stages.  Despite finishing second in their group, the Red Devils get their usual favorable draw and end up playing Apoel Nicosia in the Round of 16 instead of Barcelona or Real Madrid.

United wins narrowly and proceeds to sneak past overachieving (Marseille) or overrated (Chelsea) teams such in the quarterfinals and semifinals and ends up in the 2012 Champions League Final against Barcelona.  United plays well in the early stages of the game, but is ultimately passed to death by Barcelona's ageless masterclass.

Big surprise, right?

In the second (and probably more likely) scenario, United draws a strong, high-performing team the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.  The youngsters play well given the demanding circumstances, but De Gea ultimately lets in a couple of cheap goals over the course of both ties and Sir Alex Ferguson's boys can't seem to convert their chances without Chicharito poaching. 

In both scenarios, the Reds once again return home from European competition frustrated and without a trophy.

However, qualifying for the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) for the first time in over a decade affords the Red Devils a unique opportunity to for once convert their European failure into European success.

Though officially labeled as Europe's second-tier continental competition, United will likely be joined by an unusually strong field of competitors including Atlético Madrid, Udinese, FC Porto, Valencia, Schalke 04 and Sporting Lisbon; pesky EPL foes Stoke City and Fulham; and of course arch rival and fellow Champions League drop-out Manchester City.  The field could grow even stronger is disinterested powers Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain actually try to win their final group stage matches.

Facing such credible opposition, Fergie might actually be able to convince both himself and his squad that unlike a domestic cup championship, a Europa League victory would actually represent a meaningful accomplishment.

However, if not entirely moved by the quality of the competition, Sir Alex should still realize that the Europa League provides a massive stage to elevate the Manchester Derby into international prominence.

How awesome would it be for United and City to play what could be the decisive game in the EPL title race on April 28th and then again in the Europa League final on May 9th?  Sure, it wouldn't quite be the same as last season's "Los Clásicos" marathon, but two excellent performances in rapid succession could make the tie the second most recognized derby in club football.

And with Barcelona seemingly poised to continue dominating world football for an indefinite period of time (or possibly the rest of time), I'm just fine with this arrangement.