Champions League Final 2009: Barcelona vs Man Utd LiveBlog

After all the (justified) hype, it’s finally here: Barcelona vs Man Utd in the Champions League Final. Rob, Chris, and myself will be LiveBlogging along with the action, and I hope you’ll join us.

LINEUPS:

(via UEFA)

Daryl: So Henry and Iniesta both start. Any reactions Rob?

Rob: Looks like Man United are going for a strong midfield to stifle the Xavi/Iniesta factor. John O’Shea needs another big night to deal with Henry, and that Barca defence doesn’t look quite as weak as some might have thought

Daryl: Nice to see Park start after missing out last year.
Rob: Yeah very much so. I think his energy could be important against Messi too
No place for Gary Neville on the bench either, which with his experience seems odd.

PREDICTIONS:

Rob: Man Utd to win 2-1 after extra time.
Daryl: 1-1 and then Man Utd on penalties.

What’s your prediction?

Daryl: OK, one hour until kickoff.

Daryl: This is weird. With all the buildup, it feels almost like a World Cup Final. Do you think the CL Final can claim to be the second biggest game in the world?

Rob: I think it is, yeah. I think particularly in a year where there’s no World Cup/Euros and with two teams from different countries there is a sense of it being a more global affair than last year.

Daryl: Rob has joined me. You’re watching in the UK right Rob? So… ITV or Sky Sports?

Rob: ITV for me this year.

I watched it on Sky last year, but then turned over to discover there is a 3 second delay because of the satelite. So I’ll put up with Andy Townsend for those three seconds.

Daryl: Here in the US it’s ESPN or nothing. But they’re definitely pushing the final. There was a guy on SportsCentre this morning basically begging viewers to give soccer a chance and watch this game today.

Rob: Hopefully it’ll be a great game and those people tuning in to see what the fuss is all about might get hooked

Daryl: Hope so. If I was in charge of ESPN promotions I’d be selling this game as Messi vs Ronaldo = Kobe Bryant vs LeBron James.

Rob: That’s kind of how Sky is selling it here actually, albeit without the basketball overtones. It would be really, really great if they were both in the mood this evening

Daryl: Cristiano Ronaldo, top journalist:

(spotted on Dirty Tackle, who also have Michel Platini’s secret CL Final blueprint)

Daryl: Still no lineup news, but it can’t be too far away. In the meantime, let me introduce the refereeing team. Fans of neutrality will be glad to head it’s an all Swiss outfit, and the man in the middle will be 40 year old Massimo Busacca.

From Busacca’s UEFA bio:

Busacca has been an international referee since 1999 and has officiated 77 Uefa matches. He has taken charge of 32 Uefa Champions League matches, six this season.

Among others, he officiated at the quarter-final return leg between Porto and Manchester United in Porto and the knockout round return leg between Panathinaikos and Villarreal in Athens. He also refereed the 2006/07 Uefa Cup final in Glasgow between Espanyol and Sevilla.

A company director and keen skier, Busacca has also refereed various top national-team matches, including the Euro 2008 semi-final between Germany and Turkey and the 2006 World Cup round two match between Argentina and Mexico.

No definite team news as yet, but let’s start with some sharing: Who will you be supporting tonight? Are you Man Utd, Barça or Neutral?

(latest LiveBlog updates are at the top of the post)

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Category: Champions League