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Is this just the start for Barça?
27 May 2009

Sir Alex Ferguson may have spoken of needing victory in Rome to "join the pantheon of great teams" but it was FC Barcelona who did just that by defeating the holders to join an élite group of six clubs to have won the European Champion Clubs' Cup three times or more.

Chasing shadows
United took to the Stadio Olimpico turf with high hopes of becoming the first side in the UEFA Champions League era to successfully defend the title, but were left chasing shadows after Samuel Eto'o broke the deadlock on ten minutes. Only the Liverpool FC team that lifted the European Cup at the Stadio Olimpico in 1984 played more games in a season than United's 66 this term, and the holders looked heavy-legged as Barcelona's 'tiki-taka' passing enabled them to establish dominance.

Dynasty
Once Lionel Messi had doubled the advantage in the 70th minute – the perfect moment to score his first goal against English opposition at the eleventh attempt – the result was beyond doubt. The triumph made Barcelona the first Spanish club to land the treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and European Cup, fuelling the belief that coach Josep Guardiola can create a dynasty at Camp Nou. With Messi (21), Gerard Piqué (22), Sergio Busquets (20) and Bojan Krkić (18) at the vanguard of an exciting crop of talent emerging from their La Masia academy, the future is bright for the Blaugrana.

Madrid final
With United failing to match the feats of AC Milan who collected back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, Barcelona will now be determined to scale what is becoming an almost insurmountable peak – particularly with the 2010 final to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu home of great rivals Real Madrid CF. Will they do it?

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Ask The Expert

nkzadar
Q 14:39 - 27/05/2009
Hi. The Champions League is probably the best club tournament in the world, what is the story behind it? How was it established?
boggyyayo
Q 14:30 - 27/05/2009
Who won the Champion's League in 1986 and against who?
The Expert
A 14:39 - 27/05/2009
Europe's premier club competition was launched one month after UEFA's first Congress, held in Vienna on 2 March 1955 yet, curiously, the so-called "European Cup" was not a UEFA initiative. Whereas many of UEFA's founder members were more interested in establishing a national team competition, the French sports daily L'Equipe and their then-editor Gabriel Hanot, were championing the cause for a European-wide club competition. Hanot, together with colleague Jacques Ferran, designed a blueprint for a challenge tournament to be played on Wednesdays under floodlights. The tournament initiated by L'Equipe did not stipulate that the participating teams had to be champions of their country, but they invited clubs who they considered had the most fan appeal. Representatives of 16 clubs were invited to meetings on 2 and 3 April 1955 and the L'Equipe rules were unanimously approved. The first European Champions Clubs' Cup fixture was played in Lisbon and Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a 3-3 draw by FK Partizan. The Yugoslav side won the return leg in Belgrade 5-2 to advance to the next round. Real Madrid CF immediately made the tournament their own by winning the first five finals. The major turning point in the evolution of the competition came in the 1992/93 season when the UEFA Champions League, involving a group stage in addition to the traditional knockout elements, was officially inaugurated after a pilot round robin during the previous season. The popularity of the group phase has witnessed the competition grow from eight to 32 teams with matches taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays across Europe.
The Expert
A 14:30 - 27/05/2009
The European champions in 1986 were FC Steaua Bucureşti, after one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history. Steaua goalkeeper Helmut Duckadam saved all four FC Barcelona penalties as a scoreless shoot-out followed 120 scoreless minutes until Marius Lacatus and Gavril Balint converted to send the cup to Eastern Europe for the first time.
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UEFA Champions League PODCAST

  • Barça the kings of Europe (29.05.09)

    Friday 29 May 2009

    Tune in as we hear from the likes of Josep Guardiola, Gerard Piqué, Sir Alex Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo after Manchester United FC relinquished their European crown to FC Barcelona in Rome. More»

    Download mp3 »

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