the blog of manchester united

 “We needed a fantastic performance tonight and we got one” -Sir Alex Ferguson

Yes, he got that right. United were fantastic and his team selection has again proven why he’s still the best in the business. Look at his decision to put Ji-sung Park ahead of Giggs and Hargreaves at left back instead of a 5-man midfield to curb Barca’s loaded talented midfielders? And how about trusting Wes Brown in the heart of defense (although he got no other choice as putting Pique is way too risky and O’Shea is just not a good choice).

No doubt Scholes is the match winner, but I’ll give the game ball to Ji-sung Park. His industriousness throughout 90 minutes was just amazing. Breaking up plays, tough tackling, and surging forward whenever he got a chance. Nani probably should’ve made it 2-0 when Park supplied him with a glorious cross. His recent games weren’t fantastic but Fergie’s trust on him on this huge game paid off.

Brown and Ferdinand were magnificent as well throughout the game, especially Brown. No one can get pass him and no high ball could go through these two guys. Henry got a chance late in the game when Hargreaves lost him on a corner, but van der sar was right there.

A few thoughts:

• If United were capable of beating Barcelona (WITHOUT Rooney), Chelsea (who beat Liverpool last night) might re-think of beating United again. That, will not happen!
• This would be United’s first final after they beat Bayern Munich in the epic 1999 final.
• This is United’s only second semifinal success after being 10 times previously, a semifinal record.
• United have NEVER lost an European Cup final, being winner in both 1968 and 1999.
• Scholes, Giggs, Neville are the only survivors of the 1999 Treble winners.
• Ferdinand seems to have better performance when he’s captaining United