It was supposed to be an epic encounter, one made in heaven, one that would leave many football enthusiasts drooling and wishing that that spectacle had been saved for Wembley. History was to be written because in spite of one team losing the first leg clash 4-0, they are deemed as the best club in the world football business, and especially so when they parade in front of the home crowd.
But as it emerged, the team which was supposed to play the
main cast, pulling the shots and haranguing the enemy from left right and
center, using the fabled tiki-taka football to its destructive best and pushing
their opponents to submission turned out to be merely a run of the mill.
For after Borussia Dortmund fended off Real Madrid’s last
minute resurgence to edge into the finals of the UEFA Champions League, Bayern
Munich went rampant and made light work of Barcelona to set up the first ever
all-German Champions League final slated for Wembley. The Bavarians went into
the match knowing that only a complete miracle would prevent them from entering
the final for the second year in succession.
To prevent that unlikely though possible miracle from
happening, they needed to score a goal to be safe, or at least look to be so.
Little wonder they started on the offensive and could have taken the lead had
Gerard Pique not made two timely tackles in a space of 20 minutes.
With Barca’s Messiah Lionel Messi only fit enough for the
bench, the Catalans struggled to carve out clear opportunities. Their only
notable chance came midway into the first half with Xavi Hernandez finding
himself with acres of space inside Bayern’s penalty area but the pass master’s
effort flew over the crossbar.
Jupp Heynckes’ side all but ended Barca’s slim hopes just three
minutes after the interval. Arjen Robben was released by David Alaba on the
left wing and the Dutchman shrugged off Adriano before curling beautifully past
Victor Valdes. Die Roten only allowed the Blaugrana to set a sight of their
goal occasionally and hit them on counter attacks.
Messi could only watch from the bench as 18 minutes before
full time, Gerard Pique inadvertently mishit the ball into the back of his own
net to stretch the German’s lead. Things turned from bad to embarrassing as
Thomas Muller headed in the Bavarian’s third of the night just 4 minutes later to
see Barca lose the match 3-0 and the contest 7-0 on aggregate.
This was a disappointing result for Barca’s Azulgranas as it
was for any football aficionado who would have expected to watch a memorable
match. But Spain’s loss is Germany’s gain as Bayern will clash with fellow
Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund (who lost 2-0 to Real Madrid but progressed
4-3 on aggregate) in the May 25 final at the Wembley Stadium in what will be
the first ever all-German Champions League final in history.
Career in Numbers
1 – Fergie was named the UEFA Manager of the Year just once
in 1998-99
2 - IFFHS World's Best Club Coach in 1999 and 2008
3 – UEFA Champions league trophies he has won with the club.
The first came in 1990-91 season when it was known as UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
Further triumphs came in the famous treble season in 1988-89 and last one in
2007-08
4 – League Cups he has won - 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, and
2009–10
5 – FA Cup titles he has added to the Old Trafford trophy
cabinet
6 – the years it took the Glasgow-born manager to win his
first Premier League title
6 – the number of clubs he played for during his career as a
footballer; Queens Park Rangers, St. Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Rangers,
Falkirk, and Ayr United
9 – number of players he has coached and gone on to become football
managers; the club’s global ambassador Bryan Robson, Hull City boss Steve Bruce,
former QPR manager Mark Hughes, Blakcpool’s Paul Ince, Peterborough’s Darren
Ferguson, Molde’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as well as Roy Keane, Chris Casper, and Henning
Berg who are all without clubs currently
10 – the number of times he was named the Premier League
Manager of the Season, first in 1993-94 and last in 2010-11
13 - the Premier
League titles he’s won with Manchester United, all coming during the premier
league era
15 – the total number of bans he received since October 2003
for abusing and publicly criticizing match officials
17 – the number of years he played professional football
25 – the years he has been at the Old Trafford dugout after
he was appointed in November 1986
27 – He was named Premier League Manager of the month on 27
occasions, the first in August 1993 and last one in October 2012
49 – the total number of trophies he has won as a manager,
making him the most successful British football manager in history
171 – his career goals total during his spell as a forward
in the Scottish league
317 – total appearances he accrued during his 17 years in
topflight football
1499 – the cumulative
number of games will have had with Manchester United when the season comes to
an end
2,154 – the total number of games he has had in his
managerial career
And That's thesteifmastertake!!
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