It was a sad night for the Catalan side, but the Germans proved themselves to be superior in every department.
By Adrian Collins
This tie was over by the time the referee brought an end to the first leg, as Barcelona seemed to be totally out of ideas, and totally outclassed by their German opposition.
As you would expect, their arch-rivals in Madrid put out a very understated headline on their sports daily, Marca:
Last night, in particular, Barcelona struggled to create any opportunities where they looked like scoring, and the closest they came was when Xavi put his shot over from inside the box. Outside of that, they were unable to make any of their possession count, which is totally out of character for a team that usually has dozens of efforts on goal in a game.
Bayern Munich, and forgive us a cliché here, were extremely well organised last night. When Barcelona pushed forward, they were in two banks of four, even after they’d scored their third goal, and would pressure Barcelona in numbers as soon as they strayed into their half.
In fact, it was reminiscent of the Catalans themselves under Guardiola, and this demands a huge level of commitment, focus and fitness from Munich.
What that means is that it’s a pretty tiring way to play if you don’t get that much of the ball, but they do tend to dominate possession. Even with less of the ball last night and in the first leg though, they never looked like wavering.
Barcelona were toothless without Messi, and it was a shock when he was announced on the bench last night having played on the weekend against Athletic Bilbao. That, in itself, was possibly an admission that the mission was beyond impossible.
While Bayern were great and it was a breath of fresh air to see someone hand Barca a taste of their own medicine, it should be remembered that they aren’t exactly a small time club and have immense financial power.
They have swept aside all before them in the Bundesliga this year, and look set to continue that trend as they will buy the best players from their competition, Borussia Dortmund. Mario Gotze is certainly on his way, and Robert Lewandwoski may be joining him. In short, this type of dominance should have come before now, realistically.
Dortmund were on the brink of collapse just a few years ago, suffering a financial disaster, and the club was almost wound up. If you read the football quarterly The Blizzard, you’ll find a fantastic piece by Uli Hesse on this in Issue 2, but they are the real miracle story of this Champions League, and a smart transfer policy coupled with a charismatic manager in Jurgen Klopp has made them irresistible.
There will be at least one Spaniard in the final however, as Javi Martinez, who Barcelona didn’t sign because they “couldn’t afford him” last year, will line out for Bayern Munich. He was fantastic in both legs, and staked a claim for a starting position in the Spanish squad.
Gerard Pique spoke of the need to get to the end of this league season for Barcelona “and then take a decision”. Whether he means that for the club or for himself, it’s certainly an indication that Barcelona will need to take some form of action, but for a side that prides itself on producing players and has had enormous difficulty getting players to fit into that system, what can their next move be? We will have to wait and see.
As for the final, it will be blistering, fast-paced football between two sides that deserve to be in the final. Although Dortmund panicked towards the end against Madrid, they know better what to expect from their arch rivals. And if you fancy a preview, watch the Bundesliga this Saturday as the two sides face one another.
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