Two years on from being outplayed in Rome the quality and depth of their squad improve United's chances at Wembley
Sir Alex Ferguson and his Manchester United team wait to receive their losers' medals after being defeated 2-0 by Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian
It was the final everyone wanted, everyone except the managers and players who know how easily they could be the losers. Protocol requires that Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola speak of their delight at the prospect of so grand an encounter. In some quarters there will be talk, too, of revenge since Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in the 2009 final played in Rome. That, all the same, is a juvenile interpretation. When teams are at the same level, it is natural that they keep bumping into one another.
There was no shame in being overcome by Barcelona two years ago, but the loss rankles with Ferguson. He associates his various line-ups in their best moments with verve and skill and, at some level, it must irk him that any accolades for such accomplishments are so often reserved at present for Barcelona. As far as he is concerned, his side fell far short of its best form that day in Stadio Olimpico.
Many of the players at work then have an opportunity to atone. United may very well be underestimated and people are not particularly impressed by the side taking their place in the final for the third time in four seasons. The utter domination over Schalke in both games is also met with a shrug. The Bundesliga club were indeed mediocre, yet it is Ferguson's side who demonstrated the truth comprehensively. Even so, Schalke had not been regarded as negligible until United dealt with them.
They had not simply run into a moment of glorious incongruity when thrashing the holders Internazionale in the quarter-final. In the last 16, their efforts had also been commendable as they eliminated Valencia. Such results still did not give them the confidence to cope with United. The absolute standing of Ferguson's squad is open to debate, but its sheer extent is a telling factor in its own right. The possibilities have even been broadened with Darren Fletcher coming off the bench on Wednesday to make his return after illness.
It would, of course, be naive to declare that Barcelona will be drowned in the depths of the United pool. They are entitled to be treated as favourites to take the trophy. Guardiola has great means at his disposal and overcoming Real Madrid, of all teams, this week will at least make him feel that his own prowess is on the rise. Barcelona lifted themselves out of a flat spell in La Liga to take the tie on a 3-1 aggregate and, significantly, put the outcome virtually beyond doubt by beating José Mourinho's current club 2-0 at the Bernabéu in the first leg.
By rallying after last season's disappointment against Mourinho's Inter in the Champions League semi-final, Guardiola showed a durability that indicates he is much more than an ex-player who got lucky by inheriting a glistening squad. The prowess of footballers does put them at risk of exhaustion. Seven of the starting line-up that won the World Cup for Spain on 11 July last year were in action against Real on Tuesday. Guardiola will be conscious of that and there is no equivalent factor to affect Ferguson.
Barcelona have a good excuse if they are currently a touch jaded. There are indeed moments when the game looks more of a grind to them than it did not so long ago. Nonetheless, the durability of Lionel Messi and the others is extraordinary. Perhaps Andrés Iniesta is the most obvious embodiment of that trait this week. The man who scored the extra-time winner in the 2010 World Cup final that overcame a crude Holland side helped kill off Real on Tuesday.
It was his pass that set up Pedro to send Barcelona into a 3-0 aggregate lead, making Marcelo's goal for Real inconsequential. The ruggedness of mind and body is not to be underestimated in Guardiola's squad. That aspect, as much as the technical brilliance, sustains the club despite the players' workload with Barcelona and their respective countries.
It also helps account for the fact that the only harm Mourinho has done to Barcelona in the recent run of matches came in the final of the Copa del Rey. The loss to such foes was surely more galling to Guardiola than the sight of that relatively minor piece of silverware in another manager's hands. United and Barcelona, if they can tie up their domestic league titles fairly soon, should have a pause to gather themselves and recover a little freshness before the final.
Ferguson knows how important it is in encounters with Barcelona to get off, as he puts it, the "carousel". United did seem queasy as the 2009 final spun around them. They will need to prevent a recurrence. It can be done and Mourinho demonstrated that a year ago when checking Barcelona. Guardiola's side are beautiful indeed and United will need to chip away at the sheen as Inter did if the gleaming trophy is to be placed in their hands.
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