The Pep in Barca’s step

AMID the grey blur of platitudes which provided an incongruous backdrop to this firecracker of a Champions League final, one sulphurous comment from Alex Ferguson stood out.

The Manchester United manager had been asked whether experience would prove pivotal in his duel with Josep Guardiola, his green-horned rival at Barcelona. “I’m not sure it will be decisive,” the Scot replied, before adding a coda that will have clanged in Catalan ears ever since. “But I’d rather have it than not.”

Given the atmosphere of cosy diplomacy which characterised the build-up to the 54th European Cup, it was a startling moment – the equivalent of suffering whiplash on a cruise ship.