Stopping the Barca carousel

MICHAEL CARRICK looked to the line. Then he did so again. And again. There were 20 minutes gone in the 2009 Champions League and the Manchester United midfielder must have glanced at his manager’s bench at least 30 times. What he sought was instruction. But all he saw was Alex Ferguson sitting motionless and stony-faced.

The game plan had been utterly rumbled. And, although it was perhaps harsh, Carrick personified that. For both teams. Because, in exposing United’s flaws, Barcelona also emphasised their own strengths. By specifically focusing their intense pressing on Carrick, they stopped United building attacks. And by then quickly moving that ball around Carrick’s area with carousing passing moves, they gradually unravelled United.

Since then, Ferguson has maintained he now knows exactly what went wrong that night and how to rectify it. He’s just never said what or how. At Wembley tonight, he’ll finally have to reveal his trump cards.

The only thing we can guess, however, is that they’re probably going to have to include a lot of aces.

Because, as epitomised by their handling of Carrick, Barcelona’s approach is essentially two-pronged. By combining an irresistible number of passes with relentless pressing, they dominate almost every area of the match and, as a consequence, almost every match. You only have to look at the stats. Their average possession is 73%. Xavi has played 1,000 more passes than any other player in Europe.

While that makes them exceptional, it does not make the unbeatable. Far from it. But the key question is how United can get at them while covering bases elsewhere.

Many have suggested that Ferguson break the mould and simply go at Barca. But there are a few reasons why this would be largely futile. For a start, it would leave United too open. And no side in the world excels in open space like this Barcelona team. A good Shakhtar Donetsk saw the perils of this in their 5-1 quarter-final dismantling. Secondly, you need an awful lot of energy to put Barca under enough pressure to swing a game your way. Real Madrid tried it in the semi-final second leg but lost momentum after 10 minutes. United themselves tried it in the 2009 final. But, once they failed to score first and score quickly, they soon became second best. In that sense, going toe-to-toe is too risky an approach.

It’s also apparent that Barca are most susceptible to quick breaks. Every team that has beaten them over the last two seasons has done so through this method: withdraw and then release. There’s also a revealing Opta stat that backs all of this up. In the Champions League this season, Barcelona have only conceded 24 shots compared to United’s 42. But the Catalans have also conceded eight goals to United’s four. This suggests that, once a team interrupts Barca’s possession enough to create an opportunity, they’re usually left with an awful lot of space to compose themselves. That’s the offset of Barca’s high line.

As such, Ferguson is going to have to set his team up in such a way that balances maximum protection with lightning breaks.

First off, he’s going to have to bolster the area in front of United’s box. The only problem here is personnel. United don’t have a Pepe like Real Madrid, or even an Alejandro Dominguez as Rubin Kazan did last season. The only genuinely aggressive midfielder they’ve got is Darren Fletcher, who has been out with a virus. Essentially, it seems Ferguson will have to choose between the Scot and Ryan Giggs. Either way, United are going to need Park Ji-Sung tucking in from the left to create a band of players that blocks out Leo Messi and Barca’s passing in this area. This is crucial. But Park will also have to be watchful of supporting Patrice Evra against Dani Alves’s overlaps.

Given that Barca only play with one centre-forward, it might also be an option to bring Rio Ferdinand out of central defence to shore up supply lines. But Ferguson is unlikely be that bold.

Instead, Wayne Rooney’s reshuffled position as a playmaker is going to be required to stop Sergio Busquets and block out Barca’s passing at source. It was here where Rubin Kazan excelled in acquiring four points off the Catalans last season.

But all of that protection is going to have to be offset, of course, by precise breaks. Chicharito will have to do the running of two men to distract both Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique while Antonio Valencia bombs forward. But to release them? Carrick and Rooney are going to have take turns between toiling and creating. It’s the only way things will start to look up again in this final.

Strengths and weaknesses

BARCELONA

Strengths: Barca keep possession like no other team in the history of the game. They are patient in the extreme and are capable of holding onto the ball for minutes at a time, even when put under pressure. Like the great 1970 Brazil side, they can slow the game down to a crawl or produce lightning-quick one-touch football at will, while their attacking full-backs allow them to stretch opponents. They have also developed a hugely-impressive pressing game when out of possession, with the aim of winning the ball back as high up the pitch as possible. Both their attacking and defensive approach is helped by the fact they rarely play a pass of more than 15 yards.

Weaknesses: Like Arsenal, Barca don’t really have a Plan B, although, unlike the Gunners, their Plan A is so difficult to combat, it rarely lets them down. They have struggled in the past against physically bigger sides, such as Chelsea and Inter Milan, and their high- pressing game can leave them exposed to quick attacks, especially long balls if their opponents have strikers capable of holding it up or exploiting the space in behind their defence, while goalkeeper Victor Valdes is prone to the odd error. Real Madrid also proved in the Copa del Rey final that ‘parking the bus’ for an hour and attacking late on can be a successful tactic.

MAN UTD

Strengths: Sheer energy is Manchester United’s greatest strength when they are playing well. Several of their players could run all day and keeping their passing at a consistently high tempo allows them to overwhelm opponents at times. It is no coincidence they complete so many second-half comebacks, with many teams who score against them eventually deciding to sit back, inviting wave after wave of attacks. United have great quality out wide going forward, both in midfield and full-back areas, while they have the ability to mix up their game when necessary.

Weaknesses: Although their defenders and goalkeepers are among the best around, they have been guilty of poor decision-making at times this season, something which could prove fatal against Barca. They also risk surrendering possession when attacking with pace, something which is not normally a problem against most teams as it is not long before they see the ball again. That will not be the case against Barca, who will deprive them of it for long periods. They also lack the physicality to outmuscle Barcelona’s defence, meaning any long balls towards Wayne Rooney or Javier Hernandez will need to be even more accurate.

Picture: MAIN MAN: Lionel Messi enjoying a Barcelona training session at Wembley yesterday.Picture: PA