Twelve
minutes from the end of an enthralling, unrelenting Champions League
final, two Barcelona legends stood on the touchline and embraced. Andres
Iniesta took off the captain’s armband and wrapped it meticulously
around the upper arm of Xavi, his replacement. Xavi ran on to a great
roar from Barcelona’s fans.
The
best team of our generation said goodbye to one era last night and
ushered in another in the same instant. Xavi, their heart and soul
through the magical Pep Guardiola years will leave for Al Sadd in the
summer and others will follow him away from the Nou Camp.
But
the greatness will live on. Barcelona proved that. This is a new team
now, a team still capable of breathtaking football that can make your
heart sing but a team that can be tough and pragmatic, too. A team that
knows how to win.
Of
course, they were beautiful to watch when they beat Juventus 3-1 to win
their fifth European Cup, joining Bayern Munich and Liverpool in the
number of their triumphs. But this was a game they won with guts as well
as guile. Juventus made sure of that.
Following his 151st appearance in the
competition, Xavi hoists the European Cup aloft for the fourth time in
his unparalleled Barcelona career
Gerard Pique, himself a three-time winner of the competition, lifts the famous trophy in front of his jubilant team-mates
The ticker tape rains down in Berlin
as Barcelona celebrate their fifth European crown after a magnificent
performance against Juventus
Neymar is the centre of attention
following the game's conclusion after the brilliant Brazilian completed
the scoring in the Olympic Stadium
Luis Suarez hit the winner, finishing off a breathtaking counter-attack from Lionel Messi to give Barcelona a fifth European Cup
Suarez reacted
quickest to the loose ball after Gianluigi Buffon parried Messi's shot,
with the striker adjusting his body to sidefoot home
Suarez celebrated wildly as the Uruguayan ended a magnificent first season with the Catalan club in remarkable fashion
Barcelona players flock to Ivan
Rakitic after the Croatian schemer finished off a sweeping, incisive
move to give the Catalans an early lead
The helpless Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba can only watch as Rakitic' sidefooted effort beats the outstretched Gianluigi Buffon
Rakitic, man of the match in last
year's Europa League final while with Sevilla, further strengthened his
reputation as a big game player
Neymar added gloss to the result,
scoring with the last kick of the game to complete Barcelona's fourth
conquest of Europe in a decade
The Brazilian was magnificent throughout the match and celebrated his first Champions League victory following the final whistle
Marc-Andre ter Stegen lies helpless
after parrying Carlos Tevez's shot into the path of Morata, who prepares
to pounce for the equaliser
Gerard Pique, Carlos Tevez, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba , Pirlo and Rakitic watch open-mouthed as the Spanish striker sidefoots home
Morata, who scored against Real Madrid
in both legs of the semi-final, continued his hot streak with the
leveller ten minutes after the break
Rakitic is grabbed by a jubilant
Neymar after handing Barca an early lead to light the touchpaper on a
thrilling Champions League final
Rakitic, Neymar, Andres Iniesta and
Lionel Messi celebrate the opening goal on a magical night for the
Catalans in the German capital
Rakitic is mobbed by a flying Dani
Alves, grabbed by an exuberant Neymar and a roaring Sergio Busquets
after giving Barca an early lead
Barcelona players form a huddle in the corner of the pitch after seizing an early lead in a thrilling Champions League final
Luis Enrique throws his arms into the
air after completing the treble in a remarkable first season as head
coach with the Catalan club
Juventus
goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had praised Lionel Messi before the game as
'an extra-terrestrial who plays with us humans'. He said he hoped that
for one day he would return to earth and that was what Messi did.
For
once, this game was not about him even though he had a hand in both
Barcelona goals, scored by Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez. Messi played
well but for once, it was a team performance that won this. It was team
spirit as well as brilliance that got them through against the Italian
champions.
It
had seemed to begin with that Barcelona would cut loose when Rakitic
put them ahead after four minutes and it took a heroic effort from
Juventus just to stay in the game. They equalized early in the second
half but Suarez got the winner Barcelona deserved.
So
now the new era has begun. Forget any period of transition and the
problems the team was wrestling with early in the season when there was
discontent over the coaching of Luis Enrique. That’s history. Barcelona,
winners of this trophy in 2009 and 2011, are ready to rule again.
Juventus,
it is said, are a team who do not let you play well and they knew that,
if they were to have any chance of lifting the trophy, they had to try
to impose their very own Berlin Blockade on the greatest attacking trio
in club football.
And
for all the brilliance of Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr, the Italians knew
that, in particular, they somehow had to try to mute the genius of
Messi.
They
had to do it without Giorgio Chiellini, the most redoubtable of their
clutch of formidable defenders, who was injured in the build-up to the
match. And they had to do it even as world was still marvelling at
Messi’s wonder-goal in the Copa del Rey final last weekend.
How
do you stop a player like that? How do you stop a player who can start
from a stationary position on the half-line, take on the Athletic Bilbao
defence on his own, slalom through them, evading tackles, lunges and
pushes, and smash the ball into the corner of the net?
A tearful Andrea Pirlo applauds the Juventus supporters after a gut-wrenching defeat for the serial Italian champions
UEFA president Michel Platini hands
out the losers' medals to the Italians, who proved more than worthy
adversaries for Barcelona
Barcelona form a guard of honour for
Juventus as Arturo Vidal somehow manages to find a smile after
disappointing end to the season
Neymar flashed a shot just wide of Gianluigi Buffon's left-hand post when the Brazilian really should have hit the target
Juve were indebted to Buffon in the
13th minute, with the 37-year-old shifting his balance to make a
world-class save to stop Dani Alves' shot
Lionel Messi attracts plenty of
attention as the Argentine maestro torments his Italian opponents with
his trickery and close control
Juventus were incensed after seeing
this Jordi Alba tackle on Paul Pogba at the edge of the box go
unpunished by referee Cuneyt Cakir
Incensed players from Juventus surround Cakir following the incident, but Alba's tackle went unpunished by the Turkish official
Dani Alves and Pogba grapple but keep their eyes on the ball with the pair contested an fascinating duel throughout the game
Carlos Tevez attempts to elude Sergio Busquets as the Argentine striker looks to find a Juventus shirt
‘I
only give Juventus a small chance of success,’ Gianluca Vialli, who
captained the side the last time they won the trophy in 1996, said the
day before the game, ‘but if anyone can upset the apple-cart with
Barcelona, it is an Italian team.’
As
it was, the apple-cart stayed defiantly upright. Juventus pressed
Barcelona strongly in the first three minutes and caused Javier
Mascherano some discomfort but the fourth minute brought was different.
The first time Barcelona broke the shackles, they scored.
What
a goal it was, too. Messi drove an inch-perfect crossfield pass to
Alba. Alba laid it back to Neymar, who crossed for Iniesta. Some players
would have tried to score themselves but Iniesta is way too good to
have done that. He dragged the ball into the path of Rakitic instead and
Rakitic passed the ball into the empty net.
The
game had started with a verse of poetry. Juventus and Arturo Vidal
tried to drown the verse out with some industrial tackling that brought
him an early yellow card but Barcelona were not deterred. Only a
brilliant one-handed save by Gianluigi Buffon from Dani Alves shot
stopped Barcelona doubling their lead before 15 minutes had elapsed.
Barcelona
were beautiful, all flicks and unselfish runs and weighted passes and
clever angles. When they had the ball, Juventus struggled to look
anything other than utterly bewildered. But they did not give up. In
fact, they dragged themselves back into the game.
Led
by the indefatigable running of Paul Pogba and Carlos Tevez, they began
to make incursions of their own in the Barcelona box. Morata curled a
shot wide and, midway through the half, after they had harried Barcelona
out of possession, Marchisio unleashed a piledriver from 25 yards that
whistled just over Ter Stegen’s bar.
With a match ball tucked into his
T-shirt, Xavi is hoisted on the shoulders of Rakitic and Iniesta as he
prepares to say farewell to Barcelona
To rapturous applause, Iniesta made way for Xavi in the 78th minute, handing over the captain's armband to his close friend
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