The city of Barcelona erupted in celebration yesterday (L) after their beloved Catalan side won the Champions League by beating Manchester United in the final in Rome. (R) Barca's victory was the icing on the cake of a fabulous season under new coach Josep Guardiola, as they completed a historic treble by winning the domestic league and cup and the Champions League. Italian press on Thurs-day crow-ned Lionel Messi the new king of world football following Barcelona's comprehensive 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final here.
A major sub-plot in the build-up to the match was not only the clash between the best two teams on the planet but also the top two players: Barca's Messi and United's Cristiano Ronaldo.
And while United's Portugal winger started brightly, it was goalscorer Messi who got the nod from the Italian judges.
"Messi made Ronaldo disappear, it's him the new king of the world," proclaimed the Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's most popular newspaper.
"The beginning was Ronaldo's. Three shots in nine minutes. But after (Samuel) Eto'o's goal, the story changed completely.
"Barca started to stamp their rhythm, to dance their dance, playing quick and precise passes."
But the plaudits weren't just showered on Messi. His fellow goalscorer Eto'o and midfield lynchpins Xavi and Andres Iniesta also came in for lavish praise.
"Iniesta was great, Xavi played like three people, Messi was an incredible flea (untouchable), Eto'o was deadly," enthused the Corriere dello Sport who also hailed Barca coach Pep Guardiola's victory over his United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Guardiola dominated Ferguson, an historic treble for the Catalans," it added, referring to the three trophies Barca have won, including the Spanish league and cup.
On United's side only goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and Ronaldo escaped criticism from the Corriere.
"Van der Sar limited the damage, Ronaldo on his own wasn't enough, (Ryan) Giggs up front was a fish out of water, (Wayne) Rooney was merely a support act, (Michael) Carrick was isolated," was their damning verdict.
Another newspaper, the Corriere della Sera, hailed Cameroon forward Eto'o, who Barca had tried to offload before the season began.
He refused to budge and became an integral factor in the club's stunning success.
"The night of the man with the suitcase," it proclaimed. "Eto'o: from the exit door to triumph."
It also had a word to say about the Italian government's attempts to avoid trouble by imposing a much-flouted alcohol ban.
"Two injured, a few bruises, 15 arrests. The alcohol ban didn't work," was its sombre assessment.
Nasir's four lifts Feni:
Three teams won by big margins in the Basundhara Champions Club Cup held across the country yesterday.
Nasir scored four out of Feni Soccer Club's nine against Comilla Mohammedan at the winner's home ground.
Up north, hosts Rajshahi's Diganta Prasari Sangha crushed Alor Disari of Chapainawabganj 7-1 and Dinajpur Football Academy rode on Sharif's hattrick to beat Samya Sports and Cultural Ghoshti 6-0.
In the other matches, Jamalpur Mohammedan, Shariatpur, Moin Smriti Sangsad (Jessore) and Udayan Krira Chakra (Tangail) won their respective matches while the match between PK Union (Satkhira) drew with Raipur Jagarani (Meherpur).
2011 WC to cost $50m:
The 2011 World Cup, to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, is expected to cost the ICC between US$40 million to $50 million according to reports.
The PTI quoted Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's chief administrative officer and tournament director, on the figures after he and representatives of other member countries attended a preliminary meeting with ICC commercial manager Jamie Campbell and events manager Christopher Tetley.
"All the expenses are to be borne by the ICC," Shetty said. "The representatives of the member countries were told by the ICC representatives how to take care of the expenses."
Shetty said each country will prepare an individual budget and then a combined budget will be presented to the Central Organising Committee to meet in London in June.
Sachin praises photographers:
Having been chased endlessly by them all his life, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar acknowledged the importance of photographer in a cricketer's life in his own modest way.
"As a cricketer I can tell you, I have seen photographers sit under the sun on a cricket field for an entire day, waiting for that one magical moment," said the champion batsman who felicitated the winners of the photo contest based on the theme "Streets of Mumbai" here last night.
"It is thanks to you that we cricketers get a chance to relive all those golden moments in our lives once again," Tendulkar said.
To the sheer delight of the queuing photographers, who had till then scrambled to snap him with their lenses, the cricket legend also fulfilled their desire of being clicked with him.
Lauding them, the master said, "The theme of 'Streets of Mumbai' is a novel concept. The photo-journalists have made a real effort in capturing the spirit of Mumbai."
Champs League out of ICC FTP:
The ICC has contradicted claims made by Lalit Modi on the IPL's official website by insisting the Champions Twenty20 League has not been incorporated into the Future Tours Programme. Modi, the IPL chairman, told the tournament's site the "Champions League has already been slotted in as part of the FTP", but Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has denied the claim.
"The ICC Board, which includes all Full Members, worked together last October to come up with a date for this year's Champions League tournament that was mutually convenient for all," Lorgat said in a statement. "However, that was only as part of a wider discussion on when we could play the Champions Trophy, which was postponed from Pakistan in 2008 and relocated to South Africa.
"The FTP does not include any fixtures between domestic teams, even those from more than one country, and only features ICC events, such as the ICC Cricket World Cup, the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC World Twenty20, and bilateral fixtures between Full Member international teams.
Lorgat added that he had been in contact with Modi, and the pair were in "full agreement on this matter."
The Champions Twenty20 League, sanctioned by the ICC, gets underway on October 8, just five days after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy in South Africa. The tournament, which will feature the top domestic Twenty20 teams from Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies, finishes on October 23. The inaugural edition was set for last year but it was cancelled following the terror attacks in Mumbai.
The 2009 edition will feature 12 teams instead of eight and the venues will be decided next month.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson blasted his own team's dire defending for their convincing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in Wednesday's Champions League final in Rome's Stadio Olimpico.
United had been the reigning champions and were attempting to become the first team to retain the title since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1993.
They were also hoping to complete a remarkable quadruple having already won the English Premier League, League Cup and Club World Cup this season.
And with the experience of knocking Barcelona out of this competition at the semifinal stage last season with a rock solid defensive display that saw their rearguard unbreached over two legs, he was expecting better from his team here.
But they were stunned by a 10th-minute opener from Samuel Eto'o having dominated until that point and then the diminutive Lionel Messi got between towering giants Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea to head home 20 minutes from time.
"It was the first goal which didn't help, for sure. It gave them the opportunity to keep possession and do really well," said Ferguson.
"We didn't plan to lose a goal as early as that. We didn't deal with it well enough, that really was the story.
"It was a disappointing performance and some individuals will feel it themselves. It's very difficult to put a finger on every part of the game.
"I thought that at the start of the game we did very well and to lose a goal from a situation like that was bad.
"If you look at our best performances this season we defended really well, tonight our defending was shoddy.
"The first goal gave them a great boost and after that their ball possession with Messi dropping into midfield made it very difficult to get the ball back.
"But credit to them, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about that now."
Although United started brightly with Cristiano Ronaldo going close on three occasions in the first nine minutes, they then failed to play the kind of bristling attacking football they are capable of.
Ferguson had picked a seemingly less attacking line-up than he might have done, leaving Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez on the bench and playing Ryan Giggs in the hole behind lone striker Ronaldo.
Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung played disciplined roles on the flanks but the England man was far from his best and the Korean had a poor game.
Even so, Ferguson defended his team selection against a club who are known for their mesmeric midfield passing game with conductors Xavi and Andres Iniesta leading a footballing opera.
Asked why he hadn't picked a more attacking line-up, Fergie was defiant.
"It's a simple reason, we recognised the strength of Barcelona's three central midfielders (Sergio Busquets being the third on Wednesday) and we tried to use Ryan Giggs as a player who can play towards the front but can also drop into midfield, and he's better at that (than another forward) because he's a natural midfield player," he said.
The 67-year-old Scot also said the absence of suspended countryman Darren Fletcher had hurt the team as Anderson had an inglorious game before he was substituted at half-time to make way for Tevez.
"I thought before the game that maybe he could be important for us because he's a big game player," said Ferguson.
"Of course it was a loss but they had losses as well (Eric Abidal, Dani Alves and Rafael Marquez).
"It's difficult to measure against Barcelona's losses but it showed itself tonight as a loss."
Manchester United were ripped to shreds by a superior Barcelona in the Champions League final, taking Alex Ferguson's hopes for a place in history down with them, British newspapers said Thursday.
"United leave Rome in ruins," said The Times, after the 2-0 defeat in the Italian capital on Wednesday. "United fold without a fight," said the Guardian.
There was universal admiration for Barcelona's performance -- and scathing words for United, which had hoped to become the first team to retain the Champions League for a second year running.
The Sun said Barca offered a "mesmerising" performance which made United look "as lifeless as the statues that lined the road to the Stadio Olimpico".
"It's Messi-cre for Fergie flops" said the Sun, referring to Barcelona's Lionel Messi who scored the second goal of the night 20 minutes from time.
"Ferguson's side, making elementary mistakes at the back, didn't have an answer," said one commentator in the tabloid.
A columnist in the Daily Mail defended the English side, saying: "United are the real deal. Champions of England, Europe and the world going into this game and for Barcelona to make them look second best was a stunning achievement."
It noted that United started well but were thrown off by Samuel Eto'o's first goal on 10 minutes -- and never recovered.
"United are a side awash with knowledge and confidence, yet those qualities are no protection against the shock that follows the loss of a goal so early on a night of this importance," said one commentator in the Guardian.
Even with the knowledge that United are kings of the English Premier League and also won the English League Cup and World Club Championship this year, the defeat will weigh heavy on Ferguson, who has managed the team since 1986.
The 67-year-old Scot had hoped to secure his place in the history books with a second successive Champions League win for the team and a third European trophy for himself -- but will have to wait another year.
"No matter how much you've won, losing hurts like hell. It burns away at your soul," said one commentator in the Daily Mirror.
"And as Sir Alex Ferguson's dreams of another chapter in the history of the game evaporated in the fetid Roman air last night, there was nothing even he could do about it."
Immortal' Barcelona:
The Spanish press Thursday hailed Barcelona as a "legend" and "immortal" after it won the Champions League and completed a unique treble for the season.
"Champions! (three times)", headlined the Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia.
Barca and their supporters have experienced "the greatest night in their history by winning the Champions League," it said.
Barcelona "has become a legend" and its name "will remain in history forever," said another newspaper from the semi-autonomous Catalonia region, of which Barcelona is the capital.
Goals from star forwards Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans a deserved victory over Manchester United in Rome on Wednesday night. They also achieved an historic treble, having already won their domestic league and cup.
Papers in the Spanish capital, home to Barca's arch-rival Real Madrid, also acclaimed the victory.
"This team ... is a work of art" and "the whole planet bows before the best team in the world," said sports daily Marca.
Another sports paper, AS, described it as a "fabulous victory" and said Spanish football "confirms its supremacy."
The nation's top-selling paper, El Pais, said Barcelona now has "a legendary triple crown" and is "at the top of the world"
El Mundo said the "Barcelona empire" had "buried the dreams of Manchester United.
'Ribery going nowhere':
Bayern Munich have moved to dismiss reports that Chelsea are locked in negotiations to sign midfielder Franck Ribery, claiming that the Frenchman is ''not for sale''.
Various tabloids in the UK have linked the Frenchman with a move away from Germany in recent weeks, and new speculation had suggested that the two clubs have now agreed a fee for the 26-year-old.
Bayern have stated that they want to keep Ribery, although that has not stopped the speculation about his future, forcing the club into another public statement.
"This story is completely untrue," Bayern media officer Markus Horwick told Deutsche Presseagentur. "Franck Ribery remains not for sale."
Ribery currently earns around 134,000 pounds-a-week in Germany but may choose to leave the Allianz Arena in the summer, and Chelsea target Carlo Ancelotti recently revealed that he would be one of the first players he would sign if he took over as manager at Stamford Bridge.
If the Londoners do eventually do a deal it will be considered be a bitter blow to Premier League rivals United, who have long wanted the Frenchman as a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Ronaldo's apparent willingness to stay at Old Trafford after the long-running saga over his prospective move to Real Madrid means that Sir Alex Ferguson has cooled his interest.
Ribery has also been linked with Real in recent months, while Barcelona dropped their interest after talks with Bayern over a possible deal were made public.
