Champions League - Team of the season

Eurosport - Thu, 28 May 16:42:00 2009

Unsurprisingly, newly-crowned European champions Barcelona dominate our team of the season, with six players rewarded with a place in our elite selection.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Champions League Iniesta Eto'o Messi - 0

GK: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United) - Just four goals conceded during United's run to the final speaks volumes for the goalkeeper's form this season. Another two in Rome blotted his copybook somewhat, but few can argue the Dutchman has been the continent's standout keeper this season.

RB: Dani Alves (Barcelona) - A silly booking may have cost the Brazilian his place in the final, but his attacking displays over 12 previous appearances set the standard for right-backs across Europe.

CB: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United) - Like most of his team-mates, the Serb stopper suffered an off-day in the final, but his form on the road to Rome cannot be questioned. Imperious. And scary.

CB: Gerard Pique (Barcelona) - The 22-year-old showed promise during his spell with United, but since arriving back home in Catalonia, he has blossomed into one of the best defenders in Europe. His outstanding performance in the final was testament to that.

LB: Patrice Evra (Manchester United) - The skilful Frenchman offers so much more than solid defensive work and his forays forward have been a feature of United's attacking play all season long.

CM: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) - The little Spaniard's midfield partnership with Xavi is second to none and while Lionel Messi gets all the plaudits for the goals he scores, Iniesta is the player who really makes Barca tick. Capped off a fine season with a sublime performance in the final.

CM: Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona) - Another of Barca's unsung heroes, Xavi's midfield nous has helped propel Barca to glory. Always available, and seemingly always in space, the Spain international's brilliant final performance mirrored the way much of his season has gone.

AM: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) - Another seven goals for Gerrard during this year's Champions League campaign again proved his invaluable worth to his side. There is no one better breaking forward from midfield than the Liverpool skipper, nor are there many more inspirational players.

FW: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - The best player in the world debate will rage on over the summer, but the Argentine ace certainly got the upper hand on Cristiano Ronaldo in Rome. And his performances in Europe over the course of the season have done much to suggest Messi actually merits the title of the 'new Maradona'.

FW: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) - The forward may not have lived up to the sky-high expectations he set himself last season, but whenever he has the ball at his feet, the sense of fear in the opposition is palpable. His goal against Porto was simply stunning.

FW: Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona) - In a season where goals have been Barcelona's trademark, it would be remiss not include a Blaugrana striker in our elite team. The Cameroon international (pictured with Iniesta and Messi) gets the nod for his exquisite finish in the final, although team-mate Thierry Henry could easily have made the cut.

Manager: Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) - Sure, Alex Ferguson took his side to yet another European final, but the Barcelona boss's feat - a treble in his first season in charge - is all the more impressive when you consider he is just 38 years old. A long and glittering future awaits.

Eurosport

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  1. to comment 130..VICTOR V i can't believe real fans­ still have the face to log on and post comments...buddy­ we thumped u at the bernabau...we won everything this­ season...messi is the best player in the world no1 can­ deny that and what's more ronaldo will never join­ real madrid...all what you'll get next season is­ the middle finger and shambolic exit at the KO stage of­ the UCL...franco is dead so is the legend of real­ mads'hit! VISCA ELBARCA...tough luck man utd fans u­ were fantastic at rome!

    From Abby, on Fri 29 May 2:56PM

  2. Rooney is also a good player!

    From Jerry, on Fri 29 May 2:30PM

  3. To real fans, Real = 0 players 0 fun 0 talent o­ footballlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, o­ brains, no acadimy for players to creat some even their­ legend raul was atlatico de madrid player, destifano­ was barca, ronaldo was barca, figo was barca, and a lot­ more, real who change couches more than players will­ always be the same steeling players from others. i want­ to invite u guys to look at their website and see the­ lies of acheavments of the club. specially this year.­ Raul hit the record of games, Raul beat distifano, we­ are the best team in the second half, that means if­ they conced 6 goals in the first half and the score one­ in the second will make them the best team in the­ second half, any way the defeat from barca at bernabue­ can tell the story. Finally real = nothing actually­ same as chelsea. at least if u watch to enjoy football­ u got to watch barca, liverpool, man u, inter, but if u­ want to watch animals playing u got to watch real and­ chelsea, by the way next year they will be at animal­ planet and dicovery channels.

    From ziads, on Fri 29 May 12:35PM

  4. Ok, comment 127, let me ask you why our runners up­ (liverpool) beat your runners up (Real) 5-0 on­ aggregate? Why Villareal got thumped by Arsenal? Why­ Athletico didn't even make it past Porto? Why there­ were no Spanish teams past the lst 16 in the Uefa Cup?­ When we drew with Villareal, we did'nt play like­ our lives depended on it, we knew we were going through­ anyway, we got a harder match by finishing top of our­ group anyway. And have you noticed that Platini and­ Blatter hate the premier league? they are scared that­ we will dominate Europe year after year, yet they­ werent complaining during the all italian and spanish­ finals. definitely biased. And youre still avoiding the­ point I made when I said Barca would only last till­ Christmas in the Prem, which is true. And you really­ cant complain about the lack of financial muscle in La­ Liga. Just look at Madrid, they spend more in one year­ than Arsenal do in five yet Arsenal are still better­ than them. British transfer record is £32 mill wheras­ the Spanish is £46 mill. A bit of a gap there dont you­ think? I've said this alrady and I'll say it­ 1000 times again, you may have the best team in the­ world but the rest of your league can't compare to­ the prem.

    From alextheodossiadis, on Fri 29 May 12:23PM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    To barcelona_mes_que_un_club_mis_corrones

    You talk­ @#$% maricon.Ronaldo is going to REAL MADRID and will­ play in your league very soon...Lets see then if Lionel­ Mierdas is better then him...REAL FOR LIVE

    From VICTOR V, on Fri 29 May 9:49AM

  6. wtf?

    From nike_predator, on Fri 29 May 6:44AM

  7. Regardless of whatever the English fans say at this­ point.....reflects only that they cannot accept losing­ without putting the blame on someone else. Live with­ it...you lost and that will be on record forever!

    From marilacson, on Fri 29 May 1:29AM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The reason I'm saying that La Liga is better than­ premiershit is because of a similar reason you english­ fans look at. You only look at the last 2-3 years of­ champions league, where spanish teams and italians had­ some trouble. Why don't you look at the facts and­ all the history of CL. In Spain, you have madrid with­ the most CL trophies, you have Barcelona with the most­ goals in CL, 851 goals, and madrid comes second with­ 850 goals, you also have spain leading with 12­ trophies, you also have raul the leading scorer in CL.­ Also the fact that you english fans don't face the­ facts and don't show respect for the opposing­ teams. You always talk about Barca not surviving in­ premiershit, well guess what, we knocked out chelsea,­ and we destroyed man u, the so called the permiershit­ champions. Also another fact, you again say that La­ Liga teams are so weak, than let me ask you, why the­ premiershit champions man u could not beat a 5 place La­ Liga team Villareal? I'm trying to prove a point­ here, don't just look at the last 2-3 years, and­ don't just look at 4 english teams, because they­ are the only tought teams in england, the rest suxk.­ It's almost guaranteed for arsenal, man u,­ liverpool, chelsea to get the top 4, where as in Spain­ you have seville, atletico madrid, villareal, valencia,­ real madrid, Barcelona and more fighting for top 4,­ because the teams in La Liga are a lot tougher, where­ as in england you only have top 4. Alos in 2002, we­ had a Spanish all finals, Valencia v Madrid, and you­ did not hear much of Spanish fans saying "oh we­ are the best because we have an all Spanish­ finals," like you english fans say. Also, the­ reason the top 4 teams in england are good teams, is­ because you have bilionares buying the clubs, and they­ have money to buy good players, where as in spain, you­ have members investing in clubs, and you have more home­ grown players. Also, the fact is, that the whole world­ knows that Barcelona does play the

    From barcelona_mes_que_un_club, on Fri 29 May 1:02AM

  9. Comment 130, you may have the best team in the world,­ but one team doesn't make a league the best in the­ world. The rest of you league is @#$%, we have the top­ four who would give a hard challenge to barca in la­ liga and lots of other quality teams such as Everton,­ Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham - who would­ all be more than capable of beating Real Madrid in La­ Liga. Our relegation teams would easily make it as mid­ table teams in la liga. Also I'd like to see Barca­ grind out 38 very physical matches in the prem. Messi,­ Alves, Iniseta and Henry would all be black and blue by­ September. Neither Barca nor Madrid would last the­ distance, thats why the premier league is the better­ than la liga.

    From alextheodossiadis, on Fri 29 May 12:06AM

  10. to comment 129/130. wrong. i said before, congrats to­­ barca, this year they were the best. second premier­­ league is the best league, they lead in the 5 years­­ uefa point rankings(dunno how it works but it's a­­ fact) third. premier league had constantly 3 teams in­­ the last eight in the last 5-6 years i think, each­ time­ they met a spanish club they got past it(almost,­ barca­ won 2 games with the english teams, their last­ two­ finals, first of wich they did not deserved to).­­ barca's team defense is weak compared with the­­ defenses the premier league teams have, so what if­ they­ scored against man utd? and with a header?­ maradona­ scored with his hand, that did not make him­ better or­ the argentinian team better than England.­ TRUE: last­ night barca were the best, but man utd­ played awful, if­ they played like that in the semi­ they wouldn't­ have got here. next man did not­ deserve the crown this­ year, they had lots of 1-0 and­ lots of boring games,­ liverpool deserved it, but­ things don't go today in­ the right way. last :STOP­ judging an entire­ championship by a single team, and a­ single­ performance. i admit barca is #1 in the world­ but the­ next 4 teams are with no doubt the big four in­ england.­ if you are so proud of your championship­ think about­ the fact that the last 2 titles in spain­ were won by a­ team that did not manage in the last 4­ years to get­ past the last 16, they were not in the­ last 8 in these­ 4 years. fact. Barca are the best,­ Premier League is­ the best

    From First L, on Thu 28 May 10:17PM

  11. First of all what I'm about to say goes to the ones­ who hate Barcelona, La Liga, and have been talking­ trashhhh throughout the season about them. First of all­ Premiershitt is not better than La Liga. Now Spain has­ 12 CL trophies, 1 more than England and Italy. Second,­ Barca leads the goals scored in CL, with 851 goals, and­ second come madrid with 850 goals. Third, Barca is the­ only team in Europe to compeete every year in a­ European Competition.This proves that La Liga is­ Better. Also, you english fans complained about­ Barca's defense not being good. Barca were missing­ Alves, Abidal, Marques, and Milito, 4 of their key­ players, and still Man U could not score a single goal­ against Barca. You english fans complained about Messi­ not being a great player and not being a complete­ player, and saying that ronaldo is better, and Messi­ can't score against english teams, and can't­ score with his head. Here are the facts, Messi scored­ with his had against Man U, an english team, and he has­ scored with his head before too. Another fact, ronaldo­ himself has not scored a goal against an Spanish team.­ You english fans were also talking trashhh about­ english teams having better defender, and ViBITCH and­ Rio being the best defenders. Well let me ask you, did­ you see how they got outplayed, did you see how­ Eto'o outplayed ViBITCH and scored the goal? Did­ you see Henry and Messi outplaying Rio, ViBITCH and the­ whole man u defense? I'm sure you saw that. And for­ you english people that say that Barca has not played­ any hard teams, well let me tell you, Barca beat­ Seville home and away, beat Valencia, home and away,­ beat Villareal, the same team that man u could not­ beat, Barca beat them home and away, they beat Atletico­ Madrid 3 times, Barca also knocked out chelsea out of­ CL, by dominating the first leg, and came back in the­ second leg with 1 men down and scored against 10 men­ anti football team called chelsea, and Finally­ OUTCLASSED man u. TRUTH HURTS

    From barcelona_mes_que_un_club, on Thu 28 May 9:54PM

  12. First of all what I'm about to say goes to the ones­ who hate Barcelona, La Liga, and have been talking­ trashhhh throughout the season about them. First of all­ Premiershitt is not better than La Liga. Now Spain has­ 12 CL trophies, 1 more than England and Italy. Second,­ Barca leads the goals scored in CL, with 851 goals, and­ second come madrid with 850 goals. Third, Barca is the­ only team in Europe to compeete every year in a­ European Competition.This proves that La Liga is­ Better. Also, you english fans complained about­ Barca's defense not being good. Barca were missing­ Alves, Abidal, Marques, and Milito, 4 of their key­ players, and still Man U could not score a single goal­ against Barca. You english fans complained about Messi­ not being a great player and not being a complete­ player, and saying that ronaldo is better, and Messi­ can't score against english teams, and can't­ score with his head. Here are the facts, Messi scored­ with his had against Man U, an english team, and he has­ scored with his head before too. Another fact, ronaldo­ himself has not scored a goal against an Spanish team.­ You english fans were also talking trashhh about­ english teams having better defender, and ViBITCH and­ Rio being the best defenders. Well let me ask you, did­ you see how they got outplayed, did you see how­ Eto'o outplayed ViBITCH and scored the goal? Did­ you see Henry and Messi outplaying Rio, ViBITCH and the­ whole man u defense? I'm sure you saw that. And for­ you english people that say that Barca has not played­ any hard teams, well let me tell you, Barca beat­ Seville home and away, beat Valencia, home and away,­ beat Villareal, the same team that man u could not­ beat, Barca beat them home and away, they beat Atletico­ Madrid 3 times, Barca also knocked out chelsea out of­ CL, by dominating the first leg, and came back in the­ second leg with 1 men down and scored against 10 men­ anti football team called chelsea, and Finally­ OUTCLASSED man u. TRUTH HURTS

    From barcelona_mes_que_un_club, on Thu 28 May 9:51PM

  13. #126, this isnt based on goals scored, its based on the­ performance over the ENTIRE campaign. Perhaps its you­ who needs a brain scan for not realising this.

    From luke.elliff, on Thu 28 May 8:31PM

  14. klose scores 7 goals, and somehow ronaldo makes the­ team according to our very qualified eurosport pundits.­ talk about continuing to overrate epl players and­ undermine foreigners. if anyone believes this than i­ rest my case, go and see a doctor and give the name to­ the @#$% that wrote the article. he surely needs a­ brain scan.

    From go, on Thu 28 May 7:20PM

  15. 105 good team of the year. BARCA FAN

    From Jammiel Y, on Thu 28 May 7:01PM

  16. post 118 no XAVI, this only implies you are yet to­ understand good football, the type that holds a team­ like barce together and makes spain eurospean champions

    From Charles, on Thu 28 May 6:23PM

  17. nicholas clark. We have still got 2 trophies to parade.­ how many has your team got? I believe the answer would­ be­ 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000­ 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000­ 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000­ 000000000

    From jeemy.wilson, on Thu 28 May 5:59PM

  18. world best player for 2009. nominations are ronaldo,­ messi, iniesta. THE WINNER IS ANDRE ...

    From papaogos, on Thu 28 May 5:52PM

  19. Barca, well done and welcome to the club of "THE­­ REAL MASTERS OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL". Liverpool and­­ the rest (Bayern M, AC Milan, Ajax, Real Madrid)­­ welcomes you.

    From Godwin, on Thu 28 May 5:34PM

  20. anyway i was glad that barca shut all united fans­ mouths

    From Achiko, on Thu 28 May 5:22PM
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