Jim White

A fond farewell

Fri May 29 09:55AM

After my prediction for Wednesday night's Champions League final, I think it might be wise to lay off the futurology for a while. Rarely can anyone have misread a sporting occasion as badly as I did that one. Manchester United win a war of grind and attrition 2-1? Sorry. That I wasn't alone in my faith in Sir Alex Ferguson's men is about my only excuse. Or at least that is what I'm telling myself: nobody predicted quite such a hammering as United took at the feet of a brilliant Barcelona.

It reminded me of Ricky Hatton's fight with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas two years ago. That was another Mancunian sporting expedition full of misplaced confidence and ill-directed certainties. Before that fight, to a man the Manc crowd and most of the pundits had convinced themselves that Hatton had too much for his American opponent. Too hard, too fast, too strong, too brave was the consensus. In the event Hatton was rapidly put on his arse by someone far better than anyone, in their blinkered admiration for their own hero, accounted for.

So it was on Wednesday. The whole idea that United would first smother Barcelona then kill them with speedy counter attacks was over-turned by as close an expression of perfection as you will ever see on a football pitch.

As a tactic, Ferguson's 4-5-1 may have worked in the semi-final against Arsenal. But Arsenal could not call upon the midfield services of Lionel Messi, Xavi and above all Andres Inesta, a man who could find acres of room on a rush hour Circle Line train. You could put five men on Iniesta, and somehow he would wriggle free to find space to work.

There was one moment late in the game which exemplified the contribution of the man Wayne Rooney rightly identified as the finest midfielder in the world. Four United players formed a tight rectangle blocking the advance of Sylvinho on the Barcelona left. Suddenly Iniesta appeared as if from nowhere bang in the middle of the foursome to receive a pass from his full back. He then threaded the ball through to Xavi inside him. With one sprint and swivel he took out four opponents, making them look about as mobile and effective as training ground cones.

It was extraordinary to watch, a masterclass of skill, as breathtakingly entertaining as anything I have seen all season. It just made you think: how on earth did he do that? And more to the point: how on earth do you counter that? No wonder poor old Ferguson spent much of the game slumped and silent on his dug-out seat. He knew when he was beaten.

So, given that hopeless bit of speculation, I am not going to make any wild claim about who will win tomorrow's Cup final. There will be no banking on Everton morale or Chelsea physical strength from this quarter. The only thing that can be said without fear of events contradicting it is this: tomorrow marks the last occasion on which Guus Hiddink will lead out a Chelsea team and boy will they miss him.

Hiddink has proved to be an exemplary boss for the blues in his four months in charge. How those associated with the club must wish he were prepared to hang on rather than return to Moscow. He has a dignity that would have transformed the public image of a club widely derided for its venality.

Plus, he knows how to get the best out of players. He turned Nicholas Anelka into the Premier League's leading scorer, he restored Frank Lampard's equilibrium, he helped Alex at last to look the centre back he always threatened to be in his youth. Tactically astute, brilliant with a substitute, wry in a press conference, in contrast to his immediate predecessors in the Chelsea locker room, Hiddink is a man who makes it all look rather easy.

If he signs off with a victory tomorrow it will be a fitting farewell to the English game for a man who should have come earlier and ought to have stayed longer. Not, of course, that I am predicting it will happen.

Comments1 - 30 of 101
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1st...
From lewisgriffiths on Fri May 29 10:16AM
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Great stuff Jim, keep it coming, maybe bar the predictions
From h.worley on Fri May 29 10:50AM
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3rd
great article
From zahrahhaider on Fri May 29 11:01AM
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Excellent Jim! I think too many journalists and Man U fans were getting ahead of themselves in their praise of Manchester United and their 'best squad in the world'. It points to what Rafa Benitez was saying about his side, when he claimed that the best team didn't win the title: he was making the observation that Manchester United's first team is not the best (not that I'd be willing to play against them any time soon!), but the quality of their squad as a whole is second to none - including Barcelona. Barcelona won on Wednesday because their first team has greater quality and ability than Man U's first team.
From alex.ranahan on Fri May 29 11:35AM
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Again, if someone report abuse of my comment, I hate themm, bcoz again and again He is keep on posting about united, Think Chelsea were better but just unlucky, and Arsenal with such a budget and young players, could Ferguson do the same just like Wenger did? I don't think so.....
From gronkjaer_91 on Fri May 29 11:54AM
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at last i liked your comment but you need to be more fear and say that Utd are the most miserable team in CL finals ever !!!!
From kurchodurchev on Fri May 29 12:12PM
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Well, well Jim. Feel sorry for you and your other bloggers that Barcelona smacked it down your faces with the win against Man Yoo. Advice to you: Keep looking at the other leagues especially in the La Liga where you find quality sides like Villareal, etc who have much more in depth squads than the Man Yoo's you keep extolling. Good to know you've decided to "hang on" with your predictions though you have set out to do that to get your confidence back. Am neither a fan of Chelsea or Everton, (Tottenham Hotspur) am just looking forward to watching a great game to cap off a great season without Manchester United and it's Ronaldo captivating headlines for "remarkable, historical and unassailable feats." Long Live Football. Viva Barcelona!!!
From stanessel on Fri May 29 12:15PM
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Man United's greatest downfall was when they began believing the hypes poured down upon them. They believed. And complacency set in. Overconfidence took over that winning mindset. And they believe all that needs to be done is for them to appear on the pitch because the accolades have already been given to them. Yet the eggs haven't hatched. And what dire consequences. The higher the expectations the greater you fall. How true that would be. SAF would have a hard time trying to keep the team together and motivated for next season. Maybe that's when the vultures would swoop in for the kill. Let's hope Man United are men enough to admit their limitations and see them as possibilities for greater achievements.
From cokrowinoto on Fri May 29 12:28PM
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It's funny how the pendulum swings! Before Wednesday evening most of the comment I saw, anyway, was about how Utd would make history with their extra strength & power. Now I'm a Man Utd fan and I never quite believed that because I could see just how much better Barcelona are than most other teams in their own league, so I thought it could go either way. And, notwithstanding the way it did go, in the end, I still think that, if Utd had scored first (as they might have done in the first nine minutes) it could have gone the other way (or, at least, would have been much more of a contest). We'll never know, now, and Barcelona were unquestionably much the better side over the 90 minutes and fully deserved to win. But the folk on here who are banging on about dire consequences and so on for Utd are rather forgetting, I think, that they have still had a great season (third EPL title on the trot & Carling Cup winners) and will still, undoubtedly, be in the mix next year. And as for the idea that Villareal, for example, have a better squad - am I not right in thinking that Arsenal knocked them out of the CL, while Liverpool disposed, comfortably, of Real Madrid (the side which has finished second in La Liga)? There is only one team in La Liga which is stronger than the top four in the EPL just now - Barcelona.
From chrisdugg1 on Fri May 29 12:47PM
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at least you admit how wrong you got it. Just like almost every other british pundit. I guess you guys never really saw Barca play in La Liga and made all your assumptions off the Chelsea tie.
I never doubted their ability to dominate just about any team on the pitch.
The only question was if they were gonna be clinical. They were fairly clinical and that made it look easy.
If they were clinical in their finishing against Chelsea, it would have been the same
From damilolafal on Fri May 29 12:48PM
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good managers are hard to keep hold of these days
From menawaz on Fri May 29 12:53PM
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time for fergie to get a spanish midfielder like alonso to pass the ball well in midfield. carrick is too @#$%^%^^%^&&%
From amir9352233 on Fri May 29 12:56PM
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no. 7 Villareal who???? where does this team play??? I have not read of such a team in the semifinals or finals of Champions League
From kaggwa2000 on Fri May 29 12:57PM
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we forgive ur wrong prediction..
From amir9352233 on Fri May 29 12:59PM
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you are a liar jim
From bonajnr on Fri May 29 01:05PM
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Well said Jim as usual!
I thought by the start of your article you were giving a fond farewell...
Glad not. Keep up the good work!
From steg_ward on Fri May 29 01:05PM
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Great article Jim. I was saying to my friend the morning after that the game reminded me of Hatton vs Mayweather! Man Utd, like Hatton came out of the blocks all guns blazing and looking good only to be knocked off balance from a sucker punch by Eto. For the majority of the match, they threw everything at them but it just wasn't good enough and before you knew it they were on the back foot after 10 rounds and knocked the f**k out at 2-0! Patience, rhythm and class prevailed - KO!
From rickgellison on Fri May 29 01:12PM
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Who is Jim White ? I never read anything reasonable from him. All his predictions silly when he is in love with Man U and sir Ferguson.Jim not mature person he is a boy who fully supports Man U and does not understand philosophy of football game. I predicted that Barselona win 2-0 and it will be easy win for them. Also I put £500 on Barselona ! Also I was sure that no one can stop Barselona except Chelsea not because Chelsea better has better players but Gus Hiddink as a great strategist !
From kuzmafelix on Fri May 29 01:29PM
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Great Article Jim. Hiddink is the man! In my honest opinion, the best thing to happen to football management!
From peculiarpraise on Fri May 29 01:39PM
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Firstyly, Barcelona were not that great, they played an average Barcelona game, UTD were just terrible, that is why they lost.
Secondly, whoever said Hatton would beat Mayweather? Only someone who knows nothing about boxing would have seriously considered that Hatton coud have beaten Mayweather
From luke.walker on Fri May 29 01:44PM
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What most of the doom merchants forget is that it was a good game and, no matter what, Utd finished first in the Premier league, some 18 points in front of Arsenal, won the Carling Cup, World Club Championship and the Charity shield. But that is considered a failure, WHY?
Liverpool came 2nd, yes 2nd, and there are no cups or medals for that. We should just celebrate the fact that the premiership has had so much of their sides in the latter stages of the Champions League, and do we not all believe that Barcelona got to the final by default as Chelsea deserved their win ober Barca and were robbed!!
From tppearson on Fri May 29 01:50PM
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I AM SMOKER REEFER
From ringoireland on Fri May 29 02:27PM
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Obviously like most Englishmen you subscribe to the illusion that the premiership is the best league in the world,what a load of rot,La Liga is miles ahead,the only reason so many "stars" play in England is money [thanks sky !!] and is at the the expense of young British players.
From les358 on Fri May 29 02:29PM
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very good article, Jim...thanks!
From joelconner_stlmc on Fri May 29 02:32PM
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Sorry Jim but if you believed the emperors new clothes then as a professional journalist
you were just bieng lazy my son
Utd have not put in one great perfornance all season ,they have bullied and ground out results while playing very very average.
When they beat Fulham in the Fa cup you all started to tell anyone who would listen that this was the greatest united side ever.Rubbish
Liverpool had spectacular wins of both utd and real madrid to show they are moving forward
Utd had lucky win after lucky win
Their route to rome was the easiest of any team not once coming up against any form of class team
So next season put a bit of effort in and watch the games impartially then you wont be the last to here the cry
The king is in the all together ,the all together, the all together is all together naked as the day that he was born?
But lets face it ,it wouldn´t of been half as funny if you lot of mugs didn´t believe the hype lol lol lol
From toplfcfan on Fri May 29 02:34PM
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SADLY JIM WHITE YOU'RE STILL WRONG. EVEN WITH YOUR NEW FOUND HINDSIGHT.
AC Milan 4 - Barcelona 0. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL 1994. THAT WAS A HAMMERING.
2009 - MANCHESTER UNITED COPED WITH THEM. JUST TWO CASES OF SLOPPY DEFENDING. AND THE TACTICS WERE ALRIGHT. JUST A CASE OF NO MORE ROY KEANE IN CENTRE MIDFIELD. SADLY JI SUNG PARK AND ANDERSON HAVE NO FIGHT IN THEM.
From r.p10 on Fri May 29 02:49PM
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CHAMPIONS OF SPAIN,CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!
From achunkyjones on Fri May 29 02:50PM
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Meeshtur Fergooshon can I get you a dreenk Sir?
From steg_ward on Fri May 29 03:08PM
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Jim white- you need to be rational and journalitic in your view and comments.Do not count chickens before theyare hatched. Your comments mislead thpublic yet you ought to watch laliga regularly to come up with such comments. Man u are below barca standard and they won most of their premiership games by both luck and poor refreeing.Man u were taught football lessons that will never be forgotten.cheers Arsenal, viva liverpool and cherio chelsea.
From mapsnyika on Fri May 29 03:13PM
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Well written Mr. White. You are one of those rare English journalists who are willing to write the truth, though the egotistical Manchester United fans can't gulp down the fact that their team was really hammered as 'you have rightly pointed out.' I wish Barcelona had converted the 4/5 other chances they had against Man U and the score should have read 5-0 or 6-0, then only the foolish and arrogant Man U faithful would have gone into hiding and kept their mouth shut. It requires intelligence to understand that Barcelona outplayed Man U and 2-0 doesn't mean Man U played very well. Barcelona are the best, the whole world knew it, but we had to prove to a handful of impertinent Englishmen through this match that Barcelona and La Liga are the best.
From barcelonafan85 on Fri May 29 03:20PM
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