This article recapitulates all its previous parts, which can be read at LM10 and WR. In other words, it demonstrates all what Manchester United and FC Barcelona have in common, thus, in the following sections of this article, we compare both teams’ resembling moments, as well as their strengths in attack.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – two great stars

Recently, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been regarded as the two best players in the world. Surely, it is unquestionable that these men have got talents, and in fact, it is not very common to find young, gifted players like this. As a result, Manchester United and FC Barcelona can boast about the precious forces that they possess in their attack.

Ronaldo is currently the world’s most admired number 7 player, and most of the praises he gets come from fans who are impressed by his moves, in addition to his goal scoring ability. The United ace was able to score 42 goals in the 2007-2008 season, and having been able to get most of the public’s attention, Ronaldo went on to win the Golden Ball award and the Fifa Player of the years prize.

Certainly, Cristiano Ronaldo is a good player; however, the task of finding another player like him didn’t look like the impossible. This was just the case for FC Barcelona, as their young forward Lionel Messi was capable of developing his skills to become one of the world’s most valuable players.

Messi is often regarded Maradona’s successor, and truthfully, this is not very surprising. Lionel Messi’s control over the ball is truly a wonder, and his abilities of making intelligent trough balls and scoring goals are clearly unquestionable. Leo got 38 goals, and assisted over 25 goals for his club last season; therefore, such an accomplishment explains how he was able to get that much trophies in a single season.

Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney – two influential number 10 players

Lionel Messi cannot only be compared to Ronaldo. Among stars such as Aguero, Iniesta, Gerrard and others, Messi’s best match could be Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.

Both Messi and Rooney wear the number 10 jersey on the pitch, and it is true that the influence they impose have been very useful to their teams – even if Messi’s power seems to be superior to Rooney’s.

As Lionel Messi kept making the news with his amazing goals and dribbling last season, Wayne Rooney kept helping his side with useful balls, and a good team spirit. Indeed, Rooney didn’t manage to get as many goals as Messi, neither did he manage to humble defenses the way the argentine kid did; nevertheless, he was able to raise his side when hope seemed to fade out.

If one can remember, Rooney had a great time in the Champions League’s quarterfinals, and so did Leo. Messi scored two goals against Bayern Munich in his side’s 4-0 win over the Germans, while Rooney scored a costly goal, and assisted Tevez’s own in United’s 2-2 draw at home to FC Porto.

Overall, both players had good seasons for their clubs, and also have they provided their country with their unarguable help, and aptitude…

Manchester United and FC Barcelona: Two trebles in one season

Manchester United’s 2007-2008 season was quite successful, and the year after, they were poised to repeat their great moments.

Well, it didn’t take long for their fans to celebrate again, for nearly 3 months after the start of the new season, United came back from Japan with the Fifa World Cup Club trophy. Several weeks later, the Red Devils also took hold of the Carling Cup, before claiming the Premier League title in May 2009.

At that moment, the Mancunians had already clinched a treble, and they were ready to complete their season with a fourth and final trophy, which was none other than the UEFA Champions League cup. This was without doubt a great dream; nonetheless, it never became a reality as FC Barcelona denied them a quadruple.

On their side, the Catalans had a great season, getting floods of goals, and amazing support. Barcelona’s first trophy happened to be the Copa del Rey, and wanting to complete a treble under their new coach Pep Guardiola, they immediately ended Real Madrid’s race for the La Liga title.

The Spanish Giants had a final competition to win: the Champions League.

On May 27, they met Manchester United in Rome at the Stadio Olimpico, and on this night they defeated the English champions 2-0 to make history by being the first Spanish side to ever win a treble.

Surprisingly, two European teams had made a treble in one single season – one could then think that this is the strangest thing in years of football.

In the next parts of this article, we will analyze and compare the evolution of these two teams since 2007; we will also discuss referees’ attitude towards these two great clubs. So please watch out, and don’t forget to follow the story here on LM10.

Some parts of “Manchester United and FC Barcelona: two teams that look alike” can also be read on Wayne Rooney’s fan site, at http://waynerooneyonline.com

Written by Isaac Asante

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