The finals countdown

This week is all about two football finals - one, the most prestigious match in club football, the other ostensibly the most valuable.

Wednesday sees Manchester United and Barcelona battle it out to be crowned kings of Europe in a game that could, if the footballing gods are in an affable mood, be one of the best Champions League finals ever.

But before that, tomorrow afternoon to be precise, Burnley and Sheffield United go head-to-head for a place in the promised land that is the Premier League and an estimated financial jackpot of up to £60 million - enough to buy you a sizeable chunk of Kaka.

First of all though, let's take a look at that little match in Rome. It is, as I have mentioned before, a clash between the two teams that most neutrals wanted to see fighting for European glory.

In one corner you have Manchester United, the reigning European champions who are looking to do that rarest of things and defend this particular title.

In the other you have Barcelona, a team full of attacking flair and creativity who play football the way it is meant to be played and in a manner that obviously appeals to Norwegian referees.

It's a match that is, to borrow a phrase Americans use frequently, too close to call. United can, on their day, be an almost impossible team to beat. Unusually this season, however, they have had an extraordinary number of off-days.

Their domestic performances have still been enough to secure them their third consecutive title, but there have been numerous occasions over the course of the season when their defence has been as questionable as a British MP's expenses claim.

Barcelona, on the other hand, have been in formidable domestic form. Guardiola's team have already completed a league and cup double in quite emphatic fashion and they are now looking to become the first Spanish side ever to do the treble.

Between them, these teams have some of the best attacking players in European football on display: Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov, Messi, Henry, Eto'o, Iniesta. Each one of those is capable of winning the game with a defence-splitting pass, a surging run or a moment of skillful magic.

Most of the attention will, inevitably, be on Ronaldo and Messi - the world player of the year and the man many expect to take that title off him. If those two hit anything like their peak form then the words 'football treat' could be an understatement.

At this stage I would normally stick my neck out and make some wild prediction on who is going to walk away with the glory and who is going to have their collective hearts broken. Yet in this case I think it really is a match that could go either way. That's not me sitting on the fence, but merely stating the truth. Betting on which one of these teams will win is something that should be left to those with buckets of unwanted cash burning a hole in their pockets.

However, if you had to threaten me at gunpoint to pick a winner then I would probably go for Barcelona. Even though Manchester United have the advantage of Darren Fletcher being suspended for the game, I think Barcelona might just be a tiny bit more hungry for success than their opponents. After all, if there was any justice in football, they wouldn't even be there.

Meanwhile, before a ball is kicked in anger over in Rome, there is the not inconsiderable matter of that Championship play-off final to think about.

Certainly for me, and probably for Malta's economy in general, this is the more significant of this week's two big matches.

On a personal level, Sheffield United are possibly only 90 minutes away from regaining the top flight status they lost thanks to West Ham's dodgy dealings two seasons ago.

And as a passionate Blade for the past 30 years, the importance of that cannot be understated.

Every genuine football fan wants to see their team pitting their wits against the very best, week-in, week-out. Without being disrespectful to the lower leagues, for which I have great affection, you want to see the side you support taking on the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

The other thing about promotion which means the world to us exiled supporters is that it means we get to watch our team every week on television. For those of us who can't get to see them in the flesh, this is the next best thing. There is only so long you can listen to games on the radio before your brain starts to seize up out of sheer frustration.

The financial rewards, of course, are another reason why fans of United and Burnley are dreaming of Wembley success tomorrow. £60 million is the sort of money that can make a real and significant difference to a football club.

Not only does it give you added financial stability at a time when clubs are struggling to survive, it also means your club can look at bringing in the type of players you want to see playing for them. Not a whole Kaka, maybe, but certainly lads of quality.

Tomorrow's game is equally important for Malta. As sponsors of Sheffield United, the exposure our small island will be getting is superb. In fact, I would go as far as to say this one match alone is worth the sponsorship money the Malta Tourism Authority has forked out this season. Every single penny.

Millions of people in England and tens of millions more around the world will be tuning in to see who wins the right to dine at English football's top table. And each and every one of those people will see the words visitmalta.com a thousand times during the game.

On top of that, should Sheffield United do the business, then Malta will be in pole position to be shirt sponsors of a Premier League team and benefit from the limitless publicity that goes with it.

Although the recent deal signed between the club and the MTA only applies if Sheffield United remain in the Championship, Malta has first refusal on upgrading the deal in the Premiership.

And, forgetting that this happens to involve my team for a minute, I think we would be crazy not to. If the boot was on the other foot, for example, and the MTA had a similar deal in place with Burnley, then I would still be all in favour of the deal being upgraded.

In marketing terms, the Premier League is incredibly popular, with more international appeal than just about any other sporting product on the planet. If the opportunity to be Premier League shirt sponsor arises then the MTA need to grasp it with both hands.

There is every chance the Blades will do their bit on the pitch come 4 p.m. tomorrow. Then it's up to the MTA to get out the chequebook and ensure it dosen't let this opportunity slip through its fingers.

Your say

Lino Apap, Mosta, reites:

"Although I know you are not a Man United supporter, I guess you must be celebrating along with the rest of us, seeing that your prediction for the Premiership has in fact come true. United's defeat in March did nothing to derail the defence of their title, apart from spicing it up a little and giving poor old Rafa Benitez the screaming jib-jabs!

"Readers may recall what was said by a Mr A. Galea from St Julian's, namely that 'Contrary to what you say, our (Liverpool's) victory at Old Trafford does change things this season. It means the title race is now on and whether you like it or not, the Reds will be crowned champions.' Famous last words indeed! Unless Mr Galea was referring to the Manchester Reds.

"Besides being a 'travesty of a result' as Sir Alex called it, the only thing Liverpool achieved in that game was to goad United on to this 11th Premiership title (against Liverpool's zero) and 18th Championship title (equalling Liverpool's tally).

"Contrary to what Rafa Benitez is bleating, United did not steal anything. It was a deserved achievement, the result of losing some battles but winning the 'war' as United have been doing consistently for these past three years on the trot and throughout the history of the Premier League.

"Nor did United win the Premier League by simply throwing money at it as Benitez is also saying. Compared to Chelsea and Liverpool, United are on a par, so please let's not have that old chestnut trotted out again.

"Sir Alex and United did what they do best - they worked hard, ground out results and kept their feet firmly on the ground, unlike some other teams we know who believed the Holy Grail was won way back in January and then again in March on the strength of one result. United may have lost against Liverpool but they won more matches than Liverpool did and drew less - and that, gentlemen, is what winning the Premiership is all about.

"Better luck next year, Mr Galea! Mr Calvert - your predictions ain't half bad."

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com