United can sink Barca in final

Alex Ferguson’s middle name has become ‘Mr Honours’ as he prepares for a possible magical double of Premier League and Champions League.

Since the European Cup was revamped and renamed as the Champions League in 1992, Manchester United have won the silverware on two occasions and finished as losing finalists once.

That upset came at the hands of Barcelona (0-2) in Rome in 2009 and now United are keen to turn the tables on their opponents at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.

This is the third time in the last 19 years that an English venue has been chosen to host the final.

On the previous two occasions no English club was involved but United will go all out this time to delight the home nation.

In 1992 (Wembley), Barcelona beat Sampdoria 1-0 and at Old Trafford, in 2003, Milan beat their Italian counterparts Juventus 3-2 on penalties.

Manchester United have won the coveted cup three times (the same number as Barcelona

1968: beat Benfica 4-1 aet (Charlton 2, Best, Kidd) at Wembley.

1999: beat Bayern Munich 2-1 (Sheringham, Solskjaer) in Barcelona.

2008: beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw (Ronaldo) in Moscow. Penalties: Tevez, Carrick, Ronaldo (saved), Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson, Giggs.

Since that Barcelona defeat in 2009, United lost two important players − Ronaldo and Tevez.

Fate has paired the two sides that won their first European Cup at Wembley Stadium before the famous venue was demolished and rebuilt.

Lionel Messi, who had caused so much harm to the United defence in the 2009 Rome final, must be denied space and time by United players to prevent a repeat of his match-winning performance.

The Red Devils can rely on Wayne Rooney, a match winner in his own right.

Both managers, Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, will again lead their teams out after their Rome meeting.

Guardiola is only the sixth man to win the European Cup both as a player and coach, following in the footsteps of Miguel Munoz (Spain), Giovanni Trapattoni (Italy), Johan Cruyff (Netherlands), Carlo Ancelotti (Italy) and Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands).

Head to head

Manchester United’s past clashes with Barcelona produced positive outcomes.

The Red Devils can also boast a cup final victory and the semi-final win in 2008 at the expense of the Catalan side.

1983-84 (Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final): Away 0-2, Home 3-0 (aggregate 3-2).

1990-91 (Cup Winners’ Cup final, Rotterdam): 2-1 (Hughes 2).

1994-95 (Champions League, group match): Home 2-2, Away 0-4 (one point).

1998-99 (Champions League, group match): Home 3-3, Away 3-3 (two points each).

2007-08 (Champions League, semi-final): Away 0-0, Home 1-0 (Aggregate 1-0).

2008-09 (Champions League, final, Rome): 0-2

Top marksmen

Barring a bizarre outcome in Saturday’s Wembley showdown, Argentine striker Messi will finish this season’s Champions League as the top marksman as his closest rivals will not be involved in the final.

The Red Devils’ top scorer in Europe is veteran Welsh winger Ryan Giggs who scored four goals.

The top three scorers read:
11 − Messi (Barcelona)
8 − Gomez (Bayern Munich), Eto’o (Inter)
7 − Ozil (Real Madrid)

56 British finalists in Europe

Fulham, last year’s Europa League finalists, and Manchester United’s presence at Wembley on Saturday bring the total of British finalists in Europe to 56