Credit where Credit is Due

I'm sure you all watched last night's (afternoon for those Stateside...) Champions League Final, and if your viewing experience was anything like mine, you were amazed continually by the virtuosity of Barcelona's players. The list could go on through every player on the pitch, but to name a two, Iniesta and Messi were ridiculous. The Spaniard carried the ball, connected with his forwards, recovered the ball on countless occasions fom the deflated Man U defense, and really was the thread that wove together Barcelona's attacking 2/3. I couldn't help but get chills when literally minutes ticked off the clock while the ball was under Barcelona's control. Especially in the final 30 minutes of the first half, they were untouchable.

Messi dominated as well - even the english, admittedly Manchester-supporting commentators noted his performance clearly outshined Ronaldo's. The Argentinian ran circles around Man U's defense, climaxing his amazing performance with a simply towering header to conclude the game's scoring. Messi's leap, suspending him in the air for a near eternity, put the 5'7" man on top of the football world. For lack of a more eloquent way of putting it, it was disgusting.

No team could match Barcelona last night, evidenced not only by their skill but by the scorecard which read 2-0 over the (previously) most likely candidate for best club in the world.

What impressed me very much, aside from the unreal level of play, was that in response to this skill, the Man U fans seated next to me were clapping and shaking their heads in disbelief after each astounding feat of Barcelona. That's called giving credit where credit is due, even if your team is at the losing end. In da words of my main man Ali-G, RESPECT.