Little to separate Moscow finalists except their future

There may have been little to choose between United and Chelsea in Moscow, but the future could be a different story

Kevin McCarra

Victory is always a dividing line, but the Champions League final did more than establish the winners and losers. Manchester United and Chelsea went their separate ways, with Sir Alex Ferguson entitled to feel that this can be a period of renown for the squad. When sheer pain leaves the minds of their opponents, the space will be filled with questions about changes to come.

At a superficial level it is absurd to make much of a game settled on penalties. As with the 1994 World Cup final, when Franco Baresi missed for Italy in the shoot-out defeat by Brazil, it felt unjust that a defender who had just given a magnificent performance should be asked to take on a duty that has no normal relevance in his career. John Terry's worry should have been over whether or not he got the man of the match award. Like Baresi, who underwent knee surgery in mid-tournament, his condition was startling. Terry had dislocated an elbow 10 days earlier. Without the reactions shown to get his head in the path of a Ryan Giggs drive there might have been no need of penalties. Still, he had his opportunity to win the trophy for Chelsea and instead lost his footing to send the ball wide.

This tie-breaking device has seldom felt so arbitrary, so disconnected from all that went before. It is futile to speak of deserved victory. Though United had a cutting edge in spells and could have taken more from them than Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, Lampard not only equalised but went on to hit the woodwork, as Didier Drogba had before him.

The official man of the match, Edwin van der Sar, would ultimately save Nicolas Anelka's spot-kick to send the trophy back to Old Trafford. Chelsea might have triumphed on another day, but the trouble is that in the days that actually lie ahead they may stagnate while United feed on this glory and grow ever stronger. They have a potential that is not equalled at Stamford Bridge. Ferguson brought on Anderson specifically to take part in the shoot-out, even though the Brazilian only put his teens behind him last month. Anderson rammed home his penalty and when he dropped to his knees in prayer, the thought came to mind that he has already been blessed with rare ability.

A transition is now anticipated as Anderson takes over from Paul Scholes. Ferguson might like to buy a right-back and a conventional centre-forward could come in handy if he knows of such a person who is available, but essentially he has completed most of the long-term preparations. If the stakes were not so high, he would simply be having fun now. In the Luzhniki Stadium, he could witness Ronaldo score with the sweetest of headers to silence claims that the Portuguese is subdued in major matches.

No one at Chelsea can have a comparable sense of anticipation. It is noteworthy that the excellent midfield trio of Michael Ballack, Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard will all be in their thirties when the latter hits that birthday next month. Obsolescence is not imminent, but the club should be disturbed that there is no new generation impatiently waiting its turn.

In midfield, Mikel John Obi, at 21, is still too headstrong to take over from Makelele when the stakes are high and the 22-year-old Salomon Kalou was a substitute despite the fact that Florent Malouda had had such a pallid first season with Chelsea. This club must ask itself how it let a situation develop in which Lassana Diarra could leave cheaply and reproach them by winning the man of the match award as Portsmouth took the FA Cup.

Chelsea have been trying to revitalise themselves and the Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa has been signed for £16.2m. Anelka had cost £15m in the January transfer window. It is still to be confirmed whether he is an alternative to Drogba or his replacement. The latter got himself sent off on Wednesday for a ludicrous if slight slap at Nemanja Vidic during a tiff.

Had he contained himself Drogba, rather than Terry, might have taken the key penalty. There were sightings of his overwhelming talent, yet the manager, Avram Grant, has sometimes conveyed exasperation with the striker. It is felt that the club will be content to sell a moody 30-year-old with knee trouble, although the talk until now had usually been of his ambivalence over staying at Chelsea.

Grant's prospects are open to debate since he has presided over the first trophyless season at the club since 2003-04. He did nothing much wrong against United, but neither did he come up with an equivalent to the initial surprise thrown by Ferguson with the reversion to a 4-4-2 formation that, for a while, disconcerted Chelsea in general and the right-back Michael Essien in particular.

Roman Abramovich's attitude now is the key. He has given the appearance of being a little disengaged by attending far fewer matches. It is his wish that the club should stand on its own feet financially. Should he be determined to topple United, however, another costly period of rebuilding will have to be authorised.

原文地址:http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/05/23/little_to_separate_moscow_fina.html