Mark Starr

Mark Starr is GlobalPost sports columnist. He recently retired after 27 years from Newsweek magazine and remains a contributing editor there. During his last dozen years at the magazine,...

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Mark Starr's Notebook:

May 27, 2009 17:25 ET

A gobsmacking Barca victory, the British must admit

It was a game that will shut the English up — at least for a day or two. 

There were no ifs, ands or buts coming from the mouths of anybody who witnessed the Champions League Final and the season's last gasp of English Premier League superiority.

Barcelona whipped Manchester United so thoroughly that the old adage — the game was not as close as the score might have indicated — has seldom been so apt.

The Spanish champions withstood a frantic Man U attack in the opening minutes — the shots were 5-0 early in to the contest — but were never again seriously threatened after a brilliant move and strike by Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o put Barcelona on the scoreboard in the 10th minute.

It is understandable why the strike momentarily took a little oomph out one of the mostly highly touted sides in history. It is incomprehensible why it seemed to suck all the life out of the English champion. 

From that moment on, Barcelona eviscerated Man U, controlling the ball with deft interior passing and creating several scoring threats. But it was not until the 70th minute that the brilliant Argentine, Lionel Messi, always the magician with his feet, sealed victory — this time with a perfectly placed header.

There were still more than 20 minutes to go, and Barcelona's makeshift back line was considered vulnerable. But the match was clearly over. 

Perhaps Man U wilted in the heat of a Roman spring night. But it looked more like a team that quit — and instead of playing with a renewed sense of urgency resorted instead to sloppy and indifferent fouling. 

Man U had hoped to become the first team to win back-to-back European crowns since AC Milan in 1990. And with three English teams in the semi-finals for the second straight year, another championship would leave no doubt about Premiership superiority among the elite European leagues. 

English fans, particularly Chelsea supporters, may choose to recall that Barca was outplayed —  and seconds from being eliminated in the semifinal — when Andres Iniesta saved the season with a moment of individual brilliance. 

But on this night, there was no need for footnotes. Barcelona was the best team in Europe, a worthy and elegant champion. And the English will have to suck on the bitter taste of that for another year.