Soccer

Barca players parade through city

Barcelona wins Champions League BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona players rode through the Catalan capital in an open-top bus Sunday, showing off the Champions League trophy they won by beating Manchester United 3-1 in the final, to get their third title in six years and fourth overall. Thousands of fans showered Barcelona players with praise as Lionel Messi and company took their Champions League trophy to the streets Sunday.

In reaction to the teams win Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola stated "I feel privileged, You always want to win, but the way we have won is what I am most proud of. This is the way we want to play football. Lionel is the best player I have seen and probably the best I will ever see."

Messi was typically subdued in his celebration. “I don't have much to say other than to thank you all

for your support during this amazing year. Hopefully, there will be many more to come. Long live Barca and long live Cataluña."

Messi put Barcelona ahead to stay with his 53rd goal and helped create another score to give the Spanish league champion some breathing room. Barcelona dominated play at Wembley Stadium with its trademark one-touch passing, but it needed the Argentine striker to score a 54th-minute solo strike from the edge of the penalty area to take the lead for the second and final time.

Also scoring for Barca was Spanish star Pedro and David Villa. Villa’s goal was developed with a fake and run by Messi that led to David Villa taking possession on the edge of the area. From there, the Spain striker curled a shot into the top corner of the net and put the game away.

Manchester United had little to say after the match except for this statement by manager Alex Ferguson, "They do mesmerize you with their passing and we never really did control Messi, but many people have said that…In my time as manager, it's the best team I've faced."

Messi won man-of-the-match as his goal put Barca ahead for good

Spanish star David Villa also added to Barca’s performance

Messi Plays Down His Contribution Lionel Messi played down his role in Barcelona's Champions League final victory on Saturday, saying his man of the match performance was almost irrelevant as he and his team mates proved they "were the better team". Messi grabbed his side's second goal, a record equalling twelfth of the competition, to put them on course for an eventual 3-1 win over the Premier Leagues Manchester United at Wembley.

Messi was subsequently named man-of-the-match for his overall play, but the 23-year-old insisted that it was an achievement built on collective spirit rather than individual skill and concluded that ultimately the right team won.

On his performance Messi said "To be the man-of-the-match is the least important thing, because it was incredible how we played. We were very good in all areas, we’re very happy to lift another trophy. It was a difficult season but we showed who we are. We were the better team."

Nonetheless, Messi's teammates paid tribute to the Argentine, with Xavi saying: "He is the number one, he makes the difference, he is just the best player in the world."

Manchester United The only goal for Man U would come in the first half when Wayne Rooney tied it up 1-1.

However, as a small consolation prize to them, they did perform better than there dreadful 2009 letdown in Rome. United could not have made a better start this game. Park Ji-sung set the tone and just as Jack Wilshere advised, the white shirts got right in Barcelona's faces, pressing them, allowing no room for them to settle. For the second time in three years Barcelona denied Manchester a Champions League Trophy. Maybe the third time will be the charm for the Red Devils.

Sir Alex Ferguson looks on as Man U gets beat by Barcelona.

Man U star Wayne Rooney would score the only goal for them.

Champions League Rankings To get accurate readings this season ESPN have used the Hypercube Infostrada Euro Club Index, which scientifically analyses hundreds of thousands of matches from the top divisions in all European nations as well as the Europa League and Champions League games.

The Index takes into account all matches played over an eight-year period but with recent results carrying more weight than older ones. The most recent result has 20 times more impact than a result of three years ago.

The performance of a league's teams in the Champions League and Europa League reflects the rise or fall of the sporting level in that league. For example, if English teams perform well in Europe, all Premier League teams receive a small bonus in their ECI score. The ranking and its predictive power are therefore made even more accurate.

1. Barcelona - 4241 (points) 2. Real Madrid - 4032

Kaka the new Brazilian addition added another weapon to the already world famous midfield.

3. Manchester United - 3841 4. Porto - 3592 5. Chelsea - 3493

Torres left midseason from Liverpool to come to Chelsea but had a rough start.

6 (7) Internazionale - 3330 7 (6) Bayern Munich - 3322

8. Arsenal - 3247 9. Valencia – 3206 10. Milan – 3189

Brazilian striker Robihno is the latest addition to the starred Italian team

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6606279/barcelona-players-take-championstitle-fans-parade

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/924312/messi-downplays-own-role-as-barcasavour-win?cc=5901 http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/31052011/58/champions-league-euro-club-index-barca-finishtop.html http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6603379/lionel-messi-barcelona-handlemanchester-united-champions-league-final