Finale Result : Stylish Barcelona take United's crown

FC Barcelona were crowned European champions for a third time – and the second in four seasons – as a vibrant display of pass and move, capped by goals in either half from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, defeated Manchester United FC in Rome.

Holders toppled
United, bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era, began an open contest at breakneck speed as Cristiano Ronaldo threatened three times. After ten minutes, however, Eto'o put the Spanish champions ahead and they never looked back. Xavi Hernández struck a post early in the second period and, though the clinching second goal did not arrive until the 70th minute – via, unusually, the head of Messi – Josep Guardiola's side were worthy winners. The 38-year-old becomes the sixth man to lift the European Champion Clubs' Cup as player and coach; United are the sixth club to lose the final as holders.

Relentless Ronaldo
Fourteen of the players who started the game had featured in a UEFA Champions League final before, yet initially it seemed United's experience would prove more telling. Ronaldo made his presence felt by unleashing a dipping free-kick that Víctor Valdés could only parry; former United defender Gerard Piqué's last-ditch tackle prevented Ji-Sung Park from converting the rebound. Ronaldo then had Valdés scrambling across goal twice in as many minutes with shots from distance. If an early breakthrough looked imminent, disastrously for United it arrived when Barcelona struck with their first real attack.

Eto'o brilliance
Fit-again Andrés Iniesta was the orchestrator, finding Eto'o inside the area, but there was still plenty for the striker to do with Nemanja Vidić in close attendance. One swift turn inside the centre-back later, Eto'o was free to prod a shot inside Edwin van der Sar's near post. United's vocal supporters were stunned into silence and their team mirrored that reaction, with Barcelona enjoying the better of the half thereafter. Perhaps not surprisingly against the competition's best defence, however, clear chances were at a premium. Long-range efforts from Messi and Xavi, and a low Messi cross fumbled by Van der Sar, were the best Barça could muster.

United reprieves
Sir Alex Ferguson had said beforehand that his best team-talks "usually come to me about three in the morning" and the Scot sorely needed inspiration in his half-time instructions, opting to introduce Carlos Tévez for Anderson. This did little to stem the tide. Thierry Henry tricked his way past Rio Ferdinand only to shoot weakly against Van der Sar before Xavi curled a free-kick beyond the keeper, the post coming to United's rescue. Then Wayne Rooney's right-wing centre bounced over Park's lunge as the holders began to edge their way back into proceedings, disrupting Barcelona's rhythm though creating little of their own.

Messi decisive
Twenty minutes from time, that hard work was undone. Xavi was allowed to advance down the right; with time and space, the midfielder measured a pinpoint cross for Messi, enjoying similar freedom, and the UEFA Champions League's top scorer produced a fabulous header for his ninth goal of this campaign. Valdés promptly denied Ronaldo to preserve the two-goal cushion, yet the better openings continued to come at the other end – Van der Sar frustrating Carles Puyol twice and Iniesta. Sir Alex therefore missed out on joining Bob Paisley as the only manager to lift three European Cups. Instead, Guardiola's superbly inventive Barça became the first Spanish side to win league, cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season.

©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.

THE THROPHY FINALE ROME 2009 CHAMPIONS

It is 62cm tall, weighs 7.5kg and cost CHF10,000 (€6,800) to make. "It may not be an artistic masterpiece," said the maker of the UEFA Champions League trophy, "but everybody in football is keen to get their hands on it."

Sixth trophy
The current trophy is the sixth, dating back to 2006. Nowadays, UEFA regulations allow the cup to become the property of any club which wins the competition five times or three years in a row. That means Real Madrid CF, AFC Ajax, FC Bayern München, AC Milan and, since 2005, Liverpool FC all have an original in their trophy rooms.

New design in 1966
The trophy that the winning captain will lift at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome is the fifth version of the current design. After the original had been handed to Madrid in 1966, UEFA's General Secretary, Hans Bangerter, decided to create a new design and called in a local specialist in Berne, Jürg Stadelmann.

'Everyone likes it'
"My father Hans and I went along to Herr Bangerter's office and covered the whole floor with the drawings," recalled Stadelmann. "He made comments like, 'The Bulgarians would like the bottom of that. The Spaniards would like that, but the Italians would prefer that and the Germans would go for this bit'. We put the design together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was a design constituted of many parts yet I like it and I think everyone in football likes it as well.

Finished on time
"I remember that it had to be finished before 28 March," Stadelmann added, "because I was getting married and taking my wife on a ten-day boat trip to Los Angeles. The trophy took 340 hours to make. I did the finer work, then it was finished off by the engraver, Fred Bänninger. On time, I am glad to say."

©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.

Three-way fight headlines MotoGP Mugello return

It’s one of the most eagerly-awaited rounds on the MotoGP calendar, and this season there is a title battle equally as breathtaking as the Mugello scenery. The Gran Premio d’Italia Alice takes place this weekend to mark the fifth race of the 2009 season, with the top three riders in the premier class separated by just a single point.

Leading the World Championship for the second time in the present campaign, Jorge Lorenzo has 66 points to his name after a blistering start to the year. Victories in Japan and, most recently, France have been the standout results for the Fiat Yamaha rider since the beginning of the season, with a further visit to the podium making up the rest of his total. Only a crash in Jerez has blotted his copybook thus far, something rectified at Le Mans, and the Spaniard is keen to make amends for his 2008 DNF at Mugello with another sterling result.

Trailing teammate Lorenzo by one point, Valentino Rossi’s record at Mugello speaks for itself. Victory at the last seven MotoGP visits to the Italian track give the reigning World Champion an incomparable pedigree at a single circuit. Rossi has won in all conditions and on a variety of machinery at Mugello, but a win is never a done deal with the high talent level in MotoGP. The six-time premier class titlist is gunning for his ninety-ninth triumph and, most importantly, the leadership of the classification in front of his home fans. If any further motivation were needed, Rossi arrives in Italy following a last place finish at Le Mans.

Adopted by a section of the Italian crowd as one of their own, Casey Stoner is level on points with Rossi in a tightly-packed top three. Like his rival, Stoner also finished off the podium in France, meaning that no rider has stepped onto the rostrum at every race in 2009. A win in Mugello would not only be a huge psychological advantage for the Australian, but would also bring delight to Ducati and their fans at the Italian factory’s home race. Stoner has taken a second place and qualified on pole position in the past two visits to Mugello.

Rapidly catching the leading group, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa is building confidence and fitness with every race. He chased down teammate Andrea Dovizioso for a third consecutive podium at the last round, and has been one of the few riders to give Rossi problems at the scene of this weekend’s race in recent years. He is currently nine points behind leader Lorenzo in the classification.

In some respects, fifth-placed Marco Melandri is the surprise package of 2009 so far. Riding an under-developed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR for the Hayate Racing team, the Italian took an unexpected podium at Le Mans in the flag-to-flag MotoGP race. However, despite his setbacks in recent years Melandri’s talent has never been in doubt, and the former MotoGP World Championship runner-up will be out to show as much at his home Grand Prix. He is currently level on points with fellow local rider Dovizioso in the standings.

The Gran Premio d’Italia Alice is also a home round for Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi and Pramac Racing rookie Niccolò Canepa, who both have extensive experience of the Mugello track. Capirossi’s laps have come over the course of eighteen race visits in his World Championship career –including a MotoGP victory in 2000- whilst Canepa was a frequent visitor to the circuit last year as Ducati’s official test rider.

Only seventeen riders will participate in the first Friday practice session for the Gran Premio d’Italia Alice, as Sete Gibernau will sit out the event after fracturing his collarbone at Le Mans.

The race itself takes place on Sunday, May 31st, with practice and qualifying on the two days prior.

Rossi 'back to his best' for Mugello

By Pablo Elizalde

Tuesday, May 26th 2009, 09:13 GMT

Valentino Rossi is convinced he will be back to his best for this weekend's race at Mugello following a disastrous French Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion endured a dismal race at Le Mans, finishing down in 16th position and losing the championship lead to team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

Rossi said he arrives in Italy with the pressure to continue with his amazing record, having won at Mugello for the last seven years.

The Italian concedes it will not be easy to win once again, but he is adamant he will bounce back from the disappointment of France.

"Racing at Mugello is something incredible for me, but every year it gets more difficult to keep my record going and seven wins in a row is already a lot," said Rossi. "I do feel pressure going there, but at the same time it is always amazing and the fans give me an extra motivation that helps me to perform in a different way there.

"I hope it's the same again this year, because after Le Mans I really need a good result! It was disappointing but everyone has the occasional bad day and that was ours.

"Everything possible went wrong but hopefully that is all our bad luck for now and this time, at our home race, we will be back to our best.

"I always look forward to this race; it's very busy for me but I have so many amazing memories. Let's hope to create some more this weekend."

Lorenzo, leading the championship after his win at Le Mans, said he is feeling very confident ahead of the Mugello race.

"Mugello is, along with Phillip Island, the most beautiful circuit that we race at; I love it," he said.

"Plus I am feeling very confident after our good race in Le Mans. We have had some very strange races with the weather conditions and I would never have expected to recover 24 points in one go.

"Now we arrive in Italy (where the weather I hope will be better) as leaders, but the most important thing is that I am confident and feeling fit."

Button: Winning has turned me boring

By Jonathan Noble

Thursday, May 21st 2009, 17:45 GMT

World championship leader Jenson Button says the glamour of Monaco will hold no special attraction for him this year - after confessing success this season has turned him into a 'right boring bastard'.

Button was famously lambasted several years ago by then team boss Flavio Briatore for parking his yacht right outside the paddock – amid accusations he was more interested in enjoying himself than success on track.

But on the back of a transformation in his fortunes with Brawn, winning four of the first five races of the season, Button says life is much less interesting at the moment.

"I'm probably a right boring bastard at the moment, I really am," said Button during a media briefing on Wednesday in Monaco. "My girlfriend will tell me when she turns up tomorrow.

"It's different because things are going well and you want to be thinking about how you can improve. When things aren't going so well, you know you need to improve the car and where you are, but you also need to get away from the racing, to forget about it for a few days. At the moment, that's not possible."

Button says his thoughts are currently dominated all the time by the next race on the calendar – which gives him little chance to sit back and relax.

"I come here very confident in the team, the car and myself. I'm really looking to getting out on the circuit," he said. "But this season is weird because after the last couple of races I've won. I've obviously enjoyed the weekend, but I wake up on a Monday morning and I'm already thinking about the next race.

"It's quite a strange feeling, very different to the rest of my Formula 1 career, winning four races out of five, but you do get used to it very quickly. I will never forget how difficult it can get, how tough it can get, but when you're winning, finishing second is a disappointment.

"So you have to learn to think it's not a disappointment, that it's not a bad result, otherwise you could go mad. Over the last few weeks, I've been non-stop thinking about the next race, running through it in my mind, getting all the data. It's been quite a stressful few weeks, you wouldn't think so, but it is more stressful."

And although the Monaco Grand Prix is the blue riband event on the calendar, Button says he would actually prefer to win on home turf at Silverstone than succeed here.

"It would be great to win here, but for me the most exciting race to win would be my home grand prix, for atmosphere's sake, with the British fans," he said. "You would hope at your home grand prix you've got more fans there than any other, so Silverstone would be the most special.

"Monaco is up there, and it's such a unique circuit, it's very different to anything else. You win here and it doesn't mean you're going to win the championship, but there's nothing else like this circuit. It's a fun circuit to drive and when you cross the line at the end of this race, it's a bonus in a way.

"Every lap is 100 per cent around here. You have to be totally focused and as precise as possible, but also with aggression. So winning here would be pretty special, and when you cross the line it's just a feeling of relief.

"Afterwards you are so tired, mentally and physically drained around here, so that would make it extra special."

Ferrari injunction denied

By J.K. Thompson - Motorsport.com

Ferrari's bid for an injunction against enforcement of International Automobile Federation (FIA) rules for Formula One has failed -- at least for now. A Paris judge Wednesday dismissed the appeal of the oldest team in the series. Ferrari said it would continue to pursue legal relief for the FIA's proposed budget cap

to be imposed for the 2010 season.

Ferrari is seeking to block FIA president Max Mosley's intent to lower costs of the sport through the optional budget cap. Teams choosing to limit spending to UKP 40 million (USD 62 million) next season would be allowed greater technical freedom in adhering to regulations.

"No competitor should place their interests above those of the sport in which they compete," Mosley said in response. "The FIA, the teams and our commercial partners will now continue to work to ensure the wellbeing of Formula One in 2010 and beyond."

Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota and Red Bull, which fields two teams, say the scheme would set up a "two-tier" championship and they would not participate. The failure of those teams to compete next season would gut the sport. Williams F1 and Force India support the cap. World championship-leading Jenson Button of Brawn GP has said a cap would greatly help his team, an independent born after Honda left the sport in the off season.

Ferrari said it would continue to work with Formula One Teams Association, a panel of team principals, to prevent the current scheme from imposition. A meeting earlier this month among FOTA, Mosley and commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone had all sides agreeing that a two-tier championship is not acceptable, but Mosley said the FIA would not compromise on the cap amount. The groups are scheduled to meet again this race weekend in Monaco.

The FIA begins taking 2010 entry applications May 22 with May 29 marked as deadline, but Mosley has said he expects that deadline will not stand.

At present, Formula One is the world's most expensive sport contested annually. The series consists this season of 17 races on four continents for 10 teams, each fielding two cars. Mosley does not see the sport surviving if costs are not reduced.

Team representatives, especially those whose manufacturer sponsors are suffering massive global sales losses, say they agree costs need to be cut. The sticking point is how to reach Mosley's $62 million figure. Principals of teams like Ferrari, whose annual budget reaches hundreds of millions of dollars, say they cannot scale down as quickly as Mosley demands. The big-team position is to take the next few seasons to reach the cap figure.

Mosley's scheme lowers costs sufficiently for new teams to enter the sport. Ferrari on Wednesday listed on its website a number of teams proposed to enter the sport next year, including Lola, USF1, Wirth Research, Epsilon Euskadi, RML, Formtech, Campos and iSport, and challenged the FIA way forward: "Can a World Championship with teams like them -- with due respect -- have the same value as today's Formula One, where Ferrari, the big car manufacturers and teams, who created the history of this sport, compete? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call it Formula GP3?"

Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen expressed support for their team while decrying the political turbulence of the season.

Said Raikkonen: "It's not good for Formula One in any way to have this sort of thing going on and for me personally, if Ferrari is not in Formula One and if other big teams are also not in the sport, then it's not really Formula One anymore. If teams come in from GP2 for example, it won't be the same. I am 100 percent behind the team and whatever they choose to do, I will go along with. I hope it all gets sorted out, but I'm not the person to ask about the details. I work for Ferrari and we are one big family: This is my job and this is where I want to do it. My own feeling is that we will not disappear from Formula One, but if we do, I still have a contract with the team and I am sure they will find something for me to do!"

Renault No. 1 Fernando Alonso, continually mooted as a Ferrari driver-to-be in 2010, said in Monaco that if the carmaker teams left the sport so would he. He also decried the political row that has gone so public.

"If the big teams and the big manufacturers leave F1 then I don't want to race with the small teams because it would not be F1 anymore," Alonso said. "For me, it is strange no one sat down and thought how much we are damaging the sport, how much damage the sport has had in the past two months."

source: motorsport.com

Ingram's Flat Spot On: Monaco or bust

By Jonathan Ingram - Motorsport.com

Ingram's Flat Spot On
by Jonathan Ingram

Monaco or Bust

Monaco. It's like no other city -- or country -- and no other race.

All the Grand Prix greats have raced in Monaco since the first race in 1929 and most of them have won on the streets that wind through the steep hillsides of the tiny principality best known for its casino, the absence of income taxes and for the Grand Prix.

Casino Monte-Carlo. Photo by xpb.cc.

Because the train service makes the city easily accessible and the viewing from the hillside known as Le Rocher is relatively cheap, it's not as expensive as one might imagine for a fan to take in the race.

Monaco has its undeniable upscale aspects. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bentleys come close to outnumbering anything else on the streets. Double-wide yachts jam the harbor on race weekend and are available for rent starting at $100,000 for the smaller versions. A Paddock Club ticket runs a mere $3,000. The grandstand tickets, if you can get one, start at a more modest $250.

In case the yacht is in dry dock or otherwise unavailable, the Hotel de Paris on the Casino Square will set you back $1250 a night according to JetSet magazine -- with a seven night minimum. All are welcome in the Casino de Monte Carlo even without formal evening dress, but be prepared for relatively outrageous minimum bets.

It's been a decade since I spent the weekend in Monaco as a fan, staying in a borrowed apartment along with my wife and two friends. I was en route to cover the Le Mans 24-hour for On Track Magazine, whose lone F1 credential was being used by its regular series reporter. An effort to get a credential through a relationship with Fox Sports, where I was writing an Internet column on racing, was a blind alley.

Le Rocher, a rocky penninsula with steep slopes that borders the harbor, was a little piece of heaven as it turned out. Assuming you can beat the crowd and get a clear spot, the hillside offers an excellent view, albeit somewhat distant, of the the three key turns along the roughly one kilometer section of the track that runs inside the harbor: Nouvelle Chicane, Tabac and the Swimming Pool.

Once on Le Rocher, or the rock, one can afford to feel a little like royalty since the prince's palace and its apartments are situated just above. There's also a magnificent view of this extraordinary Mediterranean enclave and its mixture of architectural influences from the Byzantine, baroque and more modern eras.

Made up of three districts including Monte Carlo, Monaco is a friendly principality in the sense that it depends on tourism and much of the Monegasque population is employed by that industry. They are by nature and occupation relatively outgoing.

It was after a solo trip to Le Rocher during Thursday's practice that I discovered Monaco is not necessarily about being rich and famous. I got lost on my way back to the borrowed apartment. When I stopped into a working man's bar at the top of the business district to ponder my predicament over a beer and asked directions, one of the regulars offered to give me a lift on his motorcycle.

It turned out I was way lost. A scenic ride around the bobbing and weaving rim road at the top edge of the steep cliffs ensued. My newfound friend finally stopped and then pointed out a long, long series of small steps to get down to my still distant building. Much cheaper and more fun than a cab.

	The Harbour. Photo by xpb.cc.

With tickets in hand (costing at that time 250 French francs or a little less than $50), the four of us returned to Le Rocher to watch qualifying on Saturday by taking a bus from the Italian side of town that required about 30 minutes to travel two kilometers due to traffic, then hiked up the hillside.

Although one could hear the cars go through, we couldn't see the final harbor corner known as La Rascasse (or rock fish), due to the trees below us in a garden that the palace guards allow to be trampled by the common folks once a year. But the top end of the pit road, occupied by Jordan and McLaren-Mercedes, and the beginning of the pit straight could be seen from above as well as the jumbo video screen across the harbor, which reported lap times and positions.

Even from afar, you could see Michael Schumacher's greatness on this day. On the lap before he set a qualifying record, Schuey demonstrated his technique. He lit up his Bridgestones in the Nouvelle Chicane and at the exit of the Swimming Pool, fishtailing like one of the harbor's rock bass. On the next lap for a record pole, the German scythed his Ferrari through in perfect arcs, having discovered the limit by exceeding it.

The difference between Schumacher and most others was his confidence and ability in going just beyond the limit, and then on the next lap cozying up to it, gaining the maximum in speed. From the hillside, I realized why sometimes you saw a perfect lap go wrong for Schumacher due to a slight miscalculation on his flyer. It seemed by contrast that his chief rival Mika Hakkinen indexed himself up to his best lap, by disposition and for the preceding two seasons in 1998 and 1999 by virtue of a better car from McLaren-Mercedes.

Schumacher, in effect, indexed himself down to his best lap.

During the one hour of hot laps and one hour qualifying session, we made friends on Le Rocher just like any other race. We met a German named Walter who spoke perfect English. A professional private plane pilot, Walter nearly fell off the hillside in an effort to take a group picture for us.

Then there was "Caesar." Just after we chased an Aussie off the slippery rock behind us, this determined Italian with a huge motorcycle helmet in hand barged in and claimed the rock. He promptly began skating, frantically sashaying his feet in search of grip so as not to slide down on top of us. This went on for several minutes until he finally grabbed the branch of scrubby bush on the ledge above with his free hand. He then stood sentry for the entire hour of qualifying, the first line of defense against any one of the wine and beer set who might fall off the ledge above us, or kick brick-size rocks over it.

More amusing were the young sunburned Germans clad in shorts, who butt-surfed down the precipitous hillside during beer runs, then climbed straight back up despite leather-soled shoes, beer in hand.

Once having seen the first sub-80 second lap around the historic street circuit, whose course was little changed from the day of the first race 71 years earlier, we climbed down before the F-3000 race and found a cafe where we could at least listen and watch the race on TV.

Later, we stopped by the Casino and walked the now open course down through the Loews Hairpin after a drink at the Tip Top. Race day tickets were $100 apiece for Le Rocher, where a dawn arrival guaranteed a good seat and a long wait. So we decided to "stay home," opened the doors to our apartment and listened to the engines reverberate off the surrounding mountains while watching the coverage on TV

.

As it turned out, Schumacher glanced off a barrier hard enough to break his suspension. Hakkinen left early with technical problems, leaving the victory to David Coulthard.

The next day, we celebrated one of our friends' birthday at a small restaurant near the harbor. Our waiter told us he knew Coulthard and in fact was friends with him. Maybe that was a stretch, but given the generally friendly, suprisingly egalitarian atmosphere of Monaco, we nodded, chatted about the race and ordered more wine.

Jonathan Ingram can be reached at jingrambooks.com.

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