The biggest night in European football

Here it is. The moment that we have been waiting for the past few weeks. The Champions League final kicks off in less than two hours. In a sense, poetic justice has been done with the final featuring, in my mind, the two best teams on the planet at the moment, both in terms of what they have achieved this season so far (Man U has the EPL and the League Cup in the bag, while Barca won the La Liga and the Copa del Rey) and also aesthetically. So I don't really mind whoever wins. If you were to ask me a few months ago, I would have said Barcelona would have thrashed Man U. No doubt about that. In Messi, Henry and Eto'o, they have the best attacking triumvirate in world football, with all three players each scoring more than 20 goals this season. And their midfield helmed by Xavi and Iniesta, is basically the core of the Spanish midfield that won the Euro 2008 championship last year. However, it is in defence that Man U holds the edge over Barcelona. Especially so since Abidal, Dani Alves and Rafa Marquez will be missing from the Barca lineup tonight. The Rafa loss is probably not that huge of a setback because Gerard Pique is more than capable to replace him. But Dani Alves missing will be a huge loss for Barcelona, more so because of the attacking threat that he poses in tandem with Lionel Messi.

Here's to a fantastic night of football. May the best team wins!