Barcelona just could not pass

There was only one way to sum up Chelsea’s performance against Barcelona in the Camp Nou - World Class.

Petr Cech in goal.

World Class.

Ashley Cole at left back.

World Class.

Didier Drogba at left back.

World Class.

Ramires’ finish.

Frank’s pass.

Fernando’ goal.

All World Class.

An expression that is overused in the extreme when it comes to football expletives.

But not when used to describe this match.

It was quite simply the best night of football in many a year.

The first leg set it up perfectly.

Didier Drogba scoring the only goal of a game Barcelona dominated in possession.

But that was all Barcelona could manage - possession.

The goals that usually appear from this much time on the ball just never materialised.

Lionel Messi.

Xavi Hernández.

Andrés Iniesta.

The greatest attack in the world.

Able to unlock almost any defence in the world.

They have done so for 4 straight seasons now.

But then they hit Chelsea.

Only one team has come close to stopping Barcelona in this time - Inter Milan.

They went on to be crowned European Champions that season and indeed completed a treble.

That’s how good that team were.

Real Madrid have come up desperately short in that period against their main rivals - even under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

Manchester United were the best team in Europe until Barcelona knocked them back into second and then created a considerable gap between them.

Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Arsenal couldn’t touch them.

Yet Chelsea did.

They not only defended superbly - they attacked superbly.

They didn’t get many chances over the two legs, but when they did - they took them.

World class passing and world class finishing from Frank, Ramires and Fernando were needed.

But Chelsea had that in them.

Barcelona did not.

When their chances came they found an imperious Petr in goal.

When he was beaten - they hit the woodwork.

Not bad luck.

Just bad finishing.

And good defending.

For even when Barcelona found space, it was closed down so quickly by the Chelsea defence that their usually composed finishes were rushed time and again.

It was incredible to watch.

It was heroic.

It was romantic.

It was one of the greatest feats of defending in a long time.

It is why I love football.

Why people love the underdog.

And why the underdog believes.

It was not lucky.

It was not anti football.

It was a team with limitations telling superior opponents that they shall not pass.

And as ironic as it is for a team who hold onto the ball better than any team in the world, they could not do just that.

Barcelona could not pass.

Even when Chelsea went down to 10 men.

Even when their second centre back went off injured.

Even when they conceeded a penalty from a dive.

Barcelona could not pass.

A team that had won 13 out of the previous 14 tournaments they had entered.

A team that was on course to become the first team to ever retain the Champions League.

This is how good a team FC Barcelona are.

World class.

They just weren’t as good as the Chelsea defence...

Age is not on Redknapp’s side

If I was Harry Redknapp, I would think long and hard about taking this England job he is being linked with so heavily.

The positives of staying at Tottenham are obvious.

No longer considered a selling club.

Looking good for a Champions League place for next season.

And perhaps most importantly - a squad that has age on it’s side.

Something you definitely could not say about the current English team.

Harry should look closely at the age profile of England’s best as their golden generation start to dissipate from centre stage.

Only last week Steven Gerard said he would consider his international future after the European Championships this summer.

He was certainly one of the world class players from the golden generation.

He’ll be 34 come the next world cup.

John Terry - England captain and leader, has marshalled the defence for almost a decade now.

He’ll turn 33 for the tournament in Brazil.

His partner in defence may not even make it that far.

With injuries adding up, Rio Ferdinand’s career has been nothing short of stop start over the past few seasons and if he’s still playing will be 35.

It wasn’t so long ago that England could choose between Terry, Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and Jamie Carragher.

They were the main force at the back of the big four clubs as well.

Not any more.

Then there’s Ashley Cole.

He’ll be 33.

Frank Lampard 36.

Paul Scholes 39.

All of these players have gone through World Class stages throughout their career.

But if Harry is thinking beyond the summer in Poland and Ukraine, he won’t be able to think about any of these players playing a central role for him.

He will still be able to pick from numerous great players - just not world class players.

World class players that the future of England look to potentially have.

Those who qualified for the U21 tournament last summer are either at big clubs or have demanded huge transfers to big clubs.

Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Micah Richards, Jordan Henderson, Tom Cleverly, Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll to name but a few.

Plus at just 24 - Joe Hart can consider himself in the same bracket considering the reality of goalkeepers not hitting their peaks until much later.

They come with huge promise and potential but of course, are players for the future, not the present.

It’s the present that should worry Harry the most.

With the exception of Wayne Rooney, not a single player in his prime in the England set-up can live in the world class bracket.

Not one.

Sure there’s good players.

Great players even.

But Wayne is the only one who can live with the 7 or 8 from the golden generation who are on their way out.

Perhaps in 5 years time some of last summers young stars will have laid claim to being in the same league as Gerard or Lampard.

But not for 5 years will they be performing to such a level.

Performing in their prime.

Harry must be looking at this and thinking to himself - I wish I’d had this opportunity 5 years ago.

Whether he would have made a bigger difference than Fabio Capello is a different debate - but he certainly won’t be starting from as good a platform.

If the golden generation could manage no further than a quarter final - then Harry must be questioning how far he can take this silver crop.

At 65, he doesn’t have many moves left in him.

He no longer has age on his side.

Nor it appears, do this England team...