BTF Cup Final ... finally :-)

The Debte: Where to play the BTF Cup Final?!?

Uefa had to choose between Old Trafford, home of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and the Santiago Bernebeau, home of The Special One's Real Madrid. The highlight of the debate came when UEFA President Michel Platini suggested the game be played at the Stade de France. Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho simultaneously threw their glasses of Sassicaia in his face.

Thats when it hit them. They would have a drinking contest to decide which venue would hold the final. Whoever was still standing could claim his home soil for the final. Then the two managerial giants then did something unexpected. They let Platini decide which drink they would use in their contest. In an act of vengeance Platini chose Patron Silver. Neither manager wanted to back down so the contest was set

8 hours and 4 bottles later the final was set for Old Trafford. Ol’ red nose had prevailed. A stacked Premier League squad would now have the advantage of home supporters. Would either manager be able to keep their eyes open long enough to manage this game?

Through a hangover headache that would make Zach Galifianakis blush, Sir Alex made two changes to his lineup. Phil Jones red card in the semi final meant that Ryan Shawcross would step in. Ferguson also decided to insert Ashley Cole into the left back spot. Cole is a little better suited to deal with Jesus Navas and the incredible Lionel Messi.

The noise at Old Trafford was deafening. Both sets of supporters were in full voice. The home supporters were slightly noisier as their side started brightly. The Premier league players stroked the ball around in impressive fashion, and great play between Bale and Modric gave the latter a fine shooting chance in the third minute but the Levante keeper Munua made the save.

However, the La Liga players were not playing scared and were determined to take the game to the Premier league players. Christiano Ronaldo had a great chance when Fernando Llorente laid the ball off for him to fire a piledriver goalwards, but it was straight at Tim Howard. 

The Premier league players should have heeded the warning. They fell behind in the 15th minute when Christiano Ronaldo drove down the wing and crossed to the middle for Llorente. The big boy from Bilbao rose above John Terry and headed thunderously into Howards net.

La Liga began to take control. The lone defensive midfielder in the game, Ever Banega broke up two Premier attacks that lead to two chances for Messi. His first shot came after side stepping Modric and Terry but his finish curled just over Howards net. However, Messi made no mistake on his second attempt in the 23rd minute. Messi was the finisher after a clever play between Navas and Sergio Ramos. Howard thought Messi was going to go far corner but he was deceptive and went near post. 2 - 0

The Old Trafford crowd truly played the role of The Twelfth Man. Their voices surged the Premier League side back into the game. Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez plugged away and a defence-splitting pass from Rooney released Aguero but he could not get his shot right. A few minutes later the hosts were appealing for a penalty when Gerard Pique collided with Suarez. It would have been harsh and the referee waved Rooney, Suarez and Terry away.

The English were on the board three minutes later when Suarez brilliantly controlled a long pass from Ashley Cole. Suarez then side stepped his compatriot Diego Godin and slid the ball across the goal to Aguero who simply tapped in. 2 - 1 Premier league. This goal gave the Premier league more confidence and they began winning challenges all over the field. Their hard work paid off only minutes later. Aguero was brought down by Banega just outside of the box. This brought out the first yellow card of the game and gave the Premier players a great free kick opportunity. Wayne Rooney did not disappoint his faithful supporters. He looped over the wall into the upper 90. 2 - 2

The Manchester weather made things more difficult to find a rhythm. In fact the final minutes of the half were played more like a rugby match than a football contest. Ronaldo was shown a yellow card for a retaliatory lung on Ashley Cole. Cole was then showed yellow for a challenge on Sergio Ramos.

As the two sides headed for the tunnel Ramos and Cole had to be seperated. Llorente and John Terry also needed the referee to step in between their heated exchange.

The second half saw each manager make an earily similar change. Ferguson took off Shawcross for Samir Nasri as he felt the Premier League team needed more playmakers in the middle. England would now be playing a 3 - 5 - 2. Mourinho also pulled a center back. Godin was replaced by playmaking wizard Xavi. But Mourinho didn't stop there. He also pulled off Fernando Llorente for Madrid star Mesuit Ozil. This allowed Leo Messi to move the middle as a central striker. The Spanish side would now be lining up a 3 - 4 - 3 attack.

Both managers made moves to make their clubs more offensive. However the players were moving cautiously. Neither side wanted to make the first mistake. With Xavi and Ozil in the game the La Liga players began controlling possession.

The Premier League then jumped ahead when Nasri picked Xavi's pocket and sent a long diagonal cross from the left side to a streaking Aguero, who outraced Premier defender Terry and headed inside the right post from 12 yards out. 3 - 2 to the premier League side.

Wayne Rooney then had a flashback to his game against Manchester City as he found the net for Premier League with a bicycle kick in the 55th minute but his effort was disallowed for offside. Sir Alex tore into the fourth official for the call.

Mourinho's tactics then began to take affect and La Liga dominated the run of play for the rest of the game La Liga leveled the contest with some confusion in the area as the premier league twice blocked La Liga shots but the ball landed at Messi who struck a side-volley to make it 3 - 3

La Liga finally grabbed the winner in the 86th minute as Ronaldo's ball from the right side was smashed on by Messi to the far right post for the hat-trick.

The La Liga players had done the impossible. Leo Messi took home the man of the Match honors. When the final whistle blew Mourinho had a Porto flashback as re raced down the touch line in front of Sir Alex.

Mourunho's celebration.

Coming Soon .. We will get back into real football. We have a lot to catch up on. Thank you for indulging me in this fantasy contest. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.