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Last night FC Barcelona secured the first treble in the history of Spanish Club Football; winning the Spanish Primera Division, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League all in one season.   The 2-0 result prevented Manchester United from being the first team to defend their European title in the tournament’s current format.  Here are my player ratings for this surprising, yet extremely gratifying, Champions league final.

Manchester United FC

GK – Edwin van der Sar – It’s tough to rate van der Sar as the defenders in front of him struggled more than I had seen them struggle all season.  However, the chances that did get through to van der Sar caused the Dutch goalkeeper a few problems. 6/10

DR – John O’Shea – O’Shea, clearly the weak link in United’s defense, was in charge of keeping Henry under wraps on the left wing. He did this quite effectively as Henry’s only true chances came when he drifted into the center of the pitch. 7/10

DC – Rio Ferdinand – A terrific central defender who clearly tired as the game progressed.   A swift 70th minute move encapsulated this when the 6’3” center back left Lionel Messi alone in the middle of the box for a header, something that the 5’7” winger is not particularly known for. 6.5/10

DC – Nemanja Vidic – Wow. That’s all I can say about Vidic after witnessing Eto’o’s goal.  He was completely wrong-footed by Eto’o’s cutback and it didn’t get any better from there for Vidic.  I found his performance ironic after his recent statements in the media.  Too bad you forgot the game was last night Nemanja… 5/10

DL – Patrice Evra – Evra was given the unenviable task of covering Lionel Messi.  Evra had a pretty solid first half as Messi was then moved into the center of the pitch to help create early on in the second half.  Evra’s nonchalance left Xavi wide open down the right side to cross freely into Messi for Barca’s second goal. 6.5/10

MR – Anderson – It’s a shame. Anderson is clearly an up and coming star for united.   A midfield boss who can help create goals and make bone crunching tackles. Anderson was a ghost in the first half; perhaps that is why Sir Alex replaced him with Tevez at halftime? 6/10

MC – Michael Carrick – Another quiet performance from a Manchester United player.  He was played off the pitch by Barcelona’s central pairing of Xavi and Iniesta.  He was simply not good enough on the night. 6/10

ML – Ryan Giggs – Woeful.   One of the worst performances I’ve seen in a final in quite a while.  Couldn’t complete basic passes.  Flew his only free kick over the bar and has forgotten how to use his right foot.  Sir Alex, its time to take him out back… 4/10

FR – Park Ji Sung – Park could have taken the reigns of the game for Manchester United with an early 3rd minute rebound off of Ronaldo’s free kick, however he was denied from close range and, well, you know what happened from there. 6.5/10

FC – Cristiano Ronaldo – This was his championship to win.  If he’s in the mood, no team can stop him from claiming victory.   He was a bit of a one-man show in the second half.  However moving him to a central role was a bit of a risk by Sir Alex, and one that didn’t pay off. 7.5/10

FL – Wayne Rooney – Another player playing out of position.   Why do you play one of the games best center forwards on the left wing?   But credit to Rooney, he plays his heart out regardless and deserves a high rating based purely on effort and some tackles he made to stop some Barcelona attacks. 7.5/10

FC Barcelona

GK – Victor Valdes – He wasn’t tested past the 10th minute, but he always looked to be on top of whatever Manchester threw at him.  It was a solid performance from the Catalonian goalkeeper. 7/10

DR – Carles Puyol – The captain took over for suspended Daniel Alves at right back and he looked a little shaky.  It’s a wonder Man Utd didn’t go one-on-one with him more.   He played well enough, however, considering he was out of position. 7/10

DC – Yaya Toure – Another player put out of position due to the suspension of rightback Alves, the midfielder played well in the center of defense.   Forming a surprisingly functional partnership with Pique. 7.5/10

DC – Gerard Pique – The former Man Utd benchwarmer must have been on cloud nine last night after beating his old club; his performance was nothing to sneeze at either, his tackle prevented Park from putting away the rebound early on.  And he picked up a smart yellow card when he deliberately slowed Ronaldo on a break away. 8/10

DR – Sylvinho – The first game I ever saw Sylvinho play meaningful minutes left me with a very positive impression.  He helped the attack down the left side and even found himself in the United box once or twice. 7/10

DM – Sergio Busquets – Playing in Yaya’s preferred role, Sergio was very instrumental in breaking down United’s attacks before they ever got going.  He was the defensive rock needed behind the free-flowing style of Iniesta and Xavi. 7.5/10

MC – Xavi – Incredible from the Spanish midfielder. Completed over 90% of his passes and was the gas in Barca’s attacking machine. He combined often with Messi on the left side.  One of the combinations resulted in the 70th minute goal. 9/10

MC – Andres Iniesta – The closest to perfection I have ever witnessed in a performance in a Final.  Iniesta completed an absurd 94% of his passes.   If Xavi was the gas, then Iniesta was the engine.  Both of these Central Midfielders put any ‘Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona’ rumors to bed. 9.5/10

FL – Thierry Henry – Simply the best player ever to not win a World Player of the Year award, this was Henry’s night of long-awaited European glory.  He looked a little lost at some points during the game and was eventually replaced at the 72nd minute.  He was the Barcelona player to suffer from their embarrassment of riches up front. 7/10

FC – Samuel Eto’o – Perhaps the most important play of the night was Eto’o’s 10th minute goal.  It seemingly killed off United’s early fire.  He made Vidic look like a pub player, and that’s an insult to pub players… 8/10

FR – Lionel Messi – The focus of the Manchester United defense performed well but was constantly being tracked by 2 or 3 United players.  He lost the ball a few times because of this incessant attention, however, he still somehow knicked a goal. 8/10