When Barcelona's high press convincingly beat Manchester United 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final, the majority of English football fans and the media were stunned.
This was a world-class team, at the very least the final was expected to be close. Then Pep Guardiola offered a post-match assessment that gave some insight into why United had looked so rushed every time they had got on the ball beyond the first 15 minutes. “Without the ball," Guardiola said, “we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball.”
