BARCELONA, May 23-- FC Barcelona striker Leo Messi expected to repeat the 2009 Champions League win over Manchester United as he spoke to the press ahead of Saturday's Champions League final in Wembley on Monday. The Argentinean, who is arguably the best player in the World, attended a packed press conference filled with international journalists in the Camp Nou Stadium as part of the FC Barcelona press day ahead of Saturday's final. Messi scored Barcelona's second goal as they defeated Manchester United 2-0 in Rome in the 2009 final and although he said he has found memories of that moment, the Barcelona striker is clearly focused on this Saturday's match. "That was a happy memory and I hope I can score again, be it with my head or feet, but what matter is us being able to lift the cup again," said Messi, who believes that this final will be nothing like the game two years ago. "It's a final, a special game for all of us who play. I have a good memory of Rome, but it is history, this will be totally different. We are against a great rivals with great players and it will be a close final." "Every final is different, what happened in Rome is in the past, this will be different, Manchester have virtually the same players, but it will be different," added Messi. He rejected suggestions that the current Manchester United team is a potent force that the side Barcelona defeated in 2009. "They have won the English league and are in the Champions League final, I don't know if Manchester United are stronger or not, but they have great players such as Chicharito Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and Antonio Valencia. I don't know if they are better or not, but they will be very hard to beat," he said, highlighting the performances of Mexican striker Javier Chicharito Hernandez, who has scored over 20 goals in his first season in England. |