LONDON (AFP) - Barcelona captain Carles Puyol was left out of his team's Champions League final side here Saturday as opponents Manchester United picked a full-strength starting line-up.
The omission of Puyol, who has struggled with a knee injury for much of the second half of the season, was the big surprise as Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola opted for Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano at centre-half instead.
French international Eric Abidal, who has only recently returned to football after a battle with liver cancer, was named to start at left-back with Dani Alves occupying the other flank.
There were no surprises further forward, where Sergio Busquets lined up in midfield alongside Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
David Villa, Pedro and Lionel Messi completed the Barcelona XI.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson meanwhile opted for a bold line-up, pairing Javier Hernandez with Wayne Rooney ahead of a four-man midfield featuring Antonio Valencia, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Park Ji-Sung.
In defence Brazilian Fabio da Silva won the nod at right-back ahead of twin brother Rafael while Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra completed the back four.
The only surprise in the United squad came on the substitutes bench where record signing Dimitar Berbatov was left out, Michael Owen winning the nod ahead of the Bulgarian.
Teams:
Manchester United
Van der Sar, Fabio, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Hernandez
Substitutes: Kuszczak, Smalling, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Scholes, Owen
Barcelona
Valdes, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa
Substitutes: Olazabal, Puyol, Bojan, Keita, Afellay, Adriano, Alcantara
The omission of Puyol, who has struggled with a knee injury for much of the second half of the season, was the big surprise as Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola opted for Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano at centre-half instead.
French international Eric Abidal, who has only recently returned to football after a battle with liver cancer, was named to start at left-back with Dani Alves occupying the other flank.
There were no surprises further forward, where Sergio Busquets lined up in midfield alongside Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
David Villa, Pedro and Lionel Messi completed the Barcelona XI.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson meanwhile opted for a bold line-up, pairing Javier Hernandez with Wayne Rooney ahead of a four-man midfield featuring Antonio Valencia, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Park Ji-Sung.
In defence Brazilian Fabio da Silva won the nod at right-back ahead of twin brother Rafael while Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra completed the back four.
The only surprise in the United squad came on the substitutes bench where record signing Dimitar Berbatov was left out, Michael Owen winning the nod ahead of the Bulgarian.
Teams:
Manchester United
Van der Sar, Fabio, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Hernandez
Substitutes: Kuszczak, Smalling, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Scholes, Owen
Barcelona
Valdes, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa
Substitutes: Olazabal, Puyol, Bojan, Keita, Afellay, Adriano, Alcantara
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