When you think of counter-attacking football, you may well think of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, who as good as perfected the act in 2009.
The legendary Scot was always known for his insistence on elite level strikers to finish off devastating passages of play, and he had one of his most lethal groups of forwards for the 2008/09 season.
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United’s 2008/09 frontline was terrifyingCredit: Getty – Contributor
Dimitar Berbatov joined Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo up front in a £30million deal from Tottenham and the quartet combined for a trophy each – the Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield and Club World Cup.
But it was in the Champions League where the world got to see United at their best, and coincidentally display it against English opposition.
After topping their group with 10 points from 12, the reigning European champions went through Inter Milan and Porto to set up a semi-final tie with Arsenal.
It was the first meeting between the two Premier League giants in the competition, and after a 1-0 win at Old Trafford thanks to John O´Shea, it was all to play for at the Emirates.
That feeling didn’t last for long, though, as Ji-Sung Park put the Red Devils ahead in the eighth minute, and then it was two courtesy of Ronaldo in the 11th with an outrageous free-kick not far from the half-way line.
Then in the second half came the goal of goals, and it was one that was long in the making.
“Even though people say our United team had all these great players, in reality our biggest strength was as a pure counter-attacking machine,” Rooney would later recall. “We would sit back in our shape, win the ball and just go.
“We trained counte-rattacking from one goal to the other. In the drill we had eight seconds to score. We put a striker on the halfway line and two players on either side of the goalposts.
“One would play the ball up to the striker and both would sprint to join him. With two defenders against you, you had eight seconds to score.”
That drill was never displayed better than against Arsenal in the 61st minute with the Gunners desperately trying to get back into the tie.
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Vidic cleared the ball to RonaldoCredit: BT Sport
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And seconds later it was in the netCredit: BT Sport
Bacary Sagna whipped a hopeful cross into the box, and when Nemanja Vidic headed clear, the drill began.
Ronaldo flicked the ball back to Park, and set off at full pelt down the right-hand side, with Rooney doing the same on the left.
Park played the ball forward to Rooney, who carried it and then laid it on a plate for Ronaldo to slam in a goal that completely ended Arsenal’s hopes.
Owen Hargreaves reveals that he always use to be the fastest player at Manchester United leaving stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney fuming
The time it took from Vidic’s header to Ronaldo’s goal? Almost exactly eight seconds.
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