Captain Carles Puyol didn’t want to miss the celebrations on the pitch, and despite not being part of the starting eleven, he came on in the second half for Daniel Alves.
Messi MVP
Messi was voted best player in the final (MVP). He was the player who scored the all important goal
to make the score 2-1, becoming the most important player of the match.
As a veteran player, Carles Puyol was one of the players most able to appreciate the title. Puyol,
who lifted the European trophies in Rome and Paris, wasn’t in the starting line-up because,
according him, "those who started deserved it more than me". Once the pitch, Puyol was able to
enjoy the culmination of a difficult season, but one that ended with a happy ending. Indeed, as
outlined in the commemorative shirts that the players put on after the game, "Football gives you
back what you give to it".
Despite the happiness experienced on the night, Puyol said, in reference to his knee
problems, that in the next few days "there’ll be some tough things to overcome, but
everything has a solution". At the same time, Carles Puyol also had some words of support for his
friend Miki Roque: "Now that is a Champions League, for the time being everything has gone pretty
well and he’ll come through it".
Following are words from the other European Champions:
Villa
"I’m just so happy ... I am very pleased to have achieved what we
have done here, for them (his teammates) it’s another one, and the first one for me".
"I was not having much luck in front of goal and I'm happy to have scored and especially when
I did."
Busquets
"It all went very well, now it’s time to celebrate with the family."
"We played a very complete game. We didn’t deserve to concede the goal from Rooney, but
we knew how dangerous he can be. Our third goal calmed it all down "
Mascherano
"We’ve won the League, and now the Champions ... I want to thank Barça for being able
to be here this season, the staff, the coaches ... If it wasn’t for them today I’d be
living a different reality."
Alves
"The importance of it will only be seen when we retire."
"It's the best answer. Today we have put on a show for all football lovers”.
"People who really like football should be very happy, because football is the winner."
"Our biggest win was Abidal’s recovery. In the end being part of it all from the inside
is different, and he and I are very happy."
Xavi
"We haven’t suffered that much, except when they scored. We all felt really comfortable
on the pitch”.
"The gesture for Abidal was something he deserved. All the captains spoke about it, and
agreed that’s what we’d do".
"It's great what we're doing but we want more to follow. We’ll try to digest everything
we’ve achieved tonight, but we want more. Right now we’ll just enjoy it, it’s
something special".
Messi
"I’m really happy to pick up another trophy to take back to Barcelona".
"It was a difficult season, but today, once again, we showed who we are, we were the much
better team".
"It was marvellous how well we played, the trophy is for the whole team"
Pedro
"The move was really quick, Xavi held up the pass and I managed to control it okay, right in
front of goal"
"We are pleased to have won the final because we deserved it."
"In the second half we dominated the game, creating more chances. The first half was more
evenly balanced, they pressurised us a lot at the start".
"It’s been a long journey. It’s not easy to get to here. I’d like to
dedicate this to all my family who have come over, all my friends, Barça fans ... because they are
all part of all this and we are proud to have them with us".