By Chia Han Keong

IT IS the dream match every football fan wishes for - the two best teams in Europe battling for the premier European club trophy.

Even Liverpool or Real Madrid die-hards can hardly begrudge tomorrow morning's Champions League final clash between their arch-rivals, Manchester United and Barcelona.

Not when these two sides embody attacking football at its best- flowing, rapid, and reliant on doses of inspiration from their bevy of talented players.

It is football unshackled from excessive tactical tinkering. Just let the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney weave their magic, and reap the rewards.

One hopes that the two sides will not be paralysed by the occasion, and be "tempted" into being defensive.

That would be completely out of character.

The stakes are undoubtedly high. Barcelona could secure a deserved Treble with this Champions League triumph, after winning both their domestic league and Cup earlier this month.

However, for defending champions Man United, they are facing far bigger historical stakes than their Spanish foes.

For starters, they could achieve a unique Quadruple with this victory, after winning the Club World Cup, the League Cup and the Barclays Premier League.

But wait, there's more.

The Red Devils could also become the first club to retain the European Cup under the current Champions League format, which was introduced in 1992.

So far, only Juventus (1996, 1997 and 1998) and Valencia (2000 and 2001) have managed consecutive finals. Of those five occasions, only Juventus in 1996 were victorious.

As if that historical stake is not enough, manager Alex Ferguson could also become the second British manager to win three European Cups, after Liverpool's Bob Paisley did so in 1977, 1978 and 1981.

Can Ferguson emulate Paisley and, thereby, end all arguments as to who is the greatest British manager of all time?

Frankly, he and his players have to ignore all these historical stakes.

For they face a side as formidable and wily as they are.

The slightest slip in concentration is all Messi, Henry or hitman Samuel Eto'o need to score against any team.

With their midfield duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta adept at controlling and varying the game tempo, the nous of veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are vital in disrupting Barca's passing rhythm.

With the Spanish side missing key defenders Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal, can Rooney and Ronaldo be focused enough to thread killer passes to Dimitar Berbatov or Carlos Tevez to score?

They must, or they will suffer the agony of failure in their title defence at the last hurdle, in this dream final that is too close to call.