Barca heroes hail 'historic' win

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The 2-0 victory completed a remarkable campaign for Barca, who also won the Primera Liga crown and the Copa del Rey under first-year coach and former club star Josep Guardiola.

"I think it will take us a long time to realise what we have achieved today," Messi said after the victory, while Eto'o added: "What we have done is historic, this is fantastic."

Eto'o continued: "I'm not sure that my goal was crucial for us to win the Champions League but it was certainly important.

"The whole team played fantastic, from Xavi to Iniesta, who was coming back from injury.

"It's been a great team effort from the start of the season."

Messi added: "To score in a Champions League final against Manchester United and win the league title is just unbelievable. It's a dream. This has been an unbelievable season."

The Argentine finished second in the FIFA World Player of the Year voting to United's Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was nowhere near as influential as Messi on Wednesday night, however.

There was a lot of media hype about the Ronaldo vs Messi showdown in Rome but Ronaldo said: "There was no duel. Barcelona were better on the night."

He said that Eto'o's strike had been the most important. "The first goal really hurt us," he said. "We didn't react. We weren't able to play our game and Barcelona dominated."