Puyol predicts great things will follow

Carles Puyol has lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy twice in four seasons but the FC Barcelona captain is convinced victory against Manchester United FC marks the start of an famous new chapter in the club's illustrious history.

'Historic season' 
Puyol first got his hands on the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 2006 but that triumph in Paris marked the start of almost three years without a trophy for the Catalan club, a run that has been ended in spectacular style over the past 15 days with victories in the Copa del Rey, Spanish Liga and now the UEFA Champions League. "It has been a historic season; everything went well and now we can enjoy it," he said. "At this time you think about all the people who have worked very hard all season, and I want to dedicate it to all our fans, my family and the people who have helped me to get there.

History boys
"United are very good, but tonight they came up against another great team," the 31-year-old added. "We worked very hard and they didn't make our life easy, but if we wanted to win tonight we knew we had to battle." Puyol was one of only four players in Barça's starting lineup to feature in the victory against Arsenal FC three years ago and he believes there is more to come from Josep Guardiola's side. "Some players are new, some are the same, but the most important thing is that we have won it again. We have a young squad. Now we have to maintain the same motivation to carry on winning and only like this we will be able to make history."

Eto'o landmark
Another survivor from 2006, Samuel Eto'o, followed Raúl González in scoring in two UEFA Champions League finals, and the Cameroonian international had no doubts where the game was won. "We played our match today, we set the pace and that was key," he told uefa.com. "I think United were very surprised by using Leo [Messi] as an attacking midfielder and I hope our fans will now celebrate, because they really deserve it."

'Football has won'
It was a bittersweet triumph for Daniel Alves, an enthusiastic participant in the post-match celebrations having missed the game through suspension. "We can all be very happy with what we've achieved because we don't have such amazing experiences every day," the full-back told uefa.com "It's a historic triumph, our third title of the season and an important trophy. The key to our success this season was staying faithful to our philosophy whoever we played against. Our style is very interesting and football has won tonight."