On Wednesday the two most famous clubs in the world, Manchester United and Barcelona, square off at the Camp Nou. It's been a miserable campaign by Barcelona standards. They've failed to win in four straight league matches, allowing Real Madrid to run away with the La Liga title despite some shoddy results recently. On the upside for Barcelona, the scintilating Lionel Messi returned to the field on the weekend and is expected to start on Wednesday. Manchester has been brilliant all season, with Cristiano Ronaldo netting an extraordinary 35 goals. But the defense looked vulnerable against Arsenal two weeks ago without injured centerback Nemanja Vidic, and they could only muster a 1-1 tie against Blackburn on the weekend. Vidic is exepected to be in the lineup this week, despite lingering knee troubles.

The match will mark a return to the Camp Nou for Manchester the first time since their incredible 1999 Champions League final comeback against Bayern Munich. I stumbled upon that match one afternoon while drinking beer with a crazy Cuban prosecutor at a pub in Fort Lauderdale and have been obsessed with the game ever since. Here's the highlights: