A Rematch Too Good To Be True
Yes, the Champions League final is just days away now. It is so close I can picture in my mind the sides walking out from the tunnel and the UEFA hymn playing. I can hear the supporters singing and I can already breathe in the tension that will fill the Athens air on Wednesday night. For me, the Champions League final has always been the most exciting sporting event on the planet. I'll take it over the World Cup final any year. I find the fans more passionate, the drama surrounding the clubs in the final to be much higher, and I even think the football on display is more quality.
I fully expect that to be the case on Wednesday despite some critics suggesting that when a 3rd and a 4th place team meet in something called the Champions League final, it is well, less than a true contest between champions. But if you are going on recent form in the competition it could be argued that AC Milan and Liverpool are the two greatest clubs on the continent. The readers of this fine publication will be long gone before Chelsea, Manchester United, or Inter Milan can claim the trophy haul that this year's finalists boast.
Two years ago we witnessed one of the most phenomenal displays of football theater I can ever remember. It is just a special moment in time that we don't have to wait a decade or longer for a rematch in the final between AC Milan & Liverpool. After '05 I was expecting the next meeting to take place in the Group Stages at some point, but never could I have imagined this. Don't listen to the critics. This is the best possible final we could have gotten considering the final 4 clubs. Even some of the ousted quarter finalists would not have generated this much attention had they gotten through.
Milan 'keeper, Dida, will be looking to right his ship after giving up 3 goals in a 7 minute span in Istanbul. Gattuso is out for revenge. Maldini knows this is his last opportunity to lift the cup that matters most. Kaka will be looking to show that he is the best player on the planet regardless of how many awards a certain Portugeuse winger has won this season. Of course, Carlo Ancellotti's job security could very well hinge on the outcome in Athens.
Rafa Benitez has no such worries. His new owners plan to lavish him in transfer funds win or lose. He returns to the final with a much better 'keeper in Pepe Reina, a better strike partnership in Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt and what looks to be a midfield superstar in the making with Javier Mascherano. Add epic players like Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso to the mix and you can see why Liverpool supporters are in high spirits right now.
Indeed, a couple days from now the words of the players, managers, fans, journalists and everyone else will not matter. It will be the play on the pitch and the tactics on the sideline that determines the winner.
We'll be back tomorrow with a prediction!
I fully expect that to be the case on Wednesday despite some critics suggesting that when a 3rd and a 4th place team meet in something called the Champions League final, it is well, less than a true contest between champions. But if you are going on recent form in the competition it could be argued that AC Milan and Liverpool are the two greatest clubs on the continent. The readers of this fine publication will be long gone before Chelsea, Manchester United, or Inter Milan can claim the trophy haul that this year's finalists boast.
Two years ago we witnessed one of the most phenomenal displays of football theater I can ever remember. It is just a special moment in time that we don't have to wait a decade or longer for a rematch in the final between AC Milan & Liverpool. After '05 I was expecting the next meeting to take place in the Group Stages at some point, but never could I have imagined this. Don't listen to the critics. This is the best possible final we could have gotten considering the final 4 clubs. Even some of the ousted quarter finalists would not have generated this much attention had they gotten through.
Milan 'keeper, Dida, will be looking to right his ship after giving up 3 goals in a 7 minute span in Istanbul. Gattuso is out for revenge. Maldini knows this is his last opportunity to lift the cup that matters most. Kaka will be looking to show that he is the best player on the planet regardless of how many awards a certain Portugeuse winger has won this season. Of course, Carlo Ancellotti's job security could very well hinge on the outcome in Athens.
Rafa Benitez has no such worries. His new owners plan to lavish him in transfer funds win or lose. He returns to the final with a much better 'keeper in Pepe Reina, a better strike partnership in Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt and what looks to be a midfield superstar in the making with Javier Mascherano. Add epic players like Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso to the mix and you can see why Liverpool supporters are in high spirits right now.
Indeed, a couple days from now the words of the players, managers, fans, journalists and everyone else will not matter. It will be the play on the pitch and the tactics on the sideline that determines the winner.
We'll be back tomorrow with a prediction!
posted by Anonymous at 8:35 PM
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