I suppose it’s about time I broke my long silence and finally let rip on last week’s Champions League final. As they say, no time like the present. Especially since it’s been seven days- time sure flies - since Man U overcame Chelsea to lift the cup in the middle of the Moscow night. More importantly, we are a mere ten days away from the start of the summer jamboree that is Euro 2008. No better time to get all the club stuff out of the way and start thinking international soccer, at least for a few weeks.
Well, Moscow proved to be all I had expected and more – save for the red card, penalties and the destination of the cup, of course. Okay, my prediction didn’t pan out. Let’s get that out of the way from the off. A highly attritional affair climaxed with the sending off of Didier Drogba and the high drama of the penalty shoot-out lottery. This was one of those finals that could fairly have gone either way, and I guess that should be true of any final that goes to the dreaded shoot-out. But that isn’t always the case. I am a Liverpool fan but there can be no denying that Milan should have won the 2005 final after dominating the first half and leading by three goals at half time.
Man U dominated the first period in Moscow and in truth should have been well ahead by the time Frank Lampard arrived in the box – as he does – to cancel out Ronaldo’s opening goal. That Chelsea were still in it at this point was down to the brilliance of Petr Cech and the profligate finishing of Carlos Tevez. Sir Alex won the early tactical game by playing Ronaldo wide on the left with a two-fold effect. First, with Michael Essien filling in at right back, the Portuguese winger had the advantage of facing an out-of-position defender, and he took full advantage getting past the Ghanaian at will, and heading home the opening goal with Essien caught in no-man’s land.
Second, the constant threat Ronaldo posed on the flank effectively kept the usually marauding Essien out of the Man U half for the entire first half. Indeed, the one time Essien ventured forward in the first half, his deflected shot ended at the feet of Lampard for the equalizer.
Chelsea never quite got going in the first half. Their midfielders kept treating the ball like a hot potato, seemingly unwilling – or unable – to keep possession and constantly pumping long balls in the direction of the outnumbered Drogba in attack. They were certainly lucky to be back on level terms by the break, but they started the 2nd period in much better form, effectively stifling Man U’s free-flowing game while attacking with more poise, purpose and imagination. The more patient build up allowed Ashley Cole and Essien to join the attack down the flanks, something that was wholly missing in the first half and Chelsea gradually established a stranglehold on the game. Sir Alex addressed that with the entry of Ryan Giggs for Paul Scholes, bringing Owen Hargreaves into the middle alongside Michael Carrick. But it was Chelsea that came closest to the winning goal when Drogba cracked a shot against the upright with Van der Sar well beaten.
Extra time was especially notable for three incidents: Lampard hit the cross bar from seven yards out; Giggs’ goal bound effort was headed clear by John Terry; and then Drogba waded into the scrum that followed a disagreement between Terry and Tevez to slap Vidic across the face and earn himself a well-deserved red card.
Well, we know what happened in the shoot-out: Ronaldo was well on his way to being the villain – after the season he’s had, that would have been quite the twist – until Terry’s wayward effort saved his bacon and gave Man U a dramatic lifeline. But did Terry miss because he slipped? Or did he slip after he had hit the shot? It wasn’t all that clear to me, nor should it matter. Either way, it’s hard not to feel for the Chelsea captain. I bet he could just picture himself lifting the Cup - as we all did – as he strode forward for that decisive penalty kick.
Now we can only wonder what might have been had Drogba not been sent off. Chelsea fans are convinced he would have scored one of the penalties – perhaps even that final one that Terry fluffed. It’s been suggested that Terry only stepped up for the last kick because Drogba was missing and I have no doubt the big striker would have been one of the five. Yet, no one is infallible from the spot and Drogba could very well have missed too. After all, Ronaldo is Man U’s most reliable penalty taker – he took all of his club’s penalties this season - yet he was the only one of seven Man U players not to score. Had the tables been turned and Ronaldo been sent off, I am sure Man U fans would have blamed a subsequent loss on his absence.
Still not convinced? Well, think back two years to the final of the African Nations Cup in Cairo. Egypt beat Ivory Coast to lift the cup after a penalty shoot out in which Mr. Drogba missed one of the Elephants’ kicks.
In any case, this is all conjecture now. Man U win another one just when it seemed to be out of reach – shades of Barcelona nine years ago – and Chelsea’s hunt for European respectability continues. I can’t but recall the telling words of Fox Soccer Channel’s Bobby McMahon in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s final: “No team will come closer to winning the cup without actually winning it.”
That will be scant consolation for Roman Abramovich, the man who’s billions have yet to land the “holy grail”. Manager Avram Grant has already paid the price after getting the sack just days after the final. Okay, Grant is no Mourinho, but I don’t think the Israeli has performed poorly since taking over from “The Special One” in mid-season. Chelsea finished the season runners-up in the Premiership, the Carling Cup and the Champions League. That’s certainly not a disaster for your everyday club. But Chelsea is anything but normal. If that is the standard that future Chelsea managers would be held to, I think Abramovich will be sacking a fair number of managers in the years ahead.
For my last word on this year’s Champions League, I’d like to pay tribute to one of the game’s biggest unsung heroes. Was I the only one marveling at the performance of Claude Makelele in the Chelsea midfield last Wednesday? What a player this tiny defensive midfielder is! And it wasn’t just about man-marking, game-reading and breaking up the play either. Makelele put on a one-man clinic on how to keep the ball on Wednesday night. As the likes of Ballack, Lampard and Malouda struggled, he hardly played a bad pass, never got caught in possession and always managed to twist and turn his way out of tight spots. For a player with hardly any pace left, it’s a wonder to see how he uses space and his opponents’ movements in his role just in front of the back four. Little wonder that he’s still playing comfortably at the highest level at the ripe old age of 35 years.
Watch out for more Makelele when France take the field at Euro 2008 – yes, he’s still in the squad.
But I’ll delve more into the Euros in my next post. Later
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