Glory, Glory Man United!!
Hello again everyone. It has certainly been a long time since I posted. I hope everyone is doing well.
Well, the subject of today's post is soccer (football for anyone outside the US). In specific, it concerns my favorite English Premier League team and their glorious victory in the UEFA Champions League final.
Not but ten days ago, Manchester United won the title in what is, perhaps, the best football league in the world--the English Premier League. They did so by the slimest of margins, a mere two points over rival club Chelsea.
Today, Chelsea had a chance snatch some of the glory from Man Utd. The two clubs were scheduled to meet today in Moscow in the Champions League final. It was to be the first all English Champions League final ever played.
The final, something I had been looking forward to for nearly two weeks, did not disappoint. It was everything one could expect from the top two Premiership teams. It was scrappy and hard fought. It was an all out effort from both sides. And in the end, it was harsh and somewhat cruel.
United drew blood first on a brilliant header from (who else?) Ronaldo in the 25th minute. Chelsea managed to even up the score on Lampard's 44th minute goal. And there it stayed for the next 75 minutes. Neither side seemed like it could find the magic spot in the back of the net. United had a few good shots which either sailed wide or were saved by the very good play of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. On the other end, Chelsea had some excellent chances, but seemed to have a penchant for hitting the woodwork instead of the net.
After 120 minutes of rather spirited play that included 7 yellow cards (Utd 4, Chelsea 3) and 1 red card (to Drogba [Chel.] in the 115th minute for smacking Vidic [Utd] in face), neither team held an advantage. So, in accordance with UEFA rules, it came down to penalty kicks.
Now, I personally hate penalty kicks. I'm not sure what the solution is for breaking a deadlocked game should be, but penalty kicks don't seem the way to go.
Personal feelings aside, the stage was set for what promised to be an exciting and extremely tense finish.
United won the coin toss and opted to go first. The clubs were all even until Ronaldo took his shot. He missed. This set the stage for Chelsea to win the match. All they had to do was put in the rest of their kicks. But alas, it was not to be as Chelsea captain John Terry sailed the final shot (of the initial 5) wide of the goal. United had dodged a bullet and the score stood at 4-4. In the next round of kicks, Anderson put United ahead. Kalou tied it up for Chelsea. Then came United legend Ryan Giggs. Giggs didn't hit the best ball in the world, but having faked Cech out his jock, he managed to score. Then it was Chelsea's turn again. Anelka stepped up and shot to his left. Van der Sar guessed the direction correctly and, in what has to be the save of the year, batted the kick away. United was the Champions League victor.
I have mixed feelings about this final. On one hand, I am positively ecstatic that United managed to pull off the double. But on the other had, I feel a bit sorry for Chelsea. They battled so valiantly for so long only to come up empty handed not once, but twice (EPL and UCL). I feel especially bad for John Terry, whose missed penalty kick set United up for the win. The tv kept showing him obviously blaming himself for Chelsea's loss. This is why I hate penalty kicks. Chelsea's loss was definitely NOT John Terry's fault. But because it boils down to a high pressure individual-player-in-the-spotlight type of situation (in a TEAM game mind you), you have a quality player like Terry just tearing himself apart over a kick that otherwise would have been largely ignored during the course of the game! If I had anything to say to Terry right now, I think I'd remind him that football is a team sport, and you win and lose as a TEAM, not as a collection of individuals.
Well, I have to go now. I would like to congratulate Chesea FC on a game, and season, well played. (And if you guys get rid of Avram Grant your nuts!)
Of all the things I'd like to say about United in closing, only one really sums it up...Glory, glory Man United, Glory, glory Man United...
As always, I am Chuck and this has been my rant.
Well, the subject of today's post is soccer (football for anyone outside the US). In specific, it concerns my favorite English Premier League team and their glorious victory in the UEFA Champions League final.
Not but ten days ago, Manchester United won the title in what is, perhaps, the best football league in the world--the English Premier League. They did so by the slimest of margins, a mere two points over rival club Chelsea.
Today, Chelsea had a chance snatch some of the glory from Man Utd. The two clubs were scheduled to meet today in Moscow in the Champions League final. It was to be the first all English Champions League final ever played.
The final, something I had been looking forward to for nearly two weeks, did not disappoint. It was everything one could expect from the top two Premiership teams. It was scrappy and hard fought. It was an all out effort from both sides. And in the end, it was harsh and somewhat cruel.
United drew blood first on a brilliant header from (who else?) Ronaldo in the 25th minute. Chelsea managed to even up the score on Lampard's 44th minute goal. And there it stayed for the next 75 minutes. Neither side seemed like it could find the magic spot in the back of the net. United had a few good shots which either sailed wide or were saved by the very good play of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. On the other end, Chelsea had some excellent chances, but seemed to have a penchant for hitting the woodwork instead of the net.
After 120 minutes of rather spirited play that included 7 yellow cards (Utd 4, Chelsea 3) and 1 red card (to Drogba [Chel.] in the 115th minute for smacking Vidic [Utd] in face), neither team held an advantage. So, in accordance with UEFA rules, it came down to penalty kicks.
Now, I personally hate penalty kicks. I'm not sure what the solution is for breaking a deadlocked game should be, but penalty kicks don't seem the way to go.
Personal feelings aside, the stage was set for what promised to be an exciting and extremely tense finish.
United won the coin toss and opted to go first. The clubs were all even until Ronaldo took his shot. He missed. This set the stage for Chelsea to win the match. All they had to do was put in the rest of their kicks. But alas, it was not to be as Chelsea captain John Terry sailed the final shot (of the initial 5) wide of the goal. United had dodged a bullet and the score stood at 4-4. In the next round of kicks, Anderson put United ahead. Kalou tied it up for Chelsea. Then came United legend Ryan Giggs. Giggs didn't hit the best ball in the world, but having faked Cech out his jock, he managed to score. Then it was Chelsea's turn again. Anelka stepped up and shot to his left. Van der Sar guessed the direction correctly and, in what has to be the save of the year, batted the kick away. United was the Champions League victor.
I have mixed feelings about this final. On one hand, I am positively ecstatic that United managed to pull off the double. But on the other had, I feel a bit sorry for Chelsea. They battled so valiantly for so long only to come up empty handed not once, but twice (EPL and UCL). I feel especially bad for John Terry, whose missed penalty kick set United up for the win. The tv kept showing him obviously blaming himself for Chelsea's loss. This is why I hate penalty kicks. Chelsea's loss was definitely NOT John Terry's fault. But because it boils down to a high pressure individual-player-in-the-spotlight type of situation (in a TEAM game mind you), you have a quality player like Terry just tearing himself apart over a kick that otherwise would have been largely ignored during the course of the game! If I had anything to say to Terry right now, I think I'd remind him that football is a team sport, and you win and lose as a TEAM, not as a collection of individuals.
Well, I have to go now. I would like to congratulate Chesea FC on a game, and season, well played. (And if you guys get rid of Avram Grant your nuts!)
Of all the things I'd like to say about United in closing, only one really sums it up...Glory, glory Man United, Glory, glory Man United...
As always, I am Chuck and this has been my rant.
posted by Chuck | 20:00
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Hey Man
Trying to get ahold of you. Email back
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