As anticipated, Manchester United edged Chelsea to be crowned the champions of Europe!
Last night was nerve-wrecking! When Ronaldo scored, I could hear the whole Angkasa Condominiums erupt! And who could you have expected among all the stars, Wes Brown - known as the weakest link, to assist him with a beautiful cross. The top scorer in both English Premier League and UEFA Champions League then added to his goal tally with a well placed header on the bottom left corner of the goal.Then it was a very lucky break for Chelsea. Lampard equalised through a double deflection. Wow, pure luck!
The second half wasn't as entertainingas the first, with Claude Makelele being increasingly annoying. How low could a world class footballer stoop? Chelsea was then very lucky to hit the post, then the bar. On the 87th minute came the record-breaking substitute. Giggs came on for the injured Scholes to win his 759th cap for his club, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton's mark - 758.
Then came extra time. Manchester United went for the winner but Cech was on alert. Then came the moment I've been waiting for - a red card. It wasn't so much of Chelsea, neither the opponent receiving it. It was more so of Drogba getting his marching orders. Justice was served!
The lottery of penalties as they call it. I had this feeling that Ronaldo was going to miss it, something to bring him down to earth, and yes indeed Cech saved it. So as Chelsea scored the following penalties, it seemed as if Manchester United were doomed. I was hoping for a cocky player to take their last penalty, since Drogba wasn't there (cockiest) and Ballack and Lampard (cocky pair) had taken theirs, the next I could think of was Terry - the captain who had no respect for officials throughout the whole season. And boy was I glad that he slipped. It could had happened to anyone, but he was the man for the moment! (Boy, I sound so evil). Gigs scored the last penalty for Manchester United. Van der Sar saved Anelka's penalty. And the rest is history.A fitting finale for a wonderful season of 2008, a year that marked the 40th anniversary of the first European Cup triumph and the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster.
All pictures taken from my favorite website - www.soccernet.com
2 comments:
Great article from a Manchester United fan. I wanted to write one myself but I feel it is ethically wrong- I came late from work and could not keep myself awake to watch the match.
Luckily, I wokeup to witness the shoot-outs.
Yes, We are the champions!
Feel a bit bad myself but hey, you've got to rub it in! ;)
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