So why did Liverpool lose? Luck has to be one of the elements, as the first goal was critical and didn't appear to be the result of design:
The goal was probably legal, as it hit Pippo Inzaghi's shoulder and my understanding is that a ball off the shoulder is not a handball, and in any event, that would have been a very marginal call on which to disallow a goal. That said, it was certainly lucky.
In addition to luck, Milan simply had better players. They had Andrea Pirlo to take free kicks, which put them in position to get a lucky deflection. They had Kaka to wriggle free and force a foul from Xabi Alonso to set up the free kick. In the end, they had Kaka and Inzaghi to craft the one quality goal of the game once Liverpool were caught forward. In contrast, Liverpool's players found themselves in position to score goals and just didn't have the skill to score. Jermaine Pennant and Boudewijn Zenden were put in position to make plays by Benitez's scheme, but they fluffed cross after cross and Pennant shot poorly on Liverpool's best chance in the first half. For most of the game, Dirk Kujt was close to useless for Liverpool, other than doing his usual act of running a lot and going after the ball, as opposed to doing what a striker is supposed to do: score. (It is ironic that Liverpool and Milan both get their offense from their midfields as a result of suspect strikers and yet all three goals last night came from the two strikers.) Steven Gerrard had a couple good chances and showed why he's a midfielder and not a striker. (Gerrard did generate a good chunk of offense and I like him more as a withdrawn striker than as a right-sided midfielder, but I like him as a central midfielder more than either.) In short, Benitez put his players in position to win the game, but his players simply weren't good enough to exploit their opportunities.
So where does this Final rank in terms of entertainment and quality? I'm glad you asked. I've watched every final since Ajax's upset win over AC Milan in 1995 and here's how I would rank 'em:
1. 1999 - Manchester United 2 Bayern Munich 1
2. 2005 - Liverpool 3 Milan 3
3. 1997 - Borussia Dortmund 3 Juventus 1
4. 2006 - Barca 2 Arsenal 1
5. 2002 - Real Madrid 2 Bayer Leverkusen 1
6. 1995 - Ajax 1 Milan 0
7. 1996 - Juventus 1 Ajax 1
8. 2007 - Milan 2 Liverpool 1
9. 2001 - Bayern 1 Valencia 1
10. 2004 - Porto 3 Monaco 0
11. 1998 - Real Madrid 1 Juventus 0
12. 2000 - Real Madrid 3 Valencia 0
13. 2003 - Milan 0 Juventus 0
And a note in the obligatory "Liverpool fans misbehaving" category. Color me shocked that there were run-ins between Liverpool fans and the police after a group of ticketless Pool fans stormed into the Olympic Stadium, leaving fans with legitimate tickets outside and unable to get in. I'll say it again: the combination of English restraint and Greek efficiency was always going to be a problem. I genuinely feel bad for the fans with legitimate tickets who couldn't get in. There are few instances in life where I could see myself thinking "yes, overturning a car as part of a crazy mob sounds like the right idea," but paying 2,000 Euros for a ticket to see my favorite team play in the biggest game of the year and then being denied entry to the stadium would be one of those instances. Since I'm in the mood for lists, here are my five best sports-related tantrums:
1. 1988 - In my parents' bedroom after LSU 7 Auburn 6
2. 1996 - In a parking lot outside of Dyche Stadium after Northwestern 17 Michigan 16
3. 1996 - In my apartment in Ann Arbor after Cardinals 4 Braves 3
4. 2001 - In my condo during Ohio State 26 Michigan 20
5. 1998 - At my aunt and uncle's condo in the closing stages of Iran 2 USA 1
8 comments:
so bad that Milan won...
liverpool deserved it so bad!!
but, luck is luck!
=D
Pirlo is a fantastic player and a big reason for both Italy's World Cup success last year and Milan's CL run - really a joy to watch that type of skill. And very few field players ever have maintained the consistent high level of play over 22 seasons that Paolo Maldini has shown.
That said, Milan are cheaters who never should have been in the competition this year to begin with - what a shame they took home silverware they did not deserve.
I'm doing my best to understand how United scoring 2 goals in 5 minutes to beat Bayern rates as a better final than Liverpool scoring three goals against Milan to tie it up and then win in penalties.
Did United's victory spawn any catchy techno jingles like "Do the Jerzy Dudek!" I think not!
I'd also like to say that a 68K stadium is too small for this final. Not an apology for Liverpool fan behavior but alot could have been avoided had the game been played somewhere else
Great pic of the first goal- best I have seen. During the intermission I was wondering the whole time whether Pirlo's free kick would have beaten Reina on its own, as it looked like it was headed right for the post, but it also looked like Reina had it covered. I was surprised that there was not a camera in the roof to give overhead replays of this an other things- brand new stadium hosting one of the 5 biggest sporting events on the planet, you would think that they would have the seemingly ubiquitous these days overhead cam.
Your point about Rafa yesterday is more broadly the key to their Euro success the last 3 seasons, as many have attributed his success to his knowledge of continental footie and continental tactics from his experience in Spain.
Klinsi, I'm thinking that Maldini might end up in Der Kaiser's class as one of the best defenders of all time. The list of hardware that the guy has won is unbelievable. Admittedly, he's played on some great teams, but he has more European Cups by himself than all but three teams in Europe.
As for Milan being "cheaters," their role in Calciopoly has been overstated. They basically had an underling brag about Milan's influence, but little else. They aren't in the same ballpark as Juve in that category.
Ryno, the '99 Final was better for two reasons:
1. It was contested between the absolute best teams in Europe that year. United and Bayern were both going for the treble. It was like the Texas-USC game in terms of two great teams marching towards one another for nine months and then finally meeting.
2. Liverpool's comeback was admirable, but they didn't create a good chance after tying the game. They made it to penalties because they had the ridiculous good fortune of the best striker in the world (Sheva) hitting a shot right at Dudek from point blank range when it would have been easier to score.
As for the size of the stadium, there would have been excessive demand from L'pool fans regardless of the venue. The game could have been played at the Maracana when it held 250K and there still would have been ticketless Scousers scheming to get in.
Kanu, the consensus seems to be that Reina was going to save the shot until it was deflected. I ought to give some credit to Inzaghi on it. At a certain stage, a player who is always in the right spot for "lucky" goals deserves credit for always being in the right spot.
I'm beginning to think that Rafa coaching Chelsea's talent would be an ideal situation. How good would L'pool have been last night with Cole and Robben as wingers instead of Pennant and Bolo?
Maybe I've missed this somewhere along the line, but looking at the #1 tantrum I have to ask ... did you grow up an Auburn fan, Michael? And if so, when and why did ye abandon thine sacred faith?
Yes; Eric Ramsey.
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