Dream championship finals, it was dubbed. Two best teams, which play good attacking and entertaining soccer, were playing. The two best players in the world faced each other. Champions League Soccer, as I asserted before, is the best sporting competition in the world.
But the game didn’t have any memorable moments, like that spectacular Zidane volley for a match winner against Bayer Leverkusen in 2001-2. This wasn’t a thrill a moment goal fest like last year’s finals between Liverpool and A C Milan. There were no intense midfield battles. Finishing left a lot to be desired.
Still it was indeed a pretty good game. Both Arsenal and Barcelona delivered what they had promised, although with better finishing it would have been a spectacular game. Once Lehmann was sent off with three fourths of the game yet to be played, it was a contest between unequals. That early efficient Sol Campbell goal didn’t make a difference and it would have been spectacular achievement if Arsenal had withstood the waves and waves of Barcelona attacks while being a man short. Tired legs at the end of a long season would have given way sooner than later.
The citadel could have fallen any time as Barcelona played some crisp short passing game and Arsenal managed to keep the ball out of the net, barely. After the 70th minute, all that changed in four minutes as Barcelona scored two goals. My man Henry would have liked to score on those two missed chances, if only to prove that he is a big match player. I just hope he stays at Arsenal, lead his young team and make his case to be the best player in the world. His rival, Ronaldinho too would have liked to have finished better, although his skillls were on display frequently.
Nickhil and I watched the game on a big screen at the Bskool cafe along with hundreds of other soccer fans. There was one kid, writing on Kant’s ‘Groundwork’, as he watched the game. Don’t know how he did it but write he did for a while. For the record, I also believe that Kant and Soccer go well together. Also on display was the full might of Graduate School of Business hospitality, in the form of nice snacks and soft drinks. From the tidbits that I overheard, I am glad to report that those who had bought all the goodies so generously for our consumption didn’t know who was playing whom or even what sport was being played. But they were satisfied with that (priceless) look of contentment on our faces. Who am I to complain? Still, the atmosphere was surprisingly good, despite being inside a GSB building. Good skillful soccer and appreciative, even passionate fans may have something to do with that.
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