Yes, that's it. I'm making a stand. Football is a cruel mistress. She lures us in with promises of exciting times in exotic places, and instead we get one-nil defeats at Fulham on a rainy Tuesday night. Sometimes we wait for goal news coming in on the BBC Vidi Printer, or scouring the internet for our latest signing, who usually turns out to be more Ronald McDonald than Ronaldo.
But the point is, I could no more give up football for good than I could perform open heart surgery on myself. Because once we're in, we're in; hooked for life. Your car breaks down; you save up and buy a new one. You get retrenched from that dream job; you go out and find a new one. But no matter how many times your club breaks your heart, you still suffer sleepless nights as news drifts in over the wireless, spend hours in anticipation of yet another fixture or perform mathematical calculations that even Professors in High-Order Mathematics would find bordering on impossible.
Every so often though, there is a wave of pure magic which offsets the drudgery. The chance at a trophy, a cracker of a goal or even just winning the war on the terraces. Today was a triumph of all three.
This morning Liverpool have booked their ticket to Athens with the prospect of a 6th European Cup. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were finally given the shove after Agger's 22nd minute goal drew the home side level tp 1-1. With the end of regulation and extra time not producing anything futher, this brought on that most horrid of things, the penalty shootout. Liverpool won that however, 4-1 on penalties (which I didn't see) and this sets up the possibility of meeting bitter, bitter rivals Manchested Utd on the 23rd.
The side that Jose Mourihno labelled as "The Worst Champions of Europe" have knocked his side out of the cup AGAIN. Seriously has Chelsea ever been beaten by a better side according to him? Today's comments sound like they come directly off the post-match interview DVD for 2005. He can but watch as Rafa's boys go on to a second European title shot under his tenure to yet again become the "The Worst Champions of Europe".
No comments:
Post a Comment