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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Seriously, can you claim any moral highground when your team is named the Redskins?
Also, the Champions League final was a dud. Milan scores one goal on a handball, and the second on a counter attack they only got because Liverpool were pushing for a goal. A boring game marred by incompetent officiating. Oh well. Liverpool outplayed them but couldn't get a break.
While not the classico of 2005 in Istanbul between these two clubs, yesterday's CL final wasn't devoid of plot or action as some detractors have mentioned. If any fingers should be pointed, they should go after the managers who chose the dreaded 4-5-1 formations - we were fortunate to get 3 goals at all. Benitez has a lot of gall going after the refs for shorting him 45 seconds when he played one stiker for 83 minutes, 38 of those after he was down 0-1. Stevie G was off, Riise was firing all over the place like a bent musket.
Give Inzaghi and Pirlo credit for dictating the pace and finish of this match. Pirlo is probably one of the best big-game midfielders in the world and proved it again yesterday. Inzaghi's 2nd goal, while not a wonder-strike, was clinical and his timing was perfect. Not a Berlesconi or Serie A fan, but Milan deserved this one. Liverpool fans, you can't honestly be heartbroken after getting this far with a cobbled together roster, no world-class striker, and having taken out Chelsea AGAIN...
nichelovers..watch some MLS on ESPN2 or FSC...its not EPL or La Liga but there are some good sides and interesting players even pre-Becks.
Our offices had the game on our tv screens (gotta love an office with a tv in every room, with most screens tuned in to the Champions League Finals -- and we're in the Midwest! Who says soccer isn't paid enough attention here!), so I was half-watching and half working. And everyone in my room thought that was a hand ball, but we couldn't explain why they didn't call it.
The tv was on mute, so we didn't know what the commentators said, but it looked like no one noticed it but us.
I don't know, looked like a shoulder to me, which technically isn't a handball. To me the officiating seemed excellent. I'm not sure, besides that marginally (in my opinion) controversial call, that the ref had any effect on the outcome of the game. That's just my opinion. Also, it wasn't particularly easy to see in real time. In fact, not a single Liverpool player (to my knowledge) complained about the call either during or after the game. Bad luck for them, the most Italian team in Europe.
In my opinion, it's amazing how Benitez is able to close down all the spaces on the field. Too bad his offensive maneuvering sucks. It makes for some boring-ass soccer. Still, he should be studied. His Valencia side was just as effective at killing a game, and he won two liga titles and a uefa cup there. Not bad.
As for Serie A, yeah, it's ultra-tactical/boring whatever you want to call it. But I think there's several sides that play attractive soccer (Roma, Milan, Fiorentina, to start with). As many as there are in England in my opinion. Although I'm sure Sam Allardyce is going to catapult Newcastle into the upper echelon of exciting next year...right
I'm not sure 100%, but I just was watching some replays on YouTube and it looks from the best angle (at ~20-25 sec on the videolink in my signature)that the ball played off his chest -- although it might have been his shoulder.
in no particular order:
-football (soccer) managers who smoke on the sideline during the game
-charles barkley
-the beanpot (annual college hockey tournament between boston college, boston university, harvard, northeastern)
-UFC
-curt schilling's blog
-king kaufman (aw)
-the yankees below .500
-the NFL (they don't do everything right, but they have a great product)
ok, 8 is all i got
...or good thing it's Mackey that has dementia and not one of his famous teammates Earl Morrall (#15), Johnny Unitas (#19) or Lenny Moore (#24).
From the link King posted re the NFL dealing with retired players in need:
"The 88 Plan, named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Mackey, is an example of one such fund that was created as part of the extended Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and its players in 2006. Former players in various stages of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, may receive as much as $88,000 annually to assist in their medical care."
While it's nice these players are receiving as much as $88,000, it seems, well, somewhat flippant if that number was chosen based on Mackey's jersey number!
was a judgment call... Looked like he had his arm tight to his side and touched it legally with his shoulder to me, and in real time it would have been hard for the official to get a clear look. Plus, not a single Liverpool player protested, which suggests to me that it was fine. The second goal was a typical Inzaghi goal: opportunistic and clinical.
As far as blaming Benitez, it is true that he could/should have put Crouch in earlier, but you can hardly blame him for employing the clogging strategy for most of the game. A) it has worked for him before, and B) he didn't want to turn around and find himself down three goals by halftime, which is what happens if you leave Pirlo and Kaka time and space to maneuver (just ask Ferguson). I think Liverpool played the game it needed to play to win, it just didn't get the bounces. And once Ancelotti told Jankulovsky to stop pushing forward, Pennant went back to being the ordinary player he is, and Liverpool lost the spark it had in the first half. So blame Jankulovski for making Pennant look good for a half, but (and as a fan of a different Serie A team it hurts to say this) praise Milan for making the most of its opportunities.
I was watching with some friends, and a couple of us wondered why Benitez wasn't putting Crouch in. One of my friends responded that he was afraid he would give up a second goal...Benitez puts Crouch in and...
Kind of funny. I think Benitez is a great coach and a class act. The fact he's taken this team to the CL finals two years out of 3 speaks a lot for his ability. I would, however, disagree with his use of Zenden and Krapell on the left. BOOOOOO to both of them.
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