It is no exaggeration whatsoever to say that that was the most exciting game of football in my life. Tom Jones and Danny seem to use the term so freely in The Voice UK, but I genuinely mean it. I don't think a non sports fan will ever understand the feeling either. And nor can I explain it. I woke up this morning with a huge grin on my face.
I went to a pub with my coach colleagues to see the widely anticipated Champions League semi-final second leg between Chelsea and Barcelona, with the Blues carrying a 1-0 advantage going into the tie. I feared the worst as soon as Cahill pulled his hamstring and was subsequently substituted after like 7 minutes in. And that was fast heading to become reality as went 2-0 down and saw our captain sent off. Which, by the way, was plain stupid. Never have I not had reason to defend John Terry through all his controversies in the recent past. Shocking really.
But then Ramires pops up out of nowhere with the best finish, doing a chip more delightful than any of Messi's hundreds of successes. And what an exquisite pass by Lampard too, worth more than one assist. And after the longest 45 minutes in the history of football, defending and blocking everything Barca sent our way, Torres kills the lobbed ball with magnetic control, before running half an empty pitch and rounding Victor Váldes to seal our place in the Final for only the second time. The lack of population in that Barca half was more ridiculous than anything I've ever seen in a game of FIFA let alone at such a huge (and very real) stage. What a fucking moment that was. The atmosphere in the pub was awesome, my emotion was through the roof and it was simply an experience I will never have again. For sure. It was that good. If only you could understand...
No comments:
Post a Comment