by el_stinger » Thu May 24, 2007 9:56 am
This is an email i sent to my cousin who is a avid Milan fan. Take into consideration, this was written straight after the match lol
The Final Horriblis:
After digesting what was, a very unfair match in terms of result and officiating, I must congratulate Milan and their tenacity to grind out a result, and wiping away the memories of Istanbul
The way I figure it, We outplayed you in the first half of this final, we outplayed you in the second half of the first final and we got a Championship to show for it.
Milan outplayed us in the first half of the first final, outplayed us in the second half of this final, and got a Championship to show for it.
I must say, when you look at it from that point of view, its hard not to commend both teams in achieving what they have achieved.
Firstly, Kaka was held very quiet until Mascherano came off, and as soon as he did, set up the second Inzaghi goal. (Well deserved BTW). Had Rafa decided to keep Mascherano on the field, it could have been a different story, but after the first goal, it always looked like he needed to change things around and it was always going to be Mascherano to be sacrificed for Crouch.
On Crouch, he should have started. An aerial threat was exactly what Milan would not have coped with, especially in the first half Liverpool onslaught.
Secondly, upon looking at the first Inzaghi goal, it should never have been allowed. A clear handball should have been called if the referee would have not been paid by the mafioso. Simply put, the goal should not have stood, and even you can see that the ball struck his arm in the box before he shot at goal.
Thirdly, Gattusso should have been sent off. There were a few tackles that he flew into, the one where he got carded, he clearly was out to take out the player with a two footed, studs up challenge. Another incident of note is when Gattusso clashed with Zenden after it appeared Zenden struck Gattusso in the face with his boot. Gattusso is then seen to lash out at Zenden, which should have prompted a yellow card from the referee, again, who would have given it, had he not been paid off by the mafioso.
Kewell should have been introduced in the start of the second half, if not, started the match. Zenden was useless as he has been all year. Gerrard was not very good at all, yet seemed to get a lot of the ball. Riise failed to impose himself, and Kuyt was too busy linking up with midfield to give a target up front.
On the other hand, Pennant was magnificent in the first half. His play with Finnan and taking on the player was top class.
A review of the Milan players: Maldini had his worst performance of the CL season to date. Mistakes crept in the Milan defence, and Liverpool should have made them pay. They couldn't handle the pressure when they had the ball and often coughed it up quite easily. Seedorf was unusually quite, Gattusso should not have stayed on the park. Kaka after his marker was subbed, came into the game to great effect. Kaka is without doubt the second best player in the world. Inzaghi made all the right moves at the right times, and to me, without taking the goals into consideration, he didn't really do much.
Anyway, I'm not gutted, as I had expected it. I was always nervous about this match seeing as Revenge is an unimaginable spur, and Milan had oodles of it. When Gerrard spurned that chance in the second half, I knew it was all over.
All in all, Milan are truly the most undeserving team to win the Champions League since Man Utd beat Bayern Munchen.
Enjoy it FGAGGOT!!
