More thoughts on UCL final 08

This is my personal experience watching the Champions League final at a kopitiam in Malaysia..haha..(btw, I wouldn't be sitting there watching the grand finale if not for certain decisions that I made earlier this year. So in a way, I was kinda glad..) Since street party ended around 1 am, there were quite a huge turnout of people watching the match at mamak stalls and coffee shops outside Inti. I went to one that had a giant screen with my law classmates. The area was already half filled, but we managed to get a place at the back with an quite an excellent view of the screen. There claps of cheers even at the kopitiam as the players emerge from the tunnel. The atmosphere is set as the starting whistle is blown.

The whole match is an emotional yo-yo rollercoaster for any Man Utd fan. Ronaldo's goal at the 26th minute was particularly pleasing since United drew first blood and still had chance if they were to concede one. Whenever a red shirt misses, there are sighs of frustrations and whenever a blue shirt misses, there are sighs of relieves. I was hoping that United should just park bus, hold out for the match and maybe wait for a counter attack on the second. When Chelsea pop the equalizer in through Lampard, the tensions rose. It was the Chelsea fans' turn to cheer. I had expected them to equalize but not so soon before half-time. The situation where Man Utd had one hand on the trophy already has now changed to an equal playing field instead.

In the second half, I think there were more sighs of relieves and I was beginning to worry when the game started to stretch to extra time. In such a situation, Chelsea always had a chance since they could remain concentrated for a long period of time. There were a couple of skirmishes on the field with the large one happening minutes before the final extra time whistle. Of course with Chelsea reduced to one man, I was hoping that the ball is in Man Utd's court to nick in a last minute goal. But I am equally glad with the Chelsea fans that the match went to penalties to settle the differences once and for all. Paradoxically however, moving into penalties meant the dreaded moments of unimaginable tension for both players and fans. Probably the penalty would also show how much any of team would regret for failing to score with the earlier chances. One thing on my mind was whether van der Sar could emulate his 3 consecutive saves against Chelsea in the Community shield.

I kinda foresee Ronaldo would end up shooting the ball straight at Cech especially when he hesitated for a moment. The feeling was horrible. The irony is that Carrick could convert his while Ronaldo misses his. Now, Chelsea has one hand on the cup and all they got to do is to score and if United want to win, they have to hope the unlikely probability that Chelsea would screw up twice. Nani's turn was the first point of climax since if he misses, Chelsea don't even need a 5th taker. It was a relief to see the ball hit the back of the net although Cech had guess the position right. When Terry step up to kick, I couldn't bear to watch it. I could already imagine he and his blue crew lifting the Champions League. There was a huge swell of disappointment that Ronaldo would be the villain of the night after his heroic headed goal during play time. Destiny dictates otherwise and when the ball flew off the post, the United fans screamed and punch the air with delight. At that point, I really wondered when the pinball exchange would finally end. It certainly don't look to end at the point when Anelka is the taker. As a striker, there's a 70-90% probability that he would just put it past van der Sar. It was destiny at work once again plus some great goalkeeping skills from the giant Dutch that settled the difference. The kopitiam erupted with the cheers of the Man Utd fans as they danced with joy. Strangers high-fived each other and celebrated the moment. The tables were banged in an ecstatic manner. The delighted faces of the Man Utd players as they sprint across the field to meet van der Sar is simply priceless. Outside the streets of Inti, United fans drove their cars and circled around the shops, shouting and waving the Man Utd jersey and scarves. Lol, I bet they won't cheer that loud even if Malaysia were to qualify for the World Cup!

I would say this is probably the best football match I had ever watched in my life. This match epitomises the beautiful game at its best. If any one had ever doubted the beautiful game, they clearly had not seen this match. The raw emotions run freely like mountain waters from the tears of relief in Ronaldo's eyes, the glint of jubilation in van der Sar's expression to John Terry quietly weeping in sorrow for the tragic turn of events. That night in Moscow is almost similiar to the one in Nou Camp 1999, where Man Utd won over Europe in a dramatic fashion. United fans have waited for this moment for a long time. I had witnessed Liverpool, Barcelona and AC Milan gracing the halls of victory. We came close last season but was swept aside shamefully by AC Milan in the San Siro. Nevertheless, it foretold of the sign of things to come. And that dream was realised in 2008. The feeling is just indescribable as Giggs and Ferdinand lifted the trophy together. I shall always remember that Thursday morning when I sat there to witness history in the making. Glory glory Man Utd!