Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bucharest - add last night to the list of great Milan displays. Awesome from beginning to end and too classy for the mightiest team in the Premiership. What a night.
There were heroes from front to back. Big Nelson Dida redeemed himself from the first leg and anyone who did not believe Nesta was back to his best must surely have been convinced. Oddo was full of marauding magic, Kaladze and Jankulovski extremely solid.
And what to say of the midfield? Gattuso was a model of intense, controlled, rage. His work on Ronaldo was out of this world. And I finally saw what a string of Italy and Milan managers have seen in Ambrosini. He won the ball, gave good passes and helped press forward. As for Pirlo, if there is a player with better vision in the world I have yet to see him.
As for Seedorf - the "old man" - I think he showed his younger opponents a thing or too about how to play in these big games. Scored one, set up another. Outstanding.
Pippo had a quiet night but he helped make space for the exquisite Kaka. Give me a man who puts the ball in the net over a pointless step-over merchant any time.
Finally, the Giant Gila Monster (see below) took his goal with great aplomb. That was brilliant to see. He needed to get that particular monkey off his back - the boy is a natural goalscorer and has been through a tough time of late.
Remember, though, to my mind it is just half time. The Rossoneri have to go on and beat Liverpool in Athens. What a booting that would be for the Premiership.
Italy 10 England 4 - remember that statistic. That's the number of finalists since the Champions League started, I am told. So, tell me, which is the greatest league in the world again?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Kaka, Seedorf and the Gila monster
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10 comments:
A footballing lesson! That is right up there alongside Milan 4 Barcelona 0 in the 1994 final.
Every player was perfect.
Kaka is the greatest player in the world by miles. That other guy who speaks Portugese doesn't even deserve a comparison.
FORZA MILAN, SEI GRANDE!!!!
VINCI PER NOI!!!
- AR
For me, if Kaka keeps on improving (he says he can improve) and keep up the incredible CL performances he will emulate or even beat Zidane's aura in football. And I compare him to Zidane for the reason, that he reminds me of Zidane in his grace, intellgience, style, technique, etc but is quicker, more direct and scores more goals.
Milan were magnificent last night. Never seen Man United made to look like that this season, all over the pitch the performance level of the players was brilliant. Gattuso, Ambrosini and Seedorf in particular.
Man United couldn't cope with the delightful passing Milan produced and when Man United had the ball, Milan closed them down and made them look ordinary.
Ginkers - I think you know who I am going to single out for praise.
Gennaro Gattuso - the beating heart of a phenomenal team.
Kaka 10 goals in 12 CL games, need you look any further for world player of the year. Here's to some more in the final.
Forza Milan
Hopefully Milan's performance doesn't go to their head. They seem to play better when they think everyone is betting against them. How good it would be to see the World Cup and CL trophies residing in Italy.
Aussie Romanista
It was a convincing win for Kaka over Ronaldo on the two legs. I hope he gets more goals in the final.
Scott
Kaka is one of the most exciting players in the world, he has such amazing balance. But the whole team played it to just about perfection last night. There were 15 minutes in the second half when they shook a little but otherwise they were impeccable.
Martino
You are right, 100% right. Let's hope Milan lock him in his cell and feed him raw steak in front of pictures of Gerrard in the weeks up to the final.
Brian
The game was branded in some circles as Kaka versus Ronaldo for world player of the year. Well, it was pretty one-sided.
Pat
The job is only half-done, the Man Utd game will mean nothing if they lose to Liverpool. This time there must be no let-up and go all out for victory...
My only tiny fear is that psychologically this 2005 rematch may trouble Milan, as well as being clearly a situation which will fill the reds with confidence. I hope that I am just being a needless doom-monger however. Just for this one competition... forza magico milan! hehe
Just think, in several months I happened to spend in England since 2001, today it was the first day I went and bought the Gazzetta dello Sport. This means it's history.
Spangly
I am superstitious like you but I hope the players are battle-hardened enough not to let that kind of omen bother them. I don't think Gattuso will be losing too many nights' sleep thinking about that match.
Antonio
That's a good sign. Make sure you buy another copy after the final!
It was a true footballing masterclass from Milan.Every player a hero.Now looking forward to the trip to Athens.
Forza BRN SCOZIA
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