A game of two midfields
Whilst I truly hope it’s not, tonight has the potential to be as big a snorefest as watching a ManU – Chelsea FA Cup Final in a bed factory, after a big lunch while several anaesthetists ply you with drugs. The morning after a night out.
Both defences are pretty solid, with only Maldini’s age and Agger’s fear of the hurly-burly to be seen as potential weaknesses. Equally, both strikeforces can seem slightly toothless. Shorn of Ronaldo through being cup tied,
Milan rely on Gilardino and Inzaghi – neither high on technique, though both can obviously finish.
Liverpool have Kuyt, Bellamy and Crouch. Rarely can there have been a team in the Champions League Final with a worse array of strikers since, well, the last time
Liverpool were there.
So, the game will hinge on the midfields. Kaka and Gerrard are gaining the plaudits pre-game, but the true turning point will be the performances of Pirlo and Alonso. They are the heartbeat of either team, link the play and dictate the tempo. They are the ‘quarterbacks’ and, without their prompting, Gerrard and Kaka will be starved of the service they need to show off their energy and skill.
With both teams looking likely to play 4-5-1, I can sense a 1-0 win.
Just don’t think it’s going to be pretty.
Singing for the unsung
As the hyperbole flies around Liverpool’s famous victory (well, loss, but you know what I mean) against the Catalans last night, it seems everyone and his dog is queueing up to lionise Gerrard, Benitez and Carragher. The centre-half especially has enjoyed an enormous amount of praise, even Gerrard saying he wouldn’t swap him for the world.Fair enough – Carragher was awesome, and has consistently been a true backs-to-the-wall leader, in much the same manner as John Terry is for Chelsea. Last night he was much lauded for, amongst other things, his aerial superiority – a charge that, while factual, isn’t as impressive as it may seem. Carragher faced Ronaldinho as a lone striker for much of last night’s game, Ronnie not being best known for his towering headers, while it was only in the last 15 minutes that Barcelona started to try the airborn route. And, to be fair, any team with a strike force containing 4 players under about five foot three – Deco, Iniesta, Messi and Giuly – isn’t going to be a huge long-ball challenge.Taking nothing away from Carragher, I’d prefer to focus on what I thought was a magnificent personal display by one Steve Finnan. Like most full backs that don’t fill their boots with goals (but actually concentrate on, you know, defending), he rarely gets star billing. An assist or goal-line clearance aside, his actions are never seen as game-changing. Last night, though, Finnan was faced at various times by possibly the best three attacking players on the planet, and none of them got the smallest of small change from him. Eto’o, sulky and withdrawn in an unfamiliar position, was subbed after 60 indifferent minutes. Ronaldinho, the best player in the world (and in his correct position), got nothing either, nor the misfiring Leo Messi.
Even when Gerrard moved to a more central, advanced role and Pennant came on to do his impression of a winger, Finnan stood tall, toeing ball after ball as Barcelona attempted to find any chink in his armoury. The goal, from the right admittedly, was more a case of a crooked back line due to an inexperienced Arbeloa and a winger in the wrong position, than anything our feted fullback could defend against.
Ultimately, Finnan was a hero amongst heroes, in a position never destined for headlines. He’ll still feel better than Barca’s superstars this morning, though.
