Milan Strikes Back
Champions League Final: AC Milan 2 Liverpool 1
05.23.07

Can't erase the memory of Milan losing the 2005 final after leading 3-0 at half time. I didn't watch that match. I should have. It was one of those games that you regret after you missed it. Liverpool dramatically scored three goals in sever minutes in the second half. They went on to win in the penalty shootout. Just by hearing the scoring sequence you know it was an instant classic.

I didn't see it. But it doesn't prevent me from anticipate another dramatic and close encounter between these two teams again just two years later in the same stage. I haven't been following the premiership and Serie A, I don't know how these two teams have been fairing in their domestic leagues. Just from looking at the league tables, Liverpool finished third 21 points behind Manchester United and AC Milan will finish third or fourth and currently a jaw dropping 33 points behind leader Inter Milan with one match to go. The recent trend tells us that champions league performance could have no relevance with league performance. Champions League is a different animal.

Liverpool, base on their league standings, has been overachieving every year in the champions league. They just do better in the European competition. AC Milan always does well in this stage. Surprise of the season is that they won't be in the discussion of Italian league championship one month before the end of the season. Inter ran away with it early. Maybe this wakes up Milan, knowing that the Champions League is the only champion they can win this year. One thing for sure is they both perform consistently in this competition. I would definitely say that winning this two-leg knockout format is a craft of its own. Winning it can be harder than winning a nine month long domestic league. There are two major types of competitions in soccer: league and cup. Winning the cup competition can be as tough, if not tougher, than the league. The winning team of cup competition should get the same credit. Champions League is the highest level of any club competition in the world. They should get props for making this far.

Let's talk about the game. It wasn't anything spectacular. I think most finals in soccer are slow paced that never blow anybody away. The level of competition and the level of players involve do not, and almost never, correlate with the level of entertainment in soccer. I would much rather watch English League Championship playoffs than this. But I'm biased.

AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis Inzaghi celebrated his second goal. Liverpool's John Arne Riise stood with exhaustion in constrast.

I don't follow Italian soccer a lot and I haven't been following English soccer enough to know the players well. However I do know a little something about Filippo Inzaghi. He has a reputation of scoring a lot of rebound goals and gets extremely lucky. He is also a player famous for his outrageously frequent and ridiculous offsides but still complains about them. Many asked as game commenced why Inzaghi was starting in place of Alberto Gilardino who is the up and coming Italian striker. Some said experience. Now I can argue that it's the X factor, or the luck factor. Inzaghi "scored" the first goal who his teammate Andrea Pirlo's curling direct freekick hit his arm unintentionally and went into the net. He got the credit for the goal although technically the goal should have been disallowed because of handball. His second goal came in the second half when he broke through the Liverpool defensive line and was onside in one of a thousand chances to get a one-on-one situation against Liverpool's goalie Pepe Reina to score easily. It wouldn't have been so easy if the Liverpool defense wasn't giving up and just raised their arms to protest what they thought was an offside but chased Inzaghi to contest him.

This can be why Americans complain that soccer is a boring and unfriendly game. Liverpool can have possession all game. They can have better chances. They can be on the receiving end of many Milan giveaway passes. Yet they can be on the losing side because they weren't able to produce a score. Milan grabbed just two opportunity, one fluke freekick and one break free from offside trap, to win a match in which Liverpool tried to score in a more conventional way. To those who don't understand the beauty of this game, this is soccer.

DERBY COUNTY RAMS
www.therams.co.uk
25W9D12L, 84pts, 3st in ELC
Will face West Brom in Championship playoff final Monday at Wembley.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
www.oregonlive.com/blazers
32-50, 13th in West Conf.
Won NBA lottery to get first pick in draft. Will have the luxury to decide picking Oden or Durant.

HOUSTON ASTROS
www.chron.com/sports/astros
21-24, 2nd in NL Central
Hunter Pence provides sparks for offense. Play @SF, then 4 gms @ARI.

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