Yesterday, February 21st, a day before the elite of Europe lock horns in the next stage of Champions league football. The 16 best team of Europe going head to head against each other. The world's richest club, "Real Madrid" host one of the most entertaining teams in the world "Arsenal". Never before has Arsenal gone into a game as such underdogs.
Real Madrid had absolute class on their side, the best money can buy. Stars like Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Robinhio (slated to be the next maradona) and Jose Maria Guti grace the Real midfield. Top class strikes like Ronaldo, Raul, Baptista and Cassano raring to have a go at the Gunners (aka Arsenal). The only weak link being their defense, not exactly weak I would say with the likes of Jonathan Woodgate at the heart of it and Brazilians Roberto Carlos and Cicinhio at the flanks. No, not weak, just different, for Real, Attack is defense. Real were backed by solid confidence having not lost any of their last 7 games, conceding only 4 goals and scoring 18. The word game had already begun with Real players like Bechkam claiming that they will come out in full force against the Gunners. Thomas Gravesen went to an extent to say that Real will totally devastate the Gunners at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
Arsenal are with 6 injured defenders with Mathieu Flamini being drafted from the midfield to a temporary left back position. The average age of the Arsenal team being 22 with the oldest member being the captain Henry at 28 (nah, Jens Lehman doesn’t count, he is 36 though). Arsenal are struggling in the domestic season (and I have lost a T-shirt to Sanket for this but that is a different story) at 5th place. There are talks about Club captain Henry leaving at the end of the season for Barcelona. Arsenal also, were with 3 strikers missing. Robin Van Persie (injured), Dennis Berkemp (he does not fly due to fear of flying, I am serious) and new Boy Emmanuel Adebayor Cup tied. This let Arsenal with only one full striker to use, Thierry Henry.
Night before the match we had a good discussion about Arsenals chances i.e. Me, Sanket and Sahil. I was being realistic and just wanted one away goal from Arsenal. However Sahil was dead certain that looking at Real Madrid’s recent form, Arsenal are in for a thrashing. Hope is eternal.
All Odds against Arsenal, from the word go; Arsenal dominated the pitch in passing, possession, control and tackling. Real found it hard to find an answer to Arsenals passing. Just 2 minutes into the second half Thierry Henry found himself with possession at the half line, no other Arsenal player ahead of him, with 4 Real defenders between him and the goal post guarded by the Real Keeper. The end result, a goal which cannot be described in words, a Henry classic. A goal to silence his critics that he is not a choker in big matches. I just wanted one away goal, Arsenal gave me more, and they gave me an away win over Real Madrid. Arsenal in the process became the first British team to win at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Final Score Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal.
A few points to make here.
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Money and big names do not win you matches.
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Talent can fill up for experience.
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Thierry Henry is going nowhere; he is a Gunner and will retire as one.
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All those who say that Arsenal is a spent side and going nowhere but down need a reality check.
The next round in on Highbury, the castle of Arsenal. Unfortunatly I will be in Phillipines when this happens but will definatly make sure I catch it on TV. Arsenal will welcome back experienced players like Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole (man, do we miss him this season), Robin Van Persie and Dennis Bergkemp. No matter what the result be, I can promise you one thing, the Gunners will fire at full blast and will not be easy to take down. The once "invincible" Gunners showed a glimpse of their old form today and will bounce back in full force, they are here to stay, like it or not. And us fans will always be barracking for you no matter what.
Next in line, Chelsea host Barcelona tomorrow in what promises to be another smashing tie.
cheers
//JhQuest
Keep Em coming
Keep those victories coming.Gunners for Europe glory, hope we can do a Liverpool this time around. That would rub it in the face of those Chavskis and Glazer Uniteds.
Robbo
Interesting...
Interesting... Mostly Greek and Latin to me but still interesting. Am wondering if Sahil will leave a comment here :-)
Congratulations
First of all let me congratulate you (somewhat grudgingly) for the excellent win over Real Madrid's expensively assembled group of baboons. For those of you who are not aware of Madrid's philosophy, it's quite simple. Go out and buy the best players. Whether they meet what the team's requirements (defense) or not is of least significance.
On their day they can be the most entertaining side but yesterday they showed the other side of the coin. Not having a single decent attempt at goal they did deserve to lose.
As for arsenal they do tend to surprise you sometimes. I remember a game 2 years back in Champions League when they lost a game at Highbury to Inter Milan only to go to San Siro and dish out a 5-0 or 5-1 thrashing to Inter.
Arsenal were never ever good in Champions League. Which shows for their record of never going beyond the quarter-final stage. But while their Champions League form was abysmal they were all conquering in Premier League (remember that amazing 49 game run in 2003-2004 season).
This year they have had an absolutely horrendous domestic season their Champions League form has been good. So will this be the season for them to finally end up with that elusive Champions of Europe crown? I dont think so.
The 1-0 win against Madrid is certainly a big step towards the next round but there awaits teams like Chelsea or Barcelona, Bayern Munich or AC Milan, Werder Bremen or Juventus. All of these (except AC Milan with its ageing lot of defenders) have a complete team. Strong in defense with an absolutely smashing midfield, world class strikers and a good manager.
Not that arsenal doesnt have a good manager or world class striker in Henry. But my main concern with arsenal is that you hardly ever seem them grind out results. Its always about a lot of flair and playing the beautiful game. But sometimes against teams like Milan and Juventus one needs to grind out results. Which I am not sure arsenal can do at this stage yet.
Getting back to yesterday's match. Real Madrid were outplayed and outclassed in every department. And that would have hurt a lot of egos (Guti, Zidane, Beckham, Robinho, Ronaldo, Raul, Carlos getting outclassed by the likes of Ebouye, Flamini, Fabregas, Senderos). So I would expect a backlash from Real. But then at the end of the day its Real Madrid. So I am not too sure if that would happen. I certainly hope it does. Should be a good return leg.
One other thing Arsenal will have in their favour is that Madrid's best and unluckiest defender Woodgate left halfway through the first half with an injury which will keep him out for the next month.
Even with the odds stacked against them I hope Madrid pull something out of the hat and atleast make a game out of this no matter what the end result comes out as.
The Invincibles
Sahil,
Hope is Eternal. Same things were said about Liverpool last year; same teams were there in their path to European Glory. 2 years back it was FC Porto, the underdogs who went onto surprise everybody.
The fact of the matter is that Champions League is as unpredictable as it can be, out of the teams you mentioned, I do not see Chelsea going through after this mornings result against Barcelona. Fuentes had a shock defeat as well. I just hope Arsenal do not run into Barcelona in the next round, anyone else I think we can handle, and if the luck is with us, you never know, we might run into someone like PSV.
Whatever be the result of the leg at Highbury, whatever are the results in the premiership, yesterdays win has proven one thing to the fans. We are not in decline, we are no short of talent unlike some other teams like Manchester United (I know you will disagree but the truth is Sir Alex has to buy experience while Arsene Wenger can buy talent and polish it, however that’s another discussion).
What Arsenal lacks is the mental edge. I would rather have that than lacking talent in the field. Once we get over that mental block, watch out, we were once called the "Invincibles".
PS: The icing on the cake, Lupoli pips Rossi to win Carling Cup award. Sanket was always praises for Rossi, well, we’ve got one better.
attempt to get more incoming links
Hi Sahil,
I think you should seriously consider starting your own blog :-) Many of my posts are not even half the length of your previous comment.
Nahi yaar. It wont happen
Hey Varun,
There was a point in time when I did think of starting a blog and also did start one. But then didnt feel like sharing my thoughts so openly. I didnt even feel like giving anyone the link to it.
Then I thought that there is no point in blogging when I dont want anyone to read it. So went and deleted the blog.
Btw congratulations for securing the new job. Hope delhi's treating you pretty good. Am coming to India next fri. Will talk/meet with you then.
Do give it a serious 2nd thought
Hi Sahil,
Do give it a second thought. Your blog need not be personal one (like mine), or only as personal as you want it to be. At the very least it can be something your friends can use to know what is going on in your life. I know you and I know that it will be very interesting to read your blog.
So give it a try. Maybe keep it a secret for now and let us know after a month or so.
Call me when you reach India. My number will change but I will SMS Namrata my new number. In any case you can call up home and get my new number. Are you by any chance coming to Delhi?
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My Blog: ThoughtfulChaos
Just another medium
Sahil,
For once I concur with Varun, a blog does not necessarily have to be personal, we talk, discuss and express whenever we are with friends, and a blog is just another medium to do the same. But the problem is, if you start blogging, half the time we will be in fight over Arsenal - ManU debate. Sometimes I do miss the Partick Viera - Roy Keane days. The Gunners are one arrogant and aggressive bunch of pricks, and that’s precisely why I love them, the Red Devils need to go get some balls.
Jeez, I've started again; this is exactly what I mean.
Remember Kofi Annan debate?
Remember the Kofi Annan (or was it Boutros Ghali) debate we had in 11th Std.?
Luv,
Varun
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Blog: ThoughtfulChaos
Email: varunvnair gmail com
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