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| photo by dingler1109 | via PhotoRee |
Correpsondent Scott's fandom can be described in the same manner as his taste in beer: bitter.
So, there I was watching Real Madrid host Manchester United on Wednesday. Being a Real fan (and FOF being a United fan), I was looking forward to Los Blancos taking a couple goal advantage to Old Trafford for the second leg. Unfortunately, a funny little thing happened at the Bernabeu, kind of a Freaky Friday thing. You see, for 90 minutes it seemed that Real Madrid had morphed into Liverpool.
They they were dominating possession, winning the ball back quickly (and high up the pitch), creating twice as many dangerous chances and, in every way, bossing the game and dictating the flow of play against an uncharacteristically ineffective United side which seemed content to pack it in and play counter attack. Then, just like the Liverpool Reds, with various opportunities gone begging, the Whites conceded on a set piece (corner) via a defensive lapse (the post was left unguarded). They did manage to draw after a Cristiano Ronaldo equalizer but this was one of those times when a tie was the same as a loss, especially given that the (Red) Devils now have an away goal. Images of Liverpool vs. Arsenal and Liverpool vs. Manchester City have plagued me ever since the final whistle, after which I pouted through a wife-forced watching of American Idol. I’m beginning to develop a complex – it seems my fandom is turning into the soccer equivalent of the Madden Curse or the Gillette Curse. I’m just crazy enough to not watch a couple of games to see if that helps. With my luck I’ll end up being the poster child for confirmation bias.
But enough about my mental (in)stability - I can really relate to those Bud Light "It’s-only-weird-if-it-doesn’t-work" commercials (even if I loathe the beer involved). After all, it’s so much more fun to criticize others. Herewith, some grades:
Real Madrid – B
They would have received an "A" if they had just managed another goal and won the game. They were brilliant from start to finish, apart from finishing (semantically ironic, I know) -- and the aforementioned defensive lapse, of course. Absolutely dominating the inevitable Premier League Champions, Madrid moved the ball effortlessly around the chasing men in red. Really, their only flaw was defensive communication (and set pieces, of course). But boy do they counter fast and furious (yes, grammar geeks [of which I am one], I realize adverbs are appropriate there – I was going for the alliterative allusion)! But I digress.... Mesut Ozil was a maestro in the midfield, Ronaldo was scintillating, Xabi Alonso was indefatigable and Di Maria peppered the goal as if it were steak au poivre. The bottom line is that the much better team on the day did not win.
Manchester United – C
The next Premier League champions looked out of their league, and more like a relegation team against their Spanish opposition. A couple of corners and counters are what passed for their offense as they chose to dig in deep in their own half for large stretches of the game. Running around chasing the white ghosts who seemed to vanish the ball just prior to each tackle, it was actually unsettling to see them so unsettled.
Yes, there were a few dodgy moments for the home side when the Manchester Keystone cops managed to pick up their trousers, thanks to a certain Dutchman, long enough to actually stumble into the forward third with the ball, most notably during a period when more Real defensive miscommunication led to a series of dangerous United crosses. But those efforts ultimately came to naught and the last 10 minutes saw the visitors batten down the hatches for, and ultimately survive, an all-out onslaught by Madrid.
