Anthony McIntyre ⚽ Saturday last weekend saw us hit Dublin for the Champions League final.
In terms of club soccer it is the pinnacle of the season. This year, soccer lovers have an additional treat with the upcoming Euros. That allows the national sides to fight it out to become European champions. But Wembley last weekend belonged to the clubs.
We will hit Dublin for the Euros as well as doing a session or two here when our friends from the capital reciprocate. May as well feast at the table before the plump person serenades us away from it.
Last Saturday, myself and my son Ronan had two pints in the Railway Arms before boarding the train to Dublin. There we met my daughter. Not much of a soccer fan, she tagged along anyway, considering it something of a family event.
We will hit Dublin for the Euros as well as doing a session or two here when our friends from the capital reciprocate. May as well feast at the table before the plump person serenades us away from it.
Last Saturday, myself and my son Ronan had two pints in the Railway Arms before boarding the train to Dublin. There we met my daughter. Not much of a soccer fan, she tagged along anyway, considering it something of a family event.
We met Paddy, well oiled by that point as he had been in Dublin for the day on the bottle and the book at the same time - he had brought his Kindle with him. It is a great idea which I have been promising to do for years but have not yet managed to get around to pulling it off. There is always some excuse not to. After a pint in the Grand Central we headed off to our destination, Meaghers along the Quays, a great spot where we have previously watched soccer. Andrew was waiting for us as we settled in for what promised to be a great contest between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Les had called in earlier but missed us. He had an engagement elsewhere. The Euros will put that right and see him enjoy the swall.
As a city I am familiar with Madrid but not Dortmund. Nevertheless, on the night I was rooting for the German side, not having plumped for the Spaniards since the days of Bernd Schuster as coach. What I enjoy about these spectacles is that I can actually enjoy them. It is not like watching Liverpool where stress strips the event of pleasure. A Liverpool victory tends to end in relief rather than joy. Too many last gasp efforts after poor performances are not the type of ingredients that make for happy campers.
Peter Anderson, who TPQ shall unfortunately be losing after the Euros as a columnist, has a great knowledge of Spanish soccer and the politics of manipulation that have helped make Real Madrid the sporting giants that they are. His dislike for the team has proven infectious yet it is difficult not to appreciate their mastery of the game. I have no doubt that they are everything Peter Anderson says they are but at the same time that is simply not enough to carry them over the line time after time. They have come back from the dead on more than one occasion in this competition over the years. That has to be down to the tactical acumen of the coach combined with the resilience of the players who bury their chances, and their opponents, when the opportunity arises. No profligacy in front of goal which makes it look most unlikely that the future of Darwin Nunez lies at the Bernabéu. Games they have no right on form to win, suddenly turn in a second of brilliance, and victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat. So unlike Liverpool who do it the other way around.
Madrid emerged victorious scoring two while Dortmund fired blanks. It could so easily have went the other way had Dortmund done what Madrid do so well - take their chances. Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr. did what they had to do while Karim Adeyemi and Niclas Fullkrug didn't do what they had to do. No calculator needed to work out the result of that.
Champions of Europe 15 times, they have resurrected the spirit of the great De Stefano and Puskas team of the 1950s.
Real Champions of Europe.
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How Madrid won the C L in # 2022 still baffles me . Last gasp victories over Chelsea , City , PSG were against the run of play . Against a Liverpool team in the final that had scored a club record # of goals in a season , the Spaniards unsurprisingly kept a clean sheet . They have won almost as many CL 's ( 6 ) in the past 11 years as Prem clubs ( 7 ) have over the past 32 season's . Don't be surprised if they win it & La Ligue yet again next May / June . Bernabau is a fantastic stadium ; makes Anfield look like a League of Ireland ground .
ReplyDelete"It is not like watching Liverpool where stress strips the event of pleasure. A Liverpool victory tends to end in relief rather than joy". I feel the same when watching Leeds, Anthony, and I guess many other football fans experience the same type of stress. Why does it have to be this way?
ReplyDeleteWhere's Peter going? I enjoy his articles.
ReplyDeletePeter felt he had come to the end of the line with his column. If we could entice him back by popular demand I would. I really enjoyed his weekly take on the soccer as did many others. While a few of us write about soccer he was the site go to guy. Even in the street I would get people with a sporting interest commenting on his pieces. Sad to lose him but there are other things he probably wants to do. He gave us a good run for which we are grateful.
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