Double Whammy Loss

Ahh....the season of football is over now that summer is here. Fret not for the World Cup is looming this coming summer. Last night's Champions League Finals hosted by Paris in Stade de France was a magnificent sight. Two teams that stole headlines over the whole season were pitted together as what has been deemed the perfect finals of football champions - Barcelona and Arsenal.

The game started brilliantly for Arsenal with Henry wasting two good chances in the first 3 minutes. Following that, Barcelona started to engage their gears and get settled into the pace of the game. Unfortunately, a stroke of misfortune hit the Arsenal team...A suspicously offside Eto'o managed to run past the defenders and latched onto the ball. The rushing Lehmann was equally responsive but he was a bit tad late as he lunged and missed the ball completely, but not the ankle of Eto'o just outside the box. The ball trickled to Giuly's path and he nestled it into the back of the net! Pritttt!!! And yes Terje Hauge, the ref for the night, called a foul on Lehmann and within seconds, he was shown a red card, which in my opinion he doesn't deserve, and he was off. What a blow! He was the reason that Arsenal was unbreached in goal for the past 10 Champions League matches, against the likes of great football clubs Juventus, Real Madrid, Villareal. Alas, I knew this was bad and the match was only 18 minutes young. The Professor, Mr. Wenger, had to sacrifice someone, and a dissapointed Pires came off for what I deem the factor for the loss, Almunia, the backup keeper. Luckily, the goal was discounted and Barcelona was only awarded a free kick just on the touchline to the penalty box. Ronaldinho tried to whip his magic touch, but it was wide off the post.

To my astonishment, Arsenal came through despite their lack of personnel. Henry's ensuing free kick from the right corner of the Barcelona danger zone was met with the galloping unmarked Campbell and zoom past the net. With the advantage, Arsenal switched to a full defensive mode and turned Italy on Barcelona. Henry was even back beyond the midfield to help defend against an attacking force that boasts Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto'o, and Giuly.

With 15 minutes remaining, I was holding back my breath and praying that they can keep up with the relentless attacks of Barcelona to keep the current scoreline. The heavy rain disrupted the atmosphere of a great evening and made the condition of the pitch rather slick. And without doubt, that slickness was utilized by Barcelona when Larsson cushioned the pass to Eto'o which was already in an offside position yet again. However, no whistle, no flags, and he slipped a shot in the tightest of angles past Almunia. Curse the keeper....he should've blocked it completely if he had not lost his footing and balance prior to the shot. 1-1 is the score and I thought this looked bad for Arsenal even though they will proceed to extra time. Arsenal team looked very fatigued and you can't blame them for having played with only 10 men for the past 60 minutes. Then came the shocking blow. Larsson again was the culprit when he chased a heavy pass and squared to the fullback, Belleti. Again Almunia should have done better than to let it slip past between his legs. 2-1 with 5 minutes to go and it all seemed bleak. Henry had chances to finish off the game in the counter-attacks that Arsenal procured, but his usually clinical finish deserted him on that night. For the rest of the game, Henry was lost in oblivion as well as Ashley Cole which always seemed to leave the left corner position exposed to the luxury of Oleguer and Giuly.

Final whistle and Barcelona triumphed. Tears came from both sides, but one brimming with achievement, and the other with disappointment. I was crying deep down inside too. Arsenal looked on and only could watch and not touch or carry the trophy as they were handed their runners-up medal. Again, luck has not been with Arsenal. Maybe the new Emirates stadium will give off better fortunes (yes, riches and luck). So, the question now is will Henry be staying? With the way Vieira was treated last summer, it is very much well be possible that he might depart Arsenal. Yet, he knows that he is irreplaceable and betraying the trust and love of Arsenal fans will be hard to swallow for him. My guess is he will sign the new contract and lead a renewed Arsenal team to the new stadium come late August! Hopefully, new players will come in and help to convince Mr. Henry that they are mounting a serious comeback to snatch the trophy they so desire.

Anyway, the news of Yohan's grandma passing has been unfortunate. It was a sad loss and I may never had the chance to meet her. I am sure his family is grieving with the loss, and all I could do to help as a friend is to offer my prayers and thoughts so that they are strong and brave enough to get through this phase. I almost lost a dear part of my family a few years back and I could not imagine how it will feel like. The person I mention is my father. Struck with a fluke heart attack, his chances of surviving at that time was only 15%! Two of his main artery was blocked and it was a major collapse of the heart. At the operating table, the surgeon told us to not expect much, and luckily my mother acted quickly in signing the necessary documents to proceed with the medical treatment. As he was lying there helpless and looking very desperate, he called on to me and made me promise him to take care of my mom and my two brothers. I cried like I never cried before and I yelled back at him refusing to accept and that I wanted him to be there to see my youngest brother graduate from university. Then, he called my mom and told her not to be angry with him and to forgive him. They had a big argument a few days ago, and he felt remorseful for what happened. I knew my mom was devastated and couldn't say anything more other than nodding. We stayed by his side throughout the whole procedure. The surgeon was telling us to keep him calm as it will reduce the chance of agitating the heart more when it was already failing. We prayed and prayed and the miracle happened. The angioplasty procedure, which was putting a balloon like medical device in the artery helps open the flow in the artery and it started to ease the blood flow to the body and the brain. So, within the next 20 minutes, my dad was past the critical stage and we were relieved. Now...I still can't imagine losing someone. It is just too painful, and I hope I don't have to experience it soon, but again, I feel sorry for the loss of Yohan's grandma. Hope she finds her peace and that she is relieved from the mortal suffering that she has to endure. I am not sure if that was her first stroke, but she may also had other illnesses. May God take her and guide her to the next life. And I pray to the family so that they can find the strength to get back to their normal dailly routine.

Peace out my friends.