Wednesday, May 17, 2006

This all was only wishful thinking

As I've expected, it wasn't the Ronaldinho vs Henry showcase that people were expecting. I don't know what it is with big games. With the exception of a few games such as the recent FA Cup Final or the 1998 World Cup Final (please note that I only list games that I have watched as I don't want to speculate on games that I have never watched), you're rarely beaten by the Henry or the Van Nistelrooy or the Ronaldinho. Too much focus is placed on the stars that the role of the so-called supporting cast is chucked aside.

You're almost always beaten by the odd own goal, the Paul Scholes, the Freddie Ljungbergs, the David Trezeguets and more recently, the Belletis. Yes, the European Champions League 2006 has just concluded and Barcelona are the European Champions for the second time in their history.

To be fair, Barcelona are arguably the best club side in Europe and are the purists' preference to be European Champions. However, Arsenal aren't pushovers as well, having beaten the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid in the knockout stages. While I fully agree that Ronaldinho and Henry were instrumental in the games leading up to the final, I find it difficult to convince myself that it is just the star players, the team's best players that decide games like these.

This game, in particular, was decided by 2 excellent pieces of play from Henrik Larsson in setting up both goals. Arsenal's goal was courtesy of an Eboue run that resulted in a controversial free kick just outside the box. Yes, Henry crossed it, but in all fairness, Eboue created that opportunity. Other than that, Henry did not finish his chances with the style and aplomb that we are usually accustomed to see. And football, like in life, is harsh but fair; If you don't take your chances, you don't deserve to win.

Take also for example the 2005 League Cup Final. It wasn't Frank Lampard or Arjen Robben who brought Chelsea level in the Final. It was a Steven Gerrard own goal. In the 1998 Premiership title decider game between Manchester United and Arsenal, it was Marc Overmars who scored the goal rather than Nicolas Anelka, Ian Wright or Dennis Bergkamp.

It was Luis Garcia, not Steven Gerrard, who scored the go-ahead goals in both semi-finals against Chelsea.

The problem nowadays is that the media focuses too much on the star players; Of course, this is to boost spectatorship and revenue, but at the same time, the players who are on the same team as those superstars should not be forgotten either. After all, a team consists of 11 players, not just one superstar.

For every Ronaldinho dink or an Henry twist, there is a late run into the box by a Paul Scholes or a Wayne Bridge goal to decide a game. As often as you are beaten by the star players, you're beaten by their 'supporting cast' as often as well. And, for the purists, long may that continue.

Nick Khaw @ 7:28 PM

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