Amazing.
It was a night (or a morn if you considered 2:30am as morning) I cannot forget. Altogether it was a tale of expectation, but yet having our hearts ripped out by the brilliant display of Milan as opposed to our own ineptness. But yet, sometimes funny things do happen, and on Wednesday night, it truly did.
The night started young, as Jeff and the rest got there early. I arrived around 11 pm, early if you considered the game would not start til 2:45am at least. There weren't too many people just yet too, but as you know, Malaysians usually turn out last minute (and irritatingly so, hmmph!)
The Liverpool FC fan club stood just a few tables away. It was the 1st time I've seen them, those official Liverpool supporters, as opposed to me who supports both Liverpool and Tottenham (and am not official either). Wonder what they'll call me, a Tottenpool supporter? Or even worse, a Liverham!? *gasp!* Hahaha..
The night started off nicely for us though, as Jeff and I went up for the live commentating competition. Ha! I suffered a stage fright and mumbled stuffs like,'Erm, what's happening?' and 'Errr...(pretty long pause) Errr...' Basically, I had words in my head, but my mouth just didn't feel like cooperating then, hehe. Guess it's also kinda hard to go next after Jeff (who won the grand prize of a Nokia 7270), and well, my bladder was kinda full and itching to go. Any exertions of 'GOAALLLLL!!' would not only have brought cheers from the crowd, but perhaps some additional liquid from my crotch area too. Wonder what reaction the crowd would give then, hmm.
Anyways, enough of keeping you away from the game.
As the game started, we had a beautiful symphony of horns screaming and blaring in the background. Mine unfortunately, sounded more like a duck's quack than those well worn war horns, sending Jo and Mich into their rapturous giggles. Heh, at least it was free.
The 1st goal came as a bolt out of the blue. We sat stunned into silence as Maldini put Milan ahead at only 58 seconds on the clock. And there, we had those pesky Milan supporters, who came to spoil our party, taunting us. And yes, the horns were dead.
We looked for hope as the match wore on. Initially, Liverpool gave a fightback (as they usually do) with 2 quick attempts on goal, but the more we pushed, the more vulnerable we looked behind. Traore was being turned again and again by Shevchenko, exploited his lack of vision, bringing angry 4 letter curses from the crowd. And as the game wore on, we could see dat Liverpool was threading a dangerous line.
And on the 39th minute came the 2nd goal. We had been threading too thin for too long and were being punished. Two nil to other teams might be a challenge, but being two goals down to Milan was like climbing Everest, just add molten lava coming down too. As I took a walk to the loo for a change in sight, we suddenly conceeded the 3rd! My goodness! Somehow, in the back recesses of my mind, I wondered if me leaving the table then might have influenced the outcome then. Call it karma (though we Christians don't exactly believe in dat, rite? heheh)
We sat sullenly at the table during the half time break with those Milan fans in a particularly good mood at our 'bashing'. Was there hope? Thinking back, I wondered if some of those Milan supporters were actually Arsenal, Man U or Chelski fans in disguise. You'll never know what jealousy can make a football fan do.
Amazingly, there were people placing bets dat Liverpool would win then. Those lucky buggers. Each bet gave you an odds of a hundred times over! But perhaps, at halftime there was nothing else to lose except pride, and those buggers were proud of Liverpool, even when we were 3 nil down.
The second half started strongly enough. Hamann came on for Finnan, and voila, we had our confidence back on, and it reflected on the pitch. The erratic Liverpool dat punted ineffective long balls into the opposition half (mostly Traore's fault) was replaced by one that played with confidence and controlled possesion. Suddenly, it was Milan dat was chasing the game and the ball.
Our goal came soon enough. Expected or unexpected, it didn't matter. It was a fightback and we screamed our lungs out in ecstacy. 'Come on, two more!' were the cries of the crowd as the horns started blaring again.
And then came the 2nd! We stood on our feet as we sang 'You'll never walk alone' after all the hugs and screams. Liverpool had given us hope, but would Liverpool deliver? Many of us waited with held breaths.
The equalizer finally came in the 61st minute. Even before the penalty was taken, we were high fiving each other. The crowd roared ecstatically, not knowing dat the ball had to still go in before we were considered having equalised. I closed my eyes and ears, worried to be dissapointed. Surely it had to go in, and surely it....it did! I casted a glance at those Milan fans who could only give me a sheepish look. 3 goals down at halftime and Liverpool had made an amazing fightback! Can our wait be over?
I would not go into detail about minute by minute after that, if you're interested, go check out the official Liverpool site or Soccernet.com.
We plodded, fought and hoped. Some prayed to their Gods as the match wore on. Liverpool looked tired from their exertions. Could we fall to some cruel fate after fighting back from 3 nil down? I found dat thought hard to swallow, but it might just had happen if otherwise.
The end of normal time was signalled. We've survived, but how much more? I refused to hope for hoping would mean dissapointment if we blew it. But as usual, Jeff was in his optimistic mood. 'We'll win it!' he said. One of the guys at the table had bet to strip down to his underwear if we won it at normal time. Boy, he must have been a really relieved person though, heheh.
Back at half time, I would have given anything (well, erm, not actually, haha) to see Liverpool at least lose respectably instead of a 5 nil hammering, and now..we were on the verge of greatness, of a tale we can tell our grandchildren as scouses. I hoped beyond hope.
The extra time was a bit or a nerve wrecker as Serginho kept surging down Milan's left wing. Anytime his crosses make it through Gerrard and we're goners. Carragher and a few others had cramps too. Can we make it to the penalties? You'll never walk alone was heard in the background as the latecomers (and hence, standing fans) locked arms and sang (well, hehe, perhaps not everyone though)
And then came the penalties, or better known as the lottery tickets. I kept a cup nearby just in case anyone needed it, due to accidentally pissing out of the match tension. Dudek went on to make a clown out of himself, but in the process, unnerved those Milan players and became a Liverpool legend. 1 nil Liverpool, 2 nil Liverpool! All due to Dudek's brilliance. We were on the edge of our seats now. Some were already celebrating, dancing around with their shirts off as some sort of helicopter propeller, showing their huge swarths of armpit hair, not knowing that we still could lose. But yet, thinking back, wouldn't it look even funnier if all they had were bald armpits like what you can see in the olympics, no?
It became 2-1 and stayed 2-1. Riise's shot was saved. Could it be the beautiful journey's over? Kaka took the next and blasted it in, 2-2! Smicer followed suit, 3-2! And then came Shevchenko. The blond was the European player of the year (and what you know, they call the ladies, dumb blondes. Wonder if it applies to the guys as well, heh) and he was next. Miss and we would win. Could we?
I did not see the save the 1st time around as I had my head buried in my hands. But when screams of ecstacy was heard (and more so since Mich had an absolute blaster of a voice), I knew we've won it! The Holy Grail of club football. Nevermind Arsenal or Chelski for all their dominance, they've not won it yet. And Man U? Heh, dat was ages ago. We're the champions now and rightfully so. Hopefully we don't have any of those Arsenal, Man U or Chelski fans converting soon, heheh..
And as the giant screen showed the Liverpool players running out of the pits to hug our heroes, some of us just stood there in silence, stunned and still disbelieving what we've seen. Others took of their shirts off and danced around, fatty tissue not an issue here. Everyone was exhilirated, no point being shy here. Oh ya, as for us, we went around hugging each other with bear hugs dat could crush pesky kittens and high fives with the intensity of those when you want to crush birthday cakes on birthday boys. And soon we all began singing the Liverpool anthem 'You'll never walk alone', over and over again.
Thinking back, unlike half time where I fought so hard to keep my tears in, this time I tried to cry, but it just did not come out. Perhaps I was too happy to cry. When will we win it again? I dunno, but for now, we are the champions and we shall celebrate! Heck, even my non Liverpool friends were so amazed by the match. Amazing. Do I have to explain why again? :p
p/s: photos to be up tomorrow! Check back then!
update (29/5/05) : Check out this Liverpool fan's prank! Hehe, good one dat
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