I really didn't think that I would, at some point of time, support Chelsea FC. I quite dislike them. Its just that feeling you have against someone without any reason. Partly attributed to prejudice. Anyway, this is what this entry is about. Its about the recent outburst over the indecent exit of those eleven from the Champions League.
If Tom Henning Ovrebo had been dragged into court and sued for the millions (they might have been crowned The Champions, who knows ?) that Chelsea has lost, he'd have nothing to plead but temporary insanity, if at all temporary insanity could count for more than ninety three minutes at a stretch. Turning down what many see as clear penalties, and not one or two but a full four of them is really over the bar and over the bar a lot. Agreed that if Drogba hadn't dived game in and game out, there'd had been pretty good chances that Ovrebo might have given the penalty. Agreed that Chelsea could have scored when there were good opportunities and all Drogba did was to keep Barca's hopes alive (and probably the ref's as well). Agreed Chelsea havent taken the advantage of the twenty odd minutes when the visitors from across the sea had been reduced to ten (owing to another misjudged red card. Now whose side is he anyway?). But still, four penalties is way too much to disallow.
What followed after the match was a thing that the media was happy to pounce on. Drogba termed it all a "f*king disgrace" which most would say is true. One, from the guardian, was voicing the fans when he said that "Ballack should have gone all the way to do a Zidane". Ha ha. One leading Barcelona newspaper also sported a cartoon where a kid asks his mom that he needs a Barca shirt. But which one," his mother replies, "the goalie shirt, the home shirt or the referee's shirt?"
John Terry must have kept his calm and talked to his jumping mates. But the leader was far from it. Its really a shame to see such world class players act that way but one can only say that one can understand it. But that doesn't mean that they should go unpunished. It speaks of the quality of the team when one faces such adverse situations. "Character" is what should be shown here, at a time when the scenario least demands it. And thats what makes players great and a team great. I just don't understand how they couldn't do this one act. A team of the class of Chelsea should have kept calm however emotional they might have become. Anyway, being normal isn't bad at all. The ref. really deserves a full Zidane done to him.
It has to be mentioned that Chelsea really didn't play football at Camp Nou. All they did was "par k the bus". It was almost a 10-0-0 formation. A f*cking disgrace too, I dare say. All they did was pass, pass, pass. Only one good chance that was ruined by (no prize for guessing it right) Drogba. The rest was really frustrating to any football lover. Hence, the Spanish press were quoting this debacle as justice done, even if they find it delayed (till the 93minutes, that is).
At the end of the day, it was a bit of clumsy effort by Chelsea and a big big hand of the ref that made them see the end of the road to the final. A 1-1 was on the cards, but the way it drew is a shame.
