Wednesday, April 8, 2009

THE BIG ONE

It’s that time of the year again when matches are going on almost on every sports/entertainment channel possible making us choose between our impending exams and the sport that we love with all of our life. The Champions League returns this week with an interesting little match-up of powerhouses and dark horses.
There is one match-up which will almost stir a yawn you might say is Liverpool V/S Chelsea. Being pitted against each other for the 3rd time in the last four years, the players of these teams will almost certainly be hating,if not dreading, the sight of each other on an European night. Having said that it must also be an incentive for the last loser to avenge that last loss. The Blues coached by the Guus Hiddink are still looking for their 1st champions league title and with the premiere league almost out of their reach now, they have everything to play for against their certain champion’s league nemesis. They might still be haunted by that John Terry’s miss handing United that silverware and will stop at nothing short of the title itself. For Hiddink, it is an excellent opportunity to underline his managerial talent [ if needed] to his owner Roman Billionaire Abrahamovich.
But what they are up against is a RED juggernaut that will look to draw confidence from its premiere league form. Liverpool feast on European nights, they get further charged up with the aeroplane roar -resembling decibels of their legendary Kop. That Kop which last time prompted Terry to say, ”At Anfield, you are playing against 12 liverpool players. 11 on field and the Kop.” Rafael Benitez will be looking to unleash his deadly duo of Gerrard-Torres on Chelsea’s defense. Inspite of so much attacking talent in both the line-ups it’s the defenses that invariably grabs the headlines for good/bad reasons in these matches the next day. Liverpool,who might have even sold poor Riise for scoring that unfortunate own goal the last time, will be keen to increase their chances of enhancing their Champions league shelf of their Trophy cabinet.
For Chelsea a win will help extract some revenge against Liverpool for breaching their Stamford fortress the 1st time and perhaps teaching others how do to so. Not to mention its another chance for a Russian dictator to write himself into English folklore.
-Swapnil Joshi