Champions League Final

After the epic 2005 Champions League Final, the 2007 edition in Athens will go down in history as the other final. In a rematch of two Europe’s most storied clubs, the sequel never lived up to the original. And in fairness, it never could.
From the Liverpool side, it was a night of missed chances. Steven Gerrard and Jermaine Pennant both had splendid opportunities but didn’t force Dida into a big enough saves. While Xabi Alonso and John Arne Riise both shot wide in promising positions outside the box. They are simply a side without that cutting edge in the final third of the pitch. They don’t have the so called “number 10” to make the defense cutting pass or to score with only inch of space.
Their battle plan failed them as well. Rafa Benitez is an excellent strategist but made grave errors in both of his finals. In 2005 he was unable to mark Kaka in the first half which led to Milan’s large lead. He did take that into account this time with Javier Mascherano, who was Liverpool’s man of the match. But this year, he didn’t adjust quickly enough. Two years ago he brought on Didi Hamman at halftime who effectively quieted the Brazilian playmaker. But in 2007, he took far too long to change his side.
His first mistake was his opening formation. Dirk Kuyt was never going to be able to do the job alone versus Maldini and Nesta. Although the Dutchman did deserve his goal at the end because of tireless running. If he can find the scoring touch to match his willingness he will be a fine player. But Kuyt was never given the support he needed. Bolo Zenden was useless still struggling with his ankle injury and Gerrard was way out of position. He should never play behind the striker. Being pushed up that far, his best qualities could never be used; his range, passing, tackling and leadership were gone as result of not being in the heart of the action. Benitiz also waited too long to bring on Peter Crouch. He was the club’s leading scorer in the competition but never got a chance in the final.
For the Italian side, it was vintage Milan. Pipo Inzaghi scoring one goal through pure luck and the second through beating the offside trap. They played bend but don’t break defense and were able to maintain the ball long enough to keep the pressure off themselves.
But they got their victory through luck. Inzaghi’s first goal was completely undeserved and changed the complexion of the match after a first half where they looked very ordinary. Mark Jankulovski looked lost on the left side, Andrea Pirlo never gained control in the middle and Clarence Seedorf and Kaka might as well of been sitting in the stands because they were no where to be seen. Milan has to thank the dogged style of Rino Gattuso to thank for much of their success with his willingness to disrupt any movement in the middle.
With the lead however, Milan was allowed to defend in depth and hit off the counterattack. And when Liverpool took off Mascherano in search of the equalizer it was only a matter of time until the second came. Kaka, with newly found space, played in Inzaghi for his only real contribution of the match.
German official Herbert Fandel can rest assured he played his part in the match. He was constantly calling Kuyt for backing in on Milan defenders with seemingly little contact. But he acted very strange in the last ten minutes. He waited five minutes before allowing Benitiz’s last substitution to come on and then calling full time twenty seconds short of the designated three minutes after Milan took forty seconds to make a substitution.
But in the end, it will be looked on as a very non special night. Liverpool played with passion and pride as always but their lack of creativity and missed chances will leave them haunted. Milan were far from their best but played just good enough to grab the cup. They had just enough culture to pull out a victory on a night that was a far cry from the classic that happened two years ago.