I have been a supporter of AC Milan for as long as I can remember, since 1996 to be exact, that is when my interest in the game started. 16 years of ups and downs, 16 years of sadness and joy that I have shared with hundreds of players that have come and gone at my beloved AC Milan. From the days of CostaCurta and Albertini , Weah and Bierhoff, Boban and Ruicosta, Kaka and Shevchenko, to the more recent Prince and Ibra. I stood by and supported them with a heavy heart when we had a bad season, and with unrelenting ecstasy when we were winning. I even refer to AC Milan as "we"! Isn't that funny, as if I had some affiliation with the club, a club that knows nothing of my existence or support. Heck I have never even been to Italy, yet still consider them a part of who I am. It defies logic, it is beyond logic that their performances and results affect my mood and stir up hidden passions and feelings of anger and rage that I wouldn't normally show. I cannot explain why or how this happened, but I love them unconditionally. As Paolo Coelho puts it: "One is loved because one is loved, no reason is needed for loving".
You can imagine my frustration when sitting with a self acclaimed Barca fan as he said "If Milan were the best team in the world, I would support them". To him it is logical, the man wants to see pretty football. To a loyal supporter like me who loves his club, it is simply outrageous to switch clubs just like that! Barcelona fans have been growing exponentially since their European domination 5 -7 years ago, come to think of it, I have never seen so many Barcelona fans in my region before. But I don't know if i'm comfortable calling these new fans, "fans" at all. Like every great team, Barca too will go through a bad cycle, and when that happens, how many of those new fans will stick around for an unpleasant ride? Right now, they are invincible, the new fans go into every game confident of winning, even crushing their opponents, they have rarely tasted defeat, they do not know what it feels like going into a match as underdogs. Their arrogance annoys me to no bounds.
I remember feeling as confident as the new and old barca fans once upon a time when AC Milan's line up alone would send shivers down their opponents spine . I don't feel as confident now, but I still cheer on.
There is no dispute that Barcelona play great football , although I feel like they could do with some more shooting from distance, but they are undoubtedly the best team in the world at the moment. I have no problems with my AC Milan losing to the best team in the world in the Champions League Quarter Finals.
We had a shot at going through to the semi-finals, we really did. Our players put up a great display of grit and character to prevent Barcelona from scoring at the San Siro. We came to Camp Nou to give it our best shot, but we were prevented, not by Barcelona, but by external factors. That is what I have a problem with.
Football is not played on paper, if it were, we could just crown Barcelona with every trophy there is. As I stated before, I have been a fan of AC Milan for 16 years and I've experienced being knocked out of a competition, even losing a Champions League final in which we had a 3-0 lead at halftime, I've been angry, but never this annoyed with my opponent (Apart from Dudek's "Spaghetti Legs" goalkeeping tactics in the 2005 CL final against Liverpool).
I do not feel we were robbed as Barcelona played better over both legs, however, it was expected that Barcelona would play better, and in a game where the only thing that counts are goals, Barcelona were awarded 2 penalty kicks, 1 of which should have NEVER been given in a match with such high stakes where a single goal would change the course of the game. The Champions League Quarter Finals is not the time or place to be setting a refereeing example for the world, shirt tugs and pulls happen before thousands and thousands of corner kicks in every league in the world.
Calling a penalty ...for a shirt tug.. when the ball was out of play. A simply ludicrous decision that one simply cannot, with a clear conscience agree with. This decision honestly robbed Milan of a fair fighting chance against the world's best team, and also robbed Barcelona of a possible deserved victory.
At 1-1, the game was in AC Milan's hands, all we wanted to do was defend , but the referee robbed us of that opportunity and decided that Barcelona should win this game.
It was disgusting seeing the Barcelona players pressure the referee into that decision, where's the glory and honor in that? It was pathetic seeing their manager justify it after the game. For the Greatest football team in the world to resort to diving, pressuring the referee, time wasting, and an unsporting winning at any cost mentality is simply needless and unfitting of their title.
I will never know what would've happened had that 2nd penalty not been called. Could we hold on for 50 more minutes? Even losing by 5 or 6 goals would have been easier than to go out like this.
If there are any true football fans who support Barcelona, they would not have wanted to win like this either as they will now need to deal with more controversial conspiracy theories surrounding their team.
Alas, what's done is done, an unfair match, and an unfair albeit deserved win for Barcelona (if that last line makes any sense)
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ReplyDeleteI truly respect what was stated above. And I, myself as a true Barcelona fan for more than 12 years now, am, as mush as you are and maybe more, annoyed of these "new Barca fans" that know nothing about the game and they're only with Barca because they've been dominating for the past 4-5 years since they make us, as well as other true Barca fans, feel ashamed that they are at our side for the bad image they portray and the negative comments they have that we "true barca fans" have to justify and put off with. Anyways, my point is, you and I, "people that love this game more than anything", should not talk and put our energy in listening to these people and remarking on them. You'll always have stupid people that will argue just to argue, that will never listen and that think that they're right!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the second penalty, I too, think that it could've been overlooked by the referee, but this shit happens all the time in every game, and Milan players should've handled it differently especially that it happened before the half time, which gave Allegri and the players time to make a different and better approach to the game in the 2nd half, but what actually happened is that Allegri put in Pato and then took him off, they only played in their side of the pitch, they didn't create any good chances that would've been turned into penalties or goals. On the contrary, Barcelona, took possession, played their game and created a lot of chances. If you are with the saying that the 2nd penalty affected the morale of the Milan players and put pressure on them and was the number 1 factor in deciding their loss, then, my friend you are saying that the Milan coach and players are not psychologically fit and ready to deal with such kinds of incidents that HAPPEN ALL THE TIME IN ALL COMPETITIONS AND ALL TEAMS.
So, I totally disagree that it was an unfair match due to the superiority of Barca's tactics, pressure, and individual play. Cheers
Indeed I was hoping for a better reaction from Milan, but I can't fault the team so much because lets face it. Our full backs are Abate and Antonini , we have 3 players whose combined age is over 105 (Seedorf, Ambro, and Nesta) and ironically they were our best performers. Which highlights what you said that most of the Milan team is not yet ready to deal with such psychological issues at this level. On top of that, we were missing 2 of our best players with great experience, Thiago Silva and Van Bommel which is a huge blow.
DeleteBarcelona on the other hand have 8 or 9 of the best footballers in the world on the field, and on top of that , they have been playing together at this level for several years.
As soon as I saw the draw against Barcelona, I wasn't expecting us to qualify, but there is always hope. After the first leg in which Milan played a great tactical game, and came away with a 0-0 result, our hopes grew bigger. The second leg was always going to be harder playing in front of 95k Barca fans. We somehow scored after the first penalty and for 9 minutes had the upper hand in the tie. Then came the dreaded incident at a time when Barcelona weren't really playing their customary football, and just 4 minutes before the much needed break.
The Pato situation is comical, I have my doubts whether it was Allegri's decision or Berlusconi's decision to bring him on. Also, I felt that Nocerino should've been subbed instead of Seedorf, and Prince should've stayed on the pitch.
Like you said, Barcelona played better, and tactically, Allegri made a Pato mistake in the 2nd leg, among other mistakes. Overall Barcelona put in a performance worthy of victory, but that 2nd penalty decision leaves a bitter feeling.
What is true is that the shirt tug is a foul. Is it called consistently? No, not at all, and if one were to watch football matches, you would see this sort of tugging on almost every corner. Even in previous matches, think about the previous leg with Mesbah hanging on Puyol (with which one would possibly reply, “that should have been a penalty as well”) the foul has been present but the call has not. “Now is the right time to start” seemed to be the response from Barcelona fans as well as the Soccer pundits. The consequence is that it sucks to be the player called for a foul that doesn’t get called 98 times out of 100.
The only question that I’m unable to answer is, “would that foul have been called if it wasn’t for Barcelona?” In any event, it was called, and just like every other call made in the game, you have to live with it.
Very well written article. I understand how you feel, maybe the second penalty was unfairly given to Barca. However, they were all around superior in the game, the stats can prove that:
ReplyDeleteBarca Milan
Goals 3 1
Possesion (%) 60 40
Shots On Target 8 1
Shots Off Target 9 1
Fouls 9 19
Yellow Cards 2 7
But as we all know, we can never predict what will happen in football so the stats really don't matter at the end of the day. It was a tough loss for AC Milan fans. Hard luck.
Indeed they were superior, I'm not arguing that fact. But I can pinpoint my problems with Barcelona to a few things:
DeleteBusquets hitting the floor faster than a bag of potatoes at every touch.
Surrounding and pressuring the referee constantly
The slightest of touches resulting in screaming and grabbing of the entire leg.
As a Milan fan, I've had my fair share of refereeing errors this season. (Juve ghost goal, Catania ghost goal, and now this).
I'm only hoping that our final 8 games won't revolve around the referee.
I completely understand your point of view, can't argue with that. I hate it when Barca players surround the referee and pressure him. I won't even start talking about Busquets but I respect his ability to hold the midfield.
DeleteGood luck in the Serie A.
But in the end is it a well deserved victory no matter the half time or not, As a barca fan you think winning in such an unfashionably way makes a difference. to you its a win, to fans who dont support either its obvious to show whats right and wrong. And just to state a fact that your going to tell me barca haven't done this kind of act before.... its outrageous how a coincident occurs in many games (such as real madrid, chelsea, Ac milan, and so on) and your actually not even going to question that for a second. Come on Barca or not a Barca fan you can compare a game from a cheat, its actually fascinating how a team like barca with such talent need to resolve their issues or lets say Games in such a manner. Finally, fair or not the game was an outstanding game by AC milan and Barca, but come on atleast end it honorably if theirs any honor ........
ReplyDeleteAs much as I wanted Barcelona to lose, I have to say I am glad with their controversial win in the Champions League (over & over). Over the past few years, people have pointed out to Madrid and specifically Mourinho (being the media drama queen he is) for their foul cries and blames on the referees every time they encounter a loss from Barcelona. The Champions League is the only opportunity for the whole world to not only see it but also experience it hands on. As a Madrid fan, I do have to admit they have a stunning team that is capable of winning every single trophy out there, in any league you throw them in.
ReplyDeleteBut not in this manner Barca.. Not in this manner.. Shame on you.
Hi Ihab
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your articles. We would love it if you would also post your articles to www.fanalistas.co.uk, a new site for fan journalists/bloggers like you. We can automatically import your articles to your fanalistas profile and then link back to your blog giving your work exposure to our growing online community. I have no doubt that your football coverage would attract a lot of readers with us.
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KEROYOKAN
ReplyDeleteas a chelsea fans, i know what you feel bro.
ReplyDeleteSi blog รจ accattivante. Mi fa piacere. Grazie per questo bel pezzo di scrivere con me.
ReplyDelete