Lazy Saturday, Even at Wembley

This is for a fellow I know from England who is a Liverpool supporter; he's a very nice guy, and he knows a lot about English football. I never met a Liverpool supporter, who is ACTUALLY from England, before this past month. I went to Old Trafford many years ago, and ran into United supporters there at the stadium and the shopping centre nearby. They seem very self-assured like things will always be this way; I imagine they felt that way back in 1968 as well?

What do you do when your Dad is yelling at the players on the television? The UEFA Champions League final was today. Manchester United, who finished runners-up a year ago and are league champions during this year's campaign for a record nineteenth time, played against Spanish champions FC Barcelona at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The last time United played a European Cup final at the Twin Towers they defeated Benfica in extra-time in 1968, thanks to Sir Matt Busby and his "Busby Babes", Sir Bobby Charlton, and the late George Best.

(I thought you were going to salute Liverpool?)

Well, this year didn't turn out so great for Sir Alex and his United side as Messi, David Villa, and the rest of the spunky Barcelona side tore them up 3-1. While on the surface it doesn't look like something was torn to pieces, Barca held the initiative for most of the contest as Messi's ball possession and sharp runs from the midfield left United defenders indecisive and confused. David Villa's insurance marker in the 77th minute (?) put the contest beyond doubt for Barca and UEFA crowned them with their fourth European Cup championship.

Meanwhile, back at the house, I could hear Dad get progressively louder from the other room. I was in the kitchen eating lobster bisque, while with each passing minute, Dad's groans and exhortations for his Manchester United grew louder and louder. This is unusual seeing as he only gets this angry whenever his "one and only" son does something bad, and out of the twenty things I did wrong so far that day I didn't know such a good team could play so badly that my Dad would want to put his shoe through the television.

I imagine next year in the English Premier League my Dad will be just as upset with United as he was today. Liverpool have new ownership, Kenny Dalglish returned as manager of the club, an academy full of fresh talent, and quality players like Carragher, Gerrard, Carroll, and Suarez to make the Reds a formidable league opponent. Albeit they lost their last two games of the season, but when they are in form they can beat anybody - even Manchester United, and my Dad will not like that.

I wrote about watching Dalglish play and manage Liverpool when I was a lad on my soccer blog. If you are interested in catching up on some history, here is a link to that posting.