…certainly aren’t enough to convey what I felt that night. Disclaimer: Non-footie fans are to steer clear of this entry.
I am of course, referring to the Champions League Finals. What more can I say? My Friendster profile for the past week has said it all for me. I am glad to inform my wary friends that I’m now very much the sane (or less insane, anyhow) person they all know. The euphoria’s wearing off. I can at least blog properly. I’m done painting the town Red, so to speak. It’s time to get back down to Earth.
Lets put it this way…the entire day prior to the game, I was walking around with a huge Liverpool poster on my file…a declaration of my loyalty and support. The only thing that registered in my mind that day was football, football, and nothing but football. I let Aisya torment me by saying how good AC Milan was, I let Maz tell me how sceptical she was of Liverpool winning, Widaad was a good sport, she wished me luck and it was great of them to invite me over to Maz’s grandma’s house to watch the game in the wee morning hours, although I had to decline since I had some issues to settle. The air was thick and abuzz with football! I was practically WILLING the hands on the clock to move faster.
Later that night, had tutorial which put me off for a while. Perhaps it was for the best. Kept me sober. Lol. Had a Millef meeting afterwards though…that wasn’t very good for the clarity of my mind…it was supposed to be a brainstorming session, so I threw in a few ideas, kept on looking at my watch, complained to Yani and Abby about how I was going to miss the game (padahal baru pukul 11), looked despairingly at Wadi (Head of our motley group) so that he would get the idea that I had to leave THEN.
Needless to say, I practically sprinted back to my college after the meeting with the others in tow, made a detour to Mardy’s room to borrow her portable TV and made my way back to my room.
2.30am = The TV was all set to go, pillows and blankets were spread out on the floor and junk food were littering the spaces left. Kak Laila and Kak Shara were already sleeping. Yani, a non-footie girl I must say, actually ventured to stay up with me. Can you imagine? I wanted to hug her! What friend who doesn’t really care 2 cents about football (except perhaps one particular AC Milan player) would stay up with you? And with class the next morning?! Yani! Here’s my tribute to you! Thankyou! Thankyou!
There should be a rule to say a football game should just start immediately with no fancy dandy nonsense. The whole opening ceremony thing kinda pissed me off…and by the time the game started our junk food had already decreased by half. Ah well.
The game itself..when the whistle blew, I actually took a sharp breath in. Then…that first AC Milan goal happened…by the AC captain who hadn’t scored in 11 years…in the BLARDY FIRST MINUTE! That took the wind out of me, literally. I felt like I was punched. Yani, at this point, had apparently seen it all and fell asleep on the floor next to me. I was sitting cross-legged, practically gripping the tiny TV…what kind of defence was THAT?! And Maldini made it look soooo simple. I could have whacked Dudek. But I sat and waited patiently. 44 more minutes til halftime, anything can happen in 44 minutes, right?
Apparently, 2 more goals from AC Milan happened in 44 minutes. You wouldn’t believe my face at halftime. I turned off the TV, lay down on that cold, hard floor, staring into space. I won’t lie, I despaired. 3-0 down at halftime. It was hopeless. HOPELESS. It didn’t help that throughout the game, I was texting Aisya and Lutfi…and I actually said to Aisya that I was sure AC Milan would win…ended up talking about who was hot instead. *Shudder* Despair does that to you. I can just imagine the thousands of Liverpudlians around the world who must’ve shared my forlorn look. Man. Rasa cam nak nangis giler. I almost did. I was already thinking of naming my next entry ‘Liverpool broke my heart…’.
But it was not to be. Aisya informed me Gerrard had scored the first goal, so that was when I jolted up and turned on the TV again…in time to see a perfect volley from Vladimir Smicer! Oooh, I yelled alright. Waved my arms around and all…and actually had the cheek to think ‘at least we’ll be beaten with a respectable scoreline’. WHat the hell overcame me, I’ll never know. I guess I didn’t want to keep my hopes up. That was when Lutfi texted me, telling me about the penalty. That was when I REALLY perked up. When Xabi missed the shot, I was yelling…until he scored it in the follow-up. DAMN!!! I brought the whole room down, screaming! HAHA. Did a little jig too. Almost trampled the sleeping Yani. 3 goals in 6 minutes…and we were level at 3-3, with 30 minutes more…you don’t know what a great comeback that is. You just don’t. It’s the best comeback in the history of football. Rafa must be a Magician. I’d give anything to hear what he said to the lads in the dressing room at half-time.
The rest of the game had me gasping and at the edge of my seat…or at least, I would’ve been at the edge of it had I not been on the floor. Yani was fantastic. Every time I yelled or shouted, she’d raise her head up, enquire about the score, say a few words, and sleep again. HEY. She CARES. She didn’t even mind I was literally shaking her awake every few minutes. YANI, I OWE YOU BIG TIME.
So. The game ended 3-3. Then it went into Extra Time. That was pretty harrowing…I was chewing my fingers by that time. And then it came…the penalty shootout. Noone would have thought the game would have ended this way. NOONE. By half-time, the result must have been pretty clear. At this point, I COULDN’T BREATHE. I COULDN’T.
Once it was Schevchenko’s turn to shoot, I was blue in the face. Just one more save…that was all it took. I was actually praying…and all the other Liverpudlians were clasping their hands…and…
Dudek made the save.
I do not have to tell you the amount of screaming that happened in that room at 5.30am. I was all over the room…and Yani this time HAD to wake up for fear that I would trample on her stomach. Oh, and I woke the rest of my roomates too. The feeling? Exhilarating. I could have kissed Dudek, sweat and all, right there and then. I actually cried. CRIED. LOL. Did the full blown jig, waved that Liverpool poster, kissed the emblem, and very much worried the heck out of those who witnessed it.
Man. WHAT A NIGHT. WHAT. A. NIGHT. When Steven Gerrard finally lifted that Cup, I was silent for once. Taking in the moment. Wow. To hear the commentator say ‘Liverpool are the Champions!’…after 9 years…I was silent. The feeling? Only a Merseysider would know. 
Aye. It was the rise of the Phoenix.
Oh, did I mention that I felt very much inclined to share my joy with rest of the world? How unfortunate for them…I ended up miscalling people and sending maniacal smses at random. Lol. Sweet.
I felt terribly awful for AC Milan though. They were good, that much I can give them. LFC had shoddy defence that night, I can’t deny that. AC Milan shall always have my respect.
To win a game, when you’re 3-0 down…I’m sorry…it’s just…MAGIC. Most people who watched the game went to bed at half-time, not seeing the point of watching the whole of it. What a nice shock they had in the morning, eh?
That morning was interesting…I received smses from ppl congratulating me…as though I had won the Cup. Widaad actually came and gave me a hug! That felt wonderful.
The game itself was FANTASTIC. MIND BOGGLING. AWESOME. It can be made into a movie, it has all the drama. I don’t know, the Press themselves don’t have enough superlatives to describe it. I certainly don’t. I think I’ve managed to come up with only one word to describe that night.
ELECTRIFYING.
Enough said here.
PS For those of you who might be wondering…yes, I did fall asleep in class later that morn. I’m not very proud of it. But heck, you don’t see history being made every day. Here’s my tribute to Mardy for lending me her TV. Thanks hun. That TV was my only medium to the game. THANKYOU.
