Who said the FA Cup was losing its prestige? Before Real Madrid’s La Liga clash against Granada, former Liverpool midfielder updated former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho with the result of the final.
“Dos a Uno. Carroll.” Alonso told his manager. Mourinho responded by asking how long was left before turning away. Despite showing no emotion or interest, it’s probable that ‘The Special One’ was delighted with Chelsea’s victory. [posted by DV]
A few months ago, Chelsea winning the FA Cup seemed absurd. And the Champions League? Well, if you were even thinking about that then you were either entirely out of your mind or some kind of evil genius. But somehow, Roberto Di Matteo has inspired Chelsea’s old guard to do the unthinkable. After watching this match, Bayern Munich will know that they have no easy test awaiting them.
What were your thoughts on the match? [drawing by the amazing Richard Swarbrick, GIF via. posted by EB]
There’s nothing quite like a trip to Wembley, and today’s a very big day for Liverpool fans. While Liverpool has adopted “You’ll never walk alone”, back in 1964 the crowd sang “She Loves You” and channeled their inner Lennon and McCartney.
Read: Liverpool’s Cup Confusion…
By Max Grieve
With apparently false obstinacy, both red and blue repeated the tired lines. “We’ll pick a team that will do this club justice,” said Dalglish. His captain nodded in approval: “We’ve got the game against Fulham, and then we can get ready for Chelsea”. This sentiment was echoed in London. “I have not rested players in the past,” Di Matteo declared ahead of his side’s vital league clash with Newcastle. “All the games are important – we obviously tried to stay in all the competitions. We don’t want to just throw anything away.”
Their respective home losses to Fulham and Newcastle were symptomatic of their contradictory seasons. That Liverpool and Chelsea should be defeated, despite such resolute opposition to the suggestion that they might field weakened sides, reflected a common lapse in focus for this afternoon’s FA Cup finalists. Everybody insisted that their efforts were concentrated solely on the midweek league matches, though as Wembley loomed, it was obvious that minds were wandering. The alternate opinion – that both were actually too focussed – is a similar argument: neither appeared to recognise the importance of the immediate challenge, and had their attentions turned towards the shimmering prize ahead.
Rivals, unite: Real Madrid x Barcelona. Manchester United x Liverpool. Boca Juniors x River Plate. América x Chivas. Inter x Milan. That’s the message.
Some will see these 5 hybrids of club crests as borderline blasphemy. After all, El Clásico is just around the corner and hatred is in the air. But why not embrace the discomfort? Sure, rivalries create some of the game’s highest highs and lowest lows. As Mexican artist Eduardo Salles states, “Politicians kiss one another, but true Unhate is shown in fútbol.” Salles is an optimist, of course. He sees the brotherhood that connects us all to the beautiful game and thinks this transcends any rivalry. That’s debatable, but here’s to looking at rivals through a new lens…
[Posted by EB, via Cinismo Ilustrado]
Those 11 seconds pretty much sum up the experience for all Liverpool fans watching the game. Still leaving Wembley with a smile…
We had to dig deep for this one. It turns out the legendary South African human rights and anti-apartheid activist was able to meet Liverpool when the club was on tour in South Africa in the summer of 1994. Serving as the President of South Africa in ‘94, Mandela was proudly presented with a Reds shirt by John Barnes, the club’s captain.
In a 2003 interview with the FA, John Barnes admitted that he was lucky enough to spend three surreal hours talking with Mandela. Barnes said, “Even as a kid, I didn’t have heroes that I would chase for their autograph. But Mandela was different - he is the only man I have been properly in awe of… I am not ashamed to say I had my picture taken with him and it hangs proudly on my wall at home.” It was during those three hours that Mandela told Barnes that he was a fan of Liverpool FC.
The spark that led to a little research on the Mandela-Liverpool connection came from a “105 celebrity fans” article on Liverpool’s official website from 2003, which also includes the likes of Dr. Dre, Pope John Paul II, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Elvis Costello, and Michael Schumacher…
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