Wow. Amazing! Hurry and play the game, i want to know the ending! Hahas!
Tomorrow I leave for vacation and won't be back for a week. And while I will have internet access, I will only have my netbook which means no FM! Before I leave, however, here's an quick update!
I'll be honest, everyone. I have no idea where our team found the motivation needed in the Spanish Cup final. We were without a suspended Jack Rodwell. We were coming off of a loss in the semifinals of the Champions League. I actually went into the game in defense mode because I just wanted to keep Madrid off the scoreboard for as long as possible and then hopefully we could catch them on a break. Six minutes in, Bueno fought his way through a slew of traffic only to have Cassilas come up with a huge save. The rebound came right to us, however, and Torje fed the ball right back to Bueno for the opening goal. (youtube) Our defense did well to shrink the pitch and we were able to slow down Madrid's vaunted attacks. We went into the break with a 1-0 lead, and while Madrid held the lion's share of possession, our defense kept them off the scoreboard.
As if the gods had it out for me, Bueno would then be sent off 1 minute after the restart. 1 minute! After winning a corner, I guess Bueno was arguing with the ref and he gave him his second yellow card of the match. Video highlight here. Fantastic. I made no changes to our shape, we just played without a poacher up front. We continued to play defensively and it continued to work! Then it happened. Our 10 man squad somehow managed to catch Madrid on the break and Thiago slotted home a 64th minute goal for an improbable 2-0 lead! Video highlight here. Tick, tick, tick. Time was taking FOREVER to drain off the clock. And once again, it appears we angered the football gods. Or maybe there was a bit of favoritism from the refs?
Marcos Angeleri was sent off for his second yellow, dropping us down to 9 men. 9 men, 15 minutes, 2 goal lead. I decided it was time to park the bus. To hell with flowing football. I subbed out both wingers and went with a flat back 4, a DMC, and two center mids. If Real wanted this game, they would have to put it past all 9 of my men. They could do nothing to unlock our defense and it was finally over. As ridiculous as it seemed, it was US hoisting the Spanish Cup trophy!
