So Near...Yet so far

The weekend's Grand Prix at Nurbugring certainly needs more than just the usual news coverage! Raikkonen was on course for a good win a the European GP, and all he failed to do was cross the checkered flag. The front right tyre of his McLaren gave way on the last lap in dramatic fashion to hand over the victory to a very happy Alonso - which puts him clear by 32 points at the top.

Now, just thinking about this incident takes me down memory lane, when the then 'Flying Finn' - Mika Hakkinen, had a similar last lap debacle in Spain and had to sit on top of his stalled car and just look at the others whiz past him and complete the race. Incidentally Hakkinen was also driving a McLaren Merceded. Go back a bit further, to 1997, Damon Hill (my favourite!!) after winning the championship in 1996 with his Williams Renault, was competing in the struggling Arrows Yamaha and was on the verge of winning at the Hungaroring, only to see his engine sputter on the very last lap - with just a few corners left. Villeveuve went on to win the race, with Hill managing to drag his Arrows across the finish line in second.

I can still feel the emotion that was on that day - at my place. My friends, sis and mom were all watching eagerly and I was over the moon to see Damon going strong in first place, but alas, he was not able to finish in the same position. Yesterday's race brought back mixed emotions, - Damon's second place finish, the passion we had and the moments all of us shared together. Those moments will always be cherished and remembered forever. :)

Six Minutes to Crash Land!

If Yesterday was filled with dreams about the finals, today is a day with nightmares of the Same game! Milan had the best possible start when Maldini put them ahead from 12 yards from a cross from Pirlo, with just 50 seconds on the clock. From then on, it was all Milan as they completely dominated the game and Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf and the outstanding Kaka had control of the entire midfield with ease.

It was hardly a matter of time for Milan to score the second and kill Liverpool off, and it came in the 29th minute as Shevchenko fired in, but their joy is cut short as it's ruled out for offside, though it appeared close. Undeterred Milan pressed on and on the 39th minute, Crespo slotted in after some fine play by Shevchenko and Kaka. And at 44 minutes it looked like Milan were already on the podium, when Crepso got his second of the game with a sublime pass from the enigmatic Kaka. As the half time whistle blew, the Rossoneri walked back to the dressing room with their heads held high while the sad Reds trudged to the lockers with despondent looks on their faces.

The second half started in more or less the same fashion, with Milan dominating the early stages. They were on cruise control with eyes on the Cup, but on the 54th minute, the course of the game changed as Gerrard pulled one back with a neat header to give Liverpool a lifeline. what happened in the next 6 minutes was one for the history books and something which Milan would like to forget soon. Smicer made it 3-2 on the 56th minute and three minutes later Gattuso brought down Gerrard in the box and Alonso took the spot kick and crashed the rebound into the back of the net after Dida had blocked it initially. In 6 Minutes, Liverpool had leveled the scores and it was game on - with Liverpool all fired up from their amazing comeback and Milan rocket to the core.

Both the teams had chances in extra time to wrap it up particularly Milan, with Dudek denying Shevcehnko with a point blank header and then the followup drive from the talismanic striker.
The game moved on to penalties and it was now or never...Milan had to take the first kick and what ensued was...

0-0 Serginho fires high over the bar

0-1 Hamann drives it into the corner

0-1 Dudek saves Pirlo's kick

0-2 Cisse puts Liverpool 2 up.

1-2 Tomasson brings Milan into the shootout

1-2 Dida saves Riise's shot to give hope.

2-2 Kaka levels the score.

2-3 Smicer scores to put pressure on Milan

2-3 Shevchenko has to score to keep Milan in the game. At the center of the field, the Milan players stand together hanging on to their hopes. Shevchenko takes his run up and drives weakly to the center of the goal and Dudek saves! Dudek screams in delight. The Reds jump up in joy and the Rossoneri can't believe it. It's all over! Milan have lost the Champions League Final after leading 3-0 till 54 minutes!

Teams:
AC Milan: Dida, Cafu, Maldini, Stam, Nesta, Gattuso (Rui Costa 112), Seedorf (Serginho 86), Pirlo, Kaka, Shevchenko, Crespo (Tomasson 85).
Bench: Abbiati, Kaladze, Costacurta, Dhorasoo.
Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan (Hamann 46), Traore, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Kewell (Smicer 23), Baros (Cisse 85).
Bench: Carson, Josemi, Nunez, Biscan.

A picture of Red all over the stadium and happy voices singing 'You'll never walk alone' proved that Liverpool had completed the remarkable journey as the Champions of Europe. The Milan players looked around and at each other with forlorn faces and tears streaming down their cheeks. They Sadly accept the runners up medal with a faint smile and then Gerrard lifts the Cup high into the Turkish air with the entire Liverpool contigent cheering on.

Had Scevchenko's 29th minute strike been allowed it could have taken a different turn. Debates can go on forever, but Milan proved to be a team graceful in defeat and they acknowledged Liverpool as the Champions - any team which defeats Juventus and Chelsea are indeed worthy winners. Even though it is hard to accept the fact that Milan have lost, they can keep their chin up as they were outstanding on the field and are second best only to the Champions. Milan are still the elite and successful club that they were and will be back next year to conquer it!

Milan did their best and though it will take time to sink in, in my books and heart, they are still the greatest team and will be there for a long time in the history books for their remarkable achievements.

ciao!

Heart at Ataturk

The excitement is too much for any football fan! And I, for one, can feel the atmosphere here in India...far far away from Turkey. Am really a bag of nerves at work today! Can't seem to be able to take my mind of the final - Every blink just brings Shev, Kaka, Nesta, Gattuso, Pirlo...And the rest of the Rossoneri Army. Can almost hear the crowds and see the red and white logo flying high amidst the euphoric crowd! Milan are 'this' close to Glory!!

Touchdown at Istanbul

The build-up to the most important final in this season's calendar has been enormous and now that the teams have landed in Istanbul has brought a new dimension to the city. A plethora of red and white drapes the city of wonders and makes it even more colourful. Milan and Liverpool train for day to come out as the victor in what could be the biggest match of their season. For Milan, their last appearance in the final was in 2003 when they won against Juventus on penalties, at Old Trafford. For Liverpool, this is the biggest game in 20 years as they last lifted the coveted trophy 21 years ago, beating Roma in Rome.

Maldini and Shevchenko will arguably be in the center of the limelight and in the eyes of the reds. But the likes of Gattuso, Pirlo and the enigmatic Kaka should not be forgotten! Liverpool will be looking to have a repeat of their performance against Juventus and Chelsea which brought them to this title showdown. Shevchenko, Crespo, Inzaghi and Tomasson will have to do something which Drogba, Kezman, Ibrahimovic and Gudjohnson were unable to do! - Score against the gallant reds defence marshaled by Carragher. Nesta and co., will have their hands full as well trying to keep the likes of Cisse, Garcia and Baros quiet. It all points to a classic battle between two of Europe's Great Aristocrats! Istanbul is the place to be now!!
Milan for Glory!!!!!!!

Run for cover!

Yesterday started out as just another manic Monday, but the final say was left to the winds and the rains. All of a sudden it started pouring and the winds raised their voice in mighty fashion bringing down all that was in their path. Trees and electricity poles faced the brute force of the fierce wind and many a tree was uprooted and planted on the road!

People were scampering around to find shelter whilst the thunder and lightning took turns at scaring everybody off. Life became a frenzy and traffic came to a standstill at lotsa junctions. I slowly came out of my house only to see the gate blocked by a huge tree which had been uprooted and it brought a host of electricity poles along with it when it came crashing down to the ground. That meant no electricity - until the roads and the lines are cleared! Infect the better part of the city was left in swathing darkness. But life goes on...Come rain or snow, life has to go on... Tuesday is here and work has begun again - in the office as well as on the road to clear things up!

United we bow

The FA Cup final was a viewers delight - as expected - but the scoreline proved that the defence was more stronger than their respective attacks! Man U did everything correct, well...everything except score, and they paid their price in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Rooney and van Nistelrooy threw everything at the goal but were denied by Lehmann, the gunners defence and the upright in more that one occasion. It was all out Man U against a subdued Arsenal. Henry's absence limited Arsenal's attacking prowess and the enigmatic Bergkamp and Reyes were unable to break the Man U wall. Then came the telling moment. Lehmann dived to his right to save Scholes' penalty and then Vieira tucked it in to seal an arsenal win, leaving Sir Alex and Keane with not much to smile at.

United end the season without any silverware and in the wake of the Glazer takeover, things do not seem to be going in the right way for United but, they can just a force a smile looking at the team that faced and dominated Arsenal - a team of youngsters! - the making of the future United!

Closer to Istanbul

"Everyone thinks Milan will just have to turn up to beat us"
- Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard

Envisage Maldini leading the Rossoneri in white into the Ataturk stadium at Istanbul with a Rapturous crowd in front of them. The Load Speakers cry out ...Shevchenko, Kaka, Pirlo, Nesta... as they step out on to the field, looking towards the sky, with anticipation, hope and belief!

When the final whistle blows there will be only one colour in the stands and on the field, with raised arms and fists, amid happy tears. - The Cup is theirs! The other team, scattered all over the field with faces buried in their hands and sad tears trickling down their cheeks will forever rue their missed chances. But they will have to feel proud that they have come a long way and are second best - only to the Champions.

Maldini lifting the Cup high above his head, surrounded by the Milan squad, will be the picture in my mind.!

Football Diaries

The EPL Season is over and the final day had a really tough relegation battle between Norwich, West Brom, Southampton and Crystal Palace. In the end it was Bryan Robson's West Brom which will play next season in the EPL.

Newly promoted Crystal Palace and Norwich will have to fight it out again in the Championship, along with the Saints, who have been relegated for the first time since 1978. Incidentally this is the first time a club had escaped relegation having propped up the table at Christmas! - West Brom were there for a long time!

At the other end of the table, Chelsea completed the formalities to lift their Premiership title - after 50 years, and I must say, they did it quite in style losing only Man City. Mourinho has done a great job with Roman's millions and were kicked out (literally!) of the Champions league by a Luis Garcia goal in the semis(supposed to be a controversial goal). Arsenal secured the last automatic entry for the Champions League leaving ManU - who finished third - to battle it out in the play-offs.

AC Milan are very much in the frame for the Champions League this year and all eyes would be at the Ataturk stadium at Istanbul when they face Liverpool. But on the Serie A front, Milan seem to have lost the race as they crashed to a defeat , thanks to a Trezeguet goal, at the San Siro. Juve and Milan were neck and neck but now the ball is at the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin. With a vital 3 point lead, Juve are in Pole Position.

A rejuvenated Barcelona won the La Liga this season adding to their tally of 16 titles. Rijkaard seems to have brought the Glory days back to the Catalan Club. Real, after a slump in form mid season, had to be content with second spot.

Elsewhere, in Germany, Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title for the 19th time in it's history.

PSV, topped the table in the Eredivisie with Ajax finishing in second behind them.

Lyon showed they were too hot to handle as they wrapped up the French League by a margin of 11 points from Lille.

A few more very intersting fixtures: the FA Cup final between ManU and Arsenal, the Serie A finale coupled with the Champions League showdown between AC Milan and Liverpool complete an outstanding footballing calender!

Bon Voyage!

This is supposed to be a busy Monday! Ok...It's not that I don't have any work, I am too tired to work and so almost everything is untouched. I guess am gonna have lots to do tomorrow, the day after, the day after the day after tomorrow as well! (If you know what I mean).

Btw, was skimming through one of my friend's 'journal' and then realised that I had to put up stuff about our most recent trip (If you can call that a trip!). If you ask me, going around the world in 80 days would seem easier - and it doesn't matter if you forgot to turn off the gas!

It all started around 5:55 at Coimbatore and then moved on to Pollachi, Valparai, Sholayar, Athirampalli, Thrissur, Palakad and finally Coimbatore (Phew! Home at last!) - For the finer points about the trip, read Shriram's journal (shriram.blogspot.com). We (Shriram, Sivakumar, Anand, Karthik and I) along with our ship (ahem! That's my humble Maruti 800) set sail in a bid to explore the Jungle and with a hope of meeting a wild animal or two! - though all we saw were a few Lion tailed Macaque's and a wild hen! - yes, a hen!!. The final stretch to Athirampally falls needs special mention here as it was a dense forest for 86 Km with occasional peeks from the sun. It winds through a beautiful unspoilt vast jungle where wild animals roam freely. Though it was physically tiring, on the whole it was worth all the pain, time and the money...Few memories of the trip are at
The Amazing Race

Things Learnt:
- Always make sure there are two people to drive! (my back is still sore!)
- Don't buy lotsa stuff to eat when you are driving (You won't get any!)
- Monkeys are awfully fast to be caught on cameras.
- Speaking about Camera's, don't go without a camera
- Don't tease Sivakumar too much, you never know when he'll get serious!

As the memories of this 'whatever you call it trip' still hangs around like the mist...We are already planning the next (or rather I am!)...hmm...Anchors away!!!

Horror Weekend!

Wanna have a few laughs...Watch Evil Dead..Well that's what I did, and did I get a few laughs, you bet!! - Maybe this would have scared the socks outta me when I was a kid, but watching it now just makes me laugh n laugh and laugh. It's full of red coloured liquid - supposed to be blood - and lotsa Halloween masks! Everybody seems to have a huge amount of blood in their bodies and not to forget that a hand has almost a tanker full of blood and a ton of tar! Moreover, Evil Spirits can drive bikes - or at least go at breakneck speed and make noises like a 500 cc Aprilia!! - Am not telling all this, the movie says so!

Moving on to a much more 'decent' Horror Flick- Enter the Count...Yes Count Vladislav Dracula, who is one of the evergreen Horror characters! This is one of the first of the Dracula movies (shot in Black and white) and well worth the time and money. Dracula, portrayed by Frank Langella, is convincing with his charm and elegance and does a good job as Dracula. This may not be the best of the Dracula movies, but does seem better than a few other (forgettable!) versions. And thanks to movies like 'Van Helsing', the older Abraham van Helsing is much appreciated. Though the climax leaves us on a different plane of thought, overall it's a good Dracula flick.

This weekend was a 'Horror special', I guess!...Let's see what the week has in store...

Dead, Yes it's Dead!!!

Was reading some of the movie reviews and came across a few for Evil Dead and it's sequels! - Yes, the same old horror flick that you're thinking about - and found it to be rather amusing!. Come to think of it, it is a hilarious movie with lots of coloured 'blood' pouring out of people and 'things'. Have got thoughts of renting it over the weekend just to have a few laughs!

btw, am going home today...so it's gonna be one heck of a weekend!

Freaky Friday!

Can't wait for the day to end! Had a rather tiring day - trying to configure an IPUnity VM server which just wouldn't listen to me!. Not the kinda Friday I would like though I don't have much of a choice!

Ok..moving on to other (rather interesting!) stuff...BAR Honda have been banned for 2 races and their points removed. So Button and Sato are on zilch! - Poor Guys!

Mourinho has revealed that they will be 'shopping' for a Left back, a midfielder and an attacker! I can almost see, Kezman, Parker, Smertin losing their shirts! Who will be in? Will it be Kaladze, Adriano and Gerrard?

Still going on about Football...Leeds are still in the Championship (should be happy for it!) but they missed out on the playoffs by just a few places. so next Season could very well be the rise of the 'Mighty Whites' again!!

By the way...the Outfield are still going on strong in my playlists! But the list is a bit more long and has a host of other artists as well. (Some people think I have a weird taste- but that's a different story!). As long as I like it...it stays!!

Off to Istanbul!!

Watch out!
Here come the Rossoneri army!!
Milan are in the finals of the CL, right where they belong - among the elite of Europe. With their rich history behind them, Milan will be hoping to add another chapter to their Glorious Champions League Records.
Though PSV outplayed them and had the lead, Ambrosini's late goal put Milan in the finals on the away-goals rule. Now they are just 90 minutes away from being crowned the 'Champions of Europe' - which is the most prestigious title for any European club.

Reaching the finals is one part, but winning it is an entirely different story!. Especially when you are up against a Liverpool Team which defeated the mighty Juventus and the premiership champions Chelsea on their way to Istanbul! No more complacency (The 4-1 lead over Deportivo comes to mind here!). It is an all out fight...for the Cup here! Milan...Milan...Milan....always!!!!! ;)

Shev, Tomason, Inzaghi, Kaka, Gattuso, Seedorf, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Maldini, Nesta, Stam, Cafu, Kaladze and Dida! - All the best guys! Maldini, lift the cup high in Istanbul! And Bring it back to Milan - where it belongs!!

Bar Bar!

Looks like BAR Honda's season could be in trouble after Button's car was found to be five kg below the 600kg - minimum weight- at the San Marino GP.

Will BAR have a similar fate as Toyota in the 1995 Rally Championship and as Tyrell in 1984, where they had to sit out of the last three races and were disqualified? Or will Button be stripped of the points he won at Imola? Maybe...Maybe not!

Red is the colour!

Liverpool's win over Chelsea in the CL semifinal at anfield - thanks to a Luis Garcia strike - kept Anfield's hopes of lifting the CL alive!. Though the goal was highly debatable, Liverpool were able to thwart all of The blue's hhigh flying attack!. After Juventus....now Chelsea - will the fairytale go on and end as 'Happily Everafter'?!

Rossoneri Marksmen! 

The Outfield...

For the past one week it has been 'The Outfield'. Just happened to listen to their music by chance - on Launchcast Radio - and fell in love with some of their songs. The 80's were a good time for music - I personally like it - and the outfield had several releases which made it to the top of the charts. 'Your love' and 'Say it isin't so' - to name a few - are really good tracks! 'Voices of Babylon' is another typical outfield release.

Though I have been listening to music from Elvis to Def Leppard, The Outfield somehow slipped the list!...I wonder how!

Got the blues!

Chelsea finally got the rewards for Roman's millions!With the 2-0 win against bolton - both scored by Lampard - Chelsea sealed the title and ended the race for the premiership. The traveling fans at the wanderers cheered their heroes as the blues secured the premiership title - only their second in 100 years! Their last title was way back in 1955.
And even though they are not my favourite team, hats off and congrats! - they deserve it!