Red flair against blue method?
Ronaldo and Drogba?
Scholes versus Lampard?
Wayne Rooney takes on John Terry?
Will Tevez stab one in from two yards?
Will Ballack send an Osgood header rocketing into the top corner?
Manchester United against Chelsea in Moscow?
Two teams from the same league who know each other far too well?
How can this be a compelling spectacle?
I’m looking forward to the game but I’ve been building down to it day by day.
On a horrible bumpy pitch that was re-laid two weeks ago?
It’s got 1-0 written all over it.
At 9a.m. I saw greengrocer John, who bets on Over 2.5 goals, as I do.
I said, “If this is over two and a half, I’ll eat my hat and your boxers.”
He said, “Different climate, different atmosphere, different game. It could be over.”
“I don’t think so.”
“And HowChoChowChungMao could be first goalscorer.”
“Who?”
“That Park geezer.”
Yesterday I gave John a Rob Hughes piece about Ji-Sung Park, the three-lunged South Korean who runs 7.5 miles in every game
Sir Alex might be like Harry Redknapp on Saturday when Kanu scored in 37 and Portsmouth cruised, contained Cardiff, played safe, lifted the FA Cup.One nil to Pompey. Sod the spectacle, just win it.
But obviously Chelsea are not Cardiff. If Chelsea score first, this final might be very, very hard for United
This morning on TV I saw some Man United fans interviewed in Red Square.One said, “We’ve waited nine years for this.”
Another said, “The logistics aren’t good. But you’d go to the end of the world to support United.”
Jose Mourinho said : No favourites, it’s 50-50, Chelsea and United were first and second three years in a row, the FA Cup Final went to extra time.
So that’s what we have : a very, very tight contest between two teams who know each other inside out and cannot surprise each other.
ANR readers know all about Manchester United and Chelsea and Cashley Cole. You know the players, the managers, the history.
On the one hand, my life is measured out in European Cup Finals and it’s exciting.
On the other hand, at moments such as this, I often say : 90% of big events are disappointing & the real fun is in the anticipation.
Football is unpredictable. 2006 was unpredictable.
The Arsenal-Barcelona final in 2006 was one I previewed in Arsene has a pressing engagement in Paris