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Come Siamo? By Patryk Fournier May 29th, 2003

	The drama unfolded and ended with Shevchenko's goal in the penalty shootout.

Juventus Midfielder Pavel Nedved was the biggest factor in AC Milan's 6th Champions League Victory, which is strange to say because he never even dressed for the game. Nedved was suspended from the final because he picked up his 3rd yellow card of the tournament in the semi-final leg, resulting in a one game suspension. Of course the timing of the suspension couldn't have been more decisive.

Come Siamo? or What's the score? The answer to this question would be the same if the question was asked in the first minute of play or the last minute of play. AC Milan and Juventus battled in Old Trafford for 90 minutes of regulation time and an extra 30 minutes of overtime without a single goal. AC Milan finally prevailed 3-2 in a penalty shootout, clinched by the game-winning shot off the boot of talented Ukrainian Striker Andriy Shevchenko. Despite the score line, the game was far from a bore although the game certainly wasn't a classic display of soccer at it's best. Rather than give a full report of the game, I'll simply point out some key moments and observations.

	A true feat of coordination and organization.

The Crowd: Soccer fans have the best coordination amongst all sports fans. I mean where else do you see thousands of fans coordinating together to hold up coloured placards with the team colours on it? It's like seeing a massive jigsaw puzzle. Who coordinates all these fans? Do they all meet before the game, or did they send out emails and make phone calls explaining the plans for the game? It's truly a great feat in organization. Other than some NCAA schools you never see fans collectively singing and chanting the same way these impassioned soccer fans cheered on their Italian club teams. Even when the play didn't dictate a response from the crowd they were there singing and chanting. Every few minutes you heard a loud and collective "Juve!" cheer for the Juventus club. It was a truly great atmosphere for sports.

AC Milan offense vs. Juventus defense: For much of the first half, the Milan combination of Rui Costa, Shevchenko and Filippo Inzhagi exploited the Juve defense with quick runs to the outside. Shevencho thought he scored in the 8th minute before the goal was subsequently called back due to an offside call. Milan continued to press and in the 17th minute Juventus goalie Gianluigi Buffon was forced to make an impressive diving save on an Inzaghi header that was labeled for the back of the net. As the game wore on the Milan offense became subdued and rarely proved a threat to score throughout the end of the 2nd half and all of the overtime period.

	Del Piero tried everything including the famed bicycle kick.

Juventus offense: The talented Juve offensive force that played so beautifully against Real Madrid in the semi-final leg never came to fruition. Without midfielder Pavel Nedved the offense lacked flow and direction. Striker David Trezeguet was virtually invisible throughout the game, save for some missed chances. Alessandro Del Piero was forced to carry much of the offensive load and was the only Juventus player consistently creating chances for himself and opportunities for his teammates. He even persevered through an Alessandro Nesta eye rake that left a huge cut under his eye. If the ref wasn't looking you know Nesta would have followed it up with a chair shot and a low blow. Gianluca Zambrotta had a fine game running with speed and creativity along the wing although his play seemed to tail off as the game wore on. Mauro Camornesi replaced Nedved in the starting lineup and other than setting up Del Piero for a scoring chance late in the 1st half he was a non-factor. Camornesi's replacement in the 2nd half, Antonio Conte, had a bigger impact on the game as he had Juventus' best scoring opportunity when his header clanked off the post.

AC Milan Defense: Although the Juventus offense failed to create enough chances for the Milan defense to be a factor, there were some critical plays by the defenders that helped Milan win. Alessandro Nesta's miraculous clearance at the end of the first half prevented what would have been a sure goal for Juventus. His Italian national partner and AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini had another great game and another great accomplishment to add to his stunning playing resume.

Penalty Shootout: Canadian fans are definitely mixed on this method of deciding the final of a game, but in soccer when both teams are struggling to create offense it's the only way for the game to end. Milan keeper Dida deserved Man of the Match honor with his heroic performance in the penalty shootout. He stopped 3 of the 5 shots. Juventus keeper Buffon guessed wrong on a few kicks but made 2 great saves on Seedorf and Kaladze and should be applauded for his efforts.

	Despite poor strategy with substitutions AC Milan prevailed.

Substitutions: : Because each team is only allowed 3 substitutions during a game, soccer becomes a game of true strategy. Juventus used all their substitutions, 2 for injury replacements and one for a strategic move. Juventus was forced to replace defender Igor Tudor and aggressive midfielder Edgar Davids due to injury. Davids was substituted off in the 65th minute and his absence weakened the already thin Juve midfield further. Plus David's exit from the game robbed us the chance to watch him further style those Horace Grant/Club kid glasses that he's so synonymous for wearing. Milan used all their substitutions for strategic purposes, as Rui Costa, Pirlo and Costatcurtta grew evidently tired and less effective as the game wore on. This is a perfect example as to why using all your substitutions during regulation time is such a risk. Midfielder Roque Jr severely pulled his hamstring in the overtime frame and was unable to be replaced because Milan was out of substitutions. He continued on and his mobility was that of a horse with a broken leg.

Importance of the Midfielder: The central midfielder in soccer controls and influences a large portion of the game. He is the player counted on to supply and create chances for his strikers. Without a good midfielder a team lacks offensive force and ball possession. As was evident watching Juventus struggle without Pavel Nedved. The midfielder is like a point guard in basketball or a quarterback in football in that they control the tempo of the game; they are counted on to supply the ball to their teammates and overall control ball possession in the game. It is for that reason that many of the best players in the game play the midfield position: David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.

Announcers: The ESPN announcers called a great game as they always do. Here are some of my favourite lines of the day.

"Well there is certainly lot's to look at today." - as female British group Atomic Kitten entertained the crowd before the game.

"I hope he's not looking for goals!" - comment on an AC Milan fan that was inopportunely caught picking his nose during the game.

Overall I love the unique calls that soccer announcers makes especially when British announcers are calling the game because there's subtle differences in British English and North American English such as:

Picking up the crumbs: is a way of saying someone got the rebound
Cheeky: is a way of saying a clever shot or an attempt to fool the goalie
Clean sheet: is a shutout
That went off the woodwork: is the ball went off the post

And there's other sayings like: "Lovely touch", "brilliant finish", "lovely pace of the ball", "Just got a hand to the ball"

Defensive mentality in sports: It's actually fitting that the game ended a scoreless tie and was decided on penalty kicks because that seems to be the way in which sports in general is leaning towards. Defense is king! The Stanley Cup final features two teams that notoriously play the neutral zone trap and rarely press offensively. The Super Bowl was captured by a team that got their based on their defense. The winning formula that now seems to transcend sports is to play a conservative style, have a great defense and capture or produce your points or goals based on a turnover.

Although I was a little disappointed in the style of play in this Champions League final we were treated to a game that evoked moments of great skill, tension and drama and ultimately that's what we hope for when we watch sports.

Kudos to Shawn who picked Milan to win the final in our Champions League Final preview. It was indeed a cheeky pick!