Footballing Utopia

I called this place footballing utopia. Kalau ikut www.dictonary.com punya description, it means

u·to·pi·a ( P ) Pronunciation Key (y-tp-)
n.

1. 1. often Utopia An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects.
   2. A work of fiction describing a utopia.
2. An impractical, idealistic scheme for social and political reform.

Ideally perfect place? Seemingly impractical, illogical, impossible? Socially or politically, maybe, like the description means. But to me, in footballing world, such places do exist. Like on the 12th May 2001 at Cardiff, and 3 days later at Westfalonstadion, Dortmund. Or in Istanbul this May 25th. Or May 25th 1977 at Rome (OK, I am not that old, I just happened to own a CD on that game). Hm, not exactly hard to find such places eh? Of course, from a partisan point of view, it would be easier. Ask Manyoo fans. Or currently, Chel$ki fans. Or even Selangor fans.

However, it is also not impossible to find such places from a neutral point of view. Although you might argue that it is a lot harder. Possible, but a lot harder. One such place that I found almost close to the utopian state the previous weekend was at Riazor (15th Oct 2005). The event? La Liga. The match? Barca vs Depor. The actors? Munitiz, Valeron, Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto'o, Molina, among others. How good was the game? Well, it was one of the few matches that when the ref blew the halftime/fulltime whistle, we go, 'Eh, dah abis dah?' And with the scoreline 3-3, what more can I say? Don't get me wrong, I also managed to catch quite a few good games this weekend. Manc vs West Ham was quite good from an attacking play point of view. Chel$ki Bolton was a good example of 'a-game-of-two-halves'. Real vs Atletico in the Madrid derby was also good, but the sending-off spoiled it a bit. But none, I believe, can quite match the Barca vs Depor game. It's amazing how they can raise themselves to that level, considering that it was just a normal league game and it is still early in the season! OK, instead of reading me ranting about it, I suggest you catch the replay on ch80, 6:40pm, 18/10 (Tuesday) and judge it for yourself.

As a Liverpool fan, it's however sad to say that the only 'utopian' it can get is only when the team win something. You will never get the utopian state out-of-the-blue, i.e from a normal midweek league match against any of the mid-table team. The way they play, esp. circa GH, was sometimes so depressing we will never even get to the front gate of the utopia. Fortunately, Rafa seems to be doing something about it and now, the team plays much, much more entertaining than before.

Anyway, here are a few more games that I think qualified to be in my 'utopian list', from a neutral point of view.
1. Brazil (3) vs Netherland (2) - world cup 94 - it was the quaterfinal, i think. Pergh what a game. I remember clearly, watching the game at Overfloor common room at approx. 7am, praying, 'tolong la jangan extratime...kalau tak, tak dpt la tengok sampai abis' (becoz there was class that I have to attend). The game was settled by a sublime Branco freekick. Knee-high, the ball bounced once and crept into the far corner, out of de Goej's reach. Perghh.

2. Arsenal (2) vs Chel$ki (2) - last season at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal's flair versus Chel$ki's discipline. And it still ended at 2-2.

3. Spain (4) - Yugoslavia (3) - Euro 2000 group stage. Spain needed to win to ensure qualification and Yugoslavia only needed a draw. Spain went out attacking, leaving holes for the Yugoslavs to punch through. Hence the scoreline. Oh, 'and it falls onto the white boots of Alfonso', 2 minutes into injury time.

4. England (20) - Australia (17) - WC final 2003. OK, it wasn't football, but a great game nonetheless. Drop goal, 26 seconds from time, worthy of any world cup winner. And the game itself, worthy of any world cup final. Even the satisfied look on Gregan's face said it all. 'Losing to this dropkick, at this match, to this team, is really worthy'.

5. Brazil (4) - Germany (0) - Confederation Cup 1999. What a game. The Germans attack, attack, attack and the Brazilians score. The Germans attack, attack, attack and the Brazilians score. And it got repeated again twice.

I am sure there are a few more games, but I could not seem to get it out of my head at this moment. Maybe later.