I keep receiving text messages on my phone taunting me with words like mit, no trophy this season, Chelsea deserved to lose. I agree entirely with all those messages. Unlike most people, I leave my phone on, even when I go to sleep so that I can respond in case of an emergency or a call of distress. So may be, folks would do well to spare that poor phone. I am a sportsman. I remember some ten years ago, I was a winger in the Parklands football team. That afternoon, we were playing the Lower Kabete team at their grounds. My team mates targeted me with long balls because of my height though I suspect that unlike Drogba, or may be your player of the moment Diego Costa, I lacked the stamina and muscle. t some moment in the game, I ducked a pass I should have headed the other way because it was whizzing towards me at a high velocity as I feared suffering a similar splitting migraine I had suffered previously when I headed a strong ball. The ball fell in our opponents leg and they scored. Norman Asega, Advocate, our player, captain and coach substituted me immediately. We lost 0-1. I was blamed for the loss but everyone agreed that a strong ball to the head can give you a bad headache if you are lucky to keep your skull intact. It reminds me of a similar situation last season when Samir Nasri ducked to avoid a van persie free kick and City conceded a goal. He was condemned for being a coward. I am not sure if I was a coward that afternoon at the Lower Kabete Campus football grounds. I am telling this tale to show that I was a sportsman once. As a sportsman, I know how to be gracious in defeat. May be I need to learn to be magnanimous whenever my team beats another. But we are always so passionate about these games, we forget about the feelings of some folks who take a loss so personally. I say so because some folks I didnnt even know followed soccer have chastened me for the way I write about Arsenal. I didnt know you have been patiently waiting for the chance Chelsea would lose a high profile, high stakes game to get back at me. I have never taken a loss so passionately and honestly, I dont feel any pain about Chelseas loss to Atletico Madrid at home. It would have been different if Atletico Madrid was not so good. They were amazing. They did not play Johan Cruyffs tiki taka but the kind of tactical football that I like to watch. Chelsea was second best the whole 90 minutes and Atleti were by far the better side in 90 minutes. Any excuse would not do justice to their brilliant performance and I withhold any analysis or explanation for Chelseas loss that would sound like an excuse or serve to justify Chelseas loss. Chelsea lost to a better side. Period! That said, I recognise that Chelsea represented England well. They reached the furthest among the England teams and were only two games away from glory. Even haters will agree that was quite some feat. Atleti had before their memorable night today beaten some of the most accomplished sides in Europe including the Rossoneri and Barca. Chelsea should not be embarrassed about losing to them and that is why I will continue to wear their blue replica jersey. Chelsea is on the right track. Next season, they will have Matic, Salah and may be Diego Costa among their ranks. They shall also have gelled and we will all expect that they go one step better. In conclusion, I exhort all Chelsea fans to remain hopeful, defiant and unbowed. We all cheer a great team an we will celebrate more glory in future. In 2012, Bayern Munich was beaten in the finals by Chelsea. They rallied the following season to win the UCL at Wembley. In last nights encounter, they were humiliated by R. Madrid. That is sport. Weve got the last word!
Posted on: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 22:25:54 +0000
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