my wish comes true

we got juventus in the quarter finals. it's going to be tough, and the presence of patty against us could sink us. it could also rise us to levels previously unseen. i'm hoping for the latter. and if it is the latter, if arsenal can exorcise the demons of patty's departure on the pitch against him in the same season he left our team of boys will become a team of men. and if we can beat juventus, no matter what else happens this year, if we can beat the old lady and get to the semis this really will be a successful season.

and i send my sympathy to taras. that's the worst draw milan could have got.

the special quiz

would you like a friday giggle at the expense of chelski's special one? of course you would. head on over to football 365 and take the special quiz.

Rossonerri sink Bayern ship

That, ladies and gentlemen, is Ricardo Kaká celebrating Milan's 4th, yes, 4th goal vs. Bayern Munich tonight where the sold out San Siro witnessed the seperation of boys and men; the latter wearing red and black.

Don't know if many of you get TLN, so I'll do a real quick recap.

The match started with Pippo heading a perennial Serginho cross past Oliver Kahn. Milan kept attacking to no avail. Bayern looked tired, unorganized, and lazy. Either that or they remembered they are Bayern and this is not Mainz or Wolfsburg they're playing. On the 23rd minute, Ismael took part in another foul in the penalty area where he held down Pippo. Shevchenko who stepped up to take the penalty, missed, as some Munich fans sitting behind the goal decided to throw rolls of paper as Andriy took the shot. Nevertheless, wide it goes. Kahn gets in the face of Sheva yelling what I can only imagine are German obscenities; no responce from the captain. However, 1 minute later, he pays Kahn another visit, heading a beautiful Stam cross home. 2-0 Milan, eat your words Oliver.

After a tap in from Ismael courtesy a Bayern free kick, Munich make it 2-1, thinking they can still pull something out of their behinds. 2 minutes into the 2nd half half, Inzaghi puts in another header, following another Serginho cross and a Lizarazu blunder. 3-1. Bayern bring on Guerrero and Ze Roberto and push forward until Pirlo plays the ball to Sheva, who lays a great pass to Kaká, who let's Oliver "have it" if you will.

4-1. Ancelloti subs the 3 headed devil of what is Pippo, Sheva and Kaká bringing on Gelardino, Ambrosini and Rui Costa. Game over Munich, maybe next year Oliver?

A glorious draw

That had to have been one of the most thrilling 0-0 draws I've ever watched. Both teams were really unfortunate not to score with Reyes hitting the crossbar and I believe it was Raul that hit the post and then just missed when it came straight back to him on the rebound. And of course the half field shot at the empty net just ran out of steam before reaching the line.

Star of the game in my opinion was Aliaksandr Hleb who did a masterful job of controlling the game from the wing. Thierry Henry played a solid game, creating a few nice chances for himself. Unfortunately he couldn't find the net with any of them. Ronaldo and Raul were pretty much invisible all game, other than the one sequence in the second half where Raul had two clear shots. Once again the makeshift Arsenal defence held strong (though Senderos scares me at least a couple of times each game). It's now 6 straight clean sheets in the Champions League.

Question of the day: who do you want Arsenal to meet in the quarter finals?

My pick would be Benfica as they are probably the weakest of the remaining teams, even if they did beat Liverpool. Milan, Juventus and Barcelona would all be very tough matchups.

arsenal in quarters

i don't want to trump canadian gooner, but i can't be silent after this draw victory, so i'll change the time and sneak this in below him. what a game. i only saw the second half, but it was the most exciting half of arsenal football i've seen in years, and certainly the most exciting half of football i've seen since last year's liverpool comeback in the final against milan.

i, like canadian gooner, am increasingly freaked out by senderos, and i long for a stable campbell to re-enter the fold, but even with senderos' occassionally frightening moments i have to say that our back line is the best it has been all season. i hope wenger sees what he's got in flamini and doesn't rush clichy or cole back. for the first time all season we don't need them. beckham played well today for madrid, but flamini played even better, minimizing the beckham threat. and matthieu even stood up to a ruffled and angery zizou...and that's got to be hard to do for a lad who played his french football in marseille -- the home of zidane. toure is a rock. not much else to say there, and eboue has been a stellar replacement for lauren since returning from the african nation's cup. he is a younger version of lauren, and his play has been inspired.

as for the rest of the praise our team is due, i'll make it quick: hleb was marvelous (man of the match really), and he is going to be an arsenal great (plus, he's finally picking up the arsenal rhythm and passing the ball. he no longer lingers, and that's a good thing). freddie was great again; he's found his wind and he's using it. cesc is another future great...i hope we can hold onto him. reyes was tireless and for a pretty boy he sure works hard. i love him more and more all the time. and then there's henry's brilliance. he's surrounded by five white shirts, all by himself, and he almost scores from the edge of the 18 yard box. god i love him. and i can't forget jens at the other end. what a save at the death to keep us in it.

wow. i am so spent.

the last thing i want to say is well done arsene. you've weathered the storm. you've stuck with our boys and let them mature. you've fought through an awful bout of injuries, and you never panicked. i don't care what else we do this season, i am happy with 2005-2006. and your tactics today, switching to the 4-5-1 when you brought on pires were impeccable. shut down the midfield, shift to the counter attack, and hold off real. i can't wait to see us firing on all cylinders next year. we are going to be deadly.

we have a bet

gio and i have a bet on the chelsea v. barca match. $5 bucks is the bet. all gio needs to do to win is see her chelskiites win the game. they don't even have to win the tie, just the game. it's a straight bet based on the game. if it winds up a draw nobody loses anything. fun!