Reflections : Confessions Of A Mistaken Analyst

On some days it is best to just hold up your hand and say I was wrong. And today is that day for me. Readers, please don't be offended but for me this was a bigger upset than Rubin beating Barcelona. The Russian team had shown that they were a wild card - an unpredictable team. Milan on the other hand seemed like a retirement home that should be knocked out in the group stage but had been aided by a Marseille team which at times can outdo anyone in poverty of performance.

Did I underestimate Milan? Perhaps a little but not that much. Did I overestimate Real Madrid? Grossly.

What really did happen yesterday? Even now the mind keeps trying to make sense of it all. Here is a brief summary of what these eyes saw.

The match starts. Madrid strolls around the pitch passing with comfort. Milan seem like they are not even capable of attacking but Seedorf, the lone crusader does not agree. Dida may have stepped on the pitch after a long time but he's certainly not forgotten his ritual of buttering his fingers well. So we have one goal. Oh we also have a penalty which the referee rules out and he would be lucky to find one other person in the entire world who agrees with him. Yet apart from those two incidents, this seems like the dullest possible match. The two biggest giants of European football could not have come up with something more mundane than this. I am not one of those who enjoy a match only when there is a lot of goal mouth action. However this match really offers nothing to see - not one great dribble, not one truly amazing pass, just no inventiveness. Madrid seem like they can rout Milan 3-0 or more any time they want to but the trouble is they just don't want to. Why spend energy when all the football pundits in the world have said that Milan is virtually incapable of scoring a goal - might as well save something for the upcoming much tougher La Liga match! We will defend 1-0. Oh but we forgot to study our own defense, forget studying the opponents! The second half starts and after some time Borriello comes on. I can't help saying to myself - this is just what this match needed - a Borriello to bore us even more. And then when I am almost half sleepy - what just happened! Oh, Milan scored a goal with a chance that goes in with 1% probability. And what does it do - well makes the aging warhorses of Milan believe that the supernatural is with them. And then we see a team of players who have forgotten how old they are - some running around like spring chickens. Seedorf and now Pirlo show so much enthusiasm that even the partying Ronaldinho cannot resist showing off one or two of his trademark runs from his Barcelona days. And then what. Both sides are attacking. Madrid have San Iker while Milan have Butter Dida. So why give it a thought what will happen. Unfortunately Milan also have Alessandro Nesta - too bad Madrid didn't spend their millions in trying to buy someone like him. Oh yes they bought Albiol but in recent days it seems not just us but Albiol himself is confused about who he is and what he is doing on the pitch. Well, what happens then. What hot head Pepe, confused Albiol, never was Marcelo and the chosen one S.Ramos are doing needs to be worded appropriately - this ain't defending my sons! In fact even San Iker has lost his patience - I can't keep saving you game after game especially after what I get in return is angry arguing from Guti. I am human even though I may seem saintly to you - it's my right to make a few blunders as well. So virtually every attack Milan makes seems to be capable of becoming a goal. And what about the other end - surely Butterman would spill at least one more. No but Butterman is now feeling blessed with the presence of the class act Nesta by his side and is actually making a few good saves. Well after this it's no use saying what the final result will be. But the match needs more drama to compensate for the drudgery of the first sixty minutes. So the referee decides to rule out a goal - a decision that he may have trouble explaining even to himself later.

That's the match but what did this self-styled analyst learn. Well firstly that the game remains superior to us all. You can arrive at the same logical conclusion in hundred different ways but fate may have something totally different in store. It was, is and always will be more powerful than you. And finally that's what makes the game - why would we watch it if everything could be predicted on paper.

What remains. Two things - need to pay homage to some true masters and need to understand just why I was so badly deceived by the second generation of galacticos. Honors come first.

If Paolo Maldini is considered at times the greatest defender ever, then surely the world will some day find an appropriate label for Alessandro Nesta as well. It's great to be as skilled as a Messi, C.Ronaldo or a Ronaldinho but is it less worthy to truly understand just what the game of football is all about? Nesta's understanding is second to none - a player as great as any other but will never be hyped up since he is a defender and not an attacker. Of course he could have made a better midfielder than some others playing the game today but that's a different story. What did he have to help him - Butterman Dida, too old and outdated Oddo, just not the legs Zambrotta, the promising but not yet finished article Thiago Silva and virtually just one half decent defensive midfielder. In fact when I saw the line up, I thought Milan had played into Madrid's hands - two slow creative midfielders and one aging half way defensive midfielder to protect an aging defense - it's like committing suicide. Well it was just one of the many mistakes I made last night. Amidst all this Nesta stood out and not just in the game. After one particularly heated argument which surprised me since Nesta of all players lost his head, Nesta got booked by the referee but what does he do next? On his own he goes up to Raul and gives him a hug. It's all very well to be the best player ever to have played the game like Diego Maradona but you have also ensured that you become an equally pathetic human being. It's rare to find those like Nesta who just exude class in all aspects of life.

And then I must talk about Andrea Pirlo. Suffice it to say one of my favorite players of this decade - I almost worship him. What he did in WC 2006 remains committed to my football memory. And now that he cannot perform day in day out like he used to, the master is always capable of coming up with moments of pure magic even when you least expect it.

When Milan won against Marseille the whole world talked about Inzaghi. Last night the whole world talked about Pato. Putting the ball in the back of the net is a great art but must everything else be neglected? The architect in both the matches was the same - Clarence Seedorf. This man was vilified last season by his own supporters who thought that only the coach's favoritism put him in the starting eleven. People thought Ancelotti was crazy to want to try to purchase him for Chelsea. Seedorf simply is one of those people for whom the quote was invented - form is temporary but class is permanent.

So can this aging Milan team still play? Yes they can provided you let them. And Madrid last night thought no harm in doing so.

What about Madrid then? What went wrong for the most expensive team in recent history? Well this may sound harsh but every single flaw that I have seen in Madrid teams since 2004-05 was on display yesterday. Let's elaborate the major ones.

Marcelo can never be taught to defend - perhaps he became a defender just because he was not good enough to be a winger or something like that. S.Ramos will forever remain the promise. Surely if people still consider him world class, they must explain how a top class player can be allowed to make so many mistakes! I worry for the Spanish national team - this guy is capable of single handedly costing them a game especially against shrewd teams like Brazil and England. In recent memory no player has deceived me more than Albiol. I thought successor to Puyol, better than Pique, etc. etc. and now what is he - yet to justify that he even deserves to play for a top club. Last season it was so fashionable to point out Cannavaro's mistakes - that's because he did five things right and got two wrong. Well this season nobody is interested in pointing out mistakes because they are everywhere and next to nothing is right with this defense. Perhaps defending goes out of fashion as soon as Florentino Perez comes in. Now Perez will never understand football half as well as he understands business. So he just does not bother to educate himself on what defense can bring to a game leading all the defenders in the team to feel that the only way to get salary raises would be to create and score goals.

There is something called solidity and compactness of a team. Perhaps Pellegrini forgot to educate his players about that because they seriously had no idea how to help each other when the tough times came towards the end. If they could not dominate against a team with so little pace, why can't the likes of Lyon have a field day against them? What can be said when even a Xabi Alonso was more disciplined at Liverpool!

I hate to say this but how much of a player is the Kaka of today compared to the Kaka of 2007. Last season and more at Milan were forgettable. At Madrid he performed only in meaningless friendlies. His staunch supporters would say that he's been very consistent for Brazil. That's not untrue but to be honest with you, it is a bit hyped as well. How many magical moments has he shown? He actually won the best player award at Confederations Cup 2009 but it made very little sense. Even a couple of players from USA had deserved it more but Sepp Blatter's Fifa is nothing if not star struck.

I have saved the best for last - complacency of the highest order not seen since the pre-Capello era. Fabio Capello had made a Herculean effort and banished this disease for good. Schuster didn't let it creep in either. J.Ramos also kept it away for sure. So how could Pellegrini who made a name by taking a very unassuming team to levels they had not seen before have brought something like this. Once again Mr. Perez will have to take the honors. Madrid strolling around like it is a practice game thinking that the actual match already won. A little more verve and commitment and Milan were there for the taking but why spend that much energy?

For once let me tip my hat to the English pundits who said at the start of the season that with this defense, they won't take Real Madrid seriously in UCL. Given what was on display yesterday and the fact that the current team in spite of all its galacticos is clearly inferior to J.Ramos's team, Madrid would do well to reach the quarter finals for the first time in six years even if C.Ronaldo can overcome all the curses of injuries and witchcraft and they sure will celebrate this if they manage it. It seems that the greatest team in European football history has forgotten how to play in UCL and need to be taught all over again.

So what am I left with? Real will never learn to defend. Inter will always struggle to attack. So is it back to the usual suspects for the umpteenth time? Oh how nice it would be to see a repeat of 2003-04 - Lyon and Sevilla rip apart all the illustrious big names. I know it's wishful thinking and is not going to happen. So once again I will get a final featuring Chelsea against ManUtd who incidentally are the tow best placed and performing big teams so far - might as well give up watching UCL. And what about our beloved Barcelona - well we better be careful or a repeat of 2006-07 with both the Spanish giants knocked out in the second round could very well be on the cards.