Tuesday 19 April 2016

Talking About goal at The End of Game

itv.com
The fourth quarter, only 3 seconds less. It was a draw, 74-74, and even if this the last score will not harm the two teams to go into overtime.

In the final seconds, Kris Jenkins, guard of Villanova Wildcats, pushed into the defence area of ​​North Carolina Tar Heels. A fraction of a second even did not touch one second; he positioned the body leaning forward, a little bit small jumps in the air, and released three-point shots that float in the air right in 0.6 seconds before the game ended and prepared to continue to overtime.

The shot was entered. A buzzer beater.

The match was the 2016 NCAA Tournament Final (4/4) for the inter-university basketball competition in the United States. Right after the bell rang and a three-point from Jenkins gave a great victory, all officials, players and supporters of Wildcats spilt in the euphoria.

Stadium roared, happiness swelled, but in the other corner, the camera panned face of Tar Heels and reserve players. They were lethargic and disbelief. An expression that was disturbing, as well as sympathy. There was a mixture of awe, wonder, and sad.

At that point, sometimes, watching sadness in a defeat could be so melancholy and inviting deep empathy. Somehow, watching a basketball game footage, it is appropriate when a three-point shot was going in, I didn't gasp, and didn't feel the beat of euphoria bubbling.

Perhaps, because it was a basketball game and not football. Perhaps also, therefore, it was Villanova Wildcats and not Arsenal. I do not dare to promise my reaction would be the same flat if Olivier Giroud scored with an overhead kick like Zlatan Ibrahimovic style supposing Arsenal play in the European Champions League final against Barcelona in 2025.

***

Recall memory in my head; Arsenal rarely won the game by a dramatic win at the end of the game. Danny Welbeck goal at the end of the match against Leicester City in February (15/2) and was the only goal in last minutes were able to remember.

Of course, to celebrate the goal euphoria, I celebrated with great fanfare. Incidentally, I watched in my friend houses with all my friends.

I jumped off the chair, yelling loudly shouting, "Unbelievable, That fuc**ng goal!" Without unabashedly and without shame. In front of my friend, my friend's sister and his mother. Inside other people's homes, I let go of all the emotions and outbursts of euphoria that no matter what else.

But it was only for the win. And sometimes people forget, football as a game is about who wins and who loses. People do not remember the 2nd winners (unless you're a Johan Cruyff) because they are focused on the euphoria of the champion.

Football sometimes becomes an endless arrogance because it only focuses on winning, not to those who lose out because, such as, no luck.

In the European Champions League final in 1999 at the Camp Nou, Bayern Munich and the current UEFA president, Lennart Johansson has been preparing for the procession to present the trophies to the Bavarian with preparing ribbon logo Munchen.

Two goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer destroyed everything. The story that has been assembled and prepared will be covered beautifully by Munich, marred by two corner kick that successfully converted into two goals in three minutes of injury time.

Stories in the Camp Nou in 1999 similar to the happy novel with a plot of two pairs of romantic male-female, but it was suddenly closed by the end that full of twist when it turned out the woman refused invited to get married because she was a lesbian.

It was fun, on the one hand, but also annoying, on the other side. Exciting, because the surprise story for the reader is the unparalleled sensation.

It sucks because the whole story, we constructed to believe that the love relationship is winding and full of obstacle was finally ended with a sweet ending by marriage.

I think, at that point, a goal at the end of the game that gave the victory could be very very sharp as a sword of Isildur, the legacy of the King of Gondor is so feared by Sauron.

***

"Not the best team won tonight, but the most fortunate," said Lothar Matthaus shortly after putting on the medal for the runner-up in the stands. It was only a second the medal encircle on Matthaus neck before she hastily took it off and gestures that showed deep disappointment.

The problem is, sometimes discusses fortunes in football such as discussing whether ghosts and aliens really exist or not on this earth.

It is metaphysical, difficult to explain the luck factor in the treasures of football, especially, when all can be calculated with statistics and numbers in the statistics table is something that deified by a lot of people.

Many people noted the number of shots on goal, what percentage of the team had the ball, how many tackle and intercept were made. But try once in a while, ask the best statistician in the world, how come Solskjaer is in front of Oliver Kahn's goalpost for kicking the ball that miraculously approached her feet?

Perhaps, he was instructed by Sir Alex Ferguson to stand at the far post and wished a loose ball came to him. Perhaps also, the procession of Manchester United's corner kick have so often honed in practice so that it can produce a goal.

But apparently, it's weird. United got 12 corner kick at the time and only two were successfully converted into goals. If corner kick practice of United and statistical data were combined, may be the final score was 12-1 to United's advantage, is not it?

Due to the metaphysical stuff and something that can not be predicted even by the statistics, though, we should realise and understand how they feel when suffering a goal at the end of the game.

Ottmar Hitzfeld, coach of Munich at the time, said "We were surprised by Sheringham goals, and prepare ourselves for the extra times, but then the second goal happen and that's football. We took a few days or even weeks to recover from this disappointment. "

So that football could not be a glorification of arrogance, it's good once for a while we feel and imagine how Oliver Kahn conceded two goals in three minutes at the end of the game in a final match.

Sometimes, not all the winning is great, and the losers are poor. Black and white exist, to facilitate people determine the social order.

Winning and losing are exist in football, to facilitate an understanding of who wins and who loses.

But, not all losers, perhaps, are the one who lost. Occasionally, there is something that is difficult to explain in football. You can play perfect for 89 or 90 minutes and then crushed by a goal during injury time.

A few days ago (14/4), the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final round which brought the host Liverpool against guests from Germany, Borussia Dortmund. Within nine minutes of the first half, Liverpool already devastated by 0-2 through goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Until the 79th minute, the score was 2-3 in the excellence of the guest, after a goal from Marco Reus replied by two goals from Divock Origi and Phillipe Coutinho.

Problems arise when Dortmund careless and choose to play the game tempo against the home team that obsessed to pursue of the deficit. Sure enough, Mamadou Sakho's header succeeded in raising the morale of Merseyside boys until finally, James Milner penetration on the left side of Dortmund defence, delivered crossing that converted into a goal by Dejan Lovren in 91 minutes.

A practical goal,  the landslide struck mental of Dortmund players. Despite Aryan race war machine is though, they are still human. And man, usually, defeated by time. Remaining one minute did not help at all before the final whistle and Thomas Tuchel's men lying in Anfield with tragic results.

They struggle, at best, like hell. All played his best troops, their war fleet complete with Mats Hummels raise defence, combined with the tranquillity of Julian Weigl and creativity of Shinji Kagawa in midfield. The attacking line was also devastating with a mix of trio Reus, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan. What can be explained from the defeat of Dortmund?

Was it Tuchel error to enter Mathias Ginter and attempt to slow down the tempo? Could be, but Dortmund is not new kids on the block. They obviously know what they should do.

I'm cheering for Jurgen Klopp's fleet dramatic win, but on the one side, Defeated by a goal at the end of the game is hard to explain, I sympathise deeply to Die Borrusen.

Even if all of it can be explained only by one thing: Tears.


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