Carling Cup Final 2007 Highlights

So Chelsea got their first silverWARE of the season. Sure hope it ain’t the last.
Millennium Stadium, Carfiff, Wales.

Drogba’s equaliser

John Terry’s injury

The controversial brawl

Drogba’s winning goal

Chelsea Chelsea!

Carling Cup Final 07: The Reign of Blues and Reds

It was as if having two of the best teams in the world, consistently in the top 4 of the English Premier League weren’t enough for a Carling Cup final. It was as if the championship wouldn’t have been complete and wasn’t nerve-wracking enough by not having controversies, which are rather common in regular EPL games. It was as if the Blues haven’t had enough injuries in the past several months or so that another one had to be knocked out, albeit accidentally. And, it was as if the Arsenal kids were tough enough to win.

Arsene Wenger kept his word when he played his kids in today’s final. There was no sign of the Gunner’s big men: the mighty Thierry Henry, goal scorer Emmanuel Adebayor, and Rosicky. It was a rather fresh roster of players, which included Armand Traore, Abou Diaby, Denilson, and Jeremie Aliadiere. Fair enough, his kids gave a good fight during the first half of the game as they posed threats through pace and playing tactics and scored early in the first half, in the eleventh minute, courtesy of Theo Walcott; Cech, I believe, wouldn’t have had the chance to chase the ball and save the Blues. At the same time, the Blues struggled to create chances, despite in top-form Didier Drogba’s equaliser eight minutes after. But as it seems to be a tendency for the Blues, close to the end of the first half, and it proceeded until the second half, we saw them picking up pace and greatness, this time making more shots on goal, better passes and tackles, and less slipping. (Was something wrong with the pitch that so many players were slipping, that Drogba even had to change boots?) At this point, Wenger seemed to have become threatened as one by one, he started bringing in his bigger men: Emmanuel Eboue, Alexander Hleb, and Emmanuel Adebayor. He didn’t keep his word. Bringing in Henry, of course, would’ve been too obvious. He had to keep his faith in his squad of now half-kids and half-big men.

Will I see this happen this year?

I hope so.