The ball is round...

the ball is round. one of the stupidest (and i mean stupidest) phrases ever to be heard in football. but it underlines a very important meaning which the stupid phrase doesn't quite explain - that anything (and i mean anything) can happen in a game of football. most people can pretty much guess what i'll talk about next - the topic on blogs, forums and any form of media anywhere - Champions League 2005 Final. *cue groans*

right. so i waited for a week at least in the hope that this whole load of post match analysis and 'expert' opinions on what went on and the parallels to life (and previous finals) that can be drawn from it before saying my piece. but apparently, epics such as this one aren't quite so easily forgotten.

but anyway. back to the phrase - the ball is round. pretty much explains the whole match outcome doesn't it? that anything goes in a final? that (sometimes) the formbook goes out the window? or does it?

nothing is certain. milan's "6 minutes of madness" is a testament to that. to lose from a 3-0 at halftime lead? it can only happen because the ball is round. and uncertaintity is what dreams (and underdogs) are made of. because they're not expected to be where they are. like Lyon's charge into the later stages of the tournament. hardly anyone (apart from maybe the french) expected some lesser-known FRENCH club to reach the quarters. or in the case of the Dutch, for PSV to nearly snatch an upset (over 2 legs no less) over finalists AC Milan. conventional wisdom dictates that the final 8 would include (perhaps) the English, the Italians and the Spaniards, maybe even the Germans, with one or 2 'lesser' teams as the make-weights. and who would've though that relegation strugglers Everton would make it into the Champion's League qualifying phases for next season by getting 4th in the EPL? doesn't conventional wisdom dictate that they should be fighting off going into the Championship instead of the Champions League?

so this season's champions league has been pretty interesting. kind of like the last one (where Jose Mourinho's Porto beat Monaco in the final). common perception and expectation dubbed that to be more of a UEFA cup final. because who expects the portugese to play the french in Europe's biggest club tournament final?

when you look at all this... liverpool's "back from the dead" win. the run into the knock-out phases by lesser clubs. the unpredictability (and hence excitement) of a top footballing competition, where the tables don't match the conventional wisdom. everyone looks for their own reasons and justifications. some people say it's luck. some say it's 'kelong' (read: rigged). some just say the ball is round. what do you say?