Well . . we waited . . and we waited . . and the wonderful, beautiful, free-flowing football that began the match began to subside, then dry up altogether, and then we’re suddenly left staring at halftime with still only Sergio’s 11th min goal the only one of the game. Huh???

Even when RVN scored off Raul’s wicked shot at 57’ there was a sense of relief rather than elation, and when BATE went 1 man down at 62’ you thought for sure there would be another, but no – Real slowed down – or rather when Robben went off and Drenthe came on the quality dropped substantially. I have no idea why Drenthe is on the team – any clue? Or why we put on 3 strikers with no creative midfielder to service them . . or why VDV tried to service them from 5 yards out when he should’ve shot on goal??

All this time I kept thinking: where was that dazzling 5-1 embarrassment of Sporting Lisbon when no one bothered televising it . . where was the unity and majesty of the 4-2 victory over Valencia with only 9 men . . where, was the joy of playing in the Champions League? You can take your foot off the pedal, sure – but only when you’ve established the right to do so! Against a team as inferior as BATE was – where was our class?

Sergio was clearly Man of the Match, and it was the perfect game for him. With hardly any defending to do, and when there was he did it so breezily, that he was forever free to attack. And attack he did! Five shots on goal, the most of anybody on the team, and every one of them so powerful that you were never left wondering about his intent. Some of the most wicked balls you’ll see from 35 yards out, all struck with such intensity that I was amazed time and again when the keeper actually managed to save those! THAT’s the style we need!

Also, Javi Garcia was on the team sheet and was on the bench, but Schuster really sees him as a center back in training. Also, since Metzelder was left out and Pepe suspended, he was our only option at CB on the bench. But given the Gago injury, he may play him in midfield now, which is my hope, because he is a good player, he just needs more consistent playing time.

You may also have noticed that the pitch-side advertising boards that refer to Heineken by name in all of the other Champions League grounds are replaced by “Great Together” in Heineken’s colours and typeface in France.

The gambling thing is different, as the ban (which is in the process of being loosened) was at the instigation of the French state-owned gambling monopolies (Francais des Jeux and PMU), who didn’t want any advertising for the competition in “their” country.

Sometimes with him and Raul I feel like we’re playing 9 against 11….

Ciao

Corey, they changed the format on http://www.rojadirecta.com, but I got the link fron them to watch the game on TVU, and it looked great, don’t know what happened with you. Also, I didn’t know De la Red was suspended, but when you said it, I remembered that he was sent off while he was at Getafe, when they played Bayern…

Donovan, from what I read on the match preview, Javi Garcia wasn’t even on the player’s list, he didn’t suit up for the game…

Take care everybody, we have a couple of tough weeks ahead of us

“For the curious among you, the only reason why Liverpool didn’t display Carlsberg on their kit against Marseille in tonights Champions League game, is solely because of French advertising laws.”

French law prohibits alcohol and tobacco sponsorship, and it may be cracking down on gambling websites also. Just one more reason why the French government is so hate I guess….