"I LIKE EXPLANATIONS, not mysteries, so I'm grateful to Rob Hughes for the inside story from Istanbul.
Rob has confirmed what I guessed soon after writing my last piece here.
Why did Benitez drop Didi Hamann?
At Valencia he was always solid, with Baraja and Albelda, two workmanlike holding players.
His Valencia was a shape team.
At this level you are often playing against gifted attacking midfielders who can kill you in 2 seconds.
In Istanbul he would be facing Kaka, the most skilful attacking midfielder in world football, a young guy can slice you to ribbons with gliding acceleration and surgical buttists.
BUT HE DROPS HAMANN?
The resilent anchorman whose game is stopping playmakers like Kaka ?
WHY ?
Racism 1395I think Ren has a bit of a point, let us be honest, as human beings we are ALL a bit racist, in that we all have a fear of things that are differnt, and...
Because his captain Steven Gerrard insisted on playing in central midfield, not as an attacker.
Rob got Rafa in a corridor and looked into his eyes and asked him if Gerrard had been moaning and groaning all week about not wanting to play off Baros.
Rafa didn't reply. But he didn't deny it.
So while Arsene stood up to Sol, and made the right decision, Rafa succumbed to emotional blackmail by his captain.
Rafa will never do that again!
Different circumstances. Rafa has only been there 10 months, while Arsene has been there nine years.
Stevie G wanted to leave and win trophies.
So by insisting on playing in central midfield, Gerrard put his team 3-0 down - and he knew it.
So he had to go and turn the game round, which he did by breaking forward at pace, as the South Korean did in the semi.
The irrepressibly energetic Park Ji-Sung scared Milan and scored the first goal in that 3-1 drama in Eindhoven, when a late strike put ACM through on away goals.
Amrosini headed in a Kaka cross.
Second half, what Gerrard did was similar to Park.
He turned the game upside down by heading the first goal to make it 3-1 and winning a penalty for 3-3
Gerrard was pushing onto Pirlo. Liverpool's strongest player was pushing onto Milan's weakest player.
Racism 1397white so Spot on! Like it or not, we are burdened with the past. I also get a bit pissed off with what seems to be excessive PC action when I...
Pirlo disappeared. Pirlo disapprears a lot, folks, as you may have noticed.
Cafu, Stam and Maldini are too old now.
Big respect was shown by Maldini, a very clbutty man, to Gerrard.
Maldini might become manager, might sign Stevie G.
Milan can offer Stevie a new experience.
Chelsea can't do that.
I really, really like Stevie G as a bloke.
He played in three positions on the night in Istanbul and I'd play him roaming from wide left for England - or instead of Beckham.
But, having said that, he is the most over-rated player in England.
He has to improve his game.
Maybe Benitez can improve him as much as Ranieri improved Lampard, as much as Mourinho improved Joe Cole."
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