Saturday, April 14, 2007

Fake Soccer Recap

I've been debating whether or not to post this all day. On one hand, I was really excited when it happened. On the other hand, it's really dorky to post something like this. It's like getting a championship ring for winning a fantasy football league. In the end, I decided to go for it. It's not like I can get much dorkier anyway. Plus there's a precedent for me doing stuff like this.

I've provided some links to relevant data for those of you who aren't "in the know."

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BETHLEHEM, PA - An epic game of football was played today, but not in the classical fashion. No, this game was played inside of Incognito's XBOX 360, but the magnitude of the game was larger than life. We are, of course, speaking of the UEFA Champions League final in Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. This would prove to be a magical match, as the Incogni2 controlled Tottenham Hotspur took on the third-ranked team in Europe: AC Milan. Both teams had a strenuous road to the title game, with Milan beating Barcelona in the semi-finals, and Tottenham crushing arch-rivals Arsenal (7-2) in the quarter-finals, and getting a hard-fought 1-0 win over top-ranked Chelsea in the semis.

The game did not start well for Spurs, as Gilberto Gilardino stuck home a second-chance goal off a save from Paul Robinson in only the second minute. Normally, Spurs are not a strong possession team, rarely winning the match's possession battle. However, the early goal seemed to galvanize Tottenham, and they dominated play in the first half, possessing the ball more than 60% of the time. Bastian Schweinsteiger had some exceptional runs from the right wing in the first half for Spurs, but he failed to get a shot on target. Milan took a 1-0 lead into the break.

The second half belonged to Spurs, specifically to Tottenham captain Robbie Keane. Keane's first nail in Milan's coffin came soon after halftime, when he struck a perfect header off the bottom of the crossbar and in off of a Young-Pyo Lee cross. Another Keane header found the back of the net after a throw-in found it's way to Jermaine Jenas, who delivered the perfect cross into the box.

However, Keane was still not finished. Halfway through the second half, Schweinsteiger showed some strong play in the corner, and was able to deliver the ball into the box. Keane leaped into the air, contorted his body, and struck a spectacular volley low and hard into the corner of the net to cap off his hat trick. Tottenham's defense was also top-notch. AC Milan was unable to mount any sustained pressure past the first five minutes; mostly a credit to the strong center defense by Tottenham's midfielders and center backs.

Tottenham 3 - 1 Milan

Champions League Best Overall Player: Robbie Keane (Tottenham)
Most Goals: Robbie Keane (Tottenham) - 8
Most Assists: DeMarcus Beasley (!) (Tottenham) - 5

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So, needless to say, I was pretty excited. Especially about Keane's 3rd goal. You really needed to see it, it is definitely one of my top 3 PES 2007 goals.

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