Gremlin
Well-Known Member
Every time I watch the end of the match again I worry that Lukaku is going to score that header this time!
Inter Milan (N) | Champions League Final | Post Match Thread
- Thread starter MCFC1993
- Start date
gkmcfc
Well-Known Member
For those of you (like my brother), who perhaps aren't overly invested in European competition, this for me was one of my favourite times and experiences as a match going blue of 40+ years. If you get the chance and we're lucky to get to finals in the future then open your mind and get yourself to wherever it is. The experience will not disappoint you. The scale of the competition, it's reach, it's glamour is all to see when you''re part of the build up.
We arrived late on the Friday although it wasn't too late to go out so like many blues we headed over to Nevizade Street to join the pre planned gathering. What a night! All good natured, lots of singing and drinking took us into the early hours. The locals even enjoyed joining in with us or just watched us get on with it.
On the day of the final itself we planned to meet up with friends to get on the buses but chose to ignore official advise to head to the stadium 9 hours before kickoff! We enjoyed a few beers in the sun amid lots of compliments and good will from the locals - many who had pledged their support for City. May be they were saying what we wanted to hear but it was all good natured. There were plenty of blues and Inter fans around Taksim Square and other areas but no signs of bother where ever we went.
Throughout the day we'd stayed in touch with other blues and were hearing of delays on the buses, heavy traffic and wait and travel times well in excess of 2 hours! We made the decision to get a taxi as we fancied our chances of getting there ahead of buses were better. We weren't wrong! Let's just say our cab driver knew the roads and was very "creative" with his driving skills! It still took us around 1.5hrs in heavy traffic but we felt we'd done OK knowing how busy it was, despite all of us being bursting for a piss! We eventually got out on the motorway, like many fans, and proceeded to follow the crowds for about a mile and a half to the stadium. The fan zone was a sea of blue and white and was packed 3 hours before kick off. We didn't hang around and got the beers in!
The game itself was everything I expected it to be. Like many finals. Cagey, nervy. Inter well organised and disciplined and City going through the motions. Maintaining possession and trying to get forward. We improved second half for sure and when the breakthrough happened there was an outpouring of emotion and relief that I've not seen from fans for a long time. Every blue there was fully invested in this and knew how much the win meant to the players, the club, everyone.
When the final whistle went the away end went up. You could see what it meant and we all tried to take it all in. It was surreal and unreal and fucking exhilarating!
Once the celebrations had concluded we collectively headed out to what can only be described as a shit show of organisation. It's been widely documented but it didn't dampen our spirits. In defeat things may have been different of course. All in all we were back in Taksim for around 3.30am! Crackers considering we left the stadium at around 12.45am!
We headed back to Nevizade Street and it's safe to say it was packed and we celebrated hard until it was daylight - around 7.30am. We were flying back in the afternoon of course!
All in all a brilliant occasion with memories that will live long. Here's to some more finals albeit at a better and more accessible venue!
We arrived late on the Friday although it wasn't too late to go out so like many blues we headed over to Nevizade Street to join the pre planned gathering. What a night! All good natured, lots of singing and drinking took us into the early hours. The locals even enjoyed joining in with us or just watched us get on with it.
On the day of the final itself we planned to meet up with friends to get on the buses but chose to ignore official advise to head to the stadium 9 hours before kickoff! We enjoyed a few beers in the sun amid lots of compliments and good will from the locals - many who had pledged their support for City. May be they were saying what we wanted to hear but it was all good natured. There were plenty of blues and Inter fans around Taksim Square and other areas but no signs of bother where ever we went.
Throughout the day we'd stayed in touch with other blues and were hearing of delays on the buses, heavy traffic and wait and travel times well in excess of 2 hours! We made the decision to get a taxi as we fancied our chances of getting there ahead of buses were better. We weren't wrong! Let's just say our cab driver knew the roads and was very "creative" with his driving skills! It still took us around 1.5hrs in heavy traffic but we felt we'd done OK knowing how busy it was, despite all of us being bursting for a piss! We eventually got out on the motorway, like many fans, and proceeded to follow the crowds for about a mile and a half to the stadium. The fan zone was a sea of blue and white and was packed 3 hours before kick off. We didn't hang around and got the beers in!
The game itself was everything I expected it to be. Like many finals. Cagey, nervy. Inter well organised and disciplined and City going through the motions. Maintaining possession and trying to get forward. We improved second half for sure and when the breakthrough happened there was an outpouring of emotion and relief that I've not seen from fans for a long time. Every blue there was fully invested in this and knew how much the win meant to the players, the club, everyone.
When the final whistle went the away end went up. You could see what it meant and we all tried to take it all in. It was surreal and unreal and fucking exhilarating!
Once the celebrations had concluded we collectively headed out to what can only be described as a shit show of organisation. It's been widely documented but it didn't dampen our spirits. In defeat things may have been different of course. All in all we were back in Taksim for around 3.30am! Crackers considering we left the stadium at around 12.45am!
We headed back to Nevizade Street and it's safe to say it was packed and we celebrated hard until it was daylight - around 7.30am. We were flying back in the afternoon of course!
All in all a brilliant occasion with memories that will live long. Here's to some more finals albeit at a better and more accessible venue!
blue b4 the moon
Well-Known Member
Finally got round to this thread...it's put me through the full gambit of emotions again.
CTID which in that last 10 mins was probably closer than I want to be.
CTID which in that last 10 mins was probably closer than I want to be.
Danny Hoekman
Well-Known Member
The fact that our team are playing in a Champions League final and they are sat on the internet during the game tells you all you need to know about these people.
bluemanchester
Well-Known Member
I posted earlier on this thread about the game. I also tbought we hadn't played well until I watched it a couple of days later when all the nerves, tension and occasion were no longer there and I changed my mind. We played well and were in control of the game apart from those last few minutes. Most of their major chances before then were from our mistakes. We were deserved winners.
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Deleted member 77198
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The Champions League is the Zenith.
While winning the PL title is the most important, winning the CL is the most prestigious.
It took me nearly a decade, but I finally ‘got it’ in those games we went out against Liverpool and Tottenham. Before then I was quite vocal about my dislike of the tournament but I’ve realised that my dislike for UEFA shouldn’t cloud what that trophy means.
You don’t have to like UEFA to love the CL. It’s not about the governing body, it’s about this beauty:
Ive never felt like I did the other week about any game. When Gündoğan lifted that trophy, it felt like nothing else I’ve experienced.
Blue_Lightsaber
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Yeah I actually felt quite similar especially as UEFA didn't play fair at all.
The RB Leipzig goal was a clear foul.
The pen conceded against Bayern was laughable.
In the RM tie our players were kicked to high hell in Madrid and no even one of them got a yellow card.
And still we beat them.. it was so satisfying like winning the PL and FA Cup despite the corrupt VAR.
Sure we may have gotten lucky with Inter's misses but it was never going to be easy and we were due some luck after how stuff has gone against us before.
It's almost like UEFA can't even complain anymore.. we went through a lot of adversity and are fitting champs and good example of how champions should perform.
I think we have learned something the hard way.. games are going to be rigged where ever possible so it's best to not give the other team chances.. probably why Pep is moving us to a double pivot so we can "control" the chances the opposition gain against us.
This feels so sweet though..
Old Amos
Well-Known Member
Maybe not a great performance but I couldn't understand claims from various quarters that City were lucky or that Inter deserved to win. The last few minutes had me feeling ill - the thought of extra time and the horror of penalties! Perhaps the blue-tinted glasses are back in place, but I can't recall any significant threat from Inter before then. Even BT commentators remarked on Inter's tactics, legit or not, to break up the flow. If Inter's plan was to stifle City with close marking and tactical fouls then they succeeded, while City failed on the whole to find a way to counter that. In that sense Inter did as well as Brentford, Forest and a few others. As for luck, it's always there: a shot from Kev, Ilkay or Erling goes in - six inches one way and it hits the post, the other way it's saved. The only thing that can be controlled by the maestro Pep is getting to the point where we can score, and limiting the opposition's chances; overall, in the end good football comes through, but not always in one-off events. And there we have something for Pep to ponder, worthy of his mettle: when you lead by a single goal and the opposition has to go for it late on, is there any way of dealing in a controlled way (one that does not have watching fans on the edge of heart failure) with the ball continually lumped into the box in the hope that something will happen? Inter did it and so, for that matter, did United in the cup final; that's not good football and, I submit, any goal coming from it isn't deserved. So in conclusion, yes, we were deserved winners.
Didsbury Dave
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Good post mate. I agree it was the pinnacle. No offence but I used to get so wound up with blues on here saying they weren’t bothered about the champions league. We haven’t heard that for a couple of years now thank god. The last 3-4 years CL latter stage games have been some of the most famous and most exhilarating (and also most devastating) games in our history.
jimharri
Moderator
I think a lot of the anger/antipathy that was associated with the competition was more to do with the organisation behind it, rather than the competition per se. I still think the league is a true indicator of a team's quality, as it's over 38 games, not 13. But I'm delighted that we've won it...
A. For our owners, who I imagine really wanted it. And
B. We've got that monkey off our backs.