Ecstacy and agony !!!!

So, yesterday was a super tuesday for me, early morning with indian cricket team involved in crucial final down under and late night with AC milan involved in the knockout encounter with arsenal. I even missed my college to catch the CB series final !!!(didn't want to miss it for something as insipid as college :)), and it was totally worth it. A match worthy of being a final, with india winning in the last over, after james hopes gave all the hopes to the aussies for a miraculous win !!!
Half way around the world in the city of milan it was time for "now or never" for two teams, one with a wealth of experience in its ranks, and other with young blood running in its veins. The scene was set, the magnificent san siro was to witness the clash of two power-houses of european soccer and the match lived upto its expections. After scrappy inital minutes, milan grabbed the initiative and had gunners on the run with some wonderful and sublime play from kaka, but gunners came back at the end of first half to have some fluent passing play of their own. I have to admit i was quite impressed by adebayor, he is deceptively quick and agile on his feet. As the second half worn on, the game became more of a mid-field scuffle with either teams refusing to give an inch to the other team, and just when it seemed the half would end goalless, it occured, the event that every milanista was dreading from the start, fabregas scored from a long range scorcher. Milan now had to score two goals to win because
of the away goal rule, in trying to do so , they left the goal open, and gunners sealed their fate.
The defeat was not bad as such but the manner in which milan were beaten, they hardly created anything going forward, apart from some lethat forward surging runs by kaka and occasional flashes of brialliance from pato there wasn't much. Inzaghi and then gilardino both hardly got a touch on the ball. They were dominated in midfield for the most of the 90 minutes and you just started to wonder where the next goal was going to come from. So, the curse of "defending champs" struck again, milan were knocked out. Arsenal fully deservd their victory, well played to them, and milan get back to seria a next week with a sole aim, that is to qualify for the champions league next season, which i assume they would because if they don't, it would be a real shame.
Last night was also the last game in europe for a certain living and legend who goes by the name of "Paolo Maldini", the greatest servant of rosoneris, in this day and age where loyalty in football is unheard of with money ruling the roost, paolo has stayed on at milan denying many a lucrative offers to move aboard. He is the perfect man who can proudly say "been there done that", he has won every trophy in soccer apart from the world cup, which he narrowly missed at USA'94. Salute to one of the legends of the game