I am referring to the sport watched and loved by billions of people on Earth, the one in which Ronaldo and Messi are gods, not Tom Brady.
The second leg of a Champions League semi-final took place today between Liverpool and Barcelona. Barcelona, a Spanish 7-time world champion, beat Liverpool at home in the first-leg 3-0. They came to the game today as an overwhelmingly strong favorite. One goal at Anfield, Liverpool’s stadium, would require the home team to score at least 5 to advance. And if you follow football a bit, you’ll know that stopping Barcelona from scoring is exceedingly challenging, especially when they have arguably the best player in the history of the sport, Lionel Messi.
But Liverpool did it anyway. They delivered a magnificent upset for the ages today by winning 4-0. I am not a Liverpool fan, but it was epic.
This season’s Champions League has featured some of the most dramatic games I have seen for a while such as Manchester United vs PSG, in which the deciding penalty was awarded in the dying minutes
Or Tottenham’s unlikely win against Manchester City, in which the fans’ emotions went on a roller coaster in the last seconds.
I heard some in America say that they don’t like the real football because it’s not as unpredictable as American football. The three games above, only three out of so many, proved that it wasn’t the case. Yes, admittedly, there is a sense of boring predictability in some cases such as Bayern’s dominance in Germany, PSG’s reign in France or Juventus winning year after year in Italy for the past 7 years. But do watch Champions League. It will take your emotions to the new heights or sink them down to the new lows that you didn’t know before.
I love football. It’s amazing. I have been watching it for over 20 years and I don’t imagine I’ll stop doing so for the rest of my life.
I’d like to finish the post with an inspiring photo of Mo Salah, a Liverpool player who couldn’t play today because of injury. Indeed, never give up!
Minh Quang Duong 