Well, that was quite a week, wasn't it?
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Great comebacks, unbridled joy, miserable disbelief and knuckle-whitening excitement. Then, when I left the TAB, the football was brilliant too! Boom, boom.
Jokes aside, it was a memorable few days in the Champions League. A magnificent advertisement for maintaining optimism and never giving up. It also highlighted tribalism displayed in a civilised but palpable way.
Love Liverpool or hate them, I defy anyone who was unmoved by the scenes post game at Anfield after the Reds reeled in Barcelona. A great triumph for 'team' as one English journo noted.
Then, 24 hours later, Tottenham Hotspur produced the archetypal second half smash-and-grab raid at Ajax of Amsterdam to go through to the final on the away goals rule. The 'winner' came from basically the last kick of the game.
Seldom can the agony and ecstasy of the game have been so poignantly highlighted.
At home on the A-League front, we witnessed two grand-final qualifying matches that could scarcely have been more dissimilar.
Perth v Adelaide was expected to be comfortable for the minor premiers and really should have been after their talisman Diego Castro completed a brace on 74 minutes to give his side a 2-0 lead.
But Adelaide scrambled brilliantly to claw back the deficit and force extra time.
Once there, they fell behind again and once more fought back. Incredibly, the penalty shootout went to the eighth kicker before Joel Chianese carried the Glory across the threshold.
Perth deserve to host the grand final, given the consistency they have shown throughout the season, and Adelaide deserve much kudos for their organisation, resolution and spirit.
The Glory will be better for their first game in a fortnight and possess obvious qualities, but their opponents, Sydney FC, will have noted some defensive deficiencies. They have also beaten the Glory twice this season and have momentum after they shredded Melbourne Victory in the other qualifier.
If I hadn't watched Sydney's triumph, I would have rechecked the score in Monday's paper because the "Big Blue" looked likely to be an absolute toss-of-the-coin job pre-game .
The 6-1 scoreline was a massive surprise, and one that Sydney skipper Alex Brosque insisted was hardly indicative of the respective qualities of both sides.
Sydney had a great night and scored six goals from seven shots on target.
Victory, forced to chase the game after conceding an early goal, were punished every time they made an error.
Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Perhaps, Victory coach Kevin Muscat will look back and conclude that his side was a touch too heavy on players naturally suited to the creative side of the equation and a touch light on for defensive steel against an opponent of Sydney's quality.
A week ago, Victory sat deep at home to Wellington and won with 40% of the ball. Wellington have pace but Sydney have more quality. In recent final's football, Victory have beaten the Sky Blues by stifling them in midfield.
Perhaps it was the early goal, perhaps Muscat didn't feel he had the personnel in the current group to win a midfield scrap.
The blueprint to beat previous Sydney teams of the Graham Arnold era was to boss them physically and win through defensive pressure on the ball.
This team tried a more expansive approach, committed some poor individual errors and had to gamble as early as halftime.
Not a great recipe, as it turns out, against a Sydney team with no shortage of craft and competent finishers.
Victory were certainly a country mile away from the midfield intensity provided by a younger Carl Valeri and Mark Milligan in a dominant grand final win a few years ago .
Realistically, every team can have a bad day.
Unfortunately for Victory, theirs was compounded by the hunger and desire of a red-hot Sydney FC .
Which leaves the question: can Perth find the right balance of expansive and combative at the new Optus Stadium to keep Sydney under control?
By the same token: can Sydney find a way to control and pressure the excellent and effervescent Castro without exposing their back four to the mobility of Andy Keogh, Chris Ikonimidis and Joel Chianese?
I was about to write: please tell me there is not an AFL game on before the grand final.
Of course there is, West Coast playing Melbourne on Friday night. Grrrr ...
I suppose, we should be grateful that the federal election, which was the reason behind a Sunday grand final rather than a Saturday decider, will give the surface an extra 24 hours to recover. Have they demolished Subiaco?
A month ago, I would have tipped Perth confidently, but the nerves they showed against Adelaide and the ankle injury Neil Kilkenny are carrying worry me.
Sydney have confidence, key personnel back and fresh at the right time.
It will be 2-1 and either Castro or Brosque will score the winner.
Enjoy the game and remember to vote.