Chelsea have won the Champions League. YES! Those of you familiar with my previous posts will know that I have mentioned just such an event. If Chelsea won the CL, it would give the fans that kind of unadulterated joy which vindicates all the emotional investment of the past. Even now it is still difficult to believe. However, I am sure that in the fullness of time we will come to appreciate what last night's heroics have done for CFC. It is now a club raised above the majority - Chelsea is now one of the European Cup winners.
The media however, have been quick to paint it thus: 'Abramovich finally gets what he spent hundreds of millions of pounds for'. This is crass. Certainly it has been no secret that Roman has always wanted the CL Trophy - but doesn't any club with ambitions in the competition? The joy is not limited to Abramovich, who by the way isn't a football-trophy-window-shopper-extraordinaire. He is one man, one fan; just like every other fan of Chelsea. It's just that he has been lucky enough to make a difference. His joy, when Drogba gave him the chance to lift the Cup itself, was not the joy of some banker seeing a long-term investment come good, it was the delirious happiness of a fan. You could see it in the coverage - get on mate!
The real story of last night was the long voyage which has taken Chelsea to the pinnacle. I don't just mean this season's campaign which has been dramatic in the extreme. I mean the whole series: woefully losing to Monaco after finally beating Arsenal in '04, losing a semi-final to Liverpool under Mourinho in '05, losing the final on penalties to Man United in '08, being robbed by Ovrebo against Barcelona in '09. It is a painful litany. This is why Drogba's words were so poignant when he dedicated the triumph to all the previous Chelsea players and managers he had played with. They all shared in the dream and suffered the disappointments. Their hopes have finally been redeemed.
And in what style! The media have also been quick to remind us that Chelsea were not the best team in the CL this year. What!? We won the bloody thing didn't we? Is it so easy to forget, that when in a football competition, the aim is to win it? You do not get medals for playing 'pretty' - just ask Arsenal. You get medals for winning. Ever since that remarkable victory over Napoli in the 2nd leg I have felt that Chelsea have been determined to NOT GET BEAT. How many times have we looked down and out? Chelsea have represented England with a whole lot of courage and determination. We looked doomed against Napoli, and most of us hoped that we might at least make a decent effort. But on the night, we hammered them! There's some football for ya. With confidence brimming we despatched Benfica, albeit with a hiccough. Then Barcelona. Oh dear - apparently the best team ever? Certainly the most boring team ever. They couldn't beat us, so given the knockout nature of the tie, we beat them. Pure balls.
And then the German giants, Bayern Munich, in their own stadium, who have won it four times already. We defend for our lives and give one up in the 83rd min. That man equalises in the 89th, question answered. We give away a penalty in extra-time - Cech saves, question answered. Penalty shoot-out. We miss our first, they score their first three. Cech saves and Ashley Cole scores to equalise and top off the real man of the match performance, though you can't begrudge it Drogba. Bastian Schweinsteiger - the ultimate German, steps up, and misses. Drogba steps up and the rest is history - it was written he said.
Ever since the ambition to win the CL became tangible Chelsea has tried manfully and much has been suffered. This time however, we refused to be beaten and won. Managers have come and gone but that hardcore of players have remained, and their determination to win is something that money can't buy. So let's forget money, let's even forget people's perceptions of how football 'should' be played, let us instead consider these: courage, resilience, and ultimate victory.
