My health has been turning south the last few days, culminating in a sleepless Tuesday night and a pair of clogged sinuses Wednesday morning. As V headed off to work, i set myself up on the couch and set the tivo to record the Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester United. I awoke around noon and pulled myself into some semblance of coherence to watch the match.

Nerves were present both on the pitch and on my sofa as the match began, with each side probing the other. Chelsea opted for a lone striker in Didier Drogba, with Florent Malouda and Joe Cole on the wings and Ballack and Lampard in central midfield. Michael Essien started at right back with the job of shadowing Cristiano Ronaldo for the afternoon. United put Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez up front, with the aforementioned Ronaldo lurking behind with Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, and Owen Hargreaves. United looked the more dangerous in the early going, consistently putting the Blues on the back foot. The game looked every bit a rough and tumble Premiership clash, with Paul Scholes getting a bloody (broken?) nose early on. Ronaldo skinned his marker Essien several times, and was on the receiving end of a cross in the 25th minute that he headed past Petr Cech to put United ahead. Chelsea regrouped but found it difficult to organize effective attacks, and managed barely a shot on goal until just before half, when a deflected Essien shot befuddled both Rio Ferdinand and keeper Edwin van der Sar, leaving Frank Lampard an easy chip to equalize. A huge boost going into halftime for my side, even if it was a combination of defensive error and luck.

The ref was finding it difficult to control the match, having dished out yellows to Scholes and Claude Makelele in the first half for what looked like a relatively innocent 50/50 challenge. Chelsea and United were showing their disgraceful tendency to surround and harangue the ref when a decision went against them, and there were at least three mass confrontations that threatened to devolve into brawls. Drogba and United manager Alex Ferguson were seen yelling at the ref as they came onto the pitch to start the second half, in what can only be interpreted as Mourinho-esque attempts to influence his subsequent decisions. My assessment that our late first half goal would be a spark turned out to be correct, as Chelsea dominated possession in the second half and completely shut down Ronaldo, Tevez, and Rooney. Despite the shooting advantage, the Blues could not find a second (coming as close as hitting the post), and on to extra time we went.

At every dead ball in extra time, the Chelsea trainers were running onto the pitch to give quick rubdowns and stretches to the rapidly tiring players. The steadily increasing downpour wasn't helping either. We again bossed play in the two 15 minute extra periods, with a quick Lampard turn and shoot bouncing off the crossbar, but could not net a winner. At yet another flare-up ten minutes from time, Didier Drogba gave United defender Nemanja Vidic a light slap on the face, and was given a rightful straight red. A ridiculous end of the season for the brilliant striker, even moreso when you consider that may be his last action in a Chelsea kit if he gets his transfer wish. The dismissal did little to alter the final ten minutes, other than to put the skids on any hope of a winner. And on to penalties we go. Stomach churning mightily.

With Drogba gone, Chelsea manager brought on Juliano Belletti and Nicolas Anelka in extra time to play a part in penalties. United went first, with Tevez sending Cech the wrong way. 1-nil. Ballack evened it up with a well struck kick. Carrick and Belletti kept on track. Then up came Ronaldo, known for a ridiculous stutter step when taking penalties. He starts running, then stops completely a few steps from the ball, then finishes his kick. Ronaldo accentuated the pause this time, ostensibly to unseat the keeper, but his strategy backfired as Cech saved comfortably. After Lampard converted his kick, Chelsea held a slim 3-2 advantage. Makes from Hargreaves, Ashley Cole, and Nani evened the score with Chelsea to take the last kick for the championship. And up comes ... John Terry? Sure, he's our emotional leader, but when has he ever been a penalty taker? Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka still hadn't shot, why not them? But i kept telling myself, "just one more. just one more". John runs up, sends van der Sar the wrong way, and ... sends the ball wide off the right post. Agony. He sat on the pitch for a good 30 seconds after the miss pondering, and then the drama continued. Makes from Anderson, Kalou, and Ryan Giggs put United up 6-5, and when Anelka's weakly taken shot was saved, United ran out the victors.

They call it a cruel game, and this was among the cruelest i've experienced. Terry broke down in tears as the Red Devils celebrated, and i teared up myself. So close ... just one penalty away from a European championship ... and we walk away with nothing. I can't argue with United's status as the best team in Europe, or with Ronaldo's status as the best player in the world. In fact, i congratulate both teams for what was arguably the best Champions League final in years. But it hurts just the same for my club to be denied by a single miss. I keep seeing Terry's kick in my head, and wondering what might have been.