English football, or rather the English Premier League, can justifiably feel big-headed about 'the cup with the big ears', as Ruud Gullit famously called the European Cup. Nobody who saw last season's FA Cup final would have expected Manchester United v Chelsea to be the best Champions League final ever. Plenty of bloggers after Saturday's FA Cup final predicted a lesser spectacle than Portsmouth's victory over Cardiff.
They were wrong, and in one respect, at least, it was the best final. There has never been a better one featuring clubs from the same country. Real Madrid v Valencia in 2000 was memorable for the sublime performance of Fernando Redondo, but the 3-0 scoreline shows it was too one-sided to be regarded as anything special. Milan's penalty victory over Juventus at Old Trafford three years later was tense and enjoyable, but too defensive, too Italian.
Last night's penalty shoot-out had far more drama than that of 2003, when Dida and Shevchenko played the parts of Van Der Sar and Giggs, but there was no one in the lead role of John Terry.
Last night's game (or this morning's, if you were in Moscow), was already the best of the three one-country finals by half-time. Wes Brown's cross for the first goal might have been floated in by Savicevic or Waddle from years gone by. Koeman and Zidane could not have bettered Rooney's magnificent crossfield pass to Ronaldo in the 34th minute. And if that Rooney-Ronaldo-Tevez move had made the score 2-0 rather than foundered against Cech's double save, it would have been one of the most memorable goals in any final.
Add in the transformation of Chelsea in the second half, Drogba's shot that hit the post, the performances of Ballack and Lampard, the handbags in the corner incident, Drogba's red card, Terry's tears, and Avram Grant's ruined suit, and you have a game that will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to have seen it. Great stuff. But it lacked something.
For me, fortunate enough to have been to 20 straight finals both as a fan and a working journalist, it could never match the best. The European Cup was not invented as a contest to be fought out by teams from the same league. It's all very well hearing, "He slipped, he missed, he must be fucking pissed, John Terry, John Terry!" after a game at Wembley, but not in Moscow. The European Cup is largely about fans posing together for pictures around a famous fountain or statue with a bunch of people who speak another language, whose football displays noticeable cultural differences to your own.
There is plenty of claptrap written about the great old days of straight knockouts – when Young Boys or Levski Sofia were in town it really got the juices flowing, we're all supposed to believe. But that's an old argument now, and so much has changed, much of it for the better, in the 20 years since I first saw a European Cup final that there's no point moaning about it now.
Hairstyles have been toned down (Gullit, Waddle), the passback rule was introduced, and the game is much faster. Last night there was a point when Ashley Cole conceded a throw-in, and while the ball was still moving, United took the throw and Rio Ferdinand had started a new attack. That would have been unthinkable in the time-wasting days of the early 1990s.
Teams who finished fourth have been allowed in, and the Champions League has become the property of those with the most money. Imagine a club such as Steaua Bucharest, Benfica, Red Star, Dortmund, Porto, Monaco, Ajax or Marseille playing in a final in the foreseeable future. Or any club from outside Europe's 'big three' leagues. Even Germany seems to be excluded.
Despite what happened in Istanbul, ; Barcelona and Athens (1994, not 2007), the final that ranks No1 for me is Milan v Steaua Bucharest in 1989. Partly because, being my first, the occasion was extra special. Partly because the Milan line-up featured Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten (not to mention Maldini, Baresi and Donadoni). But mainly because of the fans.
There were those who said at the time – and it may or may not have been true – that it was the biggest movement of people across Europe, for a single event, since the second world war. The reason, back before the Berlin Wall came down, was that Bucharest took only 250 tickets, for their own VIPs, and the rest ended up with the Italians – 97,000 of them. They travelled by road, rail, air, and on giant cruise ships to Barcelona and with Gullit scoring after only 18 minutes they were in great voice throughout. Unforgettable.
Brian Oliver's best finals
1) Milan 4 Bucharest 0 (1989, Barcelona).
2) Liverpool 3-3 Milan (Liverpool win on pens) (2005, Istanbul).
3) Man Utd 2-1 Bayern Munich (1999, Barcelona).
4) Milan 4-0 Barcelona (1994, Athens).
Worst (by a mile)
Red Star Belgrade 0-0 Marseille (Red Star win on pens) (1991, Bari).
