It’s not over… till it’s over
There is only one thing we can be certain while talking about sports – nothing is certain till the referee blows the whistle for the last time. Many times in the sports history, teams which were supposed to win easily, struggled till the end and often lost the game due to lack of the concentration or being overly self-confident.
Recently, in the Champions League, Juventus Turin faced Real Madrid, which seemingly secured the move to the next round winning 3-0 after an amazing goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. However, during their second game, Juventus proved, everyone in Santiago Bernabeu and in front of TV, that they cannot be defeated easily and they know how to play soccer. They were winning 3-0 for 90 minutes slighting depriving The Royals of hope. The game was very intense and the ending was perhaps even more interesting. In the 97th minute, after the foul on Lucas in the goalkeeper field, the referee decided to give a penalty kick for Real Madrid. To make things even worse, Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus’ goalkeeper, could not handle the tension and left the field with the red card. Cristiano Ronaldo scored leaving Juventus Turin without a space in the semi- finals.
Another example of one of the most exciting games, where the final result remained unknown till the 94th minute, is the game between Borussia Dortmund and Malaga in the Champions League in 2012. The game took place in Signal Iduna Park, in Germany, where BVB was really struggling against the strong Spanish team. Their previous game resulted in 0-0 tie, giving Malaga a slight advantage, because they only needed to score one goal to be in the semi-finals. They were able to score twice, leaving Borussia’s players very little hope and giving them ultimatum: score two more times or go home. The game was coming to an end, few supporters had decided to leave the stadium before the final whistle, which was their biggest mistake. The referee gave BVB four additional minutes to change the result on a board.
Borussia’s player knew that this is their last chance and they started attacking. Fast passes resulted in a second goal for Borussia Dortmund, but it still was not enough. They needed one more goal and the time was limited. With three minutes to go, they were very determined to score one more time, and they did. Taking advantage of the hustle near Malaga’s goal, Felipe Santana, the defender, managed to kick the ball in the net, securing 3-2 win for BVB and later enabling them to fight with Bayer Munich in the finals.
Without a doubt, games like that raise a lot of emotions. Teams and their supporters start to question the decisions made throughout the game, especially when they decide about the final result of the game. No matter how accurate they are, every time somebody will be angry, sad or annoyed, and somebody will be satisfied or relieved. That’s the beauty of sports. It is unpredictable, sometimes unfair, but it enables us to become part of something bigger. We are able to get together and support our favorite team, knowing that for 90 minutes everything can happen.
