The Pain

The Distillers - I Am A Revenant
     Yes my friends, even the best have moments of doubt. As Ronaldo (the real one) had problems with his knees, The Fourth Official has teeth that recquire much attention. With a root canal operation waiting to be completed, I would like to apoligize for having not covered the recent events in soccer. The pain revealed itself more than debilitating, making me restless and rest-less. The worst of the pain has passed, yet the worst of consequences has yet to come: tomorrow, at the time when Barcelona and (my) Inter will come to hands about the Champion's League Final's final ticket (ticket), The Fourth Official will be more or less comfortably sitting in a dentist's chair, mouth wide open, a tooth being reborn. I hope to catch at least the second half and since the Percacet has allowed me to write this much, I will allow myself to make some predictions about tomorrow's game.
    Inter: after last week's performance, the Nerazzuri's fans (that's me) have been wondering what trick the Mou will take out of his pocket to defeat the ogres. The tendency is to keep the same line up, in the spirit of "you don't change a team that wins". Sneijder is said to start although his form will probably not allow him to finish the whole 90 minutes, Stankovic is suspended, most of the rest of the team was rested over the weekend. The tone is serene in Milan after having regained the top of the Serie A over the weekend. A long needed European title is more than welcome, if not expected. Again, if Mourinho can't do it, then no one will resolve Inter's fascination with failure.
   Barcelona: Inter's blow was hard, yet the Blaugrana monster is still standing. Every year we await the team able to beat Barcelona... Enter a cheesy marketing strategy that involves t-shirts over which are written "we will leave our skin", heroic videos, and talk of a historic "Remontada"... Leaves me a bit speechless. On the field side, Barcelona can of course rely on their intrinsic talent which has a clear tendency to reveal itself much more in the Camp Nou than anywhere esle. Last year's Iniesta-91st-goal against Chelsea is the playback song to this year's semifinal, yet the Spanish creator won't be on the pitch. Puyol is suspended which should lead to a fascinating fratricide between Diego and Gabriel Milito.


Fourth Official Predictions: Barca 1-1 Inter (Eto'o's response to an early Messi goal?)
What will probably happen: I have no idea, and I don't want to jinx it.