Soccer god against superstition
Who benefits from making Anatolii Tymoshchuk an “antihero” of the Champions League Final
Soccer god was on the side of the veteran of London Chelsea Didier Drogba on May 19 in Munich during the final match of the Champions League. Soccer player from Cote d’Ivoire tied the score after the headshot a few minutes before the end of regulation time, “earned” a penalty in extra time for a rule violation, which was fortunately not realized by Dutch player Arjen Robben, and, finally, in penalty shootout scored the crucial winning goal in the gates of Bavaria goalkeeper.
Superstition fans and players after such “happy-trick” of Drogba should at least ask him about the text of the prayer with which he was greatly rewarded in heaven at the end of soccer career in Chelsea and make everyone who dreams to ever win the League Cup learn this prayer by heart.
However, knowing the harsh nature of the striker, probably none dared to do it. It is easier for German fans to find those guilty of the defeat in the Munich Bavaria. The first one is Arjen Robben because of the missed penalty shot in regular time. The second and the third ones are Croatian player Ivica Olic and German player Bastian Schweinsteiger for their missed penalty shots in a series of penalty.
Schweinsteiger even had to offer public apology for the president of Germany, whom he, in a state of a shock of despair, did not shake hands with during the ceremony of awarding the participants of the final match.
The fourth guilty man is the Ukrainian player Anatolii Tymoshchuk because he touched the Champions Cup before the game, which supposedly should not be done according to soccer superstitions and after overtime the defender of Bavaria, allegedly, also refused to hit penalty. The latter fact was officially denied by Tymoshchuk’s press secretary: Tymoshchuk was not on the list of penalty shooters because it is not his specialization. However, nobody can deny the video recorded fact of touching the Cup by Tymoshchuk – it can be watched on TV and computer screens. ITAR-Tass joyfully reported that it is for this thoughtless act, Ukrainian player Tymoshchuk became the fall guy for German soccer fans – responsible for the home defeat of Bavaria. They say that for this the fans on some forums, demand that Tymoshchuk should be sold to another team.
This dubious quality news, roasted in Moscow, traditionally with giving minimal thought to it, was also reported by Ukrainian mass media almost without any comments. But comments are important. Not just because the majority of soccer superstitions show primarily the poor psychological preparation of the players and low professional level of those, who spread those superstitions. Of course, after the Bavaria-Chelsea match soccer market suffered another round of disturbance and reevaluation. Lucky Drogba goes to China to earn fantastic annual salary that he had not dreamed of even in London from the hands of billionare Roman Abramovich. Loser Robben, whom the Bavaria fans also, allegedly, asked to sell for his missed shot, will be happily bought, for example, by the owners of another super club, however, for less money than he cost before May 19. Olic and Tymoshchuk can have the same legionary future. It would not be a surprise, if the first to make an offer to buy Tymoshchuk will be a Russian soccer club, also with Champions League discount due to the misfortune in the final game. In Russia they still remember well the times when lucky Tymoshchuk raised above his head a lot of cups: first in Ukraine in T-shirt of Donetsk Shakhtar, later as a captain already in Saint Petersburg Zenit in Russia, and in 2008 he raised the UEFA Cup. Hence, perhaps Anatolii developed a habit of touching cups as well as raising blue and yellow national Ukrainian flag on every stadium where he won. We all want Tymoshchuk to do it again in the summer at Euro-2012 with a great desire to please those who respect his soccer talent, and with a great sports rage for those who tread on his career sore points.
The rest of the “antiheroes” of the Munich match just need to work on their penalty shooting skill both in regular and extra time, at least the way it was done by Manuel Neuer, Bavaria goalkeeper on May 19. UEFA could introduce a new rule that all the players should touch the Cup before the final game, so that after games there would be none willing to find guilty of violating superstitions. After all, soccer God willing many players would not have another chance like that ever again.
