The FIFA Club World Cup final game was held in Japan between Boca Juniors vs. AC Milan on Dec. 16, 2007. It ended in a 4 to 2 victory for Milan, thus they won the cup. This was an exciting game to watch as it was played professionally at the highest level in my opinion. The game was played with passes on the ground most of the time—typical for Italian and Argentine teams. In addition there were very few goalie’s kicks far up field. And the ball seldom went out of play during the match. All of that made for a highly professional and enjoyable match.
The shooting and scoring went like this. At 21 minutes into the game Milan’s Kaka’ passed off the ball to Philippo Inzaghi who headed it into the goal. There was no chance for the defense to prevent this goal. About a minute later Boca’s Rodrigo Palacio also headed in a crossed ball with no chance for the Argentine defense to stop it. At 35 minutes into the game, Boca’s Placio placed the ball in front of the goal, but no attackers were there and they lost that chance to score. The score was 1 to 1 at the end of the first half.
The second half’s scoring went like this. At about the 49th minute, Milan’s Nesta placed a half volley into the goal and made it 2 to 1. At little while later, Kaka’ scored by himself with some fantastic dribbling making the score 3 to 1. At minute 71, Kaka’ again sent the ball to unmarked Inzaghi who kicked in the ball making the score 4 to 1.Inzaghi was completely unmarked. At the 84th minute a shot from Boca’s Ledesma kicked ball inadvertently ricocheted off the midsection of Milan’s defender and into the goal. This goal was attributed to Ambrosomi scoring against his own team making the score 4 to 2.
Near the 76th minute of play, two red cards were issued, within a few minitues of each other. One to Argentine’s the Ledesma and the other to the Italian’s Kaladze. The referee is commended for handing out these cards, as there is no excuse for their type of malicious fouls.
More about the game play. At 5 minutes into the match, Milan’s Seedoff sent a good ball across the goalmouth, but there was no one there. Thus Milan missed their first chance to score. However, the team’s players showed good dribbling and passing skills making it a possessive game for them. One problem with the Argentine team was that frequently they lacked enough players back for defense. It was quite the opposite with Milan. Often Milan had their whole midfield team back helping out the defense team. This had an obvious positive effect on the outcome of the game. In summing up the game, both teams gave their all, but I believe that Milan’s players were in the best of form with passing, defense and endurance.
A note to young players and coaches:
This was a championship game and as such the best teams participated in the match. To get there, it naturally takes talented players that play together as a team. But, it takes more than that. It takes a disciplined defense controlled by the goalkeeper to help prevent defensive mistakes. It also takes discipline to keep most passes on the ground to open players. Furthermore, physical endurance that comes from rigorous training at home and at practices is a must. A further note on defense: Defensive backs must learn to watch and mark unmarked opponents near their goal. Not doing so is a mistake often made both at the non-professional and professional levels. It is usually costly.
I personnally cannot fault Ambrosomi for scoring against his own team on defense. The same situation occurred with me on defense in a game several years ago. We lost that match because of my goal.
All of the above information is the author's opinion. This article in no way is meant to degrade, discredit or defame any team or person. Its sole purpose is to improve the skills of young soccer players, coaches and the game itself.
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