European Champions Cup 05/13/08

The European Champions Cup 134 2008 final (watch here) featured two clan mates from Turkey: Level 62 _sagopa_ (Crescent-Stars) and level 98 must_61 (Crescent-Stars). _sagopa_ advanced to the final via a 2-1 victory over hrvoje_5 (level 69 from Croatia) in the quarterfinal and a WO over mick9464 (level 83 from France) in the semifinals.

Must_61 instead got a quarterfinal WO from macedonia_ (level 57 from … Macedonia!) and a 4-3 semifinal victory over oranjes (level 59 from Germany). Despite the narrow margin of victory in his semifinal match, must_61 was the heavy favorite to win the final.

_sagopa_ started the game with a very bold 4-2-4 formation, but his primary tactic was more of a 4-4-2 formation. It seems that the 4-2-4 is very popular these days with users who wish to put the pressure on players who hold the ball in their own end of the pitch. Must_61 relied on a 4-3-1-2 formation.

In the early minutes of the game, many passes played into the box went wide and players ran out of room. Nerves? Bad midnight snack? Fatigue? All possible factors, but no one would admit to anything. In the 17^th minute, must_61 intercepted _sagopa_’s pass going from one end of his box to the other, then cleared the ball out of danger to the midfield. _sagopa_ gave chase after K. Tolgay, but Tolgay played a clever pass forward to C. Toktimur who had only one defender to beat.

A wild forward dash to goal ensued and Toktimur was able to fire a rocket past the helpless goalkeeper! Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on one’s perspective), the shot hit nothing but the post and _sagopa_ avoided early danger!

In the 31^st minute, C. Enfal intercepted a lazy pass made by _sagopa_ near mid-pitch, then sprinted his way into the left side of the box but only to fire a weak shot into the keeper’s gloves. _sagopa_’s best chance of the half came at the 38^th minute: a ball crossed into the box found an unmarked attacker but must_61 was able to poke the ball out for a harmless corner. With a bit of luck, _sagopa_ was able to keep the match scoreless at half-time when it could have easily have been a 2-0 lead for must_61.

It was expected and not surprising that must_61 would come out with heavy pressure in the 2^nd half. Immediately after kick-off, K. Tolgay darted unmarked into the top of the box then strangely retreated backwards.

By running around, must_61 allowed time for 3 attackers to get into the box and then used Tolgay to lob the ball inside to H. Tanoren. Despite having a defender marking Tanoren, _sagopa_ was unable to stop Tanoren from firing and scoring in the 47^th minute. Gooooooooooooool!

In the 52^nd minute E. Akansel sprinted up the pitch and played a clever ball to C. Enfal at the top of the box. Enfal could not be tackled and struck the ball into the lower left corner of the goal! The route was on as C. Enfal scored two more goals (68′ and 72′) for an amazing hat trick to win Man of the Match honors.

There was no doubt that must_61 was determined to win after a subpar and rather unlucky first half; instead of panicking, he just simply played better (won more balls, made the right passes, timed his runs well) and was the better decision-maker in the 2^nd half.

Match Statistics

_sagopa_                                  must_61

0                     Goals                        4
1                  Shots on Goal              6
1                     Corners                     0
0                Fouls Committed           0
49                    Passes                    36
57%               Pass Ratio                 77%
53%               Possession                47%

View the match in its entirety here.

scoobie(reporter)