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International press hail CL final

The 2008 Champions League final has been hailed as a fine advert for English football in the international press.

Manchester United won the first all-English final against Chelsea on penalties after goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard had the scores tie 1-1 after 90 minutes.

In Portugal the emphasis was placed on the sizeable Portuguese contingent present in the two squads, with Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a first-half goal but missed a penalty, receiving special mention.

O Jogo said: "A crazy night in the Champions League of Manchester United. The first for Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani.

"Cristiano Ronaldo stopped in his run-up (for the penalty) but failed to fool (Petr) Cech. But Terry failed to give a first European Cup to Chelsea and Hilario, the second to Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira.

"Ronaldo has Terry and Van der Sar to thank, but nobody can strip him of his deserved title of best in the world."

France too concentrated on their own, with L'Equipe labelling Patrice Evra as brave, Claude Makelele as unfortunate, Florent Malouda as ineffective, while choosing not to pass judgment on Nicolas Anelka's decisive penalty miss.

They also had a dig at Chelsea's mega-rich Roman Abramovich, saying: "Manchester United easily possess the best team in England and, after Wednesday, the best in Europe. Chelsea and Roman Abramovich know now more than ever that money does not bring you happiness."

In Holland, Edwin van der Sar was the obvious focal point of the Dutch media after he saved the final spot-kick.

AD Sportwereld said: "After an evening of screaming excitement Edwin van der Sar and Manchester United rejoiced in a bizarre Champions league final.

"The colourless game that was feared beforehand by the critics, was in reality a football fight filled with emotions."

Germany's attention was on Michael Ballack with Bild Zeitung saying: "Michael Ballack collapsed to the floor and shed bitter tears in the Moscow rain: our captain lost in the final of the Champions League in penalties - what a drama!"

In Spain, Madrid-based newspaper Marca hailed the game as evidence of the dominance of the English Premier League at the moment.

Cleverly coining the phrase 'The Fergie Babes', Marca said: "The encounter, the second offensive after the battle of the Premier League, let nobody down.

"The hegemony of English football at the moment and the potential of these two sides was reflected in a hair-raising encounter, which was decided by a lottery."

They also highlighted that the win put England level with Italy and Spain on the number of European Cups won by teams from those countries.

Marca's rivals in Barcelona, El Mundo Deportivo, perhaps still a little upset by Barca's elimination from the competition at the hands of Manchester United, decided to praise Chelsea while blasting referee Lubos Michel.

Under the headline "Terryble", they said: "Chelsea were the most ambitious side but Van der Sar's posts saved Manchester United from shots from Drogba and Lampard.

"Lubos Michel did not help matters with some poor refereeing and leaving Chelsea with 10 men after Drogba saw red after a scrap started by (Manchester United's Carlos) Tevez."

In Italy, Gazzetta dello Sport read: "It should have been a great game. And it was. And that's not easy in games of this importance.

"There were goals, plenty of class, and the shudders of opportunities gone begging. Just the right amount of agony. The rain poured down. So much balance, with a Manchester who started and finished better, and a Chelsea who made the match in the middle."

Their rival Corriere dello Sport agreed, while also managing to add an Italian angle with the line: "Triumph for Manchester! And Lampard's off to Inter."

source:teamtalk

note: pehh mengantuk gila aku hari ni.... tidur 2 jam jeee layan game ni.... ingat Man Utd dah kalah dahhh tapi Terry gemuruh under pressure give the advantage back to MU. Both team played well and it can be either way. Congratulation for both team... seperti kata Vince semuanya pemenang tiada pengalah