Mad Dog Gravesen by Chris Sweeney

Author:Chris Sweeney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2019-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Mission Complete

TODAY’S generation of players all dream of being in the Champions League. It’s the strongest competition anywhere, and arguably even harder to win than the World Cup. With the vast riches sloshing around, Europe’s clubs are able to sign the best players no matter where they come from. You don’t face one star man and his supporting cast, you end up facing Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis all at the same time. Lionel Messi is a great example. He’s from Argentina and regarded by many as the greatest player ever, but he’s been at Barcelona for his entire career surrounded by world-class operators. There are no passengers in the upper echelons of the European game.

No player takes it lightly to line up on a Champions League night; it’s something they dream of from the moment they first play football as a kid. The moment it hits them is when both teams stand on the pitch, looking back at the crowd in front of the cameras, and that spine-tingling classical anthem starts up. The hairs on the back of everyone’s neck stand up and the adrenaline starts to pump.

Now it was happening for Thomas. If he’d stayed at Everton, he’d have been preparing for a trip to Aston Villa in England’s second biggest city, Birmingham. But here he was in a crackling Bernabéu, set to pit his wits against the cream at the very top level.

All the stars were refreshed and back in the Madrid team along with Thomas, and together they were preparing to face Turin giants Juventus. Due to a colour clash, the Italians were resplendent in their blue away kit and their team contained the likes of Ibrahimović, Pavel Nedvěd, Del Piero, Thuram, Mauro Camoranesi and Fabio Cannavaro. It didn’t get any better. Two juggernauts driven by top operators about to collide over the course of two games. With the home fans putting the wind in their sails, Madrid laid siege to the Italians’ goal, spurred on by Zidane and Beckham, who were both supplying clever balls. They scored with a header from Helguera but despite dominating the game and Juventus having their moments too, it remained 1-0 at full time. It had been a pulsating, dynamic game full of strength, power, skill and pace, the sort that makes the Champions League so popular, the best players going at it hammer and tongs.

Thomas dovetailed well with his superstar team-mates. He’d been spraying passes around and did not look remotely out of place. All the assertions from past team-mates and coaches about how good he was were turning out to be accurate. Even more shocking was the fact he seemed to be listening to the manager, playing his position and working for the team in a role no one thought he could.

Before the return leg, Madrid had league business to attend to and squared up to Real Betis at the Bernabéu. Still flying after their great victory over Juventus, they won 3-1 with Thomas once again looking comfortable and accomplished in midfield.

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