FOOTBALL MOST SORROWFUL DEFEATS IN RECENT TIMES

In the spirit of Good Friday, Soccer4life takes a look at six most Sorrowful defeats in recent times.
Sorrowful in the sense that the fans didn't expect it, The side that lost put in so much effort in the game or in the competition, or much were expected from the team that lost.
So we begin our count down with the most recent of them all.
1. Manchester United 1 - 2 Real Madrid ( 2 - 3)
In his day job, the Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir is an insurance agent, a man no doubt given to sober judgements on the arbitrary, irrational mishaps that come out of nowhere to blight the ordinary lives of everyday folk. It was the clerk from Istanbul who turned into the force that wreaks the havoc.
His decision to send off Nani just before the hour was one of those moments when a referee, faced with a difficult call, panics and turns it into a disaster. It was arguably, under the guidelines given to referees, a booking for "reckless" play but the collision between Nani's raised foot and Alvaro Arbeloa did not merit the red card that Cuneyt brandished from his breast pocket.

Sir Alex Ferguson rushed down from his seat in the United dug-out in order to protest like a man fleeing a burning house, but the damage was already done and by the time he reached the touchline he could see that this season of promise for his side was starting to unravel.

Leading the game through Sergio Ramos' own goal, United were picked off by Jose Mourinho's team, who made their one-man advantage count with devastating effect. In the immediate aftermath of the red card, Ferguson exhorted the Old Trafford crowd to roar their 10 men home, but an hour after the end of the game he was, according to his assistant Mike Phelan, "in no fit state" even to attend the post-match press conference.
As goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo sent Man utd out of the Champions League right in front of the Old Trafford faithful.

2. Arsenal 1 - 2 Barcelona (2006 Champions league finals.
Arsenal came close to unimaginable victory in the European Cup final and left the Stade de France with an unforgettable defeat. Reduced to 10 men by the early red card for Jens Lehmann, they not only took the lead through Sol Campbell but appeared capable of retaining it. Barcelona, for all their fame, were desperate before Henrik Larsson was brought on to restore strategic intelligence to the attack.

The then 34-year-old  left the club and returned to his native Sweden glowing with the culmination of his career. Larsson's glance set up an equaliser from Samuel Eto'o in the 76th minute and the scorer benefited from a horribly tight off-side decision. Larsson provided the winner four minutes later. A wonderful reverse pass from the right picked out his fellow substitute Juliano Belletti, who pounded through to smite a winner that flew through the legs of Manuel Almunia. It was his first goal for Barcelona and that brought an end to impressive and resilent Arsenal Champions League Campagain.
Arsenal were dominant then in the psychological war. Unfortunately for Wenger, an instant of Barcelona deftness was deadly the ordeal had intensified and Arsenal could not withstand it.

3. AC Milan 3 - 3 Liverpool (2 - 3 Penalties Champions League Finals 2005)
The glory of Liverpool is reborn. They are champions of Europe after winning a shoot-out 3-2, with the decider struck by Vladimir Smicer and confirmed by Jerzy Dudek's save from Andriy Shevchenko. But it had taken a near miracle from them to send this match into extra-time. Even there, Dudek, with three minutes left, made a double save from Shevchenko that was all but inconceivable. Liverpool's exhilarating powers of recovery, after being 3-0 behind at the interval, inspired the greatest European Cup final of modern times.
How painful and sorrowful these words sounds to an AC Milan Follower.
A game in which Ac Milan approached with all manner of confidence, who could blame them when Liverpool narrowly squeeced their way to the finals against an experienced and Shevinized AC Milan.

I remeber reading a line in the paper where the AC Milan president tell the then Coach Carlo Ancelloti "We have already won the trophy just go there and get me the Cup" but no it turned out that the cup wasn't to be his for that season, he had to wait for 2 more seasons to lay his hand on the famous European Club trophy.
Fears that the Ataturk Olympic Stadium would prove unfit to stage the final appeared justified last night. The lack of public transport, adequate infrastructure and basic preparations left Uefa officials privately embarrassed at the choice of stadium. Chaotic traffic policing saw one access road closed, stretching journey times to three hours and technicians battled power cuts while struggling to connect telephone lines for reporters and broadcasters in time for kick-off.
Milan (4-3-1-2): Dida; Cafu, Nesta, Stam, Maldini; Gattuso (Rui Costa, 112), Pirlo, Seedorf (Serginho, 86); Kaka; Shevchenko, Crespo (Tomasson, 86). Subs not used: Abbiati, Kaladze, Costacurta, Dhorasoo.
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Dudek; Finnan (Hamann, h-t), Carragher, Hyypia, Traoré; García, Alonso, Gerrard, Riise; Kewell (Smicer, 23); Baros (Cissé, 85). Subs not used: Carson, Josemi, Núñez, Biscan.
Booked: Carragher, Baros.
Referee: M E Mejuto González (Spain).

4. Liverpool 1 - 0 Chelsea
Chelsea's hope of reaching their first UEFA Champions league finals vanished like thin air right before the eyes, as a Luis Garcia's strike was enough to see them packing.
They led inside four minutes when Milan Baros beat Petr Cech to the ball and Luis Garcia tapped in, despite Chelsea claiming it did not cross the line.
Liverpool's defence did the rest as they withstood everything Chelsea's ineffective attack could throw at them.
After drawing 0-0 in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool knew they needed a goal, but even they could not have envisaged doing it so early.
John Arne Riise started the move by cutting in from the left and finding Steven Gerrard, who played a first-time flick with the inside of his right foot.The pass fell perfectly for Baros, who knocked it over the onrushing Cech and went down under the challenge from his international team-mate.

Luis Garcia was left to add the finishing touch, despite William Gallas' attempts to clear off the line.Blues manager Jose Mourinho would later claim it had not crossed the line, but with television replays inconclusive, any argument was academic.Reds boss Rafael Benitez was unwilling to say whether he thought the ball had gone in.Not that the Spaniard had to - by then he knew he had added another glorious chapter to his new club's rich history books.After that goal the expected Chelsea onslaught never materialised, with the newly-crowned Premiership champions enjoying the bulk of possession but surprisingly devoid of any sort of attacking invention and so they were left licking their wounds.

5. Portugal 0 - 1 Grecce( Euro 2004 Finals)
Greece pulled off one of the biggest shocks in football history to beat Portugal in the Euro 2004 final.
Angelos Charisteas scored from the Greeks' first corner after 57 minutes, heading in an Angelis Basinas cross.And the Greek defence then stifled the hosts' flair in a tense second half, led by the inspired Traianos Dellas.Portugal surged forwards and came close through Cristiano Ronaldo, Maniche, and Luis Figo but Greece goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis stood firm.The hosts were frustrated from the start by a superbly-drilled Greek side, pulled together by coach Otto Rehhagel.It was disappointment for Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who failed to add the European crown to the World Cup he won with Brazil two years ago.

This finals will always be remember as the day the then young Cristiano Ronaldo showed the world how good he was when it comes to crying as he wept bitterly and uncontrolable, one cannot help but imagine how much sorrow filled his little heart that night.

6. Denmark 4 - 1 Nigeria (Second Round France 1998 World Cup)
Having performed so well in 1996 by winning the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Gold Medal. The super Eagles of Nigeria jet into France with high hopes and expectations. Finishing Top of the group despite loosing 3 -1 to Paraguay and conceding the fastest goal of the tournament, they were to face Denmark, a country they knew little or nothing about.
When Nigerians got to know about the second round clash with Denmark, the Whole nation were in a joyful mood saying "This Denmark na moi moi" make we do go meet Brazil joor for quarter finals".
on that faithful Sunday evening, the eyes of the whole Nigeria were glued to their television set to see as their darling Eagles will crush the head of the Danes. But things started going from bad to worst as  Peter Moller scored on nearly his first touch of the tournament and Denmark had a pair of goals in the first 12 minutes and then Sand came in to apply the final nail on the coffin when he became the fastest substitute to score at the World Cup.

"It is not about preparation and tactics," Denmark coach Bo Johansson said when asked about inserting Moller in the lineup. "It is about players who suddenly find their way of playing."
The Danes found it after a mediocre opening-round performance that saw them advance mainly because they were in a group with then weaklings South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
And so the Olympic champion Nigeria became the last of five African nations to be eliminated from the World Cup after it was routed by Denmark 4-1, sending the Danes into the quarterfinals at the France 98 World Cup where they were kindly eliminated by Brazil.
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