Liverpool have a habit of possessing the best player in the world for short periods – Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez come to mind.
The 2018 incarnation of this is Mohammed Salah, who has had a season of such note that records have been swept aside by him and the team. Indeed, I said to a colleague on Friday that, without him, Liverpool wouldn't have much of a chance.
So too did the Brains Trust of Real Madrid (a team that gets bailed out every year by the people of Madrid to enable it to have 'Galacticos' (the greatest players and the highest wage bill in the world)). One of these 'Galacticos' is Sergio Ramos who cynically injured Salah, Liverpool's best player in the first half, causing him to exit the match early and for good. Later, in the second half, Ramos elbowed the Liverpool goal keeper in the head (a sending off offense) and unsurprisingly minutes later (and probably concussed) the keeper gave away the softest of goals.
Now, readers are probably saying 'Russell, that's sour grapes' and you'd possibly be right. I would even admit to the fact that I doubted that Liverpool would win before the match.
And I would accept a victor in any sport so long as it is done in an 'above board' way, in much the same way at there is an innate sense of equity and fairness which is a foundation of life for many of us. Who can forget the 'under arm' incident in cricket? Or Andy Haden diving from a line out at Cardiff Arms Park? Or Maradona's "hand of God"?
There are rules to deal with the above and 'codes of conduct' for participants. Then there is just the natural concepts of sportsmanship and fair play. In fact - to tie even a small part of this article back to business – "to be fair" is one of the most overused statements in business based conversations.
The best approach is to act ethically, no matter what the code. There are Sergio Ramos's everywhere in football and, from time to time, they do win – but in the long run (to everyone except their fans and supporters) they're losers.
