True Grit

Last night's match between Man Utd and Aston Villa showed what separates great teams from their lesser competitors. Truly great teams never give up and play the match until the final whistle. They attack relentlessly, defend valiantly and leave every ounce of their being out on the pitch. They play as one cohesive unit, completely trusting in the judgment of their managers and the leadership of their skippers when the match precariously hangs in the balance and the collective hope of their fans sits squarely on their shoulders - and they deliver!

Man Utd's team last night was less-than-ideal. The team missed its two defensive anchors, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, and two attacking stars, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney. Fergie fielded a mix of old (Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs) and young players (Johnny Evans, Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda) to compensate for the loss of the four starters. Man Utd was down 1-2 but fought hard until Ronaldo equalized with a weak but well-placed left-footer in the 80th minute. The match was destined to be a draw but Man Utd didn't look like it was about to accept the result laying down. It played with the sheer desperation of a soldier with his last round of ammo, attacking Villa's defense with such ferocity, and it ultimately paid off. The unlikely hero was the 17-year Federico Macheda, who was making his first-team debut. When he came in to replace Nani I'm sure virtually everybody had these two questions running in their heads: Who the heck is Macheda, and why him and not Park Ji-Sung? Every great team has a great manager behind it and players who put their complete trust in him, and trust the Man Utd players' did in Fergie's decision to play Macheda, instead of the more experienced Park. In all, it was an exhilarating match last night even though the result didn't go the way I wanted it to.

To be fair to my beloved team, Liverpool, which is also one of the greatest teams in the history of football, there's always the "Istanbul Miracle" of 2005. The Champions League final against AC Milan was the greatest Liverpool match I've seen in my whole life, and for me what epitomizes a great team. For those who don't remember or are infected with short-term amnesia, at the end of the first-half Liverpool was down 0-3 but clawed its way back into the game to make it 3-3 and finally won it in penalty kicks. Simply breathtaking! Most teams would have given up in the second half after being down by three goals, especially if they were up against the much-vaunted Milan's defense commandeered by the imperturbable Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta. Great teams like Liverpool will find ways to win even when all the decks are stacked against them, just like Man Utd did last night.

I guess to encapsulate the essence of a great team in a short sentence is simply "a team that finds a way to win regardless of what predicament it's in." Great teams don't look for excuses to lose and will keep on fighting until the last drop of sweat, blood and tear.