The Milan Baros Conspiracy

By: Inara | July 28th, 2007

When will the football gods lay off? It’s not even that Milan Baros goes looking for bad luck. Misfortune just finds him. Who else out there would be suspended four matches for making an innocent gesture at a player?

The latest notch on his bedpost of mishaps is being denied a rightful goal during today’s Trophée des Champions. This is the second time in two weeks where he scored a perfectly valid goal only to have it declared inadmissible (he also scored a goal against Lille that was denied). He also is always on the receiving end of fantastic opportunities and creates some great plays, but for some reason or another, is unable to actually put the ball into the net. I’m now convinced that Baros is the best non-scoring striker out there.

He tries. He really does.

Anyway, about the match. The answer to the question I asked yesterday was indeed a yes. I didn’t see the game yet, just a minute long highlight, so I just have the bare minimum for you guys (though Jo promised to come back from the game and share his impressions!).

Lyon won 2 -1, though Sochaux scored first thanks to Valter Birsa. Lyon were quick to rebound seven minutes later, thanks to Karim Benzema setting up for Sidney Govou (who had an amazing game…for once). Right before the first half ended, Kader Keita took a corner, which Benzema headed to Cris, who scored and put Lyon in the lead.

The second half was rather uneventful. The only thing of note was Fabio Grosso’s first moments in an OL jersey – he came on during the last ten minutes. There were also a lot of missed opportunities throughout the game, so that’s something else that needs to be worked out…like always.

~~Second~~ First trophy of the season.

On Lyon’s official forums, Keita and Govou were voted by fans as the best two players today. They were dangerous the entire game, and with the Jeremy Toulalan – Kim Kallstrom pairing looking better than ever, and with Grosso showing some promising moves, it doesn’t look too bad for Lyon. This is the sixth Trophée des Champions that they’ve won, and each time a successful title campaign followed. I’m hoping it’s a good omen. As for Alain Perrin, so far so good. He brought home the Peace Cup trophy for the first time in three attempts, and he’s continued OL’s traditions so far.

Some observations: I’m really not liking the red numbering on the home kits. The blue color from last year stood out more. Also, from looking at the pictures, it looks like Lyon is close to regaining it’s family mentality. Grosso, Keita, Baros, Belhadj, and Mathieu Bodmer have not only slotted into the team like they’ve been there forever, but they are really enjoying themselves (I’m especially glad for Baros – when he first arrived at Lyon and was lonely, it broke my heart). And take a look at Kim Kallstrom – he does not look like an unhappy man. Phew.

In fact, the only unhappy players are Juninho, Govou, and Sylvain Wiltord, three oldies. Let’s hope they work out their problems.

Very Short Recap (I’ll find a better one when it’s posted):

Match pictures (stolen from Getty Images, so bear with the watermarks):

~~Second~~ First trophy of the season.