Tale of two captains

After the final whistle of the 2012 Champions League Final, among all the Chelsea celebrations and Bayern Munich sorrow, two very striking images stood out to me. They showed everything that was wrong with football, as well as the beautiful side to it. No, it has nothing to do with how anyone played, because I don't buy into the school of thought that Chelsea won when they shouldn't have. They didn't break the rules, and in the end, within the limits of the rules of football, they won the football match. It wasn't pretty, and Bayern Munich really let themselves down with shoddy finishing, but Chelsea still won, and they still earned it.

No, the good and evil of football was shown in how the captains reacted, in two photos that I will remember for a long time:

You can't see it in this photo, but he even put on his shinpads

John Terry, the captain of Chelsea, had been suspended for the final, after a stupid foul he committed in the semis. According to UEFA's own rules, if a captain doesn't play the final due to suspension, then he isn't eligible to lift the trophy. It's part of their philosophy to promote good sportsmanship, and the reward of winning and winning fair. However, after denying Manchester United's suspended captain Roy Keane the chance to lift the trophy in 1999, they saw fit to change the rules in this case, allowing the man who almost cost the team the chance to even be in the final to celebrate as if he'd won it himself. Although he deserved his medal for his performances throughout the tournament, I find it ridiculous that he would be allowed to be the one to lift the trophy first, after Lampard captained the side heroically on the day, as well as for most of the semifinal after Terry's early dismissal.

There is something unsettling about a man grinning like he had worked hard on the day to earn it, when really he had made it harder for his team than it needed to be. Keane famously said in 1999 that he was ashamed to wear the medal that he wasn't there to earn on the final hurdle. Terry felt no such shame, making sure he was surrounded by photographers while still holding it up. However, there was still class to be found.

Lahm stands tall after his teammates lose control

It must hurt to lose a final. It must especially hurt because they were the strong favourites. It must surely be worse to lose it by conceding a last minute goal, before losing a shootout. It must be even worse because it all happened at their home stadium, the beautiful Allianz Arena. And yet, in all that despair, Phillip Lahm never lets his head drop, never lets his himself lose control, and never stops being the captain. He led the way during the match, and in despair he doesn't stop. A true leader on and off the pitch, Phillip Lahm represents all the sportsmanship and strong nature that UEFA claim to be keen to promote. In this one photo, he shows his class, class that came after a performance worthy of more than a runners up medal. He dispatched his penalty coolly, and must have thought that his teammates would follow suit.

As it turned out, even though he defended stoutly, his strikers and midfielders ahead of him didn't put away enough of the countless chances they had to win the match before extra time and penalties. But after all that, after heartbreak in the German Bundesliga, German Cup, and now Champions League, he shows true character, telling himself not to lose it, even when all his men around him break down into tears. He reminds me of Richie McCaw circa 2007. And that's always a good comparison.