The Run of Play is a blog about
the wonder and terror of soccer.

We left the window open during a match in October 2007 and a strange wind blew into the room.

Now we walk the forgotten byways of football with a lonely tread, searching for the beautiful, the bewildering, the haunting, and the absurd.

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How Beautiful It Was, When It Wasn’t

In honor of Andriy Shevchenko’s reunion with Jose Mourinho in the Milan derby this weekend, I offer you this moving tribute to their time together at Chelsea. The text is a little hard to read, but it takes us through Sheva’s dark early days at the club, then shows how his hard work, brilliant play, and—above all—unswerving loyalty finally made him the Chelsea legend he is today. Guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye of some shadow version of you that lives in an alternate universe.

Enjoy the matches this weekend. I’ll be back on Monday to talk about the derbies and whether it’s too early in the season for Arsenal fans to get excited about their 3-1 demolition of whoever it is they’ll be playing.

Also next week: Vandal-prone is finally out of prison (I’ll let him explain) and should be at the Revolution-Crew match tomorrow night. Tropical Storm Kyle hits the New England coast right around kick-off time. Pray.

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How Beautiful It Was, When It Wasn’t

by Brian Phillips · September 26, 2008

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