When you encounter somebody being bullied, what do you do?

This is not something that happen to me but it happen to my friend. He witness his colleague being bullied by fellow co-workers with some real nasty comments. I'll not reveal the details on a public blog but it is definitely something that make a normal person feel very injustice for the victim. Though I only hear one side of the story but I do feel strongly against those work bullies.

How does one handle such situation?

a. Will one speak up against those bullies & risk their own relationship or risk being marked?

b. Will one just offer only a listening ear & perhaps a few comforting words?

c. Will one just accept that this is the fact of life that the weak will get bullied by the aggressive or scheming one and nothing can be done to help the weak if they don't become stronger on their own?

d. Will one think we shouldn't be busybody to meddle into other issue? We have other better things to do in life like enjoyment and $$$ making.

e. Will one help to offer strong recommendations to the victim on how to handle such bullies in a no win situation?

Which of the above options would you take? Realistically, most people would probably go for option d because as long as it doesn't impact us, it doesn't matter. Some suggested option c, the self-acceptance choice.

I think I have a problem because my feeling towards the matter are non c and d options type. I don't like watching bullies get their way especially against innocent people. At the same time, I'm aware that we need to adopt an intelligent approach to handle these bullies rather than going head-on. The problem is what is the intelligent approach? There's seem no easy answer to this. Frequently, one will encounter lots of doubts or questions being posed regarding whether to help or support the victim against such bullies. Someone pointed out the fault is likely to lies with the victim because he's powerless to defend himself. Why should one help him? Accept the fact of working life. This is normal.

I remember when I wanted to rescue the stray cat out from death penalty, there are many roadblocks. It is never a straightforward process. One will encounter resistance, the book says, the high costs, the deterring thoughts of whether if this is worth the effort since its only an animal, the inconvienence, the future consideration etc. It is never easy when you wanted to do something for the weak or less fortunate and it may also not necessary pay off. You may get disappointed when things don't turn out well. Some may also think you're wasting your time, better spend on more important things in life. Some may even say there you see, I told you so when things didn't work out. Feel if one is to help the weak or less fortunate, it will be beneficial to know it is never smooth sailing, you'll get into choppy waters and rock real bad. Preseverance is key at this stage and just got to bit the teeth & go with the wind direction flow & live with the choppy waves. Calm sea and maybe the harbour will eventually come one's way. The cat was finally rescued and started to eat well. There are challenges ahead but its a encouraging sign that it did not lose its life unnecessarily. So what's the big deal about a cat life? Does it make me richer? No, in fact poorer. But it make me feel better that I did something that my heart wanted rather than brushing it off as none of my business or this is a fact of life.

How about the bully problem on my friend's end? For now, I think I'll advice him option B and possibly E if he can understand the situation better.

Sir Bobby Robson Day

I remember today is exactly one year after English football lost one of its most popular, highly respected & inspirational figure, Sir Bobby Robson. Times change but beautiful memories of Sir Bobby Robson will always remain in my mind. Salute to a true English gentleman of the football world.

I like the line in the song:

"Becoz he's wor Sir Bobby

And he took the National chair

MAKE ENGLAND FLY , SAW GAZZA CRY

AND ALMOST WON IT THERE."

(England were the better team on that 1990 night in Turin)

"Becoz he's wor Sir Bobby, He gives football a spark..."

Message about Sir Bobby from his former England team striker Gary Lineker

I'm no Geordie fan but feel very happy that Sir Bobby got to manage Newcastle Utd towards the late stage of his managerial career, the club that he supported as a boy. Though he was 70 years old then & grand-daddy manager, his passion to do well for the Magpies is still there. In fact, he gave the Toon Army fans their best performance for a few seasons since Kevin Keegan 1st reign as manager.

An interview with Sir Bobby Robson on his 75th Birthday

My good feeling for Sir Bobby Robson started with the England football team, mainly from the good performances in the Italia 90 World Cup. I still remember before Italia 90 & during pre-world cup final qualifying campaign, Sir Bobby Robson didn't give a lot of playing time for Paul Gascoigne. The media and football fans were all screaming for Gazza inclusion but very often, Sir Bobby brush it off and choosing to give minimal attention to English football most talented player. Gazza wasn't impressed at that time if I remember correctly. Maybe he was protecting Gazza or keeping his secret weapon. He launched this weapon on the biggest show in football, Italia 90. And as we all know, Gazza put up a fantastic show at Italia 90. I think Gazza is still very grateful for the influence that Sir Bobby has on his career during his prime All great managers have their strong ideas and Sir Bobby Robson wasn't afraid to change his very strong idea of a 4-4-2 formation to a new sweeper system midway through Italia 90. This was also one of the factor that enabled England to progress to the semi-finals.

Aside from Newcastle, Ipswich & England, Sir Bobby Robson is also very well-respected across European continent where he has managed teams such as Barcelona, PSV, Sporting Lisbon and Porto and lead them to football triumph. He also played an important role in the success of 1976 born Ronaldo, the Brazilian World Cup striker, who used to play for him @ Barcelona. Sir Bobby is the also the "shifu" /teacher of Jose Mourinho. The special one was understudy to Sir Bobby Robson at both Sporting & Barcelona.

Sir Bobby Robson is also a survivor of harsh reality of life and battled cancer many times in his life. He lost the battle last year but setup a cancer foundation organization to fund research efforts. More details can be found at : http://www.sirbobbyrobsonfoundation.org.uk/

I miss the football days of Sir Bobby Robson but will remember him for his immense contribution to English football. He is the manager of the finest England team that I've watch during my time. Thank you very much, Sir Bobby Robson. May you be well and happy wherever you're now. I believe your football passion will link you back to the game one day.

Yesterday Once More: 1990 AISS Inter-class Football

July, 1990 Part 2 Flashback

AISS interclass 7-a-side soccer competition 2nd round, Sec 3G vs Sec 3K. There was unrest in the 3K camp as one senior who missed the 1st game voiced his opinion on the team selection against 3F. There was a reshuffle but I retain my place in the starting line-up. YQ came on as a sub for 3K... and came closest to scoring when his shot hit the crossbar. It ended 0-0 again. Penalty shootout.

‎3G star players include good dribbler Weiyao, former sec1D/2D classmate Jincai (can cross wonderful ball but scared of muddy pitch - don't want to get dirty), Goh Kar Peng (not the least interested in football but can play it well), Nasen (senior player). 3K star players include Peiqing (schoolteam), Rudy (tall & pack powerful shot) & Senior player manager.

Prior to the kickoff of the game in the late afternoon, my suppose to be opponent Goh Kar Peng from 3G brought me for a p/t job interview at Burger King Thomson after school.Was happy to see friendly girls at BK Thomson. We took bus together back to school for the game. The match finished goalless and penalty time again as the crowd gather around the goalpost.

Ghazali was 3K goalie for the penalty shootout and for 3G, they have a tall goalie in Jinshun. 3G will take the penalty kick first and it is their goalie Jinshun who'll take it. He misses (or save). Now 3K turn and yes, I volunteer to go first this time, still nervous though much better than the last time. Among the crowd watching is a guy from the other class, who has spoken to me earlier that he notice my glancing tactic used against 3F. He was near the goalpost and man, my mind was thinking which side should I do it this time. I was a little affected by his comment. I made up my mind to slot it to the keeper left side again. 1..2..3, my right foot hit the ball but it never goes left, it went unobediently straight and Qingshun easily keep it out and make up for his earlier miss. I was disappointed with myself. What happen today?

‎3G Weiyao was next for the kick and he smacked his shot hard and it went in off the right post. Likewise, 3K Peiqing repeated the same feat by scoring in off the inner post. It was 1-1 after 2 penalty kicks. From then on for the next few kicks, everytime 3G score or miss, 3K would follow suit. I remember Senior player manager try an audacious effort to score the penalty by hitting the ball with the outside of his foot but it went wide of the right hand post. I can't remember exactly what was the final penalty kick score but pressure eventually cracked for 3K as 3G ended up the winners with the winning penalty. 3K was dumped out of the inter-class tournament and I was disappointed. I remember senior player manager tried to comfort me. I didn't cry, just disappointed because we wanted to win it for the class.

That was the year where 3K soccer championship hopes were dashed. I can't remember who won the Sec 3 championship in 1990, maybe 3A? On a positive note, 3K may have found a striker for next year tournament in YQ who earned good review for performance as a sub. I remember he ever told me that though many of us may not agree with the senior player manager approach, it is him that enable him to have a chance to play.

3K Football Reunion on Sunday morning

Last Friday, received a surprise sms from Eddy, my ex-secondary schoolmate, who is organising a football kickabout session on Sunday in Yishun for ex-AISS folks. So Yongquan, Huiyang and myself went for the football session on Sunday morning at 8am. We met Eddy and Rudy, both from Sec 3K during our upper secondary school days. This is the first time that we played with them since 1991. It was a good workout. Looking back at those sec school days, I decide to recall one of the Inter-class football games that we played in 1990.

July, 1990 Flashback:

AISS interclass 7-a-side soccer competition 1st round, Sec 3F vs Sec 3K. I was playing in defence for 3K with my double-coin brand school shoes against the opponents in boots. My buddy YQ, a frequent scorer in basketball court football was a sub and didn't get to play. Still remember his disappointment. 3K was the favourite to win but 3F managed to secure a goalless draw. So the game went into a penalty shootout.

‎3K star players include Peiqing (schoolteam), Rudy (tall & pack powerful shot) & handsome Mohd Noor. 3F star players: Karthi (school x-country runner), Guangmin (my ex 1D/2D captain). Karthi was to become the 3F goalie for the penalty shootout whereas Ghazali keep goal for 3K.

So the penalty kicks begin. 1st penalty taker from 3K & 3F both misses the penalty. Then somebody (i think Karthi) scored the 1st penalty for 3F. 3K Peiqing misses.Oh Gosh. After 3 penalty kicks from each side, it was 1-0 to 3F and an upset was on the cards. WT Tey was to be the 4th penalty taker for 3K, his face was pale and hands shivering. I was really nervous, worried I might miss.

I remember I place the ball on the penalty spot and look towards Karthi on his right hand side. With a left glance, I proceed to placed the ball towards Karthi left hand post & yes, Karthi was decieved by the left glance & didn't dive left ...side & GOAL.3K has equalised in the penalty shootout. I scored and I remember running after behind the goalpost to pick the football, don't know why I did that but I was relieved. 3F went on to miss another two penalties. 3K Imran (i think) then scored the winning penalty to make the final score via penalty shootout: Sec 3K 2 Sec 3F 1. What a nervy 1st penalty shootout experience for me. 3K to advance to next round to meet 3G.

Burnley visit to Singapore football

English Championship league side Burnley, which defeated Spurs 4-2 on the last day of last season visit Singapore this week. $6 match ticket is a big bargain to catch a former EPL Premier league side in action compared to the hefty sum that many pay to watch the likes of Liverpool, Man U,etc play holiday football. Bought the tickets yesterday and met a very helpful V Sundramoorthy @ Jalan Besar Stadium. Oh boy, he still looks in good shape. Legend, made my day.

Went to the game early today at 5pm because Alan, a hardcore fan of junior football wanted to catch the Singapore Youth Olympic team (U-15) against the NFA U-18 team. This is the curtain raiser and the YOG team was given a lesson by their senior counterpart with a 4-0 loss. They also have their Indian leftback sent off. He put in a very strong but fair sliding tackle but the kayu referee didn't see it that way and send him straight to the dressing room. The last goal by the NFA U-18 team was a beautiful volley. Lots of improvement beckons the YOG team if they want to succeed against strong teams in the YOG.

As the curtain raiser game concludes, the crowd begin to fill up the relatively small capacity Jalan Besar Stadium. Was puzzled why FAS doesn't want to prolong the National Stadium lifespan by making it a venue for YOG football games. Joachim highlight that it would be embarrasing that the 60,000 stadium can't be filled and would look like an white elephant if football matches are played there. Such is the local interests of the YOG games that the organizers might be worried about poor attendance & hence put the 6000 capacity Jalan Besar Stadium as the venue. Insurance plan or cosmetics @ work for face saving objective. On the crowd, I realize many fans were wearing Red, not Singapore jerseys but that of Manchester United. There's even a big group, all wearing Man U jerseys, singing Man U tunes loudly as they walk across the stands to their seats at the far end. The Red devils are not playing tonight but many Red devils fans are interested in this game, presumably because of a former Man U player playing for Burnley now, he is Chris Eagles. Many of the crowd around me wasn't that impressed with this group. One of the other group even use a Chelsea banner to wave back at the group. Colourful atmosphere but I'm not too impressed with the EPL elite obession because tonight it is about Singapore and Burnley, not your other EPL teams.

Wayne Rooney was sitting in front of us for the game.



A feminine Ronaldo was also at the stadium

The group of Manchester Utd supporters attracting attention by singing loudly Man U songs.

Response from the Chelsea Supporters towards the Man U group.

Now to the big game @ 7.30pm. I didn't know a lot about the Clarets. They were managed by Brian Laws, one of Brian Clough former rightback @ Nottingham Forest. Burnley came into this game with two consecutive 5-0 victories over S-league sides Home & Gombak Utd. Aside from Chris Eagles, the other player that I knew was Dean Marney, who was with Spurs several years back. He's an important player for Burnley.Both have been named in Burnley starting line-up. On Singapore lineup, Raddy put up a very young team with several players from the Singapore U-23 team. Good match exposure.

The Singapore Lions in warm up mode.

The visiting Burnley team



The 3 match officials doing their warmup

Singapore vs Burnley tonight @ Jalan Besar Stadium

Singapore started the game very well with Singaporean forward Khairul Amri being much the focal point in attack. Khairul did very well to threaten the Burnley defence in the opening exchange with his darting runs and crisp cutback, which in fact, set-up a goalscoring opportunity for the Singapore No.23. He put the ball into the net after a Khairul Amri sidepass but the effort was ruled out for offside. From the angle that we were seated, both Khairul and no.24 appeared to onside. Poor linesman decision but well played Khairul Amri. Sharil Ishak also looks good with his touches and penetrative passes. These two players are the key players if Singapore is to do well. Burnley too had their chances, with two clear almost one-one situations but Dean Marney placed his shot over the bar. Burnley didn't play the long-ball game and play it on the ground. They're fairly well organized but the lions were matching them stride for stride. Khairul Amri after a bright start, fizzle out. Shairul Ishak still show good touches for the whole of first half. The defenders including leftback Erwan Shah well too. The Singapore media rates highly of Singapore captain Haris Harun, who plays as a defensive midfielder. I observe this lad for some time now and still don't get why they rate him so high. I do not doubt his hard tackling enthusiasm but I do not see anything extra special about his football skills. He lost couple of balls in the first half by trying to do too much on his own where a simple pass would have work wonders. The players that impress me are the Singapore central defenders. The Singapore right midfielder Yasir Hanapi was impressive for me. He doesn't show too much respect for the big size English players and show good technique and ball sense. One of the bright spot for Singapore football if it is solely based on this game performance. Our foreign talent Shi Jiayi played as a rightback in this game and did ok. It ended 0-0 at the break.

The Singapore crowd

2nd half resumes and Raddy made an expected change. Khairul Amri who has drifted out of the game in the latter stages of the first half, make way for Agu Casmir. Go go Agu! I think he's the team most dangerous striker due to his experience. Sharil Jantan the Singapore goalie also came onboard in the 2nd half. Burnley started to attack more in the 2nd half and got a freekick outside the box. In came Chris Eagles and he scored. For me, I feel Sharil Jantan could have done a bit better covering the angle. Nevertheless, it was 1-0 to Burnley. Singapore brought on a few other players which include Farul Nawaz and Joachim cheered very loud for him. I didn't agree because I observed him for a while, he doesn't really look one that could change the game for Singapore. Ordinary is the word. He went on to miss 2 clear chances in the later stage, one of which is a one-one with the Burnley keeper. He fluffed it. The crowd was also not happy with the referee Abdul Malek performance and chants of referee kayu could be heard throughout the game. I think the referee pay a bit too much respect to the Europeans. Some of the cheeky nudges by the Englishmen went un-noticed while the Singaporeans get penalised for the slightest of body contact. Final score: Singapore Selection 0 Burnley 1.

Chris Eagle freekick

I think it was a positive team performance by Singapore team today especially in the first half. The players that caught my eyes are No. 4 (Yasif Hanapi) and No. 2 central defender (not sure if he call Yunos). The Singapore jersey No.2 central defender played extremely well and cut out many threats from the Burnley forwards. It is to Singapore advantage that Burnley did not choose to play the long ball game to their tall players and S'pore No.2 did well to contain the threats. Shahril Ishak though having a forgettable 2nd half performance, is definitely a key player for Singapore as he possess creative qualities. Both him and Khairul are important players for the current Singapore team. If any goalscoring chances is to come, it is likely to be through these two fellows. In summary, a good competitive match and I'm glad to see a good Singapore performance.

FIS Asian Challenge Cup Final Score

Encounter with a Mini Petty Car Thief

I encounter a mini petty thief today. Never see him or her but guess what has been taken away from me. Lucky me, just one piece of my car tire valve caps. This is the first time (hopefully last time) such item has been stolen from my vehicle.

I was at HP @ Depot Road for a customer meeting and parked my car at the open carpark with few cars. I remembered parking next to a Nissan on my left. On my right side, it was empty slot. After I return from my meeting, look at my tire on the right and discover the missing tire valve cap. Has a habit of checking my tires because I have changed new tires a week plus ago. So I'm pretty sure it must have happen today either at HP carpark or my office one. Wonder who in the world would be interested in a tiny piece of tire valve cap from my 4 year old plus VIOS. I recall my ex-colleague's story that his got stolen before and he has to get from another vehicle. Someone could be in the same situation as him and got mine.

Luckily, not big item loss otherwise, will spoil my week . I drove to the Sembawang Road car tires shop where I change my tires a week ago and the kind mechanic gave me a handful of free replacement tire valve caps. Straight forward method of resolving the tire valve cap loss. No hassle , no costs and no guilt. Why the mini thief never think of this approach?

Anyway, did a search from the web and discover there's anti theft tire valve cap available from a local company called Avani. It has a key to lock the tire valve cap but pretty time-consuming when one need to pump up the tires. Never check the cost because I have spare supply of tire valve caps in my car from the tires shop.

My 2010 World Cup Diary : The Aftermath of the World Cup Final

At 2.30am yesterday, I was part of the crowd at Chong Pang CC , hoping to witness history in the making of a new World Cup winner in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finale. The final game, however didn't do justice to the world most beautiful game. Howard Webb, the English referee made history first by dishing out the most yellow/red cards ever for a Cup final. Once again, a football game has been marred by this referee, never failing to cause controversy especially during big games. The Cup Final was a negative one, football shouldn't be play and officiate in such manner. It doesn't deserve a mention in my personal blog as I wish to remember the positive side of the first ever World Cup tournament held in African continent.

Shakira sang at the closing ceremony with hot number Waka Waka, This Time to Africa. Will always remember this World Cup song, very sporting song.

Here's a list of Golden Ball (Player of the World Cup tournament nominees:

And the Golden Ball goes to Diego Forlan of Uruguay. He has been voted by the football world as the best player in South Africa 2010 World Cup. For me, he thoroughly deserve the award. The former Man United flop has found a new lease of life in the La Liga and has displayed his talent & goalscoring power in the biggest football tournament. Bear in mind, he's playing in a team that is consider weaker than the other big boys. With Forlan, they progress till the semi-final, a remarkable 4th place finish.

For 2010 World Cup, I also remember the beautiful Paraguayan model who became the most popular World Cup fan in this year competition. She definitely enjoying all the media attention but there are plenty of beautiful babes out there from different nations, beautifying the South Africa 2010.

While pretty babes are common sight on the television screen during world cup matches, there are some crazy fans too. Remember during Slovenia vs Algeria game, there is this Algerian fan that climb to the top of the stadium lighting. How did he get up there in the first place ?

Denmark was the team that I wanted to support for the tournament but the once mighty Danish dynamite didn't have the best of luck with injuries to key players. Age has caught up with the once dangerous Martin Jorgensen and Tomasson. They were eliminated in the group stage after losing to surprise package Japan. The Japanese surprised me and played very well in the tournament. No more Nakamura, this is the times of Keisuke Honda and Tulio.

The team that I enjoyed watching the most is USA. Well, the Americans is no longer weak in soccer. They are fast, skillful , talented and has great fighting spirit. Really enjoyed their draw with England and fightback against Slovenia. Great future for USA football.

Let's relax and enjoy some of the greats goals of South Africa 2010 World Cup.

Finally, this is the biggest star of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Paul the Octopus who holds the 100% record of right predictions for all Germany matches. He also correctly predicted that Spain will win the World Cup. A retired legend now.

My 2010 World Cup Diary : My Waka Waka thoughts on Cup Final Day

The 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup will draw its final conclusion today. For the past one month, I have immersed myself not only into the football action on the pitch but also the familiar tune of "Waka Waka, This Time for Africa" song of the world cup. I have listened to it daily since early June and I still crave for it. I suppose it has become my favourite World Cup song and sang by the lovely Shakira. Oh, when will I have the chance to meet her? As the tournament concludes today, its matter of time before Waka Waka song fever fizzles out like all things in life.

Before that really happen as the days goes by, I would like to enjoy the energy that Waka Waka bring & the happy mood that it brings to people of different cultures, background, gender, age, wealth, social status ,etc. Waka Waka like the World Cup is there for whoever wish to enjoy it. Here's my page tribute to Waka Waka. I feel very happy when I see people from different parts of the world dancing or singing the Waka Waka song. Make the day looks a little brighter.

Thank you Africa for the song and for hosting a successful World Cup tournament.

The original African version called Zamina

The commercial version by Shakira : Waka Waka, This Time For Africa

Waka Waka, This Time in New York City

Waka Waka, This time in Chile

Waka Waka, This Time in Stockholm, Sweden

Waka Waka, This Time in Thailand

Waka Waka, This Time in Myanmar

Waka Waka, This Time in Hawaii

Waka Waka, This Time in Wellington, New Zealand

Waka Waka, This Time in Malaysia

Waka Waka, This Time in Antarctica

Waka Waka , This Time For India

Waka Waka, This Time For China

Waka Waka, This Time For Indonesia

Waka Waka, This Time in Denmark

Waka Waka, This Time in Paraguay

Waka Waka, This Time For South Africa

Waka Waka, This Time For French school

Waka Waka, This Time For Taiwan

Waka Waka , This Time For Singapore

Waka Waka, This Time For Brazil

Waka Waka, This time for Happy Family

Waka Waka, This Time for Happy Family Again

Waka Waka , This Time For Funny Friends

Waka Waka, This Time For El Salvador

Waka Waka, This Time For Iran

Waka Waka, This Time For Egypt

Waka Waka, This Time For Colombia

Waka Waka, This Time For Daddy in Vietnam

Waka Waka, This Time For Argentina

Waka Waka, This Time For USA

Waka Waka, This Time For Melbourne

Waka Waka, This Time for Jap Animation

Waka Waka, This Time For Korea

Waka Waka, This Time For Kuwait

Waka Waka, This Time For Germany

Waka Waka, This Time For Bangladesh & Senegal

Waka Waka, This Time For Barefoot Foundation, Colombia

Waka Waka, This For Venezuela

Waka Waka, This Time By Ana Free (Portugese-British Singer)

Waka Waka, This Time For Toronto, Canada

Waka Waka, This Time For Harlem School of Arts, NYC

Waka Waka, This Time For South Africa 2010

Waka Waka, ITS TIME FOR THE NETHERLANDS!!!

COME ON ORANJE!!!

My 2010 World Cup Diary : My Thoughts about South Africa 2010 on Cup Final Day

Today is World Cup Final day, the final game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be play at Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa. It will feature the Orange army of Holland, the country that invented Total Football back in the 1970s against the Red army of Spain, the most recent holder of the European football crown.

The widely percieved divine Octopus Paul , who has correctly predicted results of Germany matches, made its final prediction of this year tournament that it will be Spaniards that will be crowned World Champions in the football world tonight. From a statistical point of view, it would take a miracle for Holland to win going against the divine prediction of the octopus.

On the football pundits side, Singapore Pool is offering the following odds which makes Spain the favourite to lift the World Cup @ odds of 1.95. A Dutch victory is @ 3.15.

I have not place any bets for this World Cup Final as all my winnings has been exhausted by AVA. In addition, I've not won any bets on Spain matches so far. So its good that I learn to be contented with what I have already won.

On the football world, football experts or professionals like Johan Cryuff, himself , a Dutchman has say that it is Spain's title to lose. My Dutch friend called him a traitor. Maybe Mr Cryuff, who lives in Spain these days, is using psychological tactics to make Holland looks like underdog. Actually, there is no need to do that as the football world & the football pundits are already listing Holland as the underdog. Many has predicted Spain will dominate possession by keeping the ball with their passing. Once again, the team Barcelona has been taken reference with. My Dutch fan friend sms me that 7 out of 11 Spain players are from Barcelona. So what? Football is play on the football field with 11 men vs 11men. Don't have to think or pay respect to this Barcelona myth. Ok, it is not a myth but Barcelona is not invincible. They didn't make it to the European cup final.

In my home country Singapore, I can see many red shirt Spanish dressing fans this week. Read from papers that apart from England, Spain is the most popular team in Singapore for this world cup. The Dutch only has 2% of the Singapore fans. I think this is understated by the media. I know of a number of fans or neutral who prefer Holland.

So which side do I support? Easy question. If I were Harry Redknapp, there's not a single player that I would sign from the Spanish team for my beloved Spurs. While on the Dutch side, only Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben interests me. Honestly, both teams aren't my cup of tea for this World Cup final. I think they're way too boring, with exception to Brazil vs Holland game in the quarter-final.

If I can't really find many players that I like in the teams now, I have to look back to the past. This is where the Dutch has my heart. Players like the Milan trio of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Guillit, Frank Rijkaard, Philip Cocu, Dennis Bergkamp,Edgar Davids etc excites me when they play football. On the Spaniard side, there are two players over the past 20 years that I have interest. First is Fernando Hierro, their former captain and Nayim, once played for my beloved Spurs and make us happy by scoring in the last minute of Cup Winner Cup Final against the Gooners way back in 1995. That is victory for Real Zaragoza but make every Tottenham Hotspur fan super proud. Nayim from the half way line is the song that they use to sing.

Dutch or Spanish players? In the past and right now, I always prefer Dutch. I'm not the type that has the impression that the Spanish are the king of passing football. I think they're king of non-threatening passing football. A pretty boys team. "Ho Kua Boh Ho Jar" sums up my opinion of them. Before the 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup Final get underway, I declare my support for Holland just for one night. It is a very important night. A night where the world will witness a New World Champion in the game of football. I hope it will be Oranje.

My 2010 World Cup Diary : Germany secures 3rd place with exciting 3-2 victory over brave Uruguay

This should have been the World Cup final. Credit to both teams who treated 3rd place as a prestigious position. Thomas Mueller scored for Germany first before Cavani equalised for Uruguay and it was 1-1 at the break. Uruguay grow in confidence and taken the lead through Diego Forlan with his 5th goal of the tournament early in the 2nd half. Germany came back quickly with a headed Jansen goal. Germany got the winner from a corner in the 82min, a swinger was missed by everyone and took a richochet off an Uruguayan defender, Khedira gave a looping header into goal. Uruguay never gave up until the very last kick of the game with Forlan hitting the Germany upright with a brilliant freekick. The whistle blew right after and Germany win the 3rd World Cup placing with this 3-2 victory. I was very impressed with Uruguay, possibly the most exciting team of the tournament. Good game.

Believe it or not, Octopus Paul has completed all his Germany team 2010 World Cup predictions with a 100% accurate prediction.Truly amazing.

My 2010 World Cup Diary: The forgettable 3rd/4th Placing Match

As all the attention is focused on tomorrow World Cup final, nobody is talking about the 3rd & 4th placing game between Germany and Uruguay. For the past few days, I spotted quite a few football fans wearing red Spanish jerseys in my workplace canteen, Old Airport Road food centre, Sembawang neighbourhood areas and Sun Plaza. Surprisingly, I didn't notice anyone wearing Dutch jersey for the past 3 days. Has the fickle-minded fans switch their allegiance to Spain after the German Octopus predicted Spain to lift the World Cup ? Octopus Paul is certainly feeling the makan threats of the German community and has wisely predicted Germany to beat Uruguay today to clinch the 3rd spot of the 2010 World Cup. I beg to differ with the 100% record Octopus because the twin terrors of Suarez and Forlan & the Uruguayans to salvage South American pride may enable it to overpower the mighty Germans, who has a stronger team on paper. Granted, youngster Thomas Muller, who has been badly missed in the semi-final defeat against the Spaniards will make his return and would definitely want to finish the tournament on a high note. Well, looks like both side have quite a bit at stakes and we may be in for a thrilling 3rd/4th place which may be more exciting than tomorrow final between the two boring boring finalists.

The 3rd/4th placing games of the past World Cups has always generated goals. Here's a recap of those matches.

Italia 90 World Cup 3rd & 4th Placing Game: Italy 2 England 1

USA 94 World Cup 3rd & 4th Placing Match: Bulgaria 0 Sweden 4

France 98 World Cup 3rd & 4th Placing: Croatia 2 Holland 1

Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup 3rd & 4th Placing Match:

South Korea 2 Turkey 3

Germany 2006 World Cup 3rd & 4th Placing: Germany 3 Portugal 1

So what will happen tonight between Germany and Uruguay in South Africa 2010 World Cup 3rd & 4th placing game? My gut feeling is with the underdog Uruguay to clinch 3rd place. Has decided to catch the game on RTM1 @ 2.30am. Come on Uruguay!

My 2010 World Cup Diary: Howard Webb cause controversy again, This time for Singaporean

England have made it to the 2010 World Cup Final and it is not their football team that did it. English Premier League referee Howard Webb has been selected by FIFA to officiate the World Cup Final match between the Netherlands and Spain. I have never been impressed by Mr Webb handling of BPL football matches because those games have a tendency to be marred by controversy, of dubious refereeing decisions that affected the outcome of the game. Spurs have been the victim of such circumstances before and we're not the only team affected. Mr Webb is well-known for controversy and a simple search on the web would generate dozens of disputed football incidents where the man in black is the centre of attention of questionable decisions. Maybe that's the reason why he's been selected as the World Cup final referee because he always made headline news, very often for the wrong reason. Well, a decison made is final and there's nothing football fans like me can do except to hope for the best and maybe rant a little. That was what I did yesterday morning when I read that Howard Webb has been assigned the all-important task of the final game, I voice out my disagreement on my facebook page.

The "I hate Howard Webb" slogan link & perhaps the picture didn't goes down well with one of my dear Man U friend. Even before the World Cup final has kick off, the very mention of the name Howard Webb has caused controversy in the tiny Singapore and its involved WT Tey, me.

The slogan wasn't written by me and I certainly don't bear hatred towards somebody that I hardly knew. Football & the World cup has no place for hatred, it is a team sport, the most beautiful game in the world supposed to unite people. Remember how USA and Iran put aside their differences and played out a good sporting football game in France 98. I don't hate but disagree or at worst dislike Howard Webb handling of football matches. Maybe he's the favourite referee of Red Devil fans, that why there's a outcry of me hating Man U more than him.

Me hate Man U? Certainly no. I don't sing the Manchester United tune but that doesn't mean I hate them. Like the famous saying, I give credit when credit due. When Wayne Rooney failed terribly in this world cup, I whacked him as a world cup flop based on his performances for England on the pitch. Not because he played for the Red devils that I have to mark him for England failure. He has a big reputation coming into this world cup but even before the tournament, I don't rate him highly as the previous generation of English forwards like Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham or even Michael Owen. David Platt is a much better striker than him if you ask me. though his primary position is midfield. Rooney is not the ultimate centreforward that good old England need, regardless whether he play for Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur. He prove me correct with his performances in the this world cup and I can't understand why Capello keep sticking to him despite the early tell-tale signs of him flopping in the group games.

Me hate Man U ? I ponder and I still don't think so. I remember I bought an Eric Cantona video tape a decade ago. This is the title that I bought and I still have it in my football library.

I enjoyed the excitement and passion that the controversial Frenchman has given to English football back in the 90s and I wanted to keep it in memory. That's why I bought the tape, which was all about his performances for the Red Devils. Would I have bought it if I hate Man U? No, I want to remember a great EPL player and the English team of the 90s. Talking about Cantona, he was once Chrissy Waddle teammate at Marseille but didn't do as well as Waddle because he's got an attitude problem. He's done it for Manchester United on English Premier league level but not on the european competition and the world stage. Nevertheless, a Red devil legend and one of the best Premier league player, I acknowledged that.

Me hate Man U? I remember cheering for Man U in the 1990 FA Cup semi-final against Oldham and again in the final against Crystal Palace. Why? I think because I like watching Mark Hughes doing volley stunts, Neil Webb (ex-Nottingham) plays for them and lastly, a bit soft-hearted not wanting to see the then relatively humble Alex Ferguson get the sack. Damn, what a mistake, should have hope they lost. Alex Ferguson before his English football success, was about to be a managerial flop at Manchester United way back in late 80s after spending a lot of money & getting zero trophies for a few seasons. He did a "sian yu fan sheng" (salted fish turnover) with the 1990 FA cup win and prolonged his stay at Man U. The rest is history. On Neil Webb, if there wasn't Tottenham Hotspur, I would probably be supporting Nottingham Forest. Brian Clough Forest boys were playing entertaining football & winning league cups with a superb midfield of Steve Hodge, Garry Parker and Neil Webb. They are not big names but when together, they played like a big team. Neil Webb was transferred to Manchester United in the summer of 1989 and scored for the Red devils on his debut in a 4-1 victory over defending champion Arsenal. He went on to play for England in Italia 90 and played against Italy in the 3/4th place game which England lost 2-1. Looking back, I still remember how I wanted Manchester United to win the FA cup that year. From the all-important Mark Robin goal against 2nd Division Oldham in the semi-final, to the cup final 3-3 draw against Wright & Bright @ Crystal Palace and the final replay 1-0 victory with a Lee Martin goal. Oh man, would I remember all these if I hate Man U.

Mark Hughes last minute volley equaliser against Oldham Athletic in the FA cup semi-final.

FA Cup Semi-final replay against Oldham Athletic, start from 5:50 for Mark Robins winner.

As embedding has been disabled, refer to the 1990 FA cup final link @ : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqxSVE6pAts&feature=PlayList&p=8E215F3DDAAF8479&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=43

Man Utd lowest cost player Lee Martin win the FA cup for desperate manager Alex Ferguson in the FA cup final replay against Crystal Palace.

Looking at how cocky that Fergie is now, what a big mistake that I had made back then to support them to win the 1990 FA cup. I am not a Man U hater , neither do I support them. There is one club that I do support whole-heartedly regardless of up or down, the best English football team in the universe, Tottenham Hotspur.

Oh man, that Howard Webb is causing controversy before the World Cup Final even started. Can't believe it happen in my facebook page. Anyway, life is about being positive thinking. Hope to see a fair & square and entertaining football final tomorrow.

My 2010 World Cup Diary : The Exciting Semi-Final stage

Sometimes when you expect something exciting to happen, the exact opposite pop up. This was what happen tonight. I often find World Cup semi-final matches to be more exciting than the World Cup final itself. That didn't happen today between Germany and Spain.

Prior to this semi-final, Germany was scoring lots of goals against Argentina & England. I never find German football to be attractive, just very well-organized and tactically sound with emphasis on teamwork. I like to call them efficient football. On Spaniard side, they like to pass the ball , often too much for my liking & without really threatening. I prefer football play at a quicker pace. Still, when these two are schedule to meet in the all important semi-final today, I was expecting a very good game of football between the two sides who are evenly matched. I predicted a draw for the game and expect it to go into extra-time.

As the game progress, it really looks like my prediction is going to be spot-on because both teams play a very tight game with very few openings. It was boredom at its best in the 1st half. The Spainards dominated possession without really threatening. Germany was hardworking as before with Bastian pulling the strings in midfield and nullifying any threat that the Spainards may pose. A stalemate looks on the card. It never came and Bastian in fact, was the German player that conceded the important corner kick of the game in the 70++ mins. When the corner was swing in, Spanish captain Puyol, one of the slowest defender in this world cup, came in and headed Spain into the lead. It was 1-0 Spain and around 15 more mins to go. The Germans didn't panic and continue to gradually up their pace in discrete steps like programming in order to achieve their equaliser goal. They didn't hit the big match tempo to create any excitement. By doing this, they weren't really exposed like what Argentina and England have done when going behind by a goal. Pedro do find a good chance towards the end to score a 2nd goal for Spain but his selfishness or fancy football mind got the better of him and the German defender cleared the danger. Finally, the whistle blown and my pain of watching a boring semi-final was over. Spain has made history by reaching the World Cup final for the very first time after playing one of the most dull semi-final. The German players was expressionless by the 1-0 defeat, consecutive defeat at the hands of Spain in a major tournament. The famous German Octopus Paul is spot-on again with his prediction of a Spain win over his country.

Spain will meet the Netherlands in this coming Sunday World Cup final. Yesterday, the Dutch has beaten Uruguay in a 3-2 victory. I watch the game by juggling between pockets of sleep and watching the TV. Only caught 2 of the 5 goals, which was the 2nd & 3rd goal of Holland scored by Wesley Sneijder (lucky defected shot) and Arjen Robben header. Earlier, fellow 1975 rabbit Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has given Holland the lead which Uruguay equalised through hotshot Diego Forlan. After holland lead 3-1, I dozed off again and miss the injury time Uruguay goal. I suppose this semi-final match was much interesting than the Spain vs Germany match.

So this is it. The stage is set for a new World Cup holder this Sunday. Will it be the boring boring Dutch or the looks good but not as good Spainards? Holland vs Spain in South Africa FIFA 2010 World Cup Final. Hope they do some good for the game of football by playing exciting football this weekend. Time to get to work. QBR con-call in 45 minutes time.

My 2010 World Cup Diary - The World Cup Songs & Memories

Every World Cup has its theme songs or associated songs. With the songs, came the memories, both on and off the pitch. Here are my memories of the various world cups of my time.

1)Italia 90 Song - To Be Number One

My first World Cup was Italia 90. Though it wasn't really the best World Cup especially in terms of goals per tournament, it is still very memorable for World Cup novice fan like me at that time. I can always remember the ear-catching tune of the 1990 World Cup Italian theme song. The English version is call "To Be Number One". Back in those days, there was a daily world cup highlight programme on channel 5 at 7.30pm (if I remember correctly), covering all the action & goals from the previous night matches. This song would be play at the start of the programme. Even channel 8 variety show have a World Cup segment daily with Qiu Sheng Yang being the sports presenter. I remember it because he made a comment about Roberto Baggio , "Ba Jiao Chi Xiang Jiao" on the programme and this translates to Baggio eat Banana. He was a comical host.

The full English version of "To Be Number One"

The original Italian version of the 1990 World Cup Song

Italia 90 World Cup Memories:

Where was I : A Sec 3 student watching his first World Cup on Channel 5. My World Cup heroes are Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. Learn to like Des Walker too in the tournament, what an important player for England. Witness the era of great playmakers Stokojvic, Scifo, Gazza, Mattheus, Hagi, Maradona,etc

While World Cup Fever is on, there is another fever in Singapore at the same time. The Malaysia Cup fever. Two of Singapore finest foreign imports Abbas Saad and Alistair Edwards scored their first ever goals for the Lions during the June 90 World Cup against Sarawak at the National Stadium.Abbas and Alistair scored two goals each in that game which ended 4-2 in Singapore favour. Jalil Ramli scored the two goals for Sarawak.Another Malaysia Cup game at National Stadium during Italia 90 was Singapore vs Perlis. Singapore attack and attack but couldn't score in the first half against lowly Perlis until supersub D Devaraj came on in the 2nd half.He set-up two goals and scored one. 1990 was a very good year for Singapore football and myself personally.

Italia 90 World Cup Semi-finals Result:

a) Favourite Italy 1 Argentina 1 (After extra time)

Argentina won on penalty kicks to advance

b) England 1 West Germany 1 (After extra time)
West Germany won on penalty kicks to advance

2) France 98 World Cup Song - The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin

I like the fast beat and energy of this Ricky Martin hot number which seems tailored made for the exciting game of football & its biggest showcase, the World Cup.

Samba e Gol - Another popular hit of France 98. Frequently play in pubs like Mdm Wong, Wong San along the once popular late 90s nightspot @ Mohamed Sultan Road.

France 98 World Cup Memories:

Where was I: Fresh from NS & learning my trade in Sony as an Asst Engineer. Watch the world cup from Channel 5 and also in room of Hotel Seruni, Batam (Indonesia) during frequent weekly trips to PTSN factory.

My Denmark team was doing very well with both Michael and Brian Laudrup playing together.They cause a big upset in the 2nd round by beating favourite Nigeria 4-1. They also narrowly lost out 3-2 to Brazil in the q-final. The Brazilian were stunned by Laudrup & company and only Rivaldo magic saves them. Michael Owen goal against Argentina was the most talk about goal of the tournament. Dennis Bergkamp also scored a gem against the Argentinians. The Dutch were the best team of the tournament in my thinking. David Beckham became a villian for England for his stupidity. Prior to start of the World Cup, I predicted Brazil to win it but I was wrong and almost right. Emmanuel Petit display the most sportsmanship moment of the tournament.Roberto Baggio making a great comeback. Two Singapore S-league players Hamid Reza Estili and Mohd Khakpour played for Iran in this world cup and they beat the USA with Estili scoring. Davor Suker was scoring goals for fun. Ricky Martin was the most popular singer with Gol Gol Gol, Ah le Ah Le Ah Le.

France 98 World Cup Semi-finals:

a) Favourite Brazil 1 Holland 1

Brazil win on penalties (I was watching from Batam)

b) Favourite France 2 Croatia 1

3) Germany 2006 - Hips Don't Lie By Shakira

Shakira was my favourite singer of the 21st century and Hips Don't Lie is definitely my favourite Shakira hit. Listen to it over thousand times over and still crave for it. Great song to be associated with the FIFA World Cup.

Germany 2006 World Cup Memories :

Where was I: A FAE in love. Watch World Cup from McDonalds and Kopitiams.

The 2006 World Cup Final between France and Italy was the best world cup final in the 5 World cup finals that I have watch. Both team played out an evenly contested final with excitement & not too much defensive burden. It was the Zinedine Zidane finale and a most memorable one. It help to recover all my betting losses in one single game. When Italy won the penalty shootout, I received an congrats SMS from Italy, I do not know the person at all. Took MC after world cup final. The Portugal team is damn dirty.

Germany 2006 World Cup Semi-finals:

a)Favourite Germany 0 Italy 2 (after extra time)

b)France 1 Portugal 0


4) USA 94 - Gloryland

I don't really recall the USA94 World Cup theme song at all. I found it purely by doing an intended search for it on youtube. It is call Gloryland. I do recall the images of USA94 on the video though.

USA94 Song : Gloryland

Definitely prefer "Go West" by Pet Shop Boys than Gloryland

USA94 World Cup Memories:

Where was I: A Ngee Ann Polytechnic student doing vocational attachment at Tampines Century square construction site. Every morning, take more than one hour to work via bus 24 from AMK. Work together with Malaysian, Thai and Indian workers. Foreman like me, sometimes allow me to come later to work because I can give him soccer updates to place his bets.

I predict Brazil to win the World Cup prior to start of tournament and I was right. Hate it though because this is Roby Baggio World Cup.He was superb after a slow start. Italy make it to the final solely because of him. This was a very exciting world up with many upsets such as Saudi Arabia 1-0 win over Belgium with a solo Owairan goal, Ireland 1-0 win over Italy,Korean draw with Spain etc, Romania is the dark house team and played very exciting football which include the outstanding match of the tournament against Argentina. Columbian defender Escobar was killed after he scored an own goal against USA. Bebeto start the rock a baby celebration after scoring against Holland. "Di Zhong Hai" Yordan Letchkov of Bulgaria headed the winner to kick out defending champion Germany in the q-final. Outstanding Bulgarian player was Hristo Stoichkov.Sweden Henrik Larsson was a lion king with his hairdo. On the Sunday morning of the World Cup final, play a friendly soccer game at Whitley Secondary School @ Bishan. Highlight of the game was when our star striker nicknamed "Ah Chui" (Duck Mouth) made a spectacular sliding tackle that drifted himself all the way from the field onto the nearby drain. It look painful but his teammates can't help but broke up in laughter. I was one of the guilty ones. Ah Chui was ok after the game, no serious injury.

USA94 World Cup Semi-finals:

a) Favourite Brazil 1 Sweden 0

b) Favourite Italy 2 Bulgaria 1

5) Japan/Korea 2002 - Anthem by Vangelis

Wonder why the Asian World Cup is just a instrumental music tune with nobody singing. Don't they have faith in our English ?

Korea/Japan World Cup Memories:

Where was I: A undergrad student in Brisbane @ the University of Queensland. Watch the world cup from my landlord house @ Toowong, Project teammate house @ Macquarie street & GP South lab computer.

It wasn't a great Asian world cup based on my opinion but I do remember these moments. A big upset opening game with Senegal beating France 1-0. They made it to the q-final while France crashed out at 1st round. South Korea amazing run to semi-final against the might of Italy, Portugal and Spain. Beckham revenge against Argentina and Ronaldino loop over David Seaman. Robbie Keane superb performances for Ireland against Germany and Spain. Rushing back from grocery shopping @ Sunnybank to catch the world cup final and seeing Ronaldo with funny haircut scoring twice against Oliver Khan. Turkey was the darkhorse of the tournament with Hakan Suker, Hasan Sas and their super goalie playing a big part in their success.

Korea/Japan World Cup Semi-finals:

Favourite Germany 1 South Korea 0

Favourite Brazil 1 Turkey 0

6) South Africa 2010 Songs - I absolutely love the songs in this World Cup. Superb!

Official song of the 2010 World Cup : Waving Flags by Knaan

WAKA WAKA (This Time For Africa) by Shakira

WAKA WAKA (This Time For Africa) with lyrics

South Africa 2010 World Cup Memories: TBA in 4 years time

South Africa 2010 World Cup Semi-finals:

Uruguay ? Favourite Holland ?

Germany ? Spain ?

Full Answers will be out in 2 days time.

Awaiting the semis @ home sweet home. Live on Channel 5

My 2010 World Cup Diary : Fulsal Sunday where we played like England but did an Argentina

It was a Sunday morning where Germany and Spain have advanced to the semi-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup the night before. While many S'pore fans may still be in dreamland, 16 Fulsal football teams have assembled in the early morning (8.30am) at the St Wilfred football pitch @ Whampoa for a sunday of fulsal competition. This tournament certainly complement very well with the on-going World Cup with many participants still entrenched with World Cup fever. This can be seen in their dressings, team kits or supporters. Majority are seen donning the colours of various World Cup teams. The most eye-catching team is the colour of orange and they're dressed in full Holland team kit. This team is the Whampoa CSC team and from the team sheet, it seems they have sent in two teams for this competition. One of the organizer is also dressed in Japan jersey with the words "Matsui" on the back, with obvious reference to World Cup Japanese midfielder Daisuke Matsui.

The 16 teams were divided into 4 groups of 4 teams with the round robin matches in the first round with the top 2 teams in each group proceeding to the knockout phase. Very world cup like format. My team is called Starlite something (i forget the exact name) and we're in Group B with Whampoa CSC Team A, Soldiers and Namly. We arrived ontime & register our team promptly before proceeding for a very important pre-match preparation. That is breakfast time. Need to fill our empty stomach with some fuel. Our first game is schedule at 9.15am, so we went to the nearest kopitiam. I had a plate of vegetarian beehoon while YQ & HY took a bowl of prawn noodle each and Arab & Christian ate big bao. Unique kind of tournament preparation from the Singaporean amateur football team. We're still missing two players who hasn't turn up and HY's friend presumably just woke up and another fellow was uncontactable. We guess he must be in World Cup dreamland.

When we return to the fulsal football pitch for our first game, we were informed that the Whampoa CSC Team A has not turn up and all the teams in our group will get a walkover with a 3-0 win over Whampoa CSC. What the fish, we're actually not happy to get a walkover because we really wanted to play all three games in our Group. So, Soldiers and Namly in our group play their game first instead of us. Soldiers is a red colour team and made up of Indian boys (look around 18 to 22 years old) while Namly is a black & white stripes team made up of chinese players (look in their 20s). Namly beat Soldiers 2-1 in the first game and from what we seen, it doesn't seem that they're strong team. They can run, pass a bit but nothing too scary to worry us. The disadvantage on our side is that many of us have not play together for many years and this is our 1st game together after such a long time. Our team captain HY has earlier informed us to wear white shirts but stressed that no England jersey allow. We all know what happen ^_^. So we're due to play Namly first and here's our team lineup:

1) Goalie: WT , Age: 35
2)Defender 1: Christian , Age: 38
3) Defender 2: Arab , Age: 35
4) Midfielder: YQ , Age : 35
5) Striker: HY's friend, Age: 30
Supersub cum manager: HY , Age: 35

The game starts and we played like England. No style, no slick passing but with lots of passion. We did well to contain the Namly players though I had to make a few saves from their forwards.Nothing too serious but there are some wild shot efforts that skyrocketed above my post. Upfront, we huff and puff like England and the match was evenly contested. Finally, it took a defensive error from our defender to let in the black & white stripes striker to finally beat this 35 year old goalie from Starlite. HY came in for Christian and we tried hard for the equaliser. YQ managed to snatch the ball from the Namly player in their area , cut back and was ready to let fly at the opposition goal. It was a powerful left footer that unfortunately skewed off its trajectory & hit our striker HY's friend who fell to teh ground. Credit to him , he didn't give up and jostle the ball on the ground but it was soon recovered by their goalie. That's was the closest attempt that we have in scoring. Not long after, the whistle blew and we have lost our first game 1-0 to Namly. We felt we deserved a draw. We play with lots of English passion and our gameplan is definitely England style. Pump and try, not much coordination or passing.

Game 2. The only way to advance to the next round is to beat Soldiers in our final group game. If its draw, we're out as they have scored one goal more than us. Here's the team lineup for this game:

1) Goalie: WT

2) Defender: HY

3) Defender: Christian

4) Midfielder: HY's friend

5) Striker : YQ

Sub: Arab

We started very well as Yongquan robbed the Soldier defender of the ball and shoot at the goal. Unfortunately, it struck the upright. But it certainly boost our confidence. Very soon, the soldier striker got free one on one with me but I manage to divert away the danger in getting to the ball before him but he's still stuck in his foot into me which causes the ball to spill. Many shouted for foul and the referee protected me by awarding a freekick. As the match progresses, the soldiers were attacking in numbers in our area and its inevitable that the first goal has to come. I can't really remember how it happen because I conceded another goal. It was 2-0 down but our veteran team still try very hard to get back into the game. HY tried with a left footed effort but it went wide of goal. The Soldier striker was not contented with a 2-0 lead and continue to launch attack on the 35 year old goalie from Sembawang. One of the shot went underneath my hands and I had to do a "Robert Green & German Keeper" stunt to pull back the goal from the goal-line. The refeere did not award a goal and I'm also not sure whether did it went over the line. It matter little as Soldiers went on to win the match with 2 further goals that ended our tournament. We did an Argentina in this game with a 4-0 loss.

We enjoyed both games as the pitch was good and we had a good workout on Sunday morning. Only blemish is the other team which did not turn out, which mean we play one game less. 3 games would have been the perfect workout for this veteran team. We are also happy to go home early at around 11am ++ as some of us are still recovering from the world cup last night. Football coming home again. Its been such a long time since I played with these old mates.

My 2010 World Cup Diary - Q/F : Spain 1 Paraguay 0

Dozed off again and woke up at 5am. Somehow, I think RTM1 channel live telecast screwed up and the match is actually just starting on RTM1 with the playing of the team song anthem. Delayed telecast. Good for me as couple hours of sleep was badly needed.

On the game, Paraguay should have wrapped up this game but they have a good goal being disallowed. Nelson Valdez was the scorer but the linesman raised his flag. The replay showed Valdez was onside in fact. Never mind about disallow goal. Paraguay was playing well as a team. They got a penalty in the 2nd half through a clumsy Nelson Pique foul. Paraguay was damn cool during their penalty shootout with Japan but Cardoso effort was a poor one which Casillas easily stopped. Right after the Paraguayans missed their spotkick, Spain were awarded a soft penalty which Zabi Alonso converted on his first attempt but the referee ask the kick to be retaken due to Spanish players entering the box prior to the kick being taken. Alonso cracked under pressure and the Paraguyan goalie made a good save. As the match progresses, the Paraguayan took off the impressive Nelson Valdez, i never understand this decision. Off came Santa Cruz, I didn't rate him for his performances in this tournament.

Paraguay paid the price for their penalty miss as Iniesta created a goalscoring chance for Pedro to hit the Paraguyan post before the tournament top scorer Villa scored from a pinball shot. That goal put the Spainish into the semi-final. The most over-rated team in my opinion has reached the World Cup Semi-final. The bloody English commentator for the match on RTM1 was damn biased towards Spain. He's seem more anxious for the game to end & Spain to win when it went into injury time. Lousy biased commentary. My dream final of a Uruguay vs Paraguay final is half gone now.



Ok, very fast typing, got to leave to pick up the soccer lads for the fulsal competition at 8.30am. The weather doesn't look good.

My 2010 World Cup Diary - Q/F Result : Argentina 0 Germany 4

3 friends met up and decide to spend an evening together for dinner and world cup action in Chong Pang. Before going there, stop by the Sembawang centre of hope to collect yesterday's winning. Chatted with the malay guy in front of me in the queue, asking him for tips. He think Argentina will win tonight but he's helping a friend to place a bet for a 3-0 Germany win scoreline. Discuss it with my pals and all of us think he's wasting his $$$ for this bet. How wrong we are to be later in the night. ^_^

While having dinner at Chong Pang, met ZQ, who seems to be on the side of the Germans but commented this Argentina team is very different from the team that he seen in the past. Argentina has good defence, YQ and myself couldn't stop but disagree coz we think the weakness for Argentina is in defence.

After food, off we go to Chong Pang CC but there was no queue. Why? Becoz there isn't going to be a live telecast becoz there's a on-going indian community event. We had to switch venues. Tried the foodplace near Jeluntung CC but the place was packed & the crowd seated there look at three of us with the "don't come near us" look. Not very friendly. So we headed for YQ house.

Game start and Argentina defence falls at the first hurdle, Thomas Muller giving Germany an early lead. We knew Argentinians will have an uphill task from this moment as their defence doesn't look solid. Immediately sms ZQ, hey what happen to the good Argentinian defence that he mention? The first half ended 1-0 to the Germany and I think my total goals bet is off, I thought there is going to be a goal feast. I need 4 more goals in 2nd half to win my bet.

Germany was playing their usual efficient football, allowing very little fluidity in the game. Messi did show some nice touches but didn't really threaten the German goal except a good through pass that was slightly too quick for Tevez. From the way the game was going, it is gonna take some special magic to prise open the German goal. That moment never arrive and Germany scored a killer second goal. Once again, the Argentinian right defence was exposed as Klose made it 2-0. The commentator say that Klose has just move past Pele in the world cup goalscoring chart. It was game over and HY & myself were bored with the result. We spoke about the Malay guy at Singapore Pool who has placed a 3-0 Germany win and how much he could have won if another goal is to be scored. That goal came later and we're all cheering for the Malay guy who have won good $$$ but I was hoping for more because I have a 5 goals bet. Near the end, Klose got his 2nd goal of the game to make it 4-0. One more goal please, be it consolation for Argentina or Messi. It nearly came but the German keeper made a simple save. Whistle end, 4-0 to Germany. I think the Malay guy who bought a 3-0 Germany win must be absolutely gutted to narrowly miss out. I also miss out narrowly but he's probably got a much higher odds than mine.




Looking back at this result, actually England put up a much better fight than the Argentinians if based on the English 1st half performance. All of us agreed that if Frank Lampard's goal has stood, it would have been a completely different picture of the 2nd half collapse that happen as England push forward. The Argentinians fall into the same trap today by conceding a soft early goal. I didn't think the Germans were too fantastic with this win but the tactics & discipline won the game for them again. They're another boring team. Looks like many are expecting a Germany vs Holland final, the battle of the boring teams. I'm hoping for Uruguay vs Paraguay.

Tomorrow morning, have a football tournament to play & will probably skip the Spain vs Paraguay encounter. Come on Paraguay, kick the Spainards out!