WC10: Bowing out with pride

The World Cup 1020 South Aftica has finally entered the knockout stage.

The World Cup 1020 South Aftica has finally entered the knockout stage. There's no doubt that a lot of shit is happening in this world cup. The lack of goals in the earlier group games except in certain games; then big teams underperformed with some surprise "giant killings; and the Vuvuzelas to ruin the beautiful game, although the new toned down model kinda eases the ear pain.

Surprising (not) that both 2006 finalists Italy and France went out as early as the group stages. France repeated their failure in 2002, crushing out of the group stage after just reaching the final 4 years before. After all the fuss about Henry's handball that cheat them to this World Cup, you would not be surprised that the tournament turned out this way for them. Anelka bust up and sent home, team refusing to train, then even losing against South Africa? Karma, what goes around comes around. As for Italy, although they have some good talents, in truth they were never that good as a whole, with all the old legs in their team. Their last game against Slovenia was really good though.

The big teams underperformed. England, with so much expectation placed on their shoulder, only managed to scrap 1 win and 2 draw, in fact they never show convincing performance in all 3 games, although their play improved a bit against...well, Slovenia. Spain meanwhile lost against Switzerland in their first game, bounced back and won the remaining 2 games. Tbh they could easily won the first game if they didn't waste too much time trying to play beautiful and passing the ball too much. Then, Germany also unexpectedly lost to Serbia, but they had a man sent off (Klose, a harsh first yellow), but underperformed is not the right word for them. It's more of a bad luck in that match. That being said, other big teams like Argentina and Holland didn't disappoint by winning all their group games, more or less convincingly.

As Australia's supporter, obviously I am disappointed that were heading home early, but I took pride with their performance in this world cup. The first game was something to forget to the least, getting raped 0-4 against the Germans, but the team bounced back and battled hard in their next two games. But in the end unlike WC2006, the 4 points that we earn (1 draw vs Ghana and 1 win against Serbia) is not enough to get us through to the second round no thanks to the large goal difference from the first game.

Plus, we had a tough luck in this World Cup. Tim Cahill was harshly sent off in the game against Germany for a tackle that wasn't as bad as the two dangerous tackles made by Holland players in their first two games which went unpunished/only got a yellow card. Thanks to that, we're missing Cahill in the 2nd game against Ghana, in which we draw 1-1. Again, another of our key player, Harry Kewell was sent off because of handball in the penalty area. It was indeed a penalty, but IMO the ball went to his shoulder/upper arm and you can see he clearly try to use his body to block the ball from going into the next, but the ball was too fast and swing away to his right upper arm. Another man missed in the next game. But the third game against Serbia, which I didn't expect a win given the strong defense of the opponent; turned out to be a good game in the 2nd half, with the Aussie coming down from a goal down to win the game 2-1. Great game.


Anyway, I would say that the World Cup has becoming a bit more interesting after playday 1, with more goals being scored, small teams making a surprise package (Slovakia went into the 2nd round in their first ever World Cup lmao), while the vuvuzelas were less annoying than they were in the opening week.
Now, time to enjoy the rest of the world cup. I don't have anyone in particular that I would want to support wholeheartedly (as I did with Australia), I'm just looking forward to "good games".

till next time

World Cup Double

Finally, after 4 years. Today is the day. The 2010 FIFA World Cup officially started tonight, one that every football fans have been waiting for. The biggest stage of world footballl for players and fans equally. Although it was a busy week for me, I'd definitely spare a bit of time trying to catch as many matches as I could even though many of them will be played in the moning, which means I'll probably be having trouble going to my lab on the next day.

As for team I would support in this World Cup, I'd be rooting for Mala- err I mean Australia Of course it is hard for them to repeat their feat in 2006 by reaching the knockout round, as Germany (obviously), Ghana and Serbia are not easy opponents. But hopefully they could pass the group stage and pull off some Giant Killings (*cough*).

Talk about the big guns, we often see the likes of Brazil, Spain, Argentina and England being tipped as the champion. Well it really is hard to tell because there are many things happened before the tournament begin while some teams underperformed in friendly matches. A tough call between the giant teams, and who knows there might be unforeseen champion like Italy did in 2006.

Nevertheless, good luck to all participating nations.

p/s: the theme song by Shakira sucks

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That's one World Cup. So what's with the "Double" World Cup? There's another World Cup being held just as FIFA World Cup went underway - the Electronic Sports World Cup, ESWC.

info - ESWC Paris official site

The E-Sport version of World Cup, featuring gamers across various games - CS, Warcraft, Fifa, Quake, and of course, DotA. I am definitely looking forward to this tournament, arguably the most prestigeous LAN tournament (although Malaysia's annual SMM Tournament are much more happening and offer much more prize money) featuring players from all over the world. 16 teams will be taking part in the tournament, and among the list, I am looking forward to the games between the giants, especially EHOME, LGD.YS (aka AEON/Zenith) and our own Malaysian representative, MUFC (so sad that Kingsurf can't go because of sponsor issue).

Too bad that SMM 2009 Champion, LGD.Sgty will not be able to attend the tournament as they lost China qualifier to EHOME. I really think that they deserve a spot in the tournament ahead of many other invited/Qualifier champions like both Tribal. I mean, the Germans easily got 2 invites for LAN and OK without having the need to go through all the qualifier, but LGD, arguably one of the best team in the world at the moment, have to content with 2nd place in the qualifier. I know that country with qualifier will get no invites, but it just feels unfair that a team of their quality were not able to participate in such tournament. Rules are rules, eh..

Anyway, ESWC Paris Grand Final, 1 July. Looking forward to that date!

Man Utd 08/09 away kit?

source

rumor has it, whether it's true or not the jersey looks cool anyway (albeit a bit plain as always), even though it looks a bit like USA international jersey.

EPL gameweek 27 summary

Last week English Football presents some surprising, if not shocking, news to football fans. From the delight of Liverpool fan after the 3-2 win of their team over Middlesbrough with Fernando Torres scores a hat-rick; to Manchester United delight which saw them crushing Newcastle United 5-1 away at St. James Park; the controversial penalty which decide the game for Porthsmouth - Sunderland; the first trophy for Tottenham in 9 years after their 2-1 Carling Cup triumph over Chelsea; and lastly a horrific news to football fan - the injury of Eduardo in the match of Arsenal vs Birmingham.

Manchester United relentlessly shows their offensive prowess with a convincing 5-1 victory against Newcastle. With a full strength squad consisting of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez etc, Man Utd looks a bit shaky at the start of the match, but things only got better for them after Rooney open the scoresheet at 25th minute mark after receiving a neat cross from Ronaldo. From that point, Man Utd control most of the possession, creating chances after chances, giving little room for Newcastle to attack. The match ended 5-1 with Rooney and Ronaldo score a brace. This win closes the gap from the top of table to 3 points after Arsenal slipped 2 points against Birmingham.

Another huge upset takes matches in Arsenal vs Birmingham match. The match ended with a 2-2 draw after Clichy concedes a penalty right at stoppage time to give Birmingham qualiser, added with William Gallas showing some childish overreaction as if the season is already over (yeah his reaction is so unprofessional, regardless how much passion he has for the Premier League crown). But most importantly, the early match is tarnished by a seemingly normal tackle without malice intention from Mark Taylor, but end up giving horrible injury to Eduardo. The injury is so horrible that the live match was unable to show the replay. I can only gasp in shock upon seeing all the replay video/pictures on the internet. His left leg, just above the ankle part is clearly bent at right angle than the rest of his leg, as if it's been chopped off. With that kind of injury, it's certain that his season is over and won't even make it to Euro08, but more importantly, his football career might be threatened. Nevertheless I still wish for his recovery and return to the field.

Stomping

Manchester United shows a world class performance against Newcastle United at Old Trafford yesterday, in their bid to defend the English Premier League title. While Arsenal and Liverpool only manage a draw in their respective game, Man Utd was enjoying a glorious evening as they put 6 goals past Newcastle. It was not until 4 minutes after the restart that the goal comes, where Cristiano Ronaldo, who was fouled, convert the free kick with a low drive past the men barrier. Ronaldo later added 2 more goals to get his first ever hat-rick for Man Utd, after failing so many times, scoring 2 goals in many matches. This hatrick put his goal tally to 22 goals, just 1 goal less than the amount he scored in last season.

Utd failed to penetrate into Newcastle defence in the first half, with Rooney unable to convert some great chances past the goalkeeper Given.However, once Ronaldo got his goal, the match seems to be decided, with Man Utd continuously taking chances after chances, and got another goal credit to the mistake in the defensive line which gives the goal to Tevez. The match should have end with even more goals, however good clearing off the line by Newcastloe defender prevent that from happening. In the end, it was 3 goals for Ronaldo, 2 for Tevez and 1 for Ferdinand. Rooney, although failed to score, still got the credit for great assists.

"It's a special day for me. I'm very happy to win the game and go to the top of the league. This is the most important thing," he said.

"It's always important to score and help my team. I feel proud and very happy. It's good to score a hat-trick but if I score two in every game I'll be very happy.

"If we keep playing like we did in the second half I am sure we will be the best team."

p/s: wp by Man Utd. Excellent performance, now they're top of table due to goal difference =)

IRB World Cup 2007: Closed

Finally after about 2 month, IRB Rugby Union World Cup had reach it's closing stages with a pretty interesting final and third-fourth place matches: A rematch of their respective group stages. England, who overcome Aussie and France en route to the final met South Africa, whom they lost 36-0 against South Africa in pool A; while Argentina who beat the host France in the opening match in pool D, yet again met the host in the third-fourth place match.

Argentina-France match was held on Friday (Saturday morning GMT+9), a pretty interesting match to watch. France has already lost to Argentina in the group stage, so they're full of spirit to avenge the loss. France looks to be the better side in the first 15 minutes, scoring the first penalty, though it takes just several minutes for the Argentine to level 3-3. However, sloppy play saw their play was overhauled by their opponent, costing them the match. Argentina lead 17-3 at half time thanks to some fine play that lead to 2 tries. France still struggle at half time but they're unable to overcome Argentina' best ever performance who eventually win 34-10. Full report here
Then the next day is the final, the repeat of pool A match between England and South Africa. This is the 2nd successive WC final for England, should they win it'll be another sweet memories for them for bringing the cup yet again to the north atmosphere. However against South Africa whom they lost without reply in the group stage, it'll be a difficult task for them. And it's indeed a difficult task, as the match was dominated by South Africa most of the time. There is no try in the match, only penalties that determine the winner and loser. Both team had a pretty solid defence to denies the opponent' try (both side almost have a try in the first half, just a few inches away from the try line). But Montgomery, the Springboks fullback proves to be the better kicker at the night as he lead his team 9-3 at half time. The game continue, yet England still can't find a way to penetrate into RSA defence and eventually lost 15-6. Wilkinson, who reveals pain when kicking the ball, missed several kicks to give any hope to England. This, South Africa is the World Champion for the 2nd time, bringing the cup back to southern hemisphere. Full report here

England forge ahead Aussie

Due to crappy Internet speed (throttled, huhu), I decided to watch England vs Australia rugby World Cup 2007 quarter-final match on Channel 10 rather than watching EPL match of Man Utd vs Wigan. I'm in indecisive position in this match whether to support Aussie or England.
I like the way Aussie play from the start of the tourney but on the way to this match, they start being somewhat arrogant, emphasizing on their revenge due to the loss in 2003 World Cup and England stand no chance; while England is, well, as many have predicted, won't score many tries and relies on Wilkinson drop kicks. Playing near home ground, England surely have more supports than Aussie at the stadium.

It's a hard-fought match for both sides, exchanging passes and tackles. Aussie dominates the first few minutes with some chances for free kicks, until Mortlock score a penalty for Aussie to lead 3-0. But then England seems to dominate the match, winning possession/territory as well as scrums/line outs/rucks. However, Aussie still proceed at halftime leading with 10-6 thanks to Tuqiri try.
2nd half, England seems to be the better side with more prowess in forward and excellent counter attacking. Errors in handling/rucks sure cost Aussie as England come with 2 more penalties to lead 12-10. And that's the final score line, Aussie is defeated twice in a row to England, unable to avenge their previous loss.

Nevertheless, as many have expect, all 4 England penalties come from Wilkinson. England almost had a try in 2nd half but Aussie manage to defend well to force only free kicks. Overall it's not the day for Wilkinson, he has so many chances on penalties but also missed that many. That's quite rare for him to miss penalty from easy spots, but I see that he's somewhat weaker in right-side free kicks. So England will met either France or New Zealand in the next round. I'm looking forward to see the All Blacks advanced =)