tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77215769586138517002024-03-05T17:57:08.378-08:00Barack's BlogMostly about football,sports and general issues.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-10380407805959751812010-12-27T23:25:00.001-08:002010-12-27T23:25:52.223-08:00Arsenal shed their burden against faltering ChelseaIt may well be something of an overstatement at this stage of the season, with not even half of the campaign elapsed, but last night’s Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Chelsea was the archetypal “must-win” game for both sides — – or, at the very least, “must-not-lose.” <br />
Both teams entered the game with big question marks against the credibility of their respective title challenges. Chelsea were on a wretched run of form, having won just one of their last seven fixtures to drop from first place to fourth. Arsenal, similarly, were tasked with throwing aside the burden of their poor recent results against fellow title contenders and prove they are not big-stage bottlers.<br />
In that context, it was perhaps no surprise to see a cautious, safety-first approach from both teams in the early exchanges. Neither goalkeeper was tested, raising fears that a nervous, drab nil-nil lay in wait — but we needn’t have worried; this was just the calm before an exhilarating storm.<br />
As the first half wore on, Arsenal found their passing rhythm and grew in confidence. The always-important Cesc Fabregas, previously a peripheral figure, had space to exert control on the midfield manoeuvrings with his deft passing skills; Samir Nasri and the erratic yet dangerous Theo Walcott repeatedly ran with pace and purpose at their full backs; Robin Van Persie looked capable of darting into the space behind the Chelsea defence.<br />
Chelsea were on the ropes, relying on a series of increasingly desperate defensive clearances and waiting for relief in the form of the half time whistle. Going forward, they had nothing to offer; Didier Drogba was isolated, Saloman Kalou and Florent Malouda anonymous, Frank Lampard dominated.<br />
The reigning champions simply couldn’t sustain any meaningful possession, and their rare sorties on the counter-attack were swiftly extinguished by a startling lack of precision and purpose.<br />
After half an hour, Arsenal were starting to purr. Chances had been few before Arsene Wenger’s team finally came close in the 41st minute, when another spell of pressure resulted in Nasri receiving possession in space, 20 yards from goal, and lifting a delicate chip towards the top left corner; Petr Cech, tested for the first time, was equal to the task, leaping acrobatically to tip the ball away for a corner that was safely dealt with.<br />
At that point, Carlo Ancelotti on the Chelsea bench must have breathed a big sigh of relief, hoping that Cech’s save was enough to keep his side on level terms going into the interval.<br />
But there was sufficient time for Arsenal to maintain the pressure and finally grab the goal they deserved as Alex Song strode into the penalty area and thrashed a low shot past the helpless Cech.<br />
Half-time and 1-0 behind, something had to change for Chelsea, and Ancelotti was quick to act by replacing John Obi Mikel with the more attack-minded Brazilian Ramires for the start of the second half.<br />
It changed nothing; Arsenal were still emphatically in the ascendancy, and needed just five minutes to double their advantage. Hesitant Chelsea defending created the opportunity as a loose attempted clearance from Michael Essien released Walcott clean through on goal, and the winger showed maturity and awareness to eschew his shooting opportunity in favour of squaring the ball to the unmarked Fabregas for a simple prod into the empty net.<br />
Remarkably, two minutes later it was 3-0 as the Gunners pounced upon another defensive error — Malouda this time the culpable party for dwelling in possession inside his own half — and Fabregas returned the favour by releasing Walcott, whose crisply struck and perfectly placed low finish zipped past Cech into the bottom left hand corner.<br />
3-0, 52 minutes played, and Arsenal weren’t just beating Chelsea: they were destroying them, annihilating them, embarrassing them. By producing a fast-paced and ruthless demonstration of high-class football, the Gunners were glaringly exposing their opponents’ fragile confidence and lack of direction. It was a rout.<br />
But Arsenal rarely make things easy for themselves, and they contrived to hand Chelsea a lifeline when slack marking from a Drogba free kick allowed Branislav Ivanovic to head past Lukasz Fabianski, reducing the deficit to 3-1.<br />
Chelsea took some encouragement from the goal and briefly rallied, but they still lacked any cutting edge — with Drogba once again worryingly ineffective — and Arsenal always looked capable of scoring again.<br />
With 20 minutes remaining Nasri wasted a glorious chance to restore his team’s three-goal advantage, shooting weakly at Cech after being put through by substitute Gael Kakuta’s limp back-header. But it mattered little; Chelsea never seriously threatened to mount a comeback, and Arsenal held onto the 3-1 victory with ease.<br />
So where does this leave both teams? For Arsenal, the proverbial monkey is well and truly off their back. They now know they can beat the big names, and this victory could end up meaning far more to them than the simple accumulation of three points.<br />
Only time will tell, but this may prove to be a defining moment in the maturation of Wenger’s young team – if they can ally their cultured passing approach with this kind of controlled aggression on a regular basis, their trophy drought will surely soon end.<br />
As for Chelsea, the woes continue. They deserved their heavy defeat. It was a bad result, but an even worse performance. They didn’t look like scoring goals and always looked like conceding them; something has gone badly wrong at the Bridge (maybe just the unavoidable ageing of their key players), and Ancelotti faces an extremely anxious few weeks.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-86617903580936134012010-12-13T19:49:00.000-08:002010-12-13T19:49:20.388-08:00United do enough as Blues return to form Two games in the upper reaches of the Premier League this weekend produced fixtures that were similar only in their frenzied tempo and the fact they both contained penalty misses by star strikers.<br />
Tottenham and Chelsea’s 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon was an enjoyably open and entertaining encounter; Manchester United’s victory over Arsenal last night, by contrast, was a rather dour affair.<br />
Despite playing their way to the top of the league, Arsenal seemed to enter the game at Old Trafford having taken notice of the widespread criticism they’ve received for being physically lightweight, transforming themselves from a group of subtle and thoughtful artistes into a bunch of cloggers — even Andrey Arshavin, the modern-day total footballer, was flying into brutal challenges.<br />
Unfortunately, the robust approach adopted by the Gunners meant that the first half was almost devoid of incident until Park Ji Sung’s wonderfully improvised headed goal shortly before the interval.<br />
It was the archetypal “game that needed a goal”, and the second half was better, much better, as a result of Park’s opener. Now trailing, Arsenal could no longer play for the nil-nil draw, as had appeared to be the limit of their ambitions during the opening period.<br />
With renewed levels of purpose and intent, Arsenal’s pass masters Arshavin, Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky started to produce their usual fast, clever interplay towards the edge of United’s penalty area, with Marouane Chamakh looking increasingly capable of unsettling Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.<br />
But United were offering a threat on the counter-attack, and a passage of play shortly before the hour mark neatly encapsulated the strengths and weaknesses of the game’s most eye-catching individual, Nani.<br />
Receiving the ball on the right wing after a fast break by Anderson, Nani appeared to have wasted the promising position by allowing himself to be dispossessed far too easily by Gael Clichy.<br />
But the Portuguese winger rectified his error by immediately winning the ball back and striding towards goal, only to launch his shot hopelessly over the bar. Brilliant and awful within the space of five seconds — that’s Nani.<br />
A few minutes later Arsene Wenger unleashed his big guns from the bench as fit-again Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie entered the fray. But they had little impact as the game reverted to the scrappy, attritional mode that had been prevalent in the first half.<br />
Then came the moment that should have sealed the points in United’s favour. Nani was again at the fore, tussling with Clichy near the byline and sending over a firm low cross that cannoned against the arm of the Arsenal defender from point-blank range.<br />
There was absolutely no intent from Clichy — it would have been almost impossible for him to get out of the way — but the linesman swiftly threw up his flag to signal a penalty.<br />
The decision was harsh on Arsenal, but justice was served when Wayne Rooney blazed the spot kick high over the crossbar. Rooney had been a peripheral figure and perhaps there was some frustration behind his decision to smash the ball as hard as he possibly could, but it was difficult to feel too much sympathy because the penalty shouldn’t have been awarded in the first place.<br />
So Arsenal were still in the game, but they never looked like taking advantage of their reprieve. United were organised and resolute in defence, bottling up any space around the centre of the field and resultantly restricting the Gunners to speculative long-range efforts. Fabregas, lacking match fitness, was unusually wasteful in possession, while van Persie was forced to drop into harmless deep-lying positions in a fruitless attempt to exert any kind of influence on the action.<br />
The final minutes drifted away with Arsenal’s only opportunity being squandered by Theo Walcott’s woefully mis-hit volley, and United held onto the victory with relative ease.<br />
United did just about enough without producing anything like their best form, and Arsenal should regret their first-half approach — adding a much-needed physical dimension to their play is one thing, forgetting the qualities that make them such a free-scoring team is another.<br />
The previous day, Chelsea will have been both relieved and frustrated that they failed to take all three points despite a dominant performance at White Hart Lane — relieved because they trailed for nearly an hour after Roman Pavlyuchenko’s 15th-minute opener, but frustrated because they were by far the better team and were only denied victory by Didier Drogba’s injury time penalty miss.<br />
But the Blues can take plenty of encouragement from what was their best performance for a long time. Having looked lethargic and one-paced in the last few games, Sunday’s showing was far more like the Chelsea we’re used to. And with Manchester United and Arsenal coming up next, their promised renaissance couldn’t have come at a better time.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-41726814603186982782010-11-24T18:51:00.000-08:002010-11-24T18:51:06.599-08:00Pointless hosting Asian Games A deafening silence greeted the challenge thrown by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek that it was up to the public to decide whether Malaysia should bid to host the 2023 Asian Games.<br />
If the minister was hoping for roar of approval to do it ,he must have been disappointed-but there is a suspicion that he too did not want to be responsible for such a decision. <br />
He knew that it would be an unpopular one especially since it is estimated to cost a bomb to host such a multi-sport event.<br />
The Government has already twice rejected attempts by the Olympic Council of Malaysia to host the Asian Games,once to host this years Asiad and more recently to host 2018 one.<br />
In both cases, the Government felt that it was too expensive to do so.<br />
Shabery revealed that for the 2018 Asian Games, the cost of organising is estimated to be more than RM 1.6bil. <br />
Hosting the 2022 edition may, in his own words,"cost three or four times more."<br />
Guangzhou is reported to have spent more than RM 7bil to host the Games while India forked out some RM 18bil to host the New Delhi Commonwealth Games last month.<br />
Incheon City in South Korea will be hosting the 2014 edition while Hong Kong,the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and India are bidding for the 2018 Games, which will be decided in 2012.<br />
It's no-brainier - Malaysia cannot afford it and the money saved could better spent on proper sports development like getting our athletes to be of Asiad or even Commonwealth Games standard.<br />
We are still reeling from the after-effects of hosting the 1998 Commonwealth Games . Many bills are still unpaid and there several suits pending in the courts over the hosting of the event.<br />
Just over a decade later, most of the 1998 venues are no longer a symbol of national pride. The National Stadium's pitch is reported to be among the worst football venues in the country and the turf had to be re-laid several times.<br />
Many of the facilities like toilets at all the venues are aged and need to be replaced. If we have problems maintaining 12 -year-old facilities why should we spend billions to build new ones just to host 5,000 over athletes,officials and newsmen for a couple of weeks ?<br />
Another reason not to host it is the standard of the sports as well as the type of sports that are now included in the Games. In Guangzhou, 476 events were on offer in 42 sports, making it the largest event in the history of the games.<br />
Hosting the Asian Games is definitely a job Malaysia does not needBarackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-36874262137867907202010-10-07T02:32:00.000-07:002010-10-07T02:35:13.086-07:00One-dimensional Arsenal fall to Drogba again <b> Here we go again: Chelsea against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.</b><br />
The home team: pace, power and purpose. An unwavering commitment to playing at a high tempo with controlled aggression, seeking to impose their will on the game and force their opponents into submission.<br />
The away team: touch, control and precision. An abundance of short, quick passes along the ground, attempting to open up the opposing defence with clever movement and a sharp use of angles.<br />
And, as ever, the muscular approach of Chelsea overcame the tippy-tappy philosophy of Arsenal. So many times the same story has been told, yet still the ending remains the same.<br />
Will Arsene Wenger ever learn that his high-minded, purist approach simply will not prevail often enough when it comes up against equally talented but more forceful opposition?<br />
<b>Harsh on the Gunners? No; just look at the stats.</b><br />
Since Arsenal won their last trophy (the FA Cup in 2005), they have come up against Chelsea on no less than 14 occasions... and won just twice. Surely if nothing else will convince Monsieur Wenger of the errors in his ways, that simple fact is enough.<br />
Two wins in 14 games do not suggest that the teams are like-for-like title rivals; rather, it speaks of a mismatch between two clubs who have found themselves consistently at different levels of achievement for more than half a decade. (Even more conclusively, only two of those 14 games have been drawn, with Chelsea winning the remaining 10 fixtures).<br />
Didier Drogba neatly epitomises the contrast in approach — and success — between Chelsea and Arsenal. The Ivorian has now scored in each of the last three games between the sides, and recorded an extremely impressive personal tally of 13 goals in 13 meetings with the Gunners.<br />
In Drogba we can find everything that’s most effective about Chelsea, and everything that Arsenal are missing. He carries immense presence, using his powerful frame to give Chelsea’s attacking play an intimidating physical potency; if nothing else is working for them, the Blues can simply lump it forward to the big man and let him fight it out with the opposition defenders — and quite often, he’ll come out on top.<br />
It’s not pretty to watch, it’s not particularly scientific, and it’s not something that Arsene Wenger would consider to be the “right” way to win a football match. But it works, and the penetration and thrust provided by Drogba has been a major factor — possibly, even, the most significant single factor — behind Chelsea’s consistent collection of trophies in the last five years.<br />
At this point, I should state that labelling Drogba as a one-dimensional old-fashioned battering ram would be an extremely unfair denigration of the striker. As he demonstrated with his subtle finish for the opening goal in yesterday’s game, Drogba is a hugely talented footballer with the ability to produce subtlety as well as strength. But the key point is that he can do both, and therefore adds a cutting edge to Chelsea’s attacking play that Arsenal simply don’t possess.<br />
In all his time (14 years now) as Arsenal manager, I am struggling to recall one striker of Drogba’s type that Wenger has signed. Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Christopher Wreh, Kanu, Davor Suker, Sylvain Wiltord, Francis Jeffers, Jose Reyes, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin Van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo, Carlos Vela, Maroune Chamakh... they have all been primarily touch players, much more comfortable with the ball played along the ground than in the air.<br />
There are without doubt some exceptionally fine players within that batch of strikers, but aren’t many of them a little similar? Where’s the physical presence, the power, the aerial threat, the penetration?<br />
Possibly the only “target man” type striker signed by Wenger in the last 14 years is Julio Baptista, but the Brazilian was only given very limited opportunities during his brief loan spell from Real Madrid a few years ago.<br />
Other than that, it’s been flair all the way and, whilst Arsenal are very pleasant to watch, professional football is about results, not style. So where are the trophies? With Drogba, at Stamford Bridge.<br />
The pattern of play during the second half yesterday was symptomatic of Arsenal’s limitations. They enjoyed plenty of possession and, at times, looked capable of stretching Chelsea’s defence with their clever, quick passing approach. <br />
But Chelsea’s defenders were organised enough and disciplined enough — and good enough — to stand their ground, not get drawn out of position and challenge Arsenal to play their way around them.<br />
Chelsea knew they would face very little physical pressure inside the penalty area, so they were prepared to shepherd Arsenal into wide positions and encourage them to deliver crosses into the box, where John Terry and Alex were more than a physical match for anything that Arsenal could offer.<br />
And despite all their possession, the Gunners failed to create many meaningful chances, with their pretty-pretty passing movements breaking down in a mass of bodies on the edge of the penalty area.<br />
If Arsenal had their own version of Drogba to aim crosses towards, life would have been far less comfortable for the Blues’ defence, and inviting the visitors to deliver crosses from deep would not have been an option. But that is not Wenger’s way... perhaps it should be. Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-90701848992279184402010-10-07T02:14:00.000-07:002010-10-07T02:14:08.200-07:00Liverpool fans try to banish bad American memories Memories of unfulfilled promises and bitter rows have made it hard for Liverpool fans to whole-heartedly embrace the idea of more American owners coming to restore the club to former glories.<br />
Three and a half years ago, when beaming US sports tycoons Tom Hicks and George Gillett posed for photos with a red Liverpool scarf on the Anfield turf and promised a new stadium and players, the club seemed to have a bright future.<br />
That initial optimism soon vanished, along with the pledge to start work on a new 60,000-seater stadium within 60 days of their takeover, and fans turned against the duo before they put the debt-laden club up for sale this year.<br />
Rumours of interested parties circulated before the club’s chairman Martin Broughton announced on Wednesday that the board had accepted a 300 million-pound bid from New England Sports Venues (NESV), owners of baseball’s Boston Red Sox.<br />
<b>An NESV statement spoke of dedication and success.</b><br />
“Our objective is to stabilise the Club and ultimately return Liverpool FC to its rightful place in English and European football, successfully competing for and winning trophies,” it said.<br />
“NESV wants to help bring back the culture of winning to Liverpool FC.”<br />
There has been no word yet from NESV’s American owner John W. Henry but as long as he does not make the mistake of calling Liverpool a “franchise” — as Gillett did in his first news conference — he will have got off to a better start.<br />
<strong>Winning mentality</strong><br />
Internet fan forums were flooded with reaction ranging from “out of the frying pan and into the fire” to “please let this be the end of the nightmare” but with the overriding feeling one of relief that the club could soon have new owners mixed with a heavy dose of caution.<br />
Chairman Broughton tried to reassure fans by speaking of the new owners’ “winning mentality”, as demonstrated by their transformation of the Red Sox into a title-winning outfit.<br />
He said money would be available to buy players in the next transfer window and that the club would soon have the 60,000-seater stadium, although it was not clear whether this would be a new ground or a redevelopment of Anfield.<br />
Fans keen to make clear their expectations, wrote messages on Henry’s Facebook page like “please bring back our glory”, “do for us what you did for the Red Sox and you will be a legend in Liverpool” and “look after the club and you’ll be loved”.<br />
Supporters have seen their club go from Champions League finalists in the year Hicks and Gillett took over to sitting in the relegation zone now after their worst start to a season for more than half a century.<br />
Although Spain forward Fernando Torres was signed with them at the helm, less money has been available as they spent funds on servicing the club’s debt of more than 200 million pounds.<br />
There were also public relations blunders, such as when the owners admitted the club had made an approach for German Juergen Klinsmann with a view to replacing Rafa Benitez as manager and Tom Hicks junior’s foul-mouthed tirade in an email to a fan which forced him to resign from the board.<br />
Gillett and Hicks have also barely been on speaking terms for the past couple of years and they have been at loggerheads with the board.<br />
Those who know the prospective new owners think there will be no repeat of these problems.<br />
“The fans of Liverpool should be excited,” Dave Checketts, owner of MLS team Real Salt Lake, said at the Leaders in Football conference in London.<br />
“From a business perspective they’ve done a superb job (with the Redsox), from a PR perspective — superb — and they got success on the field. I think they’ll repeat the model at Liverpool and I think they’ll be outstanding.”Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-25989259631076989152010-09-26T23:20:00.000-07:002010-09-26T23:20:03.116-07:00Rising City expose Chelsea’s frailties<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzU6QTXRq4s-caj58eTUs1hf1mq0F0jj-DYkvq-qnz3zxnS1XJidpYqrLO6DzfxpJXTx3mCvlM6JACC3YSNVcKvfWKXffehGFtjG-7QYBuO67YEnWNbwN5FR2KslwkyeW93xko_4YshGS/s1600/The+big+match+ups.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzU6QTXRq4s-caj58eTUs1hf1mq0F0jj-DYkvq-qnz3zxnS1XJidpYqrLO6DzfxpJXTx3mCvlM6JACC3YSNVcKvfWKXffehGFtjG-7QYBuO67YEnWNbwN5FR2KslwkyeW93xko_4YshGS/s320/The+big+match+ups.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Before Saturday’s meeting between the two teams at Eastlands, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini claimed that he fully expects Chelsea to retain the English Premier League championship.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League at the moment,” he said. “They are probably going to win the title easily. They are a strong team, who have been playing together for many years. They have a fantastic manager and they have worked to reach this situation.”</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Was this an example of Fergie-style mind games, designed to lull the opposition into a false sense of security on the eve of a big game? Probably not; Mancini and his Chelsea counterpart Carlo Ancelotti are good friends, having played together in Italy throughout much of the 1980s, and their relationship is too strong to sink into petty psychological trickery.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Instead, the not-very-hidden message within Mancini’s statement was directed internally, to his own employers — namely City chairman Sheikh Mansour. “...playing together for many years...worked to reach this situation.” These are the key words in Mancini’s comments, with the unspoken message coming through loud and clear: At Manchester City we have a new team, and I must be given time to develop that team.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">His motives aside, I don’t agree with Mancini’s assessment of Chelsea’s overwhelming strength, especially the part about them winning the title “easily.” This title race will be far closer than that.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Saturday’s game demonstrated that the Blues have a worrying lack of depth, especially in the goalscoring department. It might seem crazy to suggest that a team which mustered 21 goals in its first five games might struggle to score enough goals, but that was with their full strength team and against weak opposition such as Wigan, West Brom, Blackpool.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">With Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou injured, Chelsea had worryingly little in reserve at Eastlands on Saturday — the fact that Ancelotti was forced to use unproven youngster Daniel Sturridge and 17-year-old debutant Joshua McEachran as substitutes says everything about the strength in depth at his disposal.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">I’ll agree with Mancini that Chelsea have the most powerful team in the Premier League, and if they were able to field their strongest eleven throughout the season they would probably be comfortable title winners. But whether they have the best squad is altogether another matter, and Ancelotti must be fearful about the potential ramifications if Didier Drogba or Frank Lampard suffer any significant injuries over the course of the next few months.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">As for City, this was an extremely encouraging afternoon. Despite his thinly-disguised pleas to be given time, he’ll be well aware that he is now approaching a year in charge of City, during which time his team has often looked largely unconvincing. The remainder of the campaign surely has to result in significant progress if he’s to remain in position.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">From talking to my contacts at City, my understanding is that the club’s inordinately wealthy owner, Sheikh Mansour, does indeed have a long-term vision and isn’t demanding that Mancini must deliver the Premier League trophy immediately. Such patience from a man in his lofty position is rare but, considering the colossal investment he’s made, the minimum requirement must be a very clear demonstration that Mancini is capable of taking the team in the right direction.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Although City haven’t always looked good in the early stages of the new season, Saturday’s victory did exactly that. Winning games of this nature is precisely what City must do to convince themselves — and just as importantly the wider footballing world — that they should be taken seriously as title contenders. Taking into account the shortcomings of their rivals, I don’t think they can be entirely discounted from this season’s race.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The club’s latest tranche of big-money signings (including Mario Balotelli, James Milner, David Silva and Yaya Toure) are still settling into their new environment, so September is far too soon to draw any firm conclusions. But Saturday’s victory suggested that City are genuinely closing the gap between themselves and the elite.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The consolation for Chelsea was that neither of their principle title rivals, Arsenal and Manchester United, could take advantage of their slip-up.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Arsenal’s shock home defeat to West Brom was notable for the fact that Cesc Fabregas was missing for the Gunners — the importance of the Spanish pass master was demonstrated by Arsene Wenger’s steely resolve to prevent him from joining Barcelona during the summer, and they simply can’t afford to be without him on many more occasions. As Lampard and Drogba are essential to Chelsea’s success, Fabregas is to Arsenal’s.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Manchester United’s failure to beat Bolton Wanderers was less surprising. The Red Devils are now without victory in any of their three away games so far this season, conceding seven goals in the process, and are looking uncharacteristically vulnerable on the road. United currently just don’t carry the same fearsome aura that many of their recent teams have imposed upon opponents.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">So it’s been an interesting weekend that has in many ways provided more questions than answers. Are Manchester City actually ready to mount a serious title challenge? Do Chelsea have more frailties than they had previously shown? Can Arsenal overcome the inconsistencies of the occasional off-days that have plagued their recent seasons? And when will Manchester United finally win away from home? Only time will reveal the answers.</div>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-44082791502033014142010-07-12T03:19:00.000-07:002010-07-12T03:29:22.140-07:00Spain’s victory is a victory for football<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Spain’s dramatic 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in Sunday’s World Cup Final was the right result. Spain deserve to be world champions for the very first time, and their triumph was also a victory for football.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Netherlands took an extremely rough and destructive approach to the game. Several very poor challenges were made, with midfield enforcers Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel, in particular, highly fortunate not to join Johnny Heitinga in receiving a red card.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Bert Van Marwijk’s side were almost exclusively interested in defending, and they did so in an unpleasantly physical manner. Their rare attacking incisions sought to exploit Arjen Robben’s pace on the counter-attack, but over the 120 minutes they did nowhere near enough to merit victory.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Spain, by contrast, tried to get the ball down and play — just as they always do. Despite being forced to withstand a barrage of thunderous Dutch challenges, they refused to deviate from their careful, measured strategy based on maintaining possession and attempting to pass their way through the massed ranks of Dutch defence.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The winning goal, coming just four minutes from time, was worthy of deciding such a grand occasion. Cesc Fabregas slid a wonderfully perceptive pass into Andres Iniesta, whose perfect first touch cushioned the ball and created a shooting opportunity. His second touch demonstrated impeccable technique, as he closely watched the slowly dropping ball before connecting cleanly with a powerful volley that gave no chance to Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img src="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/07/12/0712piala1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; float: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 400px;" /></div><div class="img-caption" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-width: 0px; color: #1b75bc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 400px;">Iker Casillas grabs the ball to stop a Dutch attack. - Reuters pic</div><div class="img-caption" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-width: 0px; color: #1b75bc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 400px;"><br />
</div><div class="img-caption" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-width: 0px; color: #1b75bc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 400px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: 13px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It was a difficult skill, perfectly executed, and Iniesta was a fitting matchwinner. Aside from an irritating eagerness to dive under minimal contact, he is a joy to watch — his first touch, vision, passing and dribbling ability are perhaps only matched by his midfield colleagues Xavi and Fabregas, and he was probably the best player on the pitch last night.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">There were frenzied Dutch objections to the winning goal, with referee Howard Webb confronted by furious complaints that Eljero Elia had been fouled in the passage of play immediately prior to the goal. They may have had a valid point — Sergio Ramos did seem to block the run of the Netherlands winger — but it’s difficult to have too much sympathy for a team that played in such an aggressive and negative manner.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Netherlands also failed to dignify themselves with their reaction at the final whistle — rather than graciously accepting defeat they again surrounded the beleaguered Webb, inevitably led by objectionable midfielder Van Bommel, who could easily have been sent off for an outrageous foul on Iniesta in the first half.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">With their general approach to the game and their ungracious reaction to the loss, it was not a good night for the Netherlands — yet they could have quite easily won it. Robben had possibly the best chance of the game when he was released through the middle by Wesley Sneijder’s precise throughball, but Iker Casillas did well to stand his ground and divert his former Real Madrid team-mate’s shot wide with his feet.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">With less than half an hour remaining, if Robben had been able to convert that opportunity it could have proved decisive. I’m glad he didn’t, because a Netherlands victory would have left a nasty taste in the mouth. They got to the final, but they didn’t win many admirers amongst neutrals.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Not only were Spain the best team on the night, they were also the best team throughout the tournament. A surprise 1-0 loss to Switzerland in their opening game could have led to unnecessary panic, but instead they kept their composure, retained their belief in what they were doing, and started to remind the watching world why they had been regarded as pre-tournament favourites to lift the trophy.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img src="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/07/12/iniesta.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; float: none; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 200px;" /></div><div class="img-caption" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-width: 0px; color: #1b75bc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 200px;">The Spannish have it, the World Cup. - Reuters pic</div><div class="img-caption" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-width: 0px; color: #1b75bc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 200px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: 13px;">It didn’t come easily and Spain were rarely at their most fluent best, but after that defeat to Switzerland they always had enough quality to overcome any opponent. The Barcelona pair of Xavi and Iniesta were crucial to their success — always wanting possession, always looking for a measured pass, always trying to create and play constructively.<div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Spain’s belief in their ability and their tactics lasted right to the end. When confronted with the looming possibility of a penalty shoot-out, it would have been easy for Spain to lose their shape, throw men forward in desperation, and stop doing what they are good at. But they persisted, continued to pass, move, pass, move...and finally — thankfully – they were rewarded.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-right-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); border-top-color: rgb(208, 208, 208); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">It might not have been the greatest World Cup Final in history but at least it was settled in style; the best player from the best team scored the winning goal. And we can’t ask for much more than that.</div></span></div></span></div>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-47939796551665367032010-07-11T14:50:00.000-07:002010-07-11T14:50:57.042-07:00Iniesta puts Spain on top of world<img alt="Spain's midfielder Andrés Iniesta celebrates after scoring" src="http://www.fifa.com/mm/photo/tournament/competition/01/27/28/18/1272818_full-lnd.jpg" /><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Champions of Europe and now champions of the world, Spain captured football's Holy Grail for the first time with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands thanks to Andres Iniesta’s 116th-minute strike at Soccer City.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The solitary goal came with penalties looming as substitutes Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas combined to play in Iniesta and the little Barcelona midfielder drove emphatically across Maarten Stekelenburg and into the far corner. With this victory – their fourth successive single-goal win in South Africa – Spain became the eighth name on the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy and also the first European team to have triumphed on a different continent. For the Netherlands, who lost defender John Heitinga to a red card in extra time, there is only the heartache of another tale of what might have been after completing a hat-trick of Final losses.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">This was a match preceded by much talk of two like-minded footballing cultures, of the influence of Dutchmen like Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels on Barcelona, of '<em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">tiki taka</em>' and Total Football. In many ways, as the first 116 minutes showed, it was also a case of the irresistible force versus the immovable object. The Dutch had won 14 straight games to get to the Final, in qualifying and the tournament proper, and Spain 15 out of 16, their only slip the defeat by Switzerland in their first game here in South Africa.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">It was the Spanish found their stride first, living up to their pre-game billing as favourites. Vicente del Bosque's side, playing in navy blue, dominated possession and fashioned the early chances. With the Dutch penned inside their half, Maarten Stekelenburg had to make a save after five minutes, diving low to stop a Sergio Ramos header from Xavi's free-kick in from the right. Gerard Pique looked poised to follow up only to be denied by a combination of Joris Mathijsen and Dirk Kuyt.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Ramos came again in the tenth minute, beating Kuyt on the right and driving in a low centre that Heitinga deflected behind. From the corner came another scare for the Netherlands. Xavi played the ball back to Xabi Alonso whose ball went beyond the far post to David Villa but the in-form No7 sliced his volley into the side-netting.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">After those near things, however, both defences got on top with none of the flair players on either side able to take a grip on proceedings. Instead the yellow-card count began to rise with Nigel de Jong becoming the fifth player in Howard Webb’s notebook by the time we reached the half-hour mark, the Netherlands midfielder, newly returned from suspension along with Gregory van der Wiel, having clattered into the chest of Xabi Alonso.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">With the orange sections of the 84,490 Soccer City crowd finding their voice, their favourites almost gave them something to sing about from a corner in the 37th minute. Robben rolled the ball to Mark van Bommel on the edge of the box and although he failed to make a clean connection he unwittingly diverted the ball on to the unmarked Mathijsen but the defender missed his kick. As half-time approached, Iker Casillas had barely had a save to make but entering stoppage time, Spain’s custodian had to be alert to deny Robben at his near post as a spell of Dutch pressure ended with the winger spearing in a low shot from the corner of the box.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Puyol, Spain's semi-final matchwinner, showed his aerial threat once more minutes after the restart when he rose above Heitinga and headed to the far post but Joan Capdevila failed to make contact. The game was gradually opening up and Dutch spurned a golden opportunity in the 62nd minute when Wesley Sneijder sent Robben running clear. Casillas came to Spain’s rescue, deflecting the shot behind with his right foot when falling the wrong way.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Spain coach Del Bosque had already sent on Jesus Navas for Pedro on the hour and the winger helped pick a hole in the Dutch defence in the 70th minute. Xavi sent him flying down the right and into the box and when Heitinga failed to deal with Navas’s low cross, the ball fell to Villa who looked odds-on to score only to see his effort deflected behind. Ramos was equally profligate after 78 minutes when he headed over a Xavi centre when unmarked, after Villa had forced another corner.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Spain were looking the more likely winners and it took Sneijder of all people to foil Iniesta with a smart tackle after his jinking run into the box. Yet Robben’s pace is a persistent threat and the Oranje No11 almost embarrassed Puyol in the 82nd minute, speeding clear of the Spain defender when second-favourite to reach a through-ball. Resisting Pique’s attempt to tackle too, he was foiled only by Casillas, the captain saving at Robben’s feet as the Dutchman sought to round him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Extra time began with opportunities for Spain. Xavi failed to connect when well positioned and when the ball ran to Villa, his shot went wide off an orange shirt. Substitute Cesc Fabregas then broke clear on to Iniesta’s through-ball but was foiled by Stekelenburg. Mathijsen headed wide from a corner but like waves, Spanish attacks kept rolling on to the Netherlands back line and Navas was close with a shot deflected into the side-netting.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Fernando Torres replaced Villa midway through the extra period and Spain gained a man advantage four minutes late with Heitinga’s dismissal for pulling back Iniesta on the edge of the box, the offence earning him a second yellow. Iniesta would not be denied, however, as his late strike put Spain in the history books and shattered the men in Oranje.</span>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-48868017414233258462010-07-11T00:48:00.000-07:002010-07-11T00:48:59.521-07:00Colbie Caillat - Fallin' For You (Official Video)<object style="background-image:url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/5a6dpsRPnPk/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5a6dpsRPnPk&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5a6dpsRPnPk&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-5872671644685579082010-07-11T00:30:00.000-07:002010-07-11T00:30:42.372-07:00Netherlands-Spain FIFA WORLD CUP preview <a href="http://img.fifa.com/imgml/flags/mh/fwc2010/home/ned.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="NED" border="0" src="http://img.fifa.com/imgml/flags/mh/fwc2010/home/ned.png" /></a> vs <img alt="ESP" src="http://img.fifa.com/imgml/flags/mh/fwc2010/away/esp.png" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Final promises to be quite an occasion, with the Netherlands pitting their wits against reigning European champions Spain. Both sides have produced some good football during their campaigns and have been rewarded with the chance to add their nation's names to the select list of former winners: Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina and France.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The match</strong></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Netherlands-Spain, Final, Soccer City, Sunday 11 July, 20.30 (local time)</em></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">As a glance at the head-to-head record between the two nations shows, tipping a winner is no easy task. Both sides have won four of their nine meetings, with the other game ending in a draw. The<em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Oranje</em> have been here before, reaching the Finals at Germany 1974, with Johan Cruyff, and Argentina 1978, without him, and losing to the hosts on both occasions. For Spain, however, this is new territory, although their confidence at rising to the occasion will be high after ending a 44-year trophy drought at UEFA EURO 2008.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"> The Netherlands' record at South Africa 2010 could hardly be more impressive: six wins in six games with 12 goals scored and five conceded. For their part Vicente del Bosque's men have strung together five wins in a row after kicking off with a surprise defeat. But while the Spaniards have found goals hard to come by, scoring just seven in total, they have been far more miserly in defence, letting in just two so far. The winners will also end an old hoodoo, with no European side having ever won the biggest prize in world football outside the old continent.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b>P</b><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">layers to watch</strong></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Wesley Sneijder v David Villa<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></strong></em></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">The leading goalscorers at South Africa 2010, alongside Diego Forlan, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Muller, this in-form pair are in the frame for both the adidas Golden Boot and the adidas Golden Ball. Their goals have been vital to their sides' respective runs to the Final. Can one of them end the tournament with a winner's medal and two coveted individual awards? All will soon be revealed.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The stat</strong><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">8 -</strong></strong> Sunday's game will be the eighth all-European Final. In 19 FIFA World Cup tournaments, Europe has been represented in 16 Finals, a record that includes an unbroken run of 14 going back to Switzerland 1954. Only two showpiece games have been all-South American, with the remaining nine pitching together sides from the competition's two dominant continents.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict</b></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Netherlands 1:2 Spain</div></span>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-15001370672094744432010-07-11T00:23:00.000-07:002010-07-11T00:23:04.973-07:00Germany pip Uruguay to third place<img alt=" Sami Khedira of Germany celebrates scoring his team's third goal" src="http://www.fifa.com/mm/photo/tournament/competition/01/27/19/67/1271967_full-lnd.jpg" /><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Germany took bronze for the fourth time at the FIFA World Cup™ after beating Uruguay 3-2 in an entertaining play-off for third place. Sami Khedira got the winning goal with eight minutes remaining as Joachim Low's side repeated their success in this same match four years ago.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> There was no shortage of goals as the rain came teeming down in Port Elizabeth with both sides eager to conclude impressive campaigns on a winning note. Thomas Muller and Edinson Cavani traded first half efforts before Diego Forlan and Marcell Jansen did likewise within ten minutes of the restart. Yet it was Germany who came out on top and, in the process, South Africa 2010's leading scorers reached the 16-goal mark, surpassing their total at Italy 1990, albeit falling one short of their tally in 1970, when they also pipped Uruguay to the bronze medal.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">For two of the scorers, Muller and Forlan, their strikes took them to five for the tournament, level with David Villa and Wesley Sneijder at the top of the adidas Golden Boot standings. Forlan will rue the injury-time free-kick against the crossbar that denied him a sixth goal, while Miroslav Klose's absence with a back injury left him rooted on five too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Both teams featured changed lineups after their semi-final losses. Germany coach Joachim Low went for a wholly new forward line from that which began against Spain with starting roles for the trio of Muller, Cacau and Jansen. Further back Dennis Aogo came in for Philipp Lahm and goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt for Manuel Neuer. As for Uruguay, they welcomed back captain Diego Lugano from injury together with Jorge Fucile and Luis Suarez, both suspended for last Tuesday's defeat by the Netherlands.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Muller made his mark early with his fifth goal in South Africa. The 20-year-old had already had one effort ruled out for offside when he fired Low’s side ahead in the 19th minute. Bastian Schweinsteiger sent in a shot from 30 yards that goalkeeper Diego Muslera, seemingly deceived by the swerve and dip, parried straight to Muller who had an easy task to score. A German breakthrough was hardly a surprise given by that stage they had also seen Arne Friedrich head a Mesut Ozil corner against the crossbar yet Oscar Tabarez's side soon responded.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Uruguay threatened in the 25th minute when Per Mertesacker got a block on Forlan's far-post header. Four minutes later, though, they had their equaliser from a swift counter. Diego Perez dispossessed Schweinsteiger just inside the <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Celeste</em> half with a powerful challenge and fed Suarez who played in Cavani down the inside left-channel. The Palermo striker took one touch before prodding a low finish into the bottom corner. Suarez should then have put Uruguay ahead three minutes before the break when Forlan picked out his diagonal run but bearing down on Butt's goal from the right, he arrowed his shot wide of the far post.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Futher changes went begging moments after the restart when Butt saved at Cavani's feet and then got a hand to Suarez’s shot on the follow-up. Butt was left helpless when Forlan made it 2-1 after 51 minutes, however. The Atletico Madrid striker connected acrobatically with Egidio Arevalo's cross on the edge of the box, sending the ball into the rain-sodden turf and back up past Butt. Yet the lead lasted only five minutes before Muslera missed Jerome Boateng's deep cross and Jansen headed home.</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The game was now wide open as both teams chased a third goal. Butt kept out a flying strike from Suarez and came out to save at the feet of Forlan. At the other end Muslera beat away a shot from Germany substitute Stefan Kiessling, who missed two other inviting chances. The winning goal, when it came, followed an Ozil corner. The ball bounced off Friedrich and then Lugano before rising fortuitously to Khedira who headed home.</span></div>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-25801245485370128292010-07-09T19:16:00.000-07:002010-07-09T19:16:16.756-07:003rd place play-off : Uruguay vs Germany..........Who will it be ? For evidence of just how much the play-off for third place at the FIFA World Cup™ means, you only have to go back to the summer of 2006 and recall the determination with which host nation Germany rounded off their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Portugal in Stuttgart. It was the same for 1990 hosts Italy, who bounced back from the huge disappointment of semi-final defeat to Argentina with a spirit-lifting 2-1 success over England.<br />
And the showdown for the final place on the podium often proves most rewarding for dark horses that have lit up a tournament, such as Sweden at USA 1994, Croatia at France 1998 and Turkey at Korea/Japan 2002. What's more, with the pressure off and coaches’ tactical leashes loosened, these games can result in end-to-end football, chances aplenty and goals galore.<br />
<strong>The match</strong><br />
<em>Uruguay-Germany, play-off for third place, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Saturday 10 July, 20:30 (local time)</em><br />
This is the second time Germany and Uruguay have met to contest third place at a FIFA World Cup, with the pair doing battle at the same stage of Mexico 1970. At the finals 40 years ago, <em>Die Nationalmannschaft </em>had lost a semi-final thriller 4-3 to Italy, while<em> La Celeste</em> had been downed 3-1 by eventual winners Brazil, with the Germans snatching third spot thanks to a solitary 26th-minute strike from Wolfgang Overath.<br />
The two teams also met in the quarter-finals at England 1966 in a match Germany won 4-0, and again at Mexico 1986, when the pair’s group meeting ended 1-1. In conclusive proof of their historical upper hand, of a total of nine international matches between the duo to date, Germany have won six and suffered only one defeat, which came at the 1928 edition of the Olympic Football Tournament.<br />
Not that Oscar Tabarez’s charges will let the record books concern them, having exceeded all expectations with the country’s best FIFA World Cup performance since lifting the Trophy for the second time at Brazil 1950. As they seek a victory which would crown their impressive showing on South African soil, striker Luis Suarez returns after missing the semi-final defeat against Netherlands through suspension while captain Diego Lugano should be fit to play after missing said game with a knee injury. Leading scorer Diego Forlan, meanwhile, has been declared fit to play despite a knock against the Dutch and, with four goals so far, is only one strike behind adidas Golden Boot pace-setters Wesley Sneijder and David Villa.<br />
Speaking of in-form forwards, the spotlight will also no doubt fall on Miroslav Klose, now just one goal behind the all-time FIFA World Cup record of 15, set by Brazil’s Ronaldo. However, his appearance in what will be Germany’s 99th match at the competition is in doubt after suffering he suffered a back injury against Spain on Wednesday, while midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira's participation is also in doubt. German coach Joachim Low is therefore expected to give a run-out to squad players such as Serdar Tasci, Dennis Aogo and Stefan Kiessling.<br />
<strong>Players to watch</strong><br />
<em>Miroslav Klose vs Diego Forlan</em><br />
This duo of vastly experienced strikers have four goals apiece so far and will be determined to further their respective Golden Boot hopes by finding the net again at the Port Elizabeth Stadium. The lethal pair both picked up knocks in their sides’ semi-final defeats, however, and may struggle to fire on all cylinders come Saturday evening.<br />
<strong>The stats</strong><br />
The signs suggest that the match for third place is unlikely to go to extra time, given that Germany’s last ten games - including friendlies - have all had a winner after 90 minutes.Uruguay had never beaten the Germans before while the Germans had already recorded 6 wins against their South American opponents.<br />
<b>The Verdict </b><br />
I think their lost against Spain will not have anything to do against their match-up today but I believe them to beat Uruguay by 3:1.So Germany for 3rd place.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-12335811464909385772010-07-08T04:56:00.000-07:002010-07-08T05:13:25.312-07:00Netherlands vs Spain....Who will it be ?? <img alt="NED" src="http://img.fifa.com/imgml/flags/mh/fwc2010/home/ned.png" /> VS <img alt="ESP" src="http://img.fifa.com/imgml/flags/mh/fwc2010/away/esp.png" /><br />
<br />
This could be the best finals in FIFA WORLD CUP history,a finals that people hoped for,a finals between two teams that never won the World Cup before.<br />
<img alt="Carles Puyol of Spain (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Semi Final match between Germany and Spain" src="http://www.fifa.com/mm/photo/tournament/competition/01/27/01/44/1270144_full-lnd.jpg" /><br />
Spain reached their first FIFA World Cup finals in 3 decades after a Carlos Puyol header earned them a worth full 1:0 win over favorites Germany. Spain also beat the likes of Portugal and Paraguay on the way.Let's take a look at Spain's journey to the finals.At the first match which was against Switzerland,a team that failed to beat the Spaniards in nearly 48 years,but history was rewritten,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Switzerland pulled off the biggest shock so far at this FIFA World Cup™ as Gelson Fernandes's strike against the run of play earned them a 1-0 win against European champions and joint-tournament favourites Spain. Vicente del Bosque's team predictably dominated possession but were hit on the break seven minutes into the second half as the Swiss recorded a first win over Spain.The second match against Honduras was a must win match for them,and they did just that to get their</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">FIFA World Cup™ campaign back on track with a win against Honduras that was far more comprehensive than the 2-0 scoreline indicated. The Central Americans were the unlucky victims as the European champions returned to the kind of form which placed them among the pre-tournament favorites.The third match against Chile was also a must win match for them,cause the loser of this match will face Brazil.Spain beat</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">ten-man Chile 2-1 to finish top of Group H and book a Round of 16 meeting with Portugal, while their opponents' courageous display was rewarded with a date with Brazil.And then it was a last 16 match-up against Portugal,who are just fresh from a 7:0 rout of North Korea and holding 5 time Champions Brazil to a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">goalless</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> draw.</span> Well,that didn't stop Spain from beating <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Portugal 1:0 and reach the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. In the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Quarter</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> Finals they faced harder </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">opponents</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> Paraguay,who managed to edge out </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Asian</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> giants Japan in a penalty shootout.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Spain set up a potentially thrilling semi-final meeting with Germany but the European champions had to do it the hard way, requiring a lone second-half strike from David Villa to claim a 1-0 win over a resilient Paraguay at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park. And finally Paul the Octopus predicted a Spanish win against it's native nation Germany.Well,that creature was worth the money,cause a 73rd minute Carlos Puyol header ended Germany's hopes and created history for the Amigos.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span> <img alt="Eljero Elia of the Netherlands (C) celebrates with team mates" src="http://www.fifa.com/mm/photo/tournament/competition/01/24/43/07/1244307_full-lnd.jpg" /><br />
Next is about the journey of the Netherlands who reached their third FIFA World Cup finals.Nobody expected the Dutch to be so impressive but they really put critics at bay with their world-class performances.First-up its against Denmark.No comments..on this.. the Dutch came out comfortable winners against the Danes as a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Daniel Agger own goal and Dirk Kuyt’s late winner earned the Netherlands a deserved 2-0 win over Denmark at Johannesburg’s Soccer City as the Dutch took an early lead in Group E and stretched their long unbeaten run.The second match was a bit tricky cause they face Japan who are fresh from a 1:0 victory over Cameroon.Well </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">the only goal of the game coming from Wesley Sneijder shortly after the break. Despite not having things their own way at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Dutch – still without injured winger Arjen Robben – will nevertheless be thrilled with their six points from two games and a spot at the top of Group E.The third game was a game that could seal Cameroon's early departure but for the Dutch its a game that they need to win to stretch their unbeaten run as their already in the last-16.Well, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Arjen Robben came off the bench to help the Netherlands secure a 2-1 victory over Cameroon that seals top spot in Group E and sets up a last-16 date with Slovakia. Robin van Persie and Klaas Jan Huntelaar were on target either side of a Samuel Eto'o penalty at Cape Town's Green Point Stadium as Bert van Marwijk’s </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Oranje</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> preserved their unblemished record at South Africa 2010.And its was the start of the last-16 against Slovakia for the Netherlands.Slovakia is fresh from a 3:2 victory over defending 4 time Champions Italy that handed them an early exit.They are also determine to send the Dutch packing but the Dutch were just too strong.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Slovakia's fairy-tale run came to an end at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium on Monday, with Arjen Robben returning to the starting line-up and helping fire the organised <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Oranje </em>into the quarter-finals with the first goal in a 2-1 win.And then it was like nightmare for the Netherlands as they faced 5 time Champions Brazil in the Quarter finals.The Oranje were already looking at the exit door when Robinho fired the South Americans ahead in the first half,but the Dutch had a surprise for the samba kings in the second half.Well the Dutch </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">came from behind to break Brazilian hearts and take a huge step towards a third FIFA World Cup™ final appearance. Trailing at half-time to Robinho's early goal in Port Elizabeth, Bert van Marwijk's men drew level with Brazil's Felipe Melo's own goal before Wesley Sneijder scored his second of the game with 22 minutes remaining.And then it was another South American giant,this time it was Uruguay,with the deadly Diego Forlan,but they also can't do a thing against the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">cruising</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> Dutch.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The Netherlands will face Spain in the Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ after beating Uruguay 3:2.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> Now the Finals,Netherlands vs Spain.Even if your favorite team is not here as expected by you,you must not miss this Finals cause a new team will be named Champions for the first time in FIFA World Cup history.Spain reached their first finals in 3 decades while the Netherlands were two time's runner-ups. The stakes are high for this fixture.Pundits have said that the team that scores first have the likely hood of winning the World Cup.Netherlands have score most of their goals in the first half while Spain is famous for their last minute knockout blows that can be sealed with a goal in the dying seconds.Head to heads put Netherlands with 4 wins against Spain,while the amigos only won 3 times against the Dutch.One draw was played.No doubt that the Dutch faced harder opponents during their campaign like Japan,Cameroon,Brazil,Uruguay while Spain only faced Chile,Portugal,Paraguay and Germany that almost turn the table around.Tactics wise of course its Spain, their tempo of passing is direct but not as fast as the Dutch.Spain has a strong mid-field and a world-class goal keeper.The Netherlands are good down the flanks with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Wesley Sneijder and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Arjen Robben,they also have a forward named Van Persie who can be deadly when he gets the ball.Spain has Torres and David Villa and some attacking midfielders like Xavi and Xabi Alonso.The engine of Spain's midfield is of course Inesta.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> So the conclusion is simple both teams are good and worth to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup.But Spain has the slight edge over the Dutch.So my prediction is a 2:1 win for the Spainish. Adios Amigos!!!!! Watch the final!!! Don't forget!!!!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-47598286025222030372010-07-08T03:35:00.000-07:002010-07-11T00:38:29.905-07:00One goal send Germans preparing for a Third place play off while Spain make history.<img alt="Carles Puyol of Spain (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Semi Final match between Germany and Spain" src="http://www.fifa.com/mm/photo/tournament/competition/01/27/01/44/1270144_full-lnd.jpg" /><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">First Europe and now, possibly, the world for Spain, who won through to the Final of South Africa 2010 with a 1-0 victory over Germany in Durban. Carles Puyol's 74th-minute header repeated the single-goal triumph over Germany that secured <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">La Roja</em> the European title two years ago and now only the Netherlands stand between them and a first FIFA World Cup™ title.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> Whatever the outcome at Soccer City on Sunday, there will be history made with a new name on the Trophy after Spain produced their best performance of these finals to end Germany's hopes of an eighth Final appearance and secure their first. Joachim Low’s men, by contrast, missing the suspended Thomas Muller, were unable to repeat the scintillating displays with which they swept aside England and Argentina and, as in 2006, suffered the anguish of semi-final defeat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> While Germany were playing in their 12th FIFA World Cup semi-final, this was Spain's first, although it was business as usual for Vicente del Bosque's side, who dominated possession. Indeed Spain might have had an early goal when Pedro, making his first start of the finals in place of Fernando Torres, slipped a through-ball to David Villa after just six minutes. Clear of the Germany defence, Villa produced a sliding finish but Manuel Neuer was out of his goal fast to deny the Spaniard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> There was another nervy moment to follow for Low's men after 14 minutes. From a short corner, Andres Iniesta drove in a centre that Puyol met with a flying header that, to the relief of the Germans, cleared the crossbar. Spain had more than 60 per cent of the ball in the game's first quarter but Germany, happy to sit deep and continue the counter-attacking game that had brought them such reward in previous matches, began to offer a threat. Lukas Podolski played in Mezut Ozil on the left and he duly supplied Miroslav Klose on the edge of the box, but the Bayern Munich forward was crowded out.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Iker Casillas was called into action for the first time just after the half-hour to turn behind a low 30-yard drive from Piotr Trochowski, the man brought in to replace Muller. On the stroke of half-time, Germany finally picked a hole in the Spain defence when Ozil broke into the box on to a pass from Klose. As Sergio Ramos challenged, the German midfielder went to ground but referee Viktor Kassai waved play on.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The second half began like the first, with Spain threatening Neuer's goal as Xabi Alonso drove narrowly wide from 25 yards, then Villa curled another attempt wide of the same post. The pressure intensified with the hour approaching and Germany's goal was lucky to survive intact. Pedro's low shot drew a fingertip save from Neuer and as Per Mertesacker dawdled over his clearance, Iniesta nipped in and drove a low ball across goal that the lunging Villa was within a whisker of reaching at the far post. With Germany still unable to clear their lines, Pedro then fired wide.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Low sought to change things, sending on Marcell Jansen in place of Jerome Boateng and, later, Toni Kroos for Trochowski. It was Kroos who had Germany's first attempt of the second half in the 69th minute, meeting Podoski's far-post cross with a side-footed shot that Casillas beat away. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Instead, with 16 minutes remaining, the decisive goal came at the other end. From a corner by Xavi, Puyol leapt above team-mate Gerard Pique and powered a header past Neuer. Pedro could have ensured a bigger margin of victory in the closing stages but he allowed Arne Friedrich to dispossess him after bursting through in a two-on-one with substitute Torres. It did not matter in the end, Spain's third successive 1-0 win carrying them into their first Final.</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div><br />
</div>Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-56777905443226140322010-05-03T04:13:00.000-07:002010-05-03T04:13:49.164-07:00Drogba, Lampard follow the script<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyTJXIzju5w7aPHDNE8YN0vTj3Kf0HCwFHsgvHWXKCdGGjZM4Jr-CE7moLLbkOeOo1YTw1dpvltHHgjoXmLwkWvHCv4q-qyDeCh7j0E_ElzUUfEUQNzTRfBy2tG7U5GpoFpoiCn04PM4k/s1600/3462780304_5790a6fc7c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyTJXIzju5w7aPHDNE8YN0vTj3Kf0HCwFHsgvHWXKCdGGjZM4Jr-CE7moLLbkOeOo1YTw1dpvltHHgjoXmLwkWvHCv4q-qyDeCh7j0E_ElzUUfEUQNzTRfBy2tG7U5GpoFpoiCn04PM4k/s400/3462780304_5790a6fc7c.jpg" tt="true" width="312" /></a></div> <strong>Lampard and Drogba</strong><br />
It was exactly as the scriptwriters would have written it: goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard sent Chelsea to the brink of winning the English Premier League.<br />
<br />
After their 2-0 victory over a despondent Liverpool side at Anfield yesterday, Chelsea now need just a home victory over Wigan Athletic in next weekend’s season finale to ensure the trophy heads their way for the first time in four years.<br />
And although this particular EPL season has contained some unlikely twists and turns, with Chelsea suffering their faire share of unanticipated stumbles along the way, surely they will claim the required victory next weekend — Wigan are a vastly inferior team who have nothing to play for, so Manchester United fans would be advised not to set their expectations too high.<br />
It was entirely appropriate that Chelsea’s match-winning goals against Liverpool — which effectively secured the title — were scored by Drogba and Lampard, who have been the Blues’ attacking inspiration for years.<br />
<br />
Both of them boast exceptional goalscoring records — Drogba with 127 in 259 appearances for the Blues; Lampard with 156 in 476 — and, as evidenced again this weekend, they also possess the ability to score important goals at important times.<br />
Lampard’s goal return (one in every three games) is especially impressive for a midfielder and, on the assumption that he goes on to enjoy his third title triumph next weekend, he can now certainly be regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.<br />
Having broken into the first team at West Ham United — his first club — at such an early age, Lampard was already an established top flight performer by the time he joined Chelsea for £11 million (RM55 million) in the summer of 2001.<br />
But he did have to overcome initial scepticism amongst many Chelsea supporters, who harshly believed that his progress at West Ham was largely due to the influence of the team’s assistant manager and his father, Frank Lampard Sr.<br />
Those doubters have since been emphatically proven wrong, with Lampard becoming the single most important player for the Blues throughout their period of recent success (narrowly edging ahead of his great mate John Terry by virtue of the number of goals he’s scored). He has registered at least 10 league goals in each of the last seven seasons, and also shown remarkable durability by missing just 20 league games during his nine years at Stamford Bridge.<br />
Yet, it’s difficult to define exactly what makes Lampard such a great player. He lacks pace, isn’t particularly strong or athletic, is little more than average in the air and no better than reasonable as a passer of the ball; in short, his physical attributes don’t tell the tale of a player who can play such a dominant role for so many years in the most demanding league in the world.<br />
The qualities that set Lampard apart are the great intangibles — the vital attributes of anticipation, game understanding and instinct that can’t be taught or coached; the unquantifiable things that can’t be defined on spreadsheets or measured in gyms.<br />
You either have the ability to get into the right positions for goalscoring opportunities to come your way, or you don’t. Lampard has those intangibles, and they have played a major part in Chelsea’s golden era.<br />
Drogba’s powers are easier to define. His physical presence is so great that, when in full flow, he is almost impossible to defend against. Of course, the Ivorian also possesses a considerable amount of natural talent, but without his physical prowess he would be half the player.<br />
He has led Chelsea’s line superbly for the last seven years, providing a focal point for their attack as well as scoring goals with impressive regularity. It’s no coincidence that Chelsea’s first title came at the end of his first season at Stamford Bridge, and he will be an extremely difficult player to replace when his powers finally begin to wane.<br />
And there lies the long-term difficulty that Chelsea face. As I mentioned last week, their squad contains a number of ageing stars whose best days will soon be behind them — Drogba, Lampard, Anelka, Deco, Ballack... they are all well into their 30s and will soon need replacing.<br />
But those concerns will be addressed at a later date. For now, Chelsea can celebrate their success at Anfield and look forward to confirming their status as Premier League champions.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-12267456656076632562010-05-02T00:30:00.000-07:002010-05-02T00:30:15.660-07:00Chelsea to emulate Malaysian drivers in title-questAfter all these years of watching English football, I just can’t believe that there are people out there who could possibly imagine a team going into a match with an intention to lose.<br />
Okay, Wolves manager Mick McCarthy did imply it, when they travelled to Old Trafford earlier this season, with 10 changes to a side that had just beaten Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, but the ‘replacements’ did not just sit back, they held their own against the mighty Manchester United (MU).<br />
There is no chance that Liverpool will pull the same trick of resting players in their 8.30pm kickoff against Chelsea at Anfield tonight. Rafa Benitez doesn’t have any reason to. Had they qualified for the Europa League final, he still might have some justification.<br />
With Manchester City and Spurs both winning last night, any glimmer of hope Liverpool had of getting fourth spot for Champions League football has virtually ended. Liverpool can only achieve a maximum of 68 points from their last two matches, while Spurs are on 67 and City on 66 with two matches to go.<br />
Man City and Spurs play this Wednesday in what will be a cup final for both. Should Spurs win they get fourth place. However, if Man City win, Spurs still have some hope should the Blues lose at West Ham United in the last round of matches next Sunday. Spurs travel to already-relegated Burnley in their last tie.<br />
Either way, it means that Liverpool can now just take a break because the top seven teams in the English Premier League this season are guaranteed of Europa League qualification. It is a repeat of the situation last season.<br />
This is because if the winner of the Carling Cup and FA Cup in England have already qualified for Europe (be it Champions League or Europa League), then an extra place will be allocated to the next top finisher in the league. MU won the Carling Cup last season while Chelsea won the FA Cup, thus the sixth and seventh teams in the league qualified for Europa League action.<br />
MU have won the Carling Cup again and Chelsea are most likely repeat winners of the FA Cup, barring a miracle by Portsmouth, so there will be two extra places in the league again.<br />
<br />
Actually, even if Portsmouth do win the FA Cup, the English FA have confirmed that they will not qualify for Europe because Portsmouth did not apply for a UEFA license earlier in the season, being cash-strapped as they are. The UEFA license is required for any team which thinks they have some chance of playing in Europe. Portsmouth obviously didn’t.<br />
So, with Everton only getting a draw against Stoke City last night, the top seven positions in the EPL are now done and dusted.<br />
The loser of this Wednesday’s clash between Man City and Spurs will join Liverpool and Aston Villa in the Europa League in the 2010/11 season.<br />
This brings me back to tonight’s matches. It is likely to be the first time in history that a majority of Liverpool supporters in the stadium and around the world will be cheering the opposition, even with the opposition being Chelsea.<br />
The ultimate prize for any MU fan is the ability to shout down Liverpool supporters with the records showing that the Red Devils have won more league titles than the Reds. So, after years of being second best to Liverpool in the category of total league titles, the tables will be turned even with Liverpool just getting a draw tonight.<br />
As it is, equalling the 18 league title achievement of Liverpool at the end of the last season already meant a great deal to the MU fans, what more being numero uno.<br />
<br />
But to be fair, even if MU did fail this time, one could certainly argue it was simply delaying the inevitable. As things stand, which team is more likely to win another title in the next few years? Liverpool fans might not like it, but most bets will be on MU to break the record sooner or later.<br />
So, forgetting the issues between MU and Liverpool (and their respective supporters) for a moment, let us look at the match in itself.<br />
Liverpool may have had a morale-boosting 4-0 win away to Burnley last Sunday, but they are surely a broken team at the moment, having come through 125 minutes of play in the Europa League semi-final encounter last Thursday night.<br />
The Reds lost to Atletico Madrid on aggregate and were running ragged to the last minute hoping to get that one extra goal to be finalists. Tired legs already showed during the match and now, with a little bit more than 48 hours to recover, are they ready to face the might of Chelsea, 7-0 conquerors of Stoke last weekend?<br />
One would be wise to remember that a rampant Chelsea is not good news for their next opponents.<br />
On 27th March, Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 7-1 and travelled to Old Trafford the next weekend getting a 2-1 win over MU. Ironically, MU also won 4-0 away to Bolton the weekend before and lost to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final encounter a few days before hosting Chelsea.<br />
So, it is likely that Chelsea will be inspired by the many Malaysian drivers on the road and not take ‘Red’ to mean ‘STOP’ in their quest for the title.<br />
Whatever the result at Anfield tonight, the Red Devils will still be going all out for a win at Sunderland (kickoff 11pm, tonight). Sunderland haven’t lost at home since December when they lost to Aston Villa by 2 goals to nil. This was also only their second home defeat after losing to Chelsea 3-1 last August in the second week of the season.<br />
Nothing short of three points will do if MU are to stay in the hunt for the title, so Alex Ferguson’s men will need to be on guard against an in-form Sunderland side. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has not beaten his former mentor in 13 attempts and this will be their third meeting in the last three years in the closing stages of the season.<br />
The Black Cats have won three out of four games in April, including a comfortable 3-1 win over high-flying Tottenham. Besides, that MU will be seeking a better performance in this reverse fixture against Sunderland, having escaped defeat at Old Trafford in the dying seconds of injury time in their match last October, courtesy of an Anton Ferdinand own goal.<br />
What an important point it has turned out to be with that unintentional ‘gift’ from Rio’s brother. This is because without that point, even a draw between Chelsea and Liverpool would have helped the Blues to the title, given their superior goal difference.<br />
Anyhow, MU are hot favourites to get the win they desire tonight. Their record at the Stadium of Light is strong – five wins and two draws from seven visits. After picking up six points against neighbours Manchester City and Spurs in the last couple of weeks, MU will be in a determined mood, more so if leaders Chelsea had already dropped points at Anfield earlier in the day.<br />
For the record, Chelsea are at home to Wigan Athletic in the last round of matches next Sunday, while MU host Stoke City. Both matches almost certain wins for the top two, unless Wigan can pull off another upset like they did against the Blues earlier in the season.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-63362422958153764452010-05-01T01:59:00.000-07:002010-05-01T01:59:40.838-07:00Will Liverpool surrender the title to Chelsea ?One of the silliest rumours that I’ve heard this season — and there have been many — is the suggestion that Liverpool will lie down and make things easy for Chelsea at Anfield this weekend because they don’t want Manchester United to win the English Premier League title.<br />
As you will no doubt already be aware, Chelsea currently head the EPL table by one point from Manchester United with two games to play. The Blues travel to Liverpool tomorrow afternoon, knowing that victory will leave just a home game against Wigan between them and the trophy. And, considering Liverpool’s fierce rivalry with their near-neighbours from Manchester, some pundits have speculated that they might simply let Chelsea win.<br />
In reality, that simply won’t happen. As I wrote in this column a few weeks ago, professional footballers do not generally share the prejudices of their supporters, deriving their motivation instead from more selfish ambitions, and the majority of Liverpool players really couldn’t care less who ends up winning the title out of Manchester United or Chelsea.<br />
Liverpool’s only motivation for the game will be a personal, positive one — clinging on to the faint hope that they can still secure qualification for next season’s Champions’ League by finishing in the top four. To make that happen it’s simply imperative for the Reds to win both of their remaining games, and that will be the only thing on their minds. The identity of their opponents, and the potential ramifications of the result to other teams, will not enter into their thinking.<br />
However, something that probably will play a significant part in determining Liverpool’s mental approach to the game is their shattering Europa League exit against Atletico Madrid on Thursday night. For a long time now, the Reds have known that the Europa League offered their only potential route to a trophy — and Liverpool certainly approached the season with that specific ambition of winning silverware. Now the dream is gone, it would be natural for them to be somewhat mentally flat and distracted from the challenge presented by Chelsea.<br />
Thursday night’s defeat against Madrid, by virtue of the away goals rule, was such a devastating occasion there is a real danger that it could effectively mark the end of the Reds’ mental commitment to their season. A cloud of negativity has been swirling around Anfield from the very early weeks of the season, ever since it became apparent that they were unlikely to mount a serious challenge for the EPL title, and that cloud could now become overwhelmingly stifling as Liverpool come to terms with their midweek European exit.<br />
But whatever effect the events of Thursday night may exert on the morale of the Liverpool players, a far more important factor in deciding the outcome of Sunday’s meeting will be how well Chelsea play. It’s quite simple: if Chelsea perform at their best, they will probably win.<br />
That will surely be the message that Carlo Ancelotti will transmit to his team as they prepare for the game: forget the opposition; forget the atmosphere within the stadium; forget Manchester United. Just concentrate on the process of eleven men against eleven men.<br />
Already this season Chelsea have beaten Manchester United twice, Arsenal twice and Liverpool once, and they are more than capable of completing a ‘clean sweep’ of the Big Four if they don’t allow themselves to be carried away by the significance of the event — they need to focus on playing the game, not playing the occasion. A man as experienced and clear-thinking of Ancelotti will surely ensure they have the right frame of mind and don’t allow themselves to become over-excited.<br />
Fresh legs will be another factor to give Ancelotti’s side the edge. While Liverpool went through the tiring mental process of preparing for a major semi-final and then endured 120 minutes of gruelling physical endeavour, often chasing the ball as Madrid dominated possession, Chelsea’s players had the welcome opportunity to partake in some gentle training sessions, rest some aching limbs and receive treatment for niggling injuries.<br />
At this stage of the season, towards the culmination of 10 months of relentless, constantly challenging physical work, nearly every player is carrying some kind of injury. A combination of rest and treatment allows most players to get through the pain for another couple of weeks, but Liverpool’s more punishing schedule will exacerbate the aches and pains felt by their players, while their last seven days of contrastingly peaceful activity should allow Chelsea to be a lot closer to 100 per cent.<br />
So everything seems to be adding up to count against Liverpool: the lingering disappointment of Thursday night; the lack of purpose and direction for their remaining games; the punishing physical schedule they’ve undertaken, and, last but by no means least, the fact that Chelsea have a better group of players.<br />
In a logical world, all of these factors should combine to result in a comfortable victory for Chelsea tomorrow; but we all know that football is not always logical. More often than not it is, but not always. So there remains a chance that Liverpool will somehow overcome the odds and further obstruct Chelsea’s progress towards the EPL trophy, and in this topsy-turvy season it appears that nothing will be straightforward.<br />
Only one thing can be certain: if Chelsea do come away from Anfield victorious, it won’t be due to a lack of effort on the hosts’ behalf.<br />
Away from Anfield, the most meaningful game of the weekend takes place at Eastlands, where fifth placed Manchester City host sixth placed Aston Villa. With Tottenham, current occupants of the all-important fourth spot, presented with a seemingly routine home game against Bolton, this is effectively a last chance for City and Villa to maintain their claims for the final Champions’ League qualifying berth.<br />
Defeat for either side will almost certainly bring their challenge to an abrupt end, and in such a pressurised situation it’s a tough one to call. Home advantage could be enough to turn the tie in City’s favour, but they have a series of injury concerns and have been surrounded by continuing speculation over the future of their manager Roberto Mancini. City have home advantage, Villa have the momentum; it could go either way.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-22002693361489887572010-04-26T00:35:00.000-07:002010-04-26T00:35:19.873-07:00EPL title should already be Chelsea’s<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCGM9f1Z-d31GDhMb4HDfqC4OVZozqo0qWY9j6bZSVb0By5uts7waSaNyuucVT6qlKJ00MzGk-l41KqV4GeFa_njQWFhbRhdSNRxjGkFkQXjRhxfvquQFN-AQMZj5jisvrgg4M5gJ3egm/s1600/bbbcef9953dc7a1c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCGM9f1Z-d31GDhMb4HDfqC4OVZozqo0qWY9j6bZSVb0By5uts7waSaNyuucVT6qlKJ00MzGk-l41KqV4GeFa_njQWFhbRhdSNRxjGkFkQXjRhxfvquQFN-AQMZj5jisvrgg4M5gJ3egm/s200/bbbcef9953dc7a1c.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div>Chelsea’s mightily impressive 7-0 demolition of Stoke City on Sunday afternoon re-established the London club’s supremacy at the top of the English Premier League table, and they are now just two more wins away from clinching their first EPL title since 2006.<br />
The Blues have plenty of reason to feel optimistic — they were magnificent against Stoke, taking the game to their beleaguered opponents from the opening whistle with an adventurous formation that found room for three strikers — Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou — as well as attacking midfielders Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda.<br />
Stoke, normally a stubborn defensive unit, simply had no answer; it’s a somewhat mischievous point, but a measure of Chelsea’s dominance was that even Kalou managed a hat-trick — the Ivorian had only scored one previous league goal all season. <br />
It was extremely impressive stuff, but in truth the Blues should already have the championship sown up. If they fail to see off the challenge of Manchester United in the next fortnight, it will have been a major opportunity missed — and an opportunity which may not present itself quite so easily next time around.<br />
<br />
From the very beginning of the season, Chelsea have looked like they should be the country’s dominant team. With a galaxy of stars including Drogba, Anelka, Frank Lampard, Deco, Florent Malouda, Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack amongst others, Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti has been graced with a variety of attacking options to inspire jealousy even in Sir Alex Ferguson.<br />
Ancelotti aside, there were no high-profile arrivals at Stamford Bridge during the course of last summer, but there were also no high-profile departures, and that provided the incoming Italian coach with an enviable degree of continuity around which to base his plans.<br />
In stark contrast, the transfers of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and Carlos Tevez to Manchester City left current title holders United markedly weaker. Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia were never going to replace the productivity offered by the departing Ronaldo and Tevez, and United’s chief hope would be that Dimitar Berbatov would up his game to fill some of the void — that clearly hasn’t happened.<br />
<br />
Of the other challengers, Liverpool never looked remotely capable of continuing their promising form of last season, Arsenal were denied the services of their most important striker, Robin Van Persie, for virtually the entire campaign, and newly-monied Manchester City are still in a development phase.<br />
So if there was ever a season when winning the EPL could have been a relatively straightforward task for a team of Chelsea’s calibre, this was it. The title has been there for Chelsea’s taking, and the fact that they boast a 100 per cent record from their meetings with Arsenal, United and Liverpool suggests they are more than good enough to have waltzed their way to a comfortable triumph.<br />
Instead, they’re left sweating it out until the last two weekends of the season due to the periodic and inexplicable intervention of strangely below par team performances, most recently in evidence when they produced an insipid display in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham. That was Chelsea’s sixth league defeat of the season — more than any title-winning team since Manchester United nearly a decade ago.<br />
Perhaps Chelsea’s occasional dips can be explained by the advancing age of their squad; with Drogba, Anelka, Lampard, Deco and Ballack all pushing the wrong side of 30, maybe they’ve been let down by an occasional lack of combined energy on the days that their usual high standards have deserted them — when they’re playing badly, younger squads can mask their deficiencies with a severe bout of hard running, but Chelsea’s collective age prohibits that.<br />
Whether that’s true or not, the age of Chelsea’s squad is a big concern for the future, and one of the major reasons why it’s so important for them to take their present opportunity.<br />
Deco has already announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, Ballack may well head the same way, and Drogba’s punishing physical style of play can’t continue forever — the next fortnight could represent the final stand for this current Chelsea squad.<br />
But who will replace the ageing stars? In recent years Chelsea’s transfer policy has simply been to spend as much money as necessary, but that approach seems to have softened in the last 18 months as a result of owner Roman Abramovich’s vulnerability to the global financial crash.<br />
In that context, the future might lie with the likes of youngsters Daniel Sturridge and Gael Kakuta instead of a new tranche of imported Galacticos. <br />
And while Chelsea are possibly approaching a downward curve, it’s reasonable to expect Manchester United to become even stronger next season, with Sir Alex widely expected to make a major splash in the summer transfer market for a striker or two (perhaps sacrificing Berbatov as a bargaining tool). <br />
Furthermore, Manchester City — who have twice beaten Chelsea this season — will almost certainly continue to spend heavily during the summer, and rumours are continuing to grow that former Blues boss Jose Mourinho will be lured to Eastlands in place of Roberto Mancini, while Arsenal’s prodigiously talented young squad should be capable of making a more sustained assault on the title next season (especially if Arsene Wenger swallows his pride and adds a couple of feisty ball-winners). <br />
So with Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal all showing the potential to get better, Chelsea need to capitalise on their opportunity to win the title now — if they don’t, they might not get another chance like it for a long time.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-51416897967633293282010-04-26T00:25:00.000-07:002010-04-26T00:25:10.777-07:00Back To the drawing board.For the past eight days, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has led a campaign that showcased everything rotten about Umno and BN.<br />
<br />
The vilification and assassination on the personal lifestyle of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, candidate of PKR and Pakatan Rakyat was absolutely disgusting but it brought mixed results based on the Malays' voting pattern.<br />
The people of Hulu Selangor did not respond to BN's campaign by giving Zaid a decisive thumping, but instead word has it that they were displeased with the gutter politics on show. <br />
Even though Zaid was not elected as the new representative of Hulu Selangor, it has shown to the nation that Umno has adopted this brand of politics.<br />
Playing the typical opposition's game, Umno moved in to kill off Zaid by accusing him of not being Islamic enough, referring to his liberal character.<br />
Then there was the crossing over of a few of Pakatan's representatives in the hope of destabilising the alliance that has been touted as the government-in-waiting.<br />
The ill intent and misguided efforts were a desperate attempt by Najib to hold on to power and to reverse the potential end of BN's 53-year rule.<br />
The wisdom of the people of all races — Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asal and the rest of the population — should not be underestimated though.<br />
They crave for a government that is able to provide a visionary leadership to propel the country to greater heights economically, politically and socially.<br />
The Malays have expressed their displeasure with Umno's extremism as indicated by a vote swing for Pakatan in some Malay areas of Batang Kali.<br />
The majority of the Chinese in Kuala Kubu Bharu township and the many urban Indians including the Orang Asal showed their abhorrence of Umno's utter contempt of their rights as Malaysians.<br />
It is fortunate that the self-imposed referendum on Najib's leadership did not backfire as it would have been very embarassing for Najib if BN had lost.<br />
BN clearly outplayed Pakatan by dishing out monies and projects for the constituents of Hulu Selangor.<br />
To the Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Rakyat, the goal is to relieve BN's stranglehold on the lives of ordinary Malaysians — in the urban cities, kampungs, estates and the remote areas.<br />
Pakatan needs to deal with the results of the Hulu Selangor by-election with great humility; that the trust of the people needs to be safeguarded and upheld with ultimate transparency, accountability and responsibly.<br />
The people of Hulu Selangor have also shown some affinity to Pakatan and this should not be destroyed with internal squabbling and politicking among Pakatan component members.<br />
The almost non-existent PKR machinery especially in Hulu Bernam and the Felda areas of Hulu Selangor show a lack of engagement with the Malay voters.<br />
This is also similar in the national context, whereby the message of Pakatan does not get across to the Malay population and this has to be addressed by Pakatan as a whole, not just by PAS or to a lesser extent PKR.<br />
The calls for change will not be realised if the Malays do not buy into this message and major effort needs to be given due consideration by Pakatan including DAP in order to break the myth that the Chinese-led party will trample on the rights of the Malays.<br />
There has to be a clear, simple and direct message for the rural Malays that a Pakatan government will protect their rights, their livelihoods, the Malay Sultans, the Malay language and Islam as the religion of the Federation.<br />
If these issues are given due attention, maybe then we will see a second political tsunami in the country come the next general election.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-36211962618307738232010-04-19T05:47:00.000-07:002010-04-19T05:47:57.422-07:00Title race takes another twist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6fXtuSIEh2EQM8C6B9qbELPj-OIDbubJGccBySelJTxSiKE2aHFzozqgNYV3qrPeI9eQ-3fICFwTK1qtI8QSidS-UYYr6PdP6RJKVx48JcqS9Z57-hFZ1pj6UdSZqUZvuZXaAbrBvU9m/s1600/Who+will+get+it.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6fXtuSIEh2EQM8C6B9qbELPj-OIDbubJGccBySelJTxSiKE2aHFzozqgNYV3qrPeI9eQ-3fICFwTK1qtI8QSidS-UYYr6PdP6RJKVx48JcqS9Z57-hFZ1pj6UdSZqUZvuZXaAbrBvU9m/s320/Who+will+get+it.bmp" width="320" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <strong>After Arsenal's last 10 minutes 3:2 defeat at the DW Stadium(Wigan's home)the title race was a clear two horse race between Chelsea and Manchester United.</strong></div><div style="text-align: left;">Just when we thought Chelsea’s gradual progression towards the Premier League title was becoming a formality, along comes another twist to this strange season to leave the race wide open again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As we entered the weekend’s fixture list the Blues were firmly installed as odds-on favourites to lift the EPL trophy for the first time since 2006, but their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, coming just a few hours after Manchester United had scored an injury time winner against Manchester City for the third time this season, has thrown everything into doubt once again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">With three games remaining, United are now just one point behind the leaders. With Wayne Rooney seemingly back to fitness, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will fancy their chances to pick up maximum points from their remaining games, and that would force Chelsea to do the same to hold off the Red Devils.</div><br />
<br />
Although two of Chelsea’s remaining fixtures – home encounters with Stoke City and Wigan Athletic – should be relatively straightforward, they do face one significant challenge with a trip to Liverpool on Sunday 2nd May. That fixture will provide one of those exceptionally rare moments in football: Manchester United fans hoping that Liverpool win. Although it will go against their nature to cheer on long-time hate figures such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, if Liverpool can take points from Chelsea in a fortnight, the door will be left wide open for United.<br />
<br />
So Chelsea, if they are to lift the trophy, are doing it the hard way, and it has certainly not been an easy campaign for the west London club. Under the guidance of new manager Carlo Ancelotti — their fifth man at the helm in a little over three years — the Blues have been forced to confront a number of serious hurdles, which have been nothing if not wide-ranging in their nature.<br />
<br />
<br />
Amongst the obstacles put in their way, Chelsea have endured seeing the sordid personal life of their captain and inspirational leader John Terry exposed to the world; midfield dynamo Michael Essien has missed more than four months of action through injury; goalscoring hero Didier Drogba departed for a month in the middle of the season to compete in the African Cup of Nations, and marauding full-back Ashley Cole was out of action for two months with a broken ankle at the same time that fellow defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Jose Bosingwa were also sidelined through injury.<br />
<br />
The peak of their woes came between the middle of February and the middle of March, at a time when Terry’s personal revelations were still fresh, Cole and Essien were out injured, and Drogba temporarily lost his ability to find the back of the net. During that fraught period, Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions’ League by their former manager Jose Mourinho, thrashed 4-2 at home by Manchester City and surrendered an early lead to drop more points at Blackburn.<br />
<br />
In the face of all that adversity, then, the Blues deserve great credit for putting themselves into a position to win the double, as they are still well placed to do. It would have been easy for them to have crumbled, especially during that period in March when their season was seriously on the line, and the fact that they recovered so well says a lot for the resilient mentality of their players and the phlegmatic managerial skills of Ancelotti. They could not have a better leader to keep them calm, focussed and unflustered as they approach these nervous final few weeks.<br />
<br />
And what about Tottenham?! Spurs have long been an infuriatingly unpredictable team to follow, and that trait has certainly been in evidence this season. Just seven days ago they were being lambasted for their poor performance in their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Portsmouth, with supporters resigning themselves to another season of frustration. But now they’ve beaten both Arsenal and Chelsea in the space of four days, reclaiming the all-important fourth position from Manchester City in the process.<br />
<br />
Tottenham could still have a significant say in the title race: next weekend they travel to Old Trafford to provide what should be Manchester United’s most testing remaining fixture. Which Tottenham side will turn up — the free-flowing, fast-paced exuberant entertainers who dismantled Chelsea and Arsenal, or the misfiring, over-casual show-boaters who lost to Portsmouth? With Spurs you can never be sure, but it certainly keeps the title race — and the challenge for the fourth Champions’ League spot — very interesting.<br />
<br />
So, which way will the title race turn next? Well, in the last couple of weeks I’ve confidently predicted that Spurs would cruise past Portsmouth into the FA Cup semi-final (they didn’t), that Hull would hammer Burnley at home (they lost) and that Manchester City would take points off their cross-city rivals to end United’s title bid (they didn’t).<br />
<br />
The only prediction I’ve got right (so far) in the last few weeks is that Arsenal’s challenge would fall away, so we can probably expect both Chelsea and United to continue to drop points and allow Arsene Wenger’s men to somehow recover from their shocking capitulation at Wigan to storm their way to a triumphant title.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-24896067487917625002010-04-19T05:28:00.000-07:002010-04-19T05:28:49.948-07:00The Hulu Selangor BigTop ShowFor folks paying attention to Hulu Selangor all this week, the campaign period is both a genuinely engaging pastime and a guilty pleasure. <br />
<br />
<br />
We’ll consume all the news reports, blogposts and tweets in the hope of latching on to some genuine morsels that deserve to be weighed and considered — we’d like to think — by the P94 electorate before they cast their ballots on Sunday.<br />
<br />
It’s all a rather bourgeois exercise by those among us who continue to wish for more issues-based campaigning from the candidates and their respective parties. We should know better, of course. Time and again it’s proven we’re stuck in the same rut.<br />
<br />
In the end, we make do with the same old guilty pleasures: mud slinging, character assassinations, holier-than-thou morality plays and the associated gutter embellishments that colour our politics.<br />
<br />
So, Mr Zaid Ibrahim used to enjoy a pint or two — which of course in Malaysian politics makes him the devil incarnate. So, Mr Kamalanathan says he sees nothing wrong with Perkasa’s agenda — which of course in Malaysian politics makes him nothing more than a stooge (technically worse than the devil, actually).<br />
<br />
Perhaps the most damning of all for the electorate, is that the campaigning is almost never about which candidate, by the numbers, has the potential to serve their constituents better.<br />
<br />
Often, it’s more about the big personalities from the two front-running factions along with promises of development and aid to be brought into the area (things that any elected government *should* be doing anyway, even if it were a coalition). Thankfully, since it’s Selangor the “developed state”, we’re spared the talk of tarred roads and basic utility.<br />
<br />
Like a wrestling or gladiatorial bout these big party personalities will descend in formation (small frys first, building up to the main act) and make a bigtop show of it all, along with an entourage of prop supporters making up the numbers. Throw in the bearded lady and it’ll be a complete funfair, really.<br />
<br />
For a whole week, the folks of Hulu Selangor are going to be made to feel like a million bucks (“take what they offer but vote with your conscience” remind the cynical among us).<br />
<br />
Both BN and PR seem to happy to keep this status quo. It makes for relatively easier campaign strategising, it must be said — the same cookie-cutter approach works for any and all constituencies.<br />
<br />
Pepper the campaign period with a few well-timed party-quitting stunts (even by relative unknowns), photo opportunities with some makciks and laughing it up with some salt-of-the-earth locals, and all’s good.<br />
<br />
If by analogy the by-election campaign were a marketing contest, both PR and BN typically engage no higher than the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), or direct marketing level. Like all MLMs, it’s never about the products (read: issues), it’s all about the purchase of influence and ensuring the downline votes are secured.<br />
<br />
Among the candidates, there’ll be nothing to argue or debate in front of the electorate themselves. All the ceramahs are one-way occasions where gifted orators hold court without having to be second guessed or asked to justify any of their claims.<br />
<br />
Then there are those “creative” banners, flyers (paragliders even) and poorly photoshopped images which come in too ample a supply to not have been a part of the planned party campaign machinery as opposed to something that could be passed off as the product of overzealous (yet strangely well-funded) “supporters.”<br />
<br />
And oh boy, the stuff they spout at the ceramahs. Suffice it to say it’s far from PG-rated and not what you’d take your kids to. Indeed, I have no doubt that many of us would walk away from individuals who engage in this sort of mudslinging in real-life situations. Yet, when it comes to politics, all is game and acceptable. Outside, some of these selfsame politicians would even feign false modesty at the everyday harsh language we all partake in rather matter-of-factly.<br />
<br />
Come to think of it, with tongue not-so firmly in cheek; perhaps the more discerning Hulu Selangor folks are better off with one of the independents — Mr V.S. Chandran or Mr Johan Mohd Diah — who have been ceremoniously ejected from their previous parties. At least they’ll be free of baggage and can properly serve the people.<br />
<br />
Observers shouldn’t kid ourselves — we’ll forget about Hulu Selangor soon enough, followed by any other by-election that comes up between now and the next GE. I’m guilty as charged, too.<br />
<br />
But those real issues of national importance that we continue to allow ourselves to be de-focused from thanks to both the PR and BN by-election campaign machinery; they are the ones that are going to be our collective undoing.<br />
<br />
Let’s all keep our eyes on the ball for the sake of our Hulu Selangor neighbours.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-40141250065709781362010-04-19T05:26:00.000-07:002010-04-19T05:26:04.207-07:00Can we change ?Imagine you are in a game show. The game show host asks you as a contestant to pick one of three doors to win the prize which is a new Mercedes Benz. Behind two of the three doors are goats which you do not want to win: only one door has the Mercedes. The game show hosts knows where the goats and the Mercedes are. <br />
<br />
You pick door A. The game show hosts opens door C and shows you a goat behind it. The host then asks you if you want to change your choice to door B. You reason that your chances of getting the Mercedes was one in three before and since he has opened the door C to show you a goat, your chances are now 1 in 2 to win the Mercedes. The host maybe trying to trick you to change so you decide you will stick with door A since the probability of winning the Mercedes is the same with either door A or B.<br />
In my experience in posing the above question to friends (which incidentally is called “The Monty Hall Paradox”), the vast majority would stick with their initial pick and would not change.<br />
It occurred to me that having made a choice, we human beings are reluctant to change our initial guess. In fact we will try to stick to our initial choice if we surmise that the probability of success is the same either way. It seems to be hardwired into our psyche.<br />
It is the same with supporters of football clubs: the supporters will support their club of choice regardless. It is as though loyalty is prized over all else in respect of supporters of football clubs.<br />
I even have friends in London who will bring their young children to support Arsenal and try to ensure that their offspring will be Arsenal supporters for life as they have been. It is as though if you are from North London, it is practically frowned upon to support any other football club.<br />
Personally, I don’t subscribe to this type of blind loyalty in sports. After all if I am a spectator, it is for the players to entertain me and not for me to commit to them. However I suppose I would miss out on all the camaraderie that goes with blind loyalty to a team.<br />
There are similar elements at play in Malaysian politics too. The established political parties will espouse loyalty of their party members as a virtue second to none. If you are a member of a party, it is expected that you, at least, will vote for it.<br />
It is not an unreasonable assumption under normal conditions but the last general election showed that in a number of areas, the votes obtained by a party were less than its registered members in that area. It was seen as a change in the political dynamics in Malaysia.<br />
I believe the next general election will be determined very much by the young and new voters. It is not so much that die hard supporters of the various parties change allegiances as who the new voters will vote for as their party of choice. I don’t believe that the older voters will be a significant influence on the new voters. In fact I think most of the established parties are all trying to figure out what appeals to these new voters who are influenced by the internet age of the 21st century.<br />
The new voters will find it increasingly difficult to swallow the various dictates of the established parties. The young will be more interested in what is politically trendy and cool, at the time that they vote, and will want to have more say in the direction the country is going. The parties that are more in tune with this new group will do well. Those who ignore them do so at their peril.<br />
In respect of the original question of the game show, you should always change your initial choice because the probability is not the same.<br />
If you chose door A and never changed your choice after being shown door C with a goat, your chances of winning the Mercedes is 1/3. Therefore if you changed to door B after initially picking A, having been shown C, your chance of winning is 2/3.<br />
In the Monty Hall Paradox, we can verify that changing is beneficial because of probability. In real life, change is often much harder and takes much longer than we imagine.<br />
The reality is that we humans tend to resist change because we would then have to admit that our initial choice was wrong.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-64148305378827096762010-04-16T19:58:00.000-07:002010-04-16T19:58:23.971-07:00A decisive weekend by all accounts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6S_FsvaEpILX_DnPgyZgW7TS85El3DleX9M-_WTieJSwt1mslP6ejxF9dTz7C_FN0jWEuWMWy0Ao_9DcL9ziFIkcFN-kPilg9U_Zu59lEic-V_bBTnFRPcP-axn8vXukyi5Adf9i2xvNb/s1600/The+big+match+ups.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6S_FsvaEpILX_DnPgyZgW7TS85El3DleX9M-_WTieJSwt1mslP6ejxF9dTz7C_FN0jWEuWMWy0Ao_9DcL9ziFIkcFN-kPilg9U_Zu59lEic-V_bBTnFRPcP-axn8vXukyi5Adf9i2xvNb/s320/The+big+match+ups.bmp" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <strong><em>Tottenham Hotspurs will host their bitter local rivals Chelsea in a London Derby while Manchester City will host their arch rivals Manchester United in a Manchester Derby.</em></strong></div>The El Clasico, dubbed the biggest match in club football, dominated the headlines last weekend as Barcelona showed Real Madrid why spending hundreds of millions on a few superstars will get a team nowhere.<br />
This week another rich club takes on its biggest rivals. It’s the Manchester derby and sparks are sure to fly, especially after the controversial outcome of the reverse encounter at Old Trafford earlier in the season, when Michael Owen ended the deadlock almost seven minutes into injury time . . . or, as it is otherwise called, “Fergie time”, that is, the number of minutes referees are obliged to add for no reason to placate the veteran manager.<br />
<br />
Unlike the encounter in Spain, however, this is no title-decider. That took place a couple of weeks back when Chelsea beat Manchester United (MU) at Old Trafford. That match ended the Premiership title race in all probability.<br />
Meanwhile, the champions-elect will be having their derby as well. There may be many out there who think the title has not been decided, mostly MU fans and Arsene Wenger, but this weekend’s results should have a big say.<br />
Realistically, this weekend appears to be MU’s last chance to breathe fresh life into their flagging challenge and having to beat an in-form and high-scoring Manchester City at that. This match will also conclude about three hours before Carlo Ancelotti’s men take on Tottenham Hotspur.<br />
By beating Arsenal in midweek, Spurs have already given an indication that their FA Cup exertions and disappointment last weekend did not have too dramatic an effect.<br />
It was also a reverse after two consecutive losses for Spurs, with their 3-1 league loss at Sunderland pre-empting their FA Cup exit.<br />
The inclusion of Ledley King in defence was crucial to their win over the Gunners. The question is will he be able to play two games in a week. Without their captain, Spurs will be exposed at the back.<br />
On another note, it might be good for Fabio Capello to consider King for the World Cup in June. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand will be England’s first-choice pairing, so what England need is a player who, after a spell of inactivity, is capable of stepping into the breach at short notice and filling in. It’s precisely because King plays so infrequently for Spurs that he could be such an asset to England’s squad this summer.<br />
Though to be honest, Spurs are not that great even with King, considering the number of times that their goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had to make miraculous saves to thwart Arsenal on Wednesday.<br />
I suppose many of us had doubts over the Lillywhite’s credentials to claim fourth spot because of their tough run at the tail-end of the season, taking in Arsenal, Chelsea, MU and, finally, their biggest challenger for the Champions League spot, Manchester City.<br />
With Arsenal despatched, attention turns to Chelsea, whose record at the Lane has turned around in recent times. Since a 16-year winless run ended in 2006, Spurs have taken points from Chelsea in the last two seasons — a win last year following that epic 4-4 draw in 2008.<br />
If Spurs are going to reach the Champions League, they will have to do it the hard way. And if the evidence of Wednesday night is anything to go by, they might well be okay — but their capacity for producing an excellent performance is only equalled by their ability to make a mess of things.<br />
Going into the match, Chelsea do not have any pressure as they are pretty comfortable at the top. However, as Bolton showed in mid-week, the Blues can be given a run for the money. Just pack the midfield and do not give them space to move the ball freely and Chelsea will be limited.<br />
It will also help if the opposition is able to ensure that the match officials are also given proper eye tests before a match starts. Seriously, are Chelsea the new MU, being given so many unfair breaks in matches? MU were once the richest club in the EPL and had things their way. Now, it seems Chelsea can afford to out-pay MU to the “charities” that the referees association supports.<br />
Anyhow, Chelsea are odds-on almost everywhere to win tonight despite the fact they have not won at White Hart Lane in the league since the 2005/2006 season, when they were last crowned champions.<br />
MU, on the other hand, are dealing with opponents who have multiple motivations. City have their own Champions League aspirations to think about, but even if they were languishing in mid-table with absolutely nothing to play for, they would take no greater pleasure than ensuring there was no fourth title in a row for MU. Similar to how Spurs felt after ending Arsenal’s title hopes this season.<br />
Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney could return to action tonight. England’s biggest hope since David Beckham has been struggling with the ankle problem he further aggravated in the second leg of the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich but has returned to training this week.<br />
MU have endured a disappointing fortnight on two fronts but will hope to put that right at the Eastlands, not only to maintain the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the table but also to send a timely reminder of who is the bigger team in Manchester.<br />
Roberto Mancini’s City have struck a rich vein of form coming to the end of the season, having found the net 14 times in their last three games against Birmingham, Burnley and Wigan.<br />
If you needed reminding, this is the fourth Manchester derby of the season, following September’s 4-3 epic MU win and a thrilling two-leg encounter in the Carling Cup semi-final.<br />
The man to watch for this tie will be once-MU fan favourite Carlos Tevez, who has excelled in the Blue half of Manchester. The Argentine international has enjoyed a prolific first season at his new club, scoring 28 goals in all competitions, including three against his former club in those two Carling Cup matches.<br />
Anyone willing to gamble on him not finding the back of the net tonight? I didn’t think so.<br />
A fit Rio Ferdinand would have trouble keeping Tevez at bay, what more one that is slightly crocked. So, if Ferdinand does play, he and Nemanja Vidic will surely have a torrid time at the back.<br />
City have every reason to win this and it wouldn’t be wrong to say they have the self-belief to achieve it, let alone form. For the first time in decades, it would actually be an embarrassing shame if they do not send MU packing with nothing but battered pride.<br />
And when they do, it will be practically game-set-match on both the title and fourth-place battlefronts.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-23629366542251611882010-04-10T00:14:00.000-07:002010-04-10T00:14:06.469-07:00El Clasico – Who will reign in Spain? Real Madrid or Barcelona ?The two teams clash at the Santiago Bernabeu to decide the title victor's<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaXULqQI3Sfz_1hZrP3mQ1xP3tfp3LU_ObbTaW4LJHgjT8B5_KU89HE0xs0M-b7NkjkwAx44cD_7SGUt1KVJG74wKQryoBYUP8PtABwzUYoJ7nFjoDSixMb2QJLDUeQVGORK_Y3GBdEeH/s1600/165c992b4c2e7b78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaXULqQI3Sfz_1hZrP3mQ1xP3tfp3LU_ObbTaW4LJHgjT8B5_KU89HE0xs0M-b7NkjkwAx44cD_7SGUt1KVJG74wKQryoBYUP8PtABwzUYoJ7nFjoDSixMb2QJLDUeQVGORK_Y3GBdEeH/s320/165c992b4c2e7b78.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div>As the Champions League quarterfinals came to an end on Wednesday night, a new joke emerged in Spain at the expense of Real Madrid’s president Florentino Perez. The joke was that he called up his director of football, Jorge Valdano, and asked him to start negotiations to buy Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder and Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, the respective scorers for the two CL semi-finalists.<br />
The problem, of course, is that both players were dumped after being considered surplus to requirements at the Santiago Bernabeu just before the start of the season.<br />
So, while Perez got his wish back in the summer of 2009 with the annual player movement in-and-out of Madrid, it was his counterpart from Barcelona who carried the hopes of Spain into the CL semi-finals this year.<br />
<br />
That contrast will come to play tonight (Sunday, 4am) as the two giants of Spanish football meet at the Bernabeu in the latest edition of the biggest derby in the world, outside of England.<br />
Even if for some strange reason, you forgot that it was the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duel, it will still be a highly entertaining game of Spanish football for all football aficionados.<br />
It is rare that a player thumping in 25 goals in a season so far can still be considered yesterday’s news, but that is how one can describe Ronaldo compared with the abundant accolades showered on Messi in recent weeks.<br />
That’s not to say that the Portuguese has not performed admirably in his first year in La Liga. It is just that the magic of Messi on the pitch adds to the mystery of the contrast in personalities of the two players, making it a case of the simple street kid versus the spoilt superstar.<br />
Ironically, the two clubs’ rivalry originated from non-football related issues, or to be more precise, a political one. Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and they are often identified with “Spanishness” and Catalanism, respectively, whilst the clubs are the most successful and influential football clubs in the country.<br />
The enmity between the historic rivals spiralled from the moment in 1953 when Argentine-born legend, Alfredo Di Stefano, controversially signed for Los Merengues after initially agreeing to join Barca. The Catalans claimed dictator General Franco tipped the balance Real’s way.<br />
Di Stefano went on to help Madrid to the first five European Cups and eight Liga titles, forming the bedrock of the club’s grand status within world football.<br />
The rivalry has also been heightened many times over by Real Madrid and Barcelona top players defecting to their arch-rival. Notable Barcelona players who have taken the “Puente Aereo” to Real Madrid include Bernd Schuster (1988), Michael Laudrup (1994) and Luís Figo (2000). Luis Enrique switched from Real Madrid to Barcelona in 1996 and went on to captain the Blaugrana.<br />
The clubs are, quite simply, obsessed with each other. The media is happy to build it up – it sells millions of papers – and fans around the world are fascinated by one of the most ferocious derbies in football, despite the 630km that separate the rival cities!<br />
When Barcelona swept all before them last season, Real responded by spending a fortune on the best players in the world. Barca countered the arrivals of Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso by bringing in their own marquee signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, even though it meant parting with €40 million (RM172 million) and Samuel Eto’o. They had to be seen to be doing something.<br />
Barcelona come into this match in full confidence after dissecting Arsenal in the mid-week second leg quarterfinal Champions League tie. And they owe it all to one man.<br />
It is getting increasingly difficult not to resort to hyperbole when describing the feats of Messi. However, fair judgement should be withheld until after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa this summer, when the 22-year-old will carry the hopes of Argentina.<br />
If Messi can still perform then as he does for Barcelona, he truly will rank alongside Pele, Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona.<br />
Still, he sits below his compatriot, Maradona. The footballing legend and current national team coach was not only the maestro in successful teams — Napoli, Barcelona and Argentina — but Maradona also was the team.<br />
Of recent greats, Messi seems to be even under the shadow of Zinédine Zidane, in that Messi does not aspire to be the conductor of his side, but simply the dazzling virtuoso.<br />
That said, Messi has been in stunning form this season and took his tally for the campaign to 39 goals in all competitions with all four in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over a much-weakened Arsenal line-up.<br />
Ronaldo has added to the growing list of plaudits for Barcelona superstar Messi, but warned it would be a mistake for Real Madrid to concentrate only on the Argentinian playmaker in this weekend’s “El Clasico”.<br />
Messi has scored 15 goals in his last 10 games, including three hat-tricks, and is only going to be one of the major figures tonight.<br />
“He’s phenomenal, but Messi doesn’t play on his own. The coach and his team-mates deserve credit as well. Whoever knows about football knows what I’m saying,” Ronaldo added.<br />
Last year, the Madrid side attempted to kick him off the ball with some shockingly blatant fouls, but Messi has proven himself capable of fending off such treatment. Give him space to run at defenders and his goal tally of 37 in 42 games this season will surely increase.<br />
Barca makes the trip to Madrid this weekend with both clubs locked on 77 points. In a league that is decided on a head-to-head record rather than goal difference in the result of a tie, it is imperative for Real Madrid to pick up the three points and overturn the 1-0 deficit from last November’s clash at the Nou Camp.<br />
Besides Messi, there is another Argentinian who has been bagging the goals in the Primera Liga. He is Gonzalo Higuain and the only thing keeping him from the spotlight is the star-studded line-up Real Madrid possess.<br />
The 22-year-old took his tally of goals to 24 for the season during last weekend’s 2-0 win over Racing Santander, and he is now just two behind Messi at the top of the Spanish league scoring charts.<br />
Real are also sweating on the fitness of maestro Kaka who looks to be in danger of missing out on the tie as he has been struggling to deal with a hernia injury the past month. His participation remains in severe doubt, with Rafael van der Vaart set to deputise once again should he fail to make it.<br />
Benzema is still not 100 per cent fit, despite returning to training, and Christoph Metzelder still has nightmares about the 6-2 drubbing last season.<br />
Barca, on the other hand, will be missing Eric Abidal after he aggravated his thigh injury against Arsenal. Gerard Pique and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are both struggling to be fit.<br />
Pep Guardiola’s men have won their last three meetings against Real Madrid, netting an average of three goals per game, but Manuel Pellegrini’s side are on a run of 12 consecutive league wins, and have notched-up 15 wins in a row at home, so they won’t be pushovers. They have also netted 83 goals in total – eight more than Barca.<br />
However, Madrid were in similarly good form going into last season’s corresponding fixture, which was also a vital game in the title race but ended up being one of the most painful in the club’s illustrious history.<br />
Over the last five seasons Real Madrid have only emerged victors once, in December 2007. They even did the double on Barca that season.<br />
Real Madrid have found this particular manifestation of Barça rather hard to take, especially given the 6-2 defeat of last season.<br />
No doubt, some measure of revenge will go a long way towards wiping away the humiliation at the Bernabeu last season, or at the least, wrest back some dignity.<br />
With Real having to go all out in this match to secure a win for reasons I have mentioned above, I can see Perez having the last laugh watching the match from his presidential box at the stadium tonight. A narrow win is on the cards for the home side.Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721576958613851700.post-54865554901633957502010-04-08T23:33:00.000-07:002010-04-08T23:33:22.020-07:00My new phone !!!!!! Out with the old.....In with the new.....A great end to my frustrations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzs0W897C9WrnkCXj8i7yjjdp6p9q69qxR_XoAALme1vHHHvWoVZSWtTjOJg8zqJOc-v-RZdflEW8bnhMjq7I5pYefNsAN1YOeCE2X3zgRRECca8Ak3-cakNmebZLy_7Je0o0IJCHsD-Q/s1600/Nokia5800XpressMusic-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzs0W897C9WrnkCXj8i7yjjdp6p9q69qxR_XoAALme1vHHHvWoVZSWtTjOJg8zqJOc-v-RZdflEW8bnhMjq7I5pYefNsAN1YOeCE2X3zgRRECca8Ak3-cakNmebZLy_7Je0o0IJCHsD-Q/s320/Nokia5800XpressMusic-2.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>The Nokia 5800 Xpress Music</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> Thank's to my parents.....My frustration's with my old phone has come to an end.<br />
It all started,when I droped my old phone on the ground.....around 6 times....but it survived all that horror and it was as normal as it was.<br />
One day,I was playing a game on the Handphone,and without warning,it shut-down and I took me a full day to re-on it.And this continued for a number of days,until I couldn't take it anymore.Even when emergencies occur the Hp can't be used.So I took it to the phone shop.<br />
The guy said he need to change the housing of the phone,so my father agreed to send it for repair,after one week we collected the Hp,I was very happy,the phone was a good as new,but aftre two days,the horror came back to haunt me,again it shut-down by itself,and this time I couldn't do anything to revive it back,like it went into coma stage.<br />
Took it back to the phone shop,he said,it can't be repaired,you have to sell it.So I agreed to sell it,or trade it in.And then I was given the task to choose a phone....Haiz.....So many phones...got Nokia,Sony Ericisson,LG,Samsung,I-phone....Of course my dream phone was the I-phone,but it was too big...and the I-phone 3Gs was a hot topic among the robbers who steal this phones.So the shop keeper,recommended me this phone.......a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music......It has a touch screen...FM Radio....and of course no commends on the sound quality...haha..Xpress Music...sure its the best and it also had some great features that makes it different from other Xpress Music and other branded phones...and he offered me the best price....RM1050.....haha..i like the phone.....I basicly fell in love with it.....and i liked the price number 1050 so without wasting time,I sealed the deal.And after three days i got the phone.<br />
It just took me 50 min's,to learn about the gaget.And this was my best phone ever.It really does make me rock.Well again thank's to my beloved Mum and Dad....For this wonderfull gaget.....^^Barackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15419267871843942841noreply@blogger.com0