< Reality TV... >

Was surfing around YouTube, when I came across this series of videos... It shows the the journey of some Aussie fans in front of the TV (like me, except I'm not one of those crazy men! haha) during the World Cup. The best sort of reality TV around. Brought a smile to my face, but also tears to my eyes... Take a look, especially if you're an Aussie fan... really shows all the emotions of the game...

warning: You may go deaf watching the first video if you're having your loudspeakers turn on too loud.

v Japan


v Brazil


v Croatia


and then.. the end...
v Italy...

< Cruel... just plain cruel... >

Times like this just make me hate football.

I've been crying since yesterday night. I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up, instantly the memories of last night came flooding back to me and my eyes started welling up with tears again. I hid under my blanket pretending to be asleep when I heard my father telling my brother about what happened yesterday night. Then when no one was out in the living room, I finally sneaked out to take a look at the newspapers. The result was on the front pages, with the title "Aussie heartbreak". Yeah, at least they knew. And needless to say, tears threatened to spill out whenever I read the news articles (in the papers and on the Internet) as it was like reliving the nightmare again.

I think today's poll question would be the one written there in the papers, asking whether readers thought Australia deserved to lose. Bloody hell. I wonder if I'll burst into tears when the journalist calls later in the evening.

I'm caught between wanting to talk about it, and not wanting to talk about it. I feel like pouring out my sorrows, but then again, I just don't want to talk about how the match went. When I read about people debating over whether it was a penalty or not, I just feel a sense of bitterness. When I read about some saying Australia deserved to lose because they didn't score against the 10 men Italian side, I feel angry. DON'T EVER MAKE IT SOUND AS THOUGH IT WAS AUSTRALIA'S FAULT! Damn it, I don't want to say this, because some cruel people will just laugh at it... but when Liverpool had 10 men, Everton couldn't do take advantage either. Australia's already better than Everton...

Then there are some people gloating about how at least it was Neill who conceded that penalty. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, they say. Well, although I don't know just how good or bad Neill is character-wise, I felt plain bad for him because he has been really good this tournament. Every Australian was the same, I just find it hard to fault any one of them... And even if I were to speak of their character? I'd say their heart is in the right place. Yeah, Lucas Neill too...

I just read what ruled Harry out of the match... No, it wasn't his groin injury like most of us thought... It was a case of... gout? I don't know what's that, but at the end of the article, it said about how it was a "penultimate twist of the knife from the sadistic footballing gods". (http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19603273-23215,00.html). Sigh, I've read the causes of it, yucks, surely Harry doesn't drink too much? Or is too fat? It's just so freaking strange I have to moan about luck again.

Hell... football can be such a cruel game sometimes. I've seen many men crying when they get knocked out of a competition (and seriously I thought they were just wimps), and right now I get a taste of how they feel. I think this whole experience would perhaps teach me some sense of humility. I'll admit to laughing when I saw the Japanese fans celebrating at first the other day, and then at the end, all of them had this dazed look on their faces. Now I get a taste of my own medicine huh? But I'm still a damn moaner and I want to say it's somehow different. The Japs, in my opinion, got what they deserved, the Aussies didn't... damn... I really feel this is the most cruel match I've ever witnessed! Tell me if I'm wrong...

I'm not really upset just over the losing part. Any Aussie fan can tell you that. They would have been proud of their team no matter the result, the last 16 was more than good enough. It's the way we lost! It's like... ok, forget it, I can't think of any similar scenario that can generate the same emotion.

And what's worse is that I've never felt this way before. I've been through lots of painful losses with Liverpool, but never quite a cruel one like this. Whenever Liverpool lost, either they deserved it, the opposition deserved it, or it wasn't so important like this anyway.

Yeah, it's a new experience... but one I hate. Losing sucks, but losing this way is devastating. But in the midst of all that feeling of bitterness, there's one bright spot... that is, I'm still proud of the way the Aussies played. I won't say I wanted to lose like this, because I'd have rather got completely outplayed, and lost 3-0 by half-time than to have lost like that in the dying seconds. Yet, like what some others have said, Australia are the best losers you can have...

It's still too cruel though...

< Australia v Italy... >

Half-time thoughts…
Ok… if I’m being honest here… Italy has the slight edge over Australia right now. It’s a really strange game… so far it doesn’t look like any of the matches Australia have previously played in. Australia just look… different. Maybe it’s the absence of Harry (poor HARRY!!!), but somehow… somehow… Australia reminded me of Liverpool. I don’t know… Australia just looks like a slightly inferior version of Liverpool. The play seems built around its solid defence, while the midfield onwards keeps trying to find a way to break the Italian defence but to no avail.

I think Australia has the far more superior possession right now. In fact I think I heard something like 73% possession for them in the 1st 10 minutes? But they’re hardly creating any chances… that’s why I said it was like Liverpool, but on a really bad day.

The Aussies can pat themselves on the back for the 3 solid defenders they have and for the great goalkeeping by Schwarzer so far though. But then again though, Luca Toni really came too close for comfort.

I know Italians revolve their game around their solid defending, but it’s still too weird to see a supposedly superior side playing counter-attacking football you know? To their credit though, they do it really well. Came a lot closer to scoring than the Aussies. The Aussies play with only 3 defenders so it can be quite hard to cope with Gilardino and Luca Toni at times, but so far, they’ve done it, or else Schwarzer saved the day. I still end up sucking my breath everytime Italy go so close though.

I don’t know how the heck can Australia break Italy’s defence! So far, the best way of scoring appears to be from set-pieces. Viduka and Chipperfield already came close from Bresciano’s freekicks. Or else, they need someone to produce something special… and the only man I can think of who’s capable of doing that is, from what I heard, on crutches (I was horrified when I heard that Harry came into the stadium on crutches). I’m sure Hiddink will bring on Aloisi at some point though, he’s the closest they have to a supersub now.

Full-time thoughts:
Alright. I’m crying.
How can I not?
I remember saying earlier… if Australia go out… I’d be disappointed because they wouldn’t deserve it… and yeah, it’s exactly the way I feel right now. Except… it’s not ‘disappointed’.. rather… it’s heartbroken, devastated, really I just.. I just don’t know how to describe the way I feel right now.

I’ve never lost this way before. This is like, a whole new experience for me. I’ve only been on the other side, you know, the side that gets that something special at the end, Not this side. With Liverpool… no… never have I suffered a defeat like this. Now it seems as though I’m on the West Ham end in that FA Cup Final. Except, I don’t know why… this feels… more important you know? Yeah, I guess I still love Liverpool, but… it’s like even if we had lost that FA Cup final, I know we’ll still have many cup finals in the next few seasons. But with Australia… sigh… some people have waited 32 years for this, and an eternity to see them get any sort of progress. I’m lucky in that sense, jumping onto the bandwagon when the chance presented itself. But… I just feel so.. so… I don’t know. There’s a sense of emptiness inside of me when I think that this is like… goodbye you know? At least, for the next 4 years.

4 years…
That’s a long time…
But that’s the minimal length of time before I see my beloved Socceroos again.

I feel sort of bitter saying this, but I finally know how it feels to be a West Ham fan that day, except it’s gotta be much much worse.

That sense of bitterness knowing you were just this close to getting through is just overwhelming. And to add on to that, there’s this feeling of sadness similar to saying goodbye to a close one who’ll be gone for a long time.

4 years can be a long time, but I guess 32 years is longer. Now all I can hope for is that in 4 years’ time, I can see this bunch of “friends” again. Perhaps, some things would have change… but I hope the Socceroos can take the wonderful experience with them, and always have that same kind of passion, belief and unity as we’ve seen this World Cup. Loved their spirit, and even though I think the neutral will forget about them when this World Cup’s over, I know they’ll still hold this place in my heart… they’ve really inspired me in a big way.

Ok. I’ll try and calm down now. On to the game…

Was that a penalty actually?

I’m really bad at seeing this kind of things, so I don’t know exactly whether it should have been. The fellow tumbled over Lucas Neill, who obviously couldn’t do a thing about preventing the guy from tumbling over him once he was down there. Does that mean it’s a penalty? But then again… just like how probably the guy couldn’t help tumbling over him… he would have tumbled over him even if he could help it right? Sigh. I feel bitter just saying this.

Italy…
Unlike many others, I never really hated the Italians. Yeah, the fact that I thought they had some of the sexiest players help, though now I’m just in no mood to think about that. And I indeed did think the Italians looked (as in, played) better than even the Brazilians. Did they deserve to go through though? Perhaps… If I were an Italian fan, I’d have said yes… They did create some scary moments, despite having a man down and defending most of the time, they did quite a darn good job of it, and still manage to scare the hell out of me in the final minutes… till yeah, that happened. I could have died there and then. Holding on to King Roo’s hand, I was praying fervently, but just had this bad feeling.

Tough luck that it should happen.. THEN. If it happened earlier, I could have taken it better than then.

But I just wonder, why is it so unfair that some teams just don’t run out on luck? And it isn’t as if Australia have been riding on their luck. Their comebacks have been their own making, rather than luck you know.

Was there anything Australia could have done better? I don’t know, maybe they needed a better finisher up front and passer in midfield. But it’s not like they can buy a striker or get Xabi you know? So… considering all factors, yeah, I’m sure they have already done their best. They really put in their best effort, that I have no doubt at all.

It’s kinda strange, but do you know I’ve ended up actually liking Lucas Neill? To be frank, I’ve never seen him do all the nasty stuff before, but I’ve heard of his reputation… especially with our players’, red cards and broken legs. For him to concede that penalty at the end, I guess it gives me more reason to hate him, but I don’t. I actually felt really really sorry for him when the ref blew his whistle and pointed to the spot.

Lucas Neill has been really good this tournament. Hell yeah, he’s even better than John Terry from what I’ve seen. And although he still goes in for the tackle, I don’t recall him getting a single card at all.

Even though it seems Australia have conceded a couple of goals, I somehow admire their defence a lot. Their defenders are perhaps the most unknown of the lot, but despite playing with a back 3 most of the time, they do cope well with it.

Another player I’m feeling sorry for is Harry.

Sigh. Once again, he brought a team to a game where he couldn’t play. In fact, it seems like the MORE he does prior to the crucial match, the more he suffers during that match itself. For example, his brilliance against Chelsea resulted in him getting injured halfway during the final. And this time, he took Australia to the knockout rounds with his goal, only to be ruled out of the match completely. And yeah, without a medal at the end too. I had hoped Australia would go through and give him another chance to play at this stage, but it was not meant to be.

Picking a team to support during this World Cup was originally meant to be some sort of a diversion from Liverpool for me. I never really meant for it to get so serious at the start you know? But somehow… the Aussies just made me fall deeper and deeper… in love with them. I had meant for it to be like when I was “supporting” England before I even really knew football. Just… supporting for the fun of it. I didn’t really think Aussies would go far, it was more like a joke kinda thing… and once the Aussies get knocked out, I’d instantly just pick another team to “support”. Feel kinda bad saying that now, but things have really changed since then. Right now as I’m thinking which team I should support from here on, I just realize things can never be the same as it would be with the Socceroos.

Really I struggle just to name a team that can have a character that remotely resembles that of Australia. Maybe I’d support Spain or Italy because they have better lookers in the team, or maybe it can be Germany because they haven’t put me off yet. But in any case, it just wouldn’t feel even close to what I feel for the Socceroos now.

WHYYYY!!!!! This is even harder than if I have to name a favourite Liverpool player after Harry!!!!! Nothing just comes close!!!

I really love you Socceroos… really… and I feel terrible not knowing when will I ever see you guys together again!

Sigh. But since this was meant to be some sort of “diversion” thing, I guess I should have known sooner or later this “fling” would be over, and it’ll be back to my real lover, Liverpool. But… it really meant more to me than just a fling, hopefully you guys know that.

I think not even Liverpool can measure up to the kind of never-say-die attitude they had. I’ve seen a fair amount of Liverpool performances where I felt the need to whine and moan about, but I hardly have anything bad to say about the Aussies. Not because they played better, mind you, but because I knew they were always playing the best they can. The Liverpool spirit is quite similar to the Aussie spirit, but not quite. Liverpool was always easily summed up by YNWA, but for the Aussies… it’s a combination of passion, belief and unity.

I think Liverpool can learn this from Australia. Some people have been moaning too much about us not signing good enough players, at least compared to Chelsea, but I think Australia have showed us that if you have the right attitude, it can mean a lot more than just having big names.

Oh yeah… I saw a Liverpool banner at the stadium… Anyone else saw that?

Time for bed.., 2am now… Think I’ve cried enough, but I really can’t bear to see Totti’s penalty again… even though I don’t dislike them, I still can’t bear seeing the happy Italian faces knowing how shit other Aussie fans and players feel like me.

And my beloved Socceroos? I really do love you guys… and whatever I’ve said earlier still holds true. You guys are winners, and can be proud of yourselves.

< A match which Australia will only win... >

Reading the title, people might be thinking I'm overconfident about facing the Italians. Nah, not really, just hear me out. I don't really mean Australia will definitely win as in the scoreline. I mean win as in regardless of the result, the Aussie players, when it's time to go back to Australia, will go back as national heroes and winners. Managing to qualify for the World Cup Finals in the first place was already considered an achievement in the eyes of the Aussies. They had waited 32 long years, the pride at qualifying was undeniable. Anything else achieved in Germany from then on was seen as a bonus.

While the Aussie fans were confident they could go further than just the 32, I think none of them really expected exactly how they would get into the last 16. The Japan result was an unbelievable achievement, not in the scoreline itself, but seeing how the Australian players performed would have made any Australian proud. While Hiddink must be applauded for getting the national team to where no other coach has done for the last 32 years, I think the focus here on the Australian team was on the TEAM itself, and no other individual.

I've always been a little skeptical about international football because I always wondered, how can you expect a team which barely comes together for a few matches each year to have any kind of bond or team spirit? I'll be a little skeptical if you tell me Carra and Neville actually like each other. Not because they're competing for a place in the England team, but because one is Liverpool through and through and the other is the same for Man U.

So I've to say I was a little surprised when I saw how the Australian national team is really, like Tim Cahill said, "a big happy family". No, it's not just great media publicity, but you can genuinely feel their team spirit. At least I'm very sure Harry does like Timmy... Why is that the case for them?

Perhaps it's because the players' egos just aren't as big as the supposedly "bigger countries" like England or Brazil? Perhaps it's because they don't come from famous clubs that are rivals? But then again... some of their players like Harry are more well-known, while Jason Culina would be a virtual unknown to most. Don't they get jealous of each other or despise each other? But you see... Harry isn't like Oliver Kahn who always boasts about how great he is. The likes of Harry or Timmy adopt this sense of humility while with their national squad. I remember how Harry said even if he hadn't score (against Croatia) someone else in the team would have, because they were fighting together as a team... He really believed in his teammates, though some of them are just not that well-known. And every single one of them, not only the more famous ones stepped up to the task ahead of them while playing their 3 group games. Lucas Neill, Jason Culina, Vince Grella, Brett Emerton, Scott Chipperfield, Craig Moore... yeah, they all did their job. Every single player wearing the green and gold just put in their 300% effort for 90 minutes in each game.

Comparatively, you have the likes of England and Brazil, who have been playing at a level that's not their best. They can give all sorts of reasons, the heat, pitch, needing time to get it right, fatigue for their less than impressive performances, but I can be a little cruel when I say this: they're just excuses. Players from supposedly lesser teams like Australia (Ecuador, Ghana also...) know these matches can be their biggest matches in their entire career. Perhaps that's why they put in nothing less than their best, as they don't want to pass up the once in a lifetime opportunity and regret not giving their all on the biggest stage. Teams like Australia, play with all their heart in every game, and in doing so, it's often mind over body more than anything else, because they have a really tough mentality and character.

And that's what I find so heartening about the Aussies. I get kinda pissed off these days when I see England scraping through to the quarter finals despite a lacklustre performance. Their players have been talking a lot of shit about how they'll improve, how much the World Cup means to them, but seeing the way they perform just irks me. Whatever they've said, is just empty talk to me. I've seen better performances from these players, thus the way I see it, the only reason why they don't perform as well is because they just can't be bothered enough to try harder.

Though I seriously hope Australia will progress through to the quarter-finals, and I know they have the belief they can do it... supposedly... IF... they don't go through, I have no doubt the Aussies will return home to a heroes' welcome.

If England go out in the quarter-finals or semi-finals, or if Italy do similarly, I can still safely tell you... the Aussie fans would be more proud even if their team goes out now compared to the fans of the other two teams in later stages...

So who says I don't support a winning team? I do, 'cause in any case, Australia will still come out tops.

Having said that though, I know I'd only be lying if I said I'm genuinely fine if they lose tonight. Because even without seeing their performance, I'd know if that happens, they wouldn't deserve it...

---

Oh yah, by the way, saw my name in the Straits Times today? Hahaha. One of my "letters" (via email) got published... I've got quite a few comments/emails published in the papers by now, but I dare say this is my proudest one, not only because the Straits Times is a more respectable newspaper than The New Paper, or because it's more than a one-liner... but because of the content! Okok, you see, previously I've given 'views' on things I really don't care at all. The Straits Times poll thing where the person phone me everyday to ask me their poll question... most of the time they're just about things I don't care or don't know much about (I still crap though) Like today, the question was "Should France play Zidane against Spain?" (I wanted to say, "heck! I don't care! I don't know!" but still gave some crap about Ribery though I've only seen him play once) Then previously, those New Paper questions mostly didn't concern about Liverpool or at least wasn't any issue I really had views that were screaming out to be heard...

But this time... THIS TIME! It was about something I care about, and felt the need to say out loud! Yeah.. the SOCCEROOOOOOS! Hehe. I just wrote in on the spur of the moment, and actually sent to the wrong email in the process... Yah, that's why I was so surprised it got published! Hahaha. I still sent to a Straits Times email, just not the one which was specifically for these sort of letters. They allowed readers to email in regarding any topic they like you see... of course they wouldn't have set a topic specifically for the Socceroos!

Sigh. Like all other letters, mine got edited a bit... the editing were mainly on deleting some parts, and making it sound... less "emotional" (at least it seemed that way to me! a little change of words and deleting some 'unnecessary elaboration'). I tend to ramble too much I guess.

Anyway, for those who haven't read it... here's the letter that got published!

---

Australia display guts, self-belief
Many thought I was crazy when I declared myself a supporter of the Socceroos.

But, after seeing the way Australia battled through the group stages, I have come to admire their gutsy displays.

Many do not support the lesser teams because, in their view, these teams play boring football. The Aussies have proven this is not necessarily the case.

All the three first-round games involving them have been entertaining matches, with spirited displays showing their tough mentality.

Many believe Brazil show us the beautiful side of football. Similarly, Australia show us what the true spirit of football should be.

Passion, pride, belief, courage, unity, these are some of the qualities they have shown since beating Uruguay in the qualifiers.

I know many would not rate them against the Italians, but the Aussies have got the self-belief. No one should deny them that.

Whatever the result, they know they can go back as winners.

---

Ok, after typing that out, I realise they've actually cut and edited a lot from the original thing! Eeks. Now I don't like the "edited" version. Sounds too... short, sweet and unemotional... not like me at all... grr.. oh well. Want to know what the original thing was like? I'm lazy to find the email again... but I think reading my first part of this post would give a pretty good idea. I used to be told by my GP teacher I ramble too much. But while I could cut it out from GP essays, making myself sound more "professional", I find it hard to apply to football writings... I've too much 'heart' I guess. Like the Aussies. Not necessarily a bad thing all the time though?

< England v Ecuador >

Half-time sleep talk:
Hardly watched the first half because I was busy sleeping...
Again, something like yesterday's Argentina v Mexico match where I was just opening and shutting my eyes every few minutes. Really thought I wouldn't doze off for this one, but England was simply too boring. Hahaha. All I remember, and am pretty sure of, is that England looks shit. Ecuador don't look any better. They seem overly aggressive, but at least I remember seeing a few chances coming from them... though it was the result of England's mistakes more than their own creativity. Wayne Rooney, the lone striker doesn't seem to get anything..

It's surprising I can come up with comments about the match when I have seen less than half of the half. I was fully awake only for the first 8 minutes or so, and the last 2 minutes of the half.

If you ask me, England needs Crouchy. And also, to wake up their idea. Maybe then they can wake me up...

12 hours after full time:
so... England won, with Becks the hero. Besides that, nothing to cheer about really for England. It was so damn boring! My friend Sathies asked me before the match if I was watching. I said yeah, provided England don't make me doze off halfway. And he being an England fan said they aren't so boring. Oh man. But that was really bad. The most boring match I've seen so far.

I really can't stand England. How do they get away with it all the time? They seem to be going from bad to worse from what I've seen. And yet, they are progressing through the stages... Well, we'll see how they do against Portugal, although with Ronaldo and Deco out for Portugal, it'll probably be easier for them.

England is so boring, I really don't know what else to say... except if you're asking me if I fell asleep in the 2nd half? Yeah, I did.

< too fast... too late.. and I'm too tired! >

I don't know whether I'm just suffering from jet lag or I'm just naturally tired... but it seems like the World Cup matches are just flying past me and I can't stay awake for those matches! The matches are starting later and later. Initially the earliest matches start at 9pm, then 10pm, and now 11pm. And I'm like so tired by 9+pm. To be honest, I'm hardly watching any of the matches. And those matches I watch... most of the time I just watch bits and pieces of it.

Like yesterday night's/today morning's matches. I didn't watch the Germany v Sweden one which started at 11pm, because by 9+pm, I somehow dozed off while reading a book in bed. Then in the middle of the night, I woke up around 3am, so I turned on the TV to watch the Argentina v Mexico match. My father also came in and watched. The only TV in my house that's hooked up to Cable TV is in my room you see (I pay for it, so obviously it has to be my room). I watched the match while I was lying in bed... so you can guessed what happened. My eyes kept opening and closing, saw both goals, but other than that, I can tell you I was asleep most of the time. I was aware of half-time, I was aware of Mexico missing chances... and I was aware that it was still 1-1 by the end of 90 minutes... but I hardly saw anything else and my father switched off the TV and went out by the end of the normal time.

Sigh. Maybe I'm just too tired, maybe I'm still suffering from jet lag, or maybe I'm just not too interested in football matches that don't concern my favourite team. The other day when Australia played Croatia, I was so awake I didn't go back to sleep even after the match ended.

And is it just me or are the matches being played at such a fast rate? Today morning I was still feeling happy from Australia's progress into the last 16, still feeling that sense of euphoria, when I opened the papers and realised they play Italy tomorrow. TOMORROW! Isn't that like too fast? I know the World Cup is like only a month, with matches played everyday, but I still can't seem to come to terms with how fast the matches come and go! I wonder how the players come with it. I'm still not over the Croatia match, and now Italy is already coming up. I'm not saying Australia will definitely get knocked out by Italy, but you know... I just wish there was a longer "celebration period" before the next match and I've to start bracing myself for more heart-pumping action.

God.. I just need more time... to get some more sleep, rest and also to calm down a little after every match.

Really can't believe it's already Australia v Italy tomorrow...

< quotes/excerpts on the Socceroos' progress & Harry >

Australia 'big happy family'
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19562622-23215,00.html

Timmy Cahill:
"This is absolutely massive, it's the biggest occasion in Australia's soccer history.

"Many people had their doubts about us before the tournament and thought we would be here just to make up the numbers, but we have shown that we can mix it with the world's best.

"The secret of our success is that we all have a lot of respect for each other on this team and we function like one big happy family."

---

This one's for you, Djibril
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19563374-23215,00.html

"It was fantastic for me to score that goal," Kewell said.

"But I would like to dedicate it to my friend Djibril, who broke his leg and should have been at the World Cup.

"I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

"ou don't like to see that happen to any footballer.

"It was heartache for me because he is a close friend.

"That goal was for him."

---

Bring on Italy: Socceroos
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19570658-23215,00.html

Now even some of yesterday's vanquished are so impressed that one Croatian suggested it is possible the Socceroos could win the World Cup.

"Why not? You saw that Brazil weren't better than Australia. Australia was much better than Japan and now I think they were much better than us," said second string goalkeeper Joey Didulica, one of three Australian-born players in the Croatian squad.

"Their players play at the top clubs, they're not picnic footballers and with a really good coach behind them they're brilliant."

---

How Kewell is that
http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,19571792-952,00.html

"Italy are out there to win the World Cup and so are we."

"You don't enter a competition without the thought of winning it so we've just got to go out and keep playing," Kewell said.

"This was the most important goal of my career so far. I am so proud of our team because we never gave up and we equalised twice. I am very happy that we reached the second stage and I am looking forward to the match against Italy.

"The success today for me is as important as the Champions League win with Liverpool. That game was a nightmare for me personally – this has given me the chance to relive the feeling, being part of the team.

"Italy won't be scared but we've got big-game players who've played in the Champions League, so we won't be scared either. It'll be a great game."

"We would've been very disappointed to have walked out at this stage because we all play at the highest level.

"The boys dug deep and we showed that we're capable of playing the best teams in the world."

---

Lampard: Guus' men are big news
http://www.smh.com.au/news/aussie-update/lampard-guuss-men-are-big-news/2006/06/23/1150845382581.html

"We are used to World Cups throwing up surprise packages and I think Australia … are in that category," said Lampard. "We obviously know a lot of the Australian players well because they play in our league, and what has impressed me is the way they bond and perform as a team, even though there is a range of different levels of talent involved, playing in different standards of leagues.

"The enthusiasm they have in playing for their country is hardly a surprise. We've seen how proud Australians are of their country and of competing on their country's behalf.

"You see it in rugby, cricket, the Olympics and all other sports events where Australia are used to being at the very top, and you can see the footballers are desperate to be recognised in the same way as the likes of Shane Warne." (note: HAHA! I know who's Shane Warne! He's a cricketeer... I only knew who the heck he was after I went to Australia and saw him on TV)

---

Champagne moment for Kalac falls flat after blunder
http://www.smh.com.au/news/aussie-update/champagne-moment-for-kalac-falls-flat-after-blunder/2006/06/23/1150845382578.html

"Obviously it was a fantastic night for us again, and it was great to be part of it," Kalac said. "But after the second goal, I was looking for a hole to dig myself into. There are a lot of ups and downs in football. And it's disappointing this happened on such a big stage. But life goes on, and that's why it's a team game. The boys dug me out, and I've just told them in the dressing room I'll buy them a bottle of champagne. They saved my backside, that's for sure."

Kalac denied big-match nerves had played a part. "It just sort of bounced in front of me, I got a top hand to it, and it went up and spun back into the goal," he said.

"It was a very bad goal, but it wasn't about nerves. I wasn't nervous at all.

"Obviously you see the disappointment [from the other players] once it goes in, but there was still 20 minutes left, we were on top of them, and a draw was enough for us. We didn't need it to open up, and it's my fault it opened up, because that was the only way we were going to get punished.

"But we kept on going, and I'm grateful we got this result because it saved my skin. Let's just say I'm happy we got away with the match."

---

+ more quotes about HARRY!

Mark Viduka:
"I thought Harry was outstanding. It was one of his best performances for Australia. When that goal went in, it was beautiful. People expect a lot of things of Harry. He's an unbelievable talent."
Rafa:
"I'm pleased because Harry has scored the most important goal in Australian history."

"He's given his country a good opportunity to go even further. I've been watching his performances and he looks to me as though he's fitter and physically stronger.

"He's creating chances and scoring goals and is one of the main reasons Australia has qualified."

John Howard (Australia's PM!):
"It was a terrific fight-back. We got off to such a terrible start because the Croatians were really in our face right at the beginning.

"Harry, well he is King Harry for all of us now and it was a fantastic performance."

---

note from lala:
I suddenly realise it's quite hard to find out news about the Socceroos... Compared to Australia, the newspapers here really hardly talk about the Socceroos! Most of my football info is taken from liverpoolfc.tv or soccernet.com, but even those two sources can't quench my thirst for the Aussies news! Then... haha, I remembered those newspapers I saw in Australia. The papers there really give a lot of coverage to the Socceroos, the whole Australian media basically really covered a lot on them while I was there, so now that I'm no longer there, at least I know where to find those news... by visiting the newspapers' websites of course!

I don't think many people besides me care about the Socceroos really, but if somehow you do, you can always check out these websites for their World Cup coverage (includes other countries too, but obviously not as extensive coverage)...

The Australian
The Sydney Morning Herald
Fox Sports (Australia)
The Courier Mail

< HARRY. >

Ahh, these pictures are nothing compared to the real thing. If you guys haven't seen Harry's goal, go see it! See the highlights or grab a video of it... Even now when I see it on the news, emotions start welling up inside me. Harry's reaction was priceless. The total joy and passion on his face...

< lala is a silly & kiddy girl. >

WAHHAHAHA!!!!
I don't even know if I should post this, because I'm quite sure when people hear this, they'll fall out of love with me! But I found it quite amusing (and embarrassing) so yeah, this is the real me I guess.

Ok, you see, this morning... I was listening to the radio (987fm) when the two DJs wanted people to call in about whether their fav team were still in the WC, and also to speak their views on whether South Korea can knock France out. I was like, playing maple at that moment (listening to radio via Internet), but still, on the spur of the moment I just called in for fun.

I tend to sound really... kiddy when I'm recorded or something. I have no idea why, but that has always been the case! And to be honest, I'm not so good at impromptu speaking, so usually I wouldn't call into the radio unless it's like a contest or something with great prizes and I'm pretty sure I can win. Never to SPEAK. So what happens when I'm finally talking on national radio? THIS!

http://www.zshare.net/audio/1-987fm-socceroo-mp3.html

Hahahaha. OMG. I was aware I was sort of screaming into the phone, but I wasn't aware I was like high-pitched, blabbering (about inflatable kangaroos, Harry & Socceroos) and sounded kiddier than ever. When I heard this on the radio later, I was caught between laughing and hiding under the blankets. I'm like... 20 YEARS OLD?! (almost anyway) But I just made myself sound like a ... 10-year-old on national radio. Oh crap. The insane things one does when overwhelmed with emotions. I guess I'm fine with sounding funny and cute (Justin Ang the DJ did say I was cute) but I didn't want to sound silly and kiddy! Which I did!

I just can't figure out why a recording device or camera always doesn't seem to paint the right picture/sound of me. I'm sure I don't sound like that, just like I'm sure I don't look that ugly like I do in photos. Just can't figure out why.

*hides under the blankets*

but I really love the Socceroos..

< YAY! HARRY (& the rest of the socceroos) ROOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! >

Australia v Croatia

Half-time thoughts:
Damn it, I had my heart in my mouth most of the time for the past 45 minutes. It’s so freaking scary! It was like a nightmare for me when I woke up at exactly 3am, turned on the TV… and the first thing I saw was Croatia lining up to take a freekick. I had this really ominous feeling about it, and the moment my father stepped into the room and the ball from Srna went in, I just went, “SHIT!”

Damn! It was like some bloody nightmare!

You know, I’ve really like… fallen head over heels in love with the Socceroos over the past few weeks… from their amazing display against Japan, seeing their passion and spirit against Brazil… and not forgetting that memorable trip to Australia… oh man, I do wish this can last forever!

Every Australia missed chance had me hugging my King Roo (the inflatable kangaroo) as I sought strength from it just by leaning on it. Sigh. I don’t know how far Australia can go, but I want them to go far… how far? All the way of course…

Earlier in the day, I read this article about the socceroos’ funniest quotes. There was this one by Harry… something like, “You always have to believe you’ll win. I go out there believing we can win the World Cup and I’ll keep believing that till the final whistle blows and we’re knocked out.” Yeah, something along those lines. To some it may sound ridiculous… but I found that really inspirational! It’s the kind of mentality a team should have…

Australia have been relying on this “tough mentality” thing to pull them through the past 2 matches, and hopefully, this time it’ll be enough to help them go through.

They’re so damn close to the 2nd round now. Just 45 more minutes… Come on Socceroos.

Full-time thoughts:

Is every Australian game going to be this heart-stopping?
Crap. It seems as though I just went through 3 cup finals with Liverpool!

Hahahaha. YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But what a confusing end! I thought I’d be left YAYYYING when the final whistle goes, but instead I was left, “huh? Wait! What’s happening? HUH?”

I still don’t understand what the heck was going on.
That Simunic. Was it just me or did he get 3 yellow cards before he got a red?
And you mean the final whistle went before Australia scored the 3rd? Who ‘scored’ that anyway?

YAYYYY!!!
Hehehe, Roo is seeing himself on TV. Hehehe.

I thought I’d be left moaning here, and I still want to moan a little first. The KALAC! THAT AUSSIE GOALIE! HE SUCKS!!!! Hahaha. He has Harry to thank for getting him off the front pages of the newspapers tomorrow. And, and… GRAHAM POLL! Okie, so Viduka kissed him at the end, but it could have been very different! Why didn’t he send Srna off! And yah, the Simunic also. He got 3 yellow cards! And the Tomas should have given us a 2nd penalty! (actually 3rd, 'cause Viduka was also denied a penalty despite having a defender's arms all over him) Doesn’t matter now I guess. And then, that SRNA!!!! I know some people want Liverpool to get him, but LALA OBJECTS! I CAN’T STAND SRNA! HE’S AN ASSHOLE! TO HELL WITH HIM! He did 3 things to piss me off. First, by scoring. Second, when he was unsportsmanlike. Can’t remember who brought him down, but when the latter offered him a hand, he pushed him away. And thirdly, when he pushed Poll and the latter didn’t send him off. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! HE’S UNMANLY! GRRR…

3 scenes stick out from my mind currently. The 1st was when Harry’s shot was unbelievably saved by the goalie, and Harry’s reaction. Hands on his head, expression of disbelief, horror and shock on his face. The second was when Harry scored. Harry’s reaction this time was the complete opposite. Ecstasy, total joy, release of months of pent-up frustration… Finally… Hearing the commentator mentioning something about Harry going to be sold by Liverpool just makes me cringe. I won’t think about that for the moment. I don’t really dare to say this out loud, but I’m gonna say it anyway, and hope no one reads this. Right now, as in, at the current moment, I feel more like an Australian fan than a Liverpool fan. Yeah, I remember how after the Japan match, I was saying Australia has the Liverpool spirit. As in, the determination and belief to fight back despite being a goal or two down. But right now, I don’t know. I think Australia has surpassed Liverpool when it comes to having this “spirit” and mentality. Liverpool has a great history and experience to lean back on, but you have to realize, Australia don’t. A lot of them come from shit clubs, and after this WC, you won’t hear them being mentioned anymore. Craig Moore, Scott Chipperfield, Vince Grella, Jason Culina… yup, no one will remember them (except for Moore since he’s with Newcastle – a relatively bigger club) after the WC, unless they win it of course. I still have to be reminded on where Chipperfield and Culina are from. I know Grella’s with Parma… And yah, the shit goalie is with Milan. Sounds great, until you remember he’s 2nd choice after Dida, and Dida is shit too.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention what’s the 3rd moment. See, my emotions are like all so messed up right now as I’m still watching the highlights too. Ok, the 3rd moment was when Croatia were hitting Australia on the break, Australia had just taken a corner and I think it was Prso… he had run all the way to the other half, and was up against only a defender or two. Then he stopped, and the moment he turned, Craig Moore, who moments ago was still at the other end came rushing towards him to take the ball away. I don’t know why, but that struck me deeply for the way Moore ran all the way back. He must have been miles behind Prso, yet he still ran all the way back to see if he could salvage something. Just like how the other day when Lucas Neill stopped Ronaldinho right in his tracks, this moment pretty much summed up for me how Australia was today. They simply never gave up, even when all seem pointless.

You know, with most teams, when I see them attacking endlessly, and not getting a goal, I’d just give up and think this won’t be their day. At least, it’s that way with Liverpool. When you see them getting like 20 over shots and no goals, you start thinking their strikers suck, and they won’t score today. But it’s a different case with Australia I realize. Against Japan they were throwing everything at the opponents, and despite conceding that unfair goal, they still continued throwing everything, until they got the 3 goals in the last 8 minutes. It might not have worked against Brazil, but I dare say whoever watched them that day would have felt they deserved something out of the game and might have even converted to a Socceroo fan. And now, again they threw everything at Croatia. Their shit goalie wasn’t helping, and it should have damaged their morale, but it didn’t. Harry had his shot-that-should-have-went-in saved, but no, this wasn’t the time to keep your head down. For them it’s like, you jolly well try your best, don’t you dare keep your head down until the final whistle blows.

Anyone can tell you shit teams simply don’t do a “come back” against better teams (Liverpool isn’t considered a shit team, its opponents are though). Ok, so maybe some people will say Japan and Croatia are also shit teams, but I don’t care! Australia has defied the odds in my eyes, and they’re just my heroes!

If someone can draw a picture of me right now, he should also draw those tiny hearts around my head. I’m just so in love! Hehehe.

So happy for Harry, but I’m even happier for Australia. They deserved every bit of it. The refs against them have been shit! Graham Poll is apparently the best ref in the world? I think he has just landed himself in hot soup with the 3 yellow card thing. Yeah, sure I understand refs make mistakes sometimes. But why is it that all the 3 refs against us… I can only remember twice when the decision didn’t go against us when a mistake seemed to be committed? (Ok, the two times were Cahill’s ‘penalty’ & Grella’s tackle on Ronaldo) For Australia to pull through despite a pretty tough group (arguably the toughest after Group C – Argentina group) and shit refs (and a shit goalie today?) is some sort of a miracle by itself.

My newest heroes:
Craig Moore (my favourite Newcastle player now. Hahaha!), Scott Chipperfield, Vince Grella, Jason Culina, okay… was about to stop there, but ok!! I’ll include the rest… Brett Emerton, that idiot Kalac (he did catch the ball properly sometimes), Marco Bresciano (actually he already was my hero since Uruguay), Mark Viduka (I know I don’t usually like him but ok, his heart is in the right place at least), Josh Kennedy, shit… I can’t spell this name… ok, it’s Sterjovski (I need to find out he’s with what club too though), Lucas Neill, Timmy Cahill, John Aloisi… also remembering the ones who played earlier.. Schwarzer & Luke Wilkshire… hehe. Harry’s still my class monitor and teacher’s pet, but his friends are wonderful too!

Is there anything else I can say?
Oh yeah, how about the fact that after much deliberation, I got Harry as my captain in fantasy today? I think some people have Ronaldo who scored 2 goals though. Not that I care. I’m just happy with making the right choice in my opinion.

Sigh. I secretly suspect if the Socceroos played in the EPL, I’d convert to a Socceroos fan instead of Liverpool. Feel kinda guilty saying that, but I’m just like… so moved, so inspired by the kind of passion, determination and will to fight against all odds the team has displayed. My vocab is limited so I can’t really express clearly how I feel towards them. There’s just this something within them that draws me to them. How can I put it… hm… okay, let’s just say, some people think Brazil teaches us the ART of football. In the same way, it’s as though Australia has taught me the MEANING of football (not as in the word, ‘cause this word mean something different for them. They call it soccer.). And I guess I’m more into that now than anything else. What about Liverpool? Well, they taught me how to LOVE football. Yeah, I think that’s it.

Whatever happens from now on, I think Aussie fans can be very proud of their team. No one rates the Aussies against the Italians, but who knows really? Yeah, I guess the Italians would have more at stake than the Aussies, ‘cause King Roo and all Aussie fans are already proud of their team, and would be behind them no matter what happens. But really, to me the beauty of football isn’t the samba, isn’t Brazi, isn’t the wonderful goals, isn’t the stopovers, tricks and flicks. For me, the beauty of football, at least from what I’ve learnt from Australia, lies within the inner belief, having the will to overcome all odds and uniting as one with the team and fans to accomplish that.

King Roo agrees too.

(pic taken from Aussie)

---

FINAL SCORE
CROATIA 2 - Srna 2, Kovac 56
AUSTRALIA 2 - Moore 38 pen, Kewell 79


team for CROATIA: Stipe Pletikosa; Josip Simunic, Dario Simic, Stjepan Tomas (Ivan Klasnic 83); Marko Babic, Niko Kovac, Igor Tudor, Darijo Srna; Nico Kranjcar (Jerko Leko 65); Ivica Olic (Luka Modric 74), Dado Prso

team for AUSTRALIA: Zeljko Kalac; Scott Chipperfield (Josh Kennedy 75), Lucas Neill, Craig Moore; Jason Culina, Mile Sterjovski (Marco Bresciano 71), Vince Grella (John Aloisi 63), Brett Emerton; Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell; Mark Viduk

sent off: Simic, Emerton, Simunic (after 3 yellow cards)

< The perfect couple >

Sigh, don't they just look so blissfully happy together?
Aw...
Harry & Timmy.

< I'm back! So is the inflatable kangaroo! >

Not exactly the kangaroo I wanted... (I wanted the cuter one) but this one was on TV too, and it'll do!

(I only found it yesterday in a shop at Toowoomba, thanks to my elder brother.)

Anyway, I'm back! It's kinda late now... I'll post more pics and my journal some time later... :D

< Byebye.. >

Lala will be leaving Singapore in... about 7 hours' time.

Sob... don't miss me!
I'll be back next Tuesday. So until next Wednesday, I won't be posting... unless I get a computer somewhere, like the one at my brother's place from Sunday onwards.

My mother, father, younger brother and I are heading over to the golden beaches at the Gold Coast... We've got a tour package which includes trips to Dream World and Movie World, but we'll also be meeting up with my older brother and sis-in-law there. My older brother is currently working under contract in Australia you see. So around the 18th or so, we'll be leaving Gold Coast and the tour group for somewhere called Toowoomba, which is like a few hours away from Brisbane. That's where my brother stays. But we'll still be staying in a motel there.

Today my parents, especially my mother were so infuriated when the tour agency threatened to ruin our plans. You see, they were already quite pissed off with the tour agency already because of some of their indecisiveness, lack of initiative and all. They didn't call us like they said they would, and my mother had to call them numerous times to confirm our flights. Then another day this guy called me telling me that my parents should go down to collect the flight tickets, but when my mother went there, the agency told her she'll only be able to collect it at the airport. And not to forget, one guy there apparently lied to her that this woman in charge was on leave, when she appeared at the office moments later. So today, guess what? The guy from Dynasty Travels called us and informed us that they'd have to change the itinery for some days. And my mother just blew up. She doesn't lose her cool often, so to hear her screaming at the guy over the phone was scary. You see, we'd already booked our own transport and made our own plans for the "free days" with my older brother, so when they wanted to change the free day to another day.... And to think they informed us only 8 hours before our flight! Needless to say, she was really mad, and started threatening them about how she'd tell all her friends at MediaCorp News to boycott the agency. Yeah, both my parents work with the local TV broadcaster. They aren't highly ranked, just clerks, but they could do what they threatened to do... My father also called them up later, and my father is just like this ferocious lion... Be wary! Even I was quite pissed off and I swore to myself if they do not do anything satisfactory, I'd screw them upside down with complaint letters and all.

Haha. I know we sounded scary, but can you just imagine how pissed off we were? Which bloody tour agency informs you of a change in schedule only 8 hours before your flight? I think it was because they didn't have enough customers or something. Idiots. My parents are like real meticulous planners. My mother has already planned this trip for half a year, and she'd started packing her luggages months ago. I took only a few minutes packing. So they're the sort who doesn't like having the plans messed up. Especially since the transport and all have already been booked...

Luckily, those guys at the tour agency saved their asses by calling us back later and told us it was all back to the original plans again. I still don't think I'll ever use Dynasty Travels again though. In the build up to all these, they've just pissed us off too many times.

Anyway, back to the trip... I'm just sooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!
YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!
It's the first time ALL of us are going on an overseas trip together. Most of the time, it's just Mummy, Daniel (my younger brother) and me. My father can be pretty irritating at times, so I'm not expecting everything to go so smoothly, but hopefully it can still be a pretty enjoyable trip! The last time I went to Gold Coast... I remember sulking most of the time. Can't remember why. And I think I was scared of Batman and all those walking cartoon characters too.
May this be a more enjoyable trip...
and gooooooooo socceroooooooos!!!!
:D

I'll leave you here with some pictures...

---

My brother updating the scores on the WC chart I put up on the wall.


Berry saying hi to Harry (I was stalking Harry on the player cam channel in the repeat telecast just now)


See our luggages!




Papa & Mummy have so much larger luggages than us...

< Australia 3 Japan 1 >

Australia v Japan – Pre-match thoughts:
AHHHH!!! I’M SO EXCITED!!! IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE A LIVERPOOL CUP FINAL!! Hahaha. Almost. Almost. It’s half an hour before the kickoff, and so far my room has 2 people, my brother and I. My mother and father are also expected to come in later… my mother sort of promised she’ll watch this match. It’ll be her first football match! Hahahaa. Expect some amount of explaining to her throughout the match.

Hahaha. I kept screaming “AHHHH… SO CUTE!!” just now. First it was because of the kangaroo inflatable the fans were carrying, then later when I saw a kangaroo flag, and when I saw the real cutie… HARRYYYYY!!!!!!

My brother is going crazy over “HUUS HIDDINK? (Guus Hiddink’s first name apparently is pronounced as ‘huus’ – as in ‘whose’) He kept repeating “HUUS HIDDINK? HUUS HIDDINK?” I told him about it when I heard it over the radio. The funny guy kept asking the soccer pundit who’s Hiddink. Get it?

AHHH!! ANOTHER CUTIE!!Hahahaha. There was this fan dressed as a kangaroo, with a “kangaroo crossing” sign hung round his neck. Funny guy.

AHHH!!!!! THEY’RE SOOOO CUTEEEEE!!!!!!

I LOVE KANGAROOS!!!!

Okok, calm down calm down. I’m sounding girly. Hahaha.

Ummm… but today I’m so mad! I wanna beat the Japanese! WIN THEM! GO AUSSIES! WHACK THE JAPS!!!! I know… Japanese are Asians, so I’m suppose to be on their side in a way… but I can’t stand them! I remember they were soo arrogant when they played Singapore in a WC qualifying match. Nakata looks sooooo arrogant. And I’m not really a fan of those J-fashion style sort of thing. Their girls… the ‘kawaii’ (cute) look turns me off. I saw the TNP DVD section on Japan today… and their girls with their “kawaii” impersonation just got on my nerves. Bloody hell, it’s a football match, not Sailor Moon anime. Well, I guess the same can be said about those Samba women who turn up wearing nothing but bras, but never mind… the kawaii thing just gets to me more.

And then.. that Nakamura… idiot guy. I read he said something alone the lines of how they can “play a quick one-two through midfield, or dribble towards the box” to lure a foul from the Aussies and then they’d get a goal. Understand why? Because he’s the set-piece taker for the Japanese. Grrr.

-_-

Just saw some Japanese fans on TV. They predicted a 5-0 win for the Japs, and at the end of it, started waving and going “YAYYY!!” That kawaii thing again. Bloody hell. I just can’t stand that.

Act cute.
Grr.. Lala is the queen of acting cute. I can’t stand others doing the same.

The stats are against Australia. They just showed the embarrassing statistic of Australia having not won a single match in the WC before. And also, they haven’t scored a WC goal before too. Oh well. And also, the Japanese have won most of their games against Australia in the past. In fact I was looking through like almost 10 of the past matches, and the Aussies only won one out of those.

Also, Australia are ranked 42nd in the FIFA rankings, while the Japs are like… 18th?

One more reason why I don’t like the Japs?
They’re BLUE.

Of course, I don’t like South Korea either. Even though they’re in red. Know why? Their nickname is the “RED DEVILS”. Go figure that out. Red Devils.

Oh shit. I feel such a stupid fan. I can’t even recognize half of the Aussie squad. I know their names, but hardly anything beyond just names. SOB! I can’t even recognize their faces!!! How embarrassing. I promise I’ll learn though. I started being a Liverpool fan only knowing Owen too anyway.

COME ON SOCCEROOOOOOOOOOOSSSS!!

---

Fantasy watch:
Two Aussies. Namely Harry my captain and Bresciano.
And one Jap. Nakamura.

---

Half-time thoughts:

I’M SO ANGRYYY!!!!!

GRRRR
GRRRR

WHO ARE THE DIRTY PLAYERS MAN!!!!!
TAKAHARA…
THE JAPS ARE SO DIRTY!!!!

I’m so angry… I almost cried just now. So infuriating.
My brother is going to get his ‘lucky sweet’. He says he doesn’t know whether it’ll work on Australia (like it does for Liverpool) though, but that’s a nice thought anyway.

My whole family is behind the Aussies… and that’s encouraging to know. My mother’s debut match, and she had very very interesting opinions and views. She spoke mainly in a mixture of Hokkien and English, and I’ll just translate what are some of the comments she made.

Firstly, she said that the Japs are very “fierce”, keep making the Aussies fall down. She also said that the Japaneses are very ugly… (hahaha oops) and that they are stronger (I was like, “HUH?”) because they eat more fish. Ummm… yeah, the fish comment was quite refreshing, but she still stuck to it. The only horrible comment she made was when she said she think Japan can win 1-0 (‘cause they eat more fish) even before the Japs scored.

OMG… thinking about that goal makes me fume. I can’t remember when was the last time I was left fuming over an “illegal” goal. So infuriating. The part about it being my player Nakamura who scored did not comfort me, but made it worse actually. I’m so bloody angry. That Takahara… any person could see he slammed Schwarzer down as Schwarzer was reaching to catch the ball!

Takahara…
Grr… rooster head.
Yeah, he has a rooster hairstyle.

I can’t stand the Japs, I can’t stand the Japs!!
My kangaroo is cuter, more kawaii than them!!
Sob…

The Japs aren’t even good. They’re just shite! (although Aussies aren’t exactly Brazil quality either) Grr… I’m just so mad…

So unfair…

I’m really willing to give up my Nakamura goal… (also happens to be my first goal in fantasy but I don’t care about that now!)

---

Full-time thoughts:
OMG!!!

OMG!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I THINK I’VE NEVER LOVED TIMMY CAHILL MORE THAN NOW IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!TIMMY CAHILLLLLLLLL!!!!
Hehehe. I know he’s an Evertonian… but I always had a soft spot for him too…
Wow… do you know how many passes Australia made? 498!!! Almost 500!!

Hehehe. Let the Aussie fans get a taste of what it’s like to have a Liverpool-style comeback… When Timmy got his 2nd goal… my brother just muttered, “Cahill just did an Owen.” It took me a while to understand what he was referring too. Yeah…

Oh man. Now you know why I’m an Aussie fan? THIS IS WHY!!!!!!

Australia just has this uncanny similarity with Liverpool. Yeah, I guess Liverpool has more quality on our side, but the Aussie never-say-die spirit is like the “Liverpool spirit”. Awww… I’m soo soo happy!!!!!

Hehehe. More than 80 minutes into the match, I was left feeling rather despondent and I had already resigned to the fate of defeat. The Aussies look tired, and no matter how they tried, they were getting no closer to scoring. To be honest, while I really thought Japan was totally shite, the Aussies were really not much better…

And then… Cahill popped up with the goal…
The equalizer wasn’t the prettiest. Sort of a goalmouth scramble. I remember seeing Harry and the Jap guy going for the ball and both tumbling over… then the Jap guy was like almost covering the ball with his body, and Cahill just went to kick at it. Hehehe. That sent all of us screaming though.

Cahill’s 2nd goal though… was soooo… OMG!!

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
What a beauty…

I knocked over the chair when that goal went in. Haha
Aww… I just wished he wasn’t an Evertonian so I can fall in love with him openly! It’s hard when we come from rival teams… :(

Yeah, I don’t know how many people actually know it, but I had a soft spot for Timmy. Not as soft as the one for Harry, but I think ever since the day I saw Harry ruffle Timmy’s hair (when the Liverpool team went round to shake the Everton players’ hands at the start of a derby match at Goodison Park), I sort of started liking Timmy. I can’t remember who started calling Cahill Timmy first… must be either the commentator for that game or the one against Uruguay… And I just found the name Timmy kinda cute. (Sounds like the kind of name you’d give your pet dog, that’s a compliment!) HH says Timmy looks like a Bangla worker (no racism intended), and I do admit he looks a little weird around the mouth area, but he still has a certain cuteness to him!

And I tell you something… I don’t like Viduka!!
YEAH!!
He can’t score!! Well, this time he very nearly did on a couple of occasions. But he still didn’t! There’s just something between me and Viduka… Don’t know why he always seem to look shit to me. And I don’t understand why is he penalty-taker and captain either. Boo. He can’t score penalties at least.

My brother though, had something against Josh Kennedy. I just know he recently scored his first goal for Aussies, so I was nicer to him. But my brother reckoned he was useless and kept missing chances.

Going on to other Aussie players… Harry looked… tired. Yeah, I really thought he’d get subbed off sooner or later, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t bad, quite good in fact, but he was marked really tightly by at least 2 Japanese players each time he got the ball, so it was hard for him to do any sort of dribbling stuff. Most of the time he just got rid of the ball as quickly as he could. There was once when he came close to scoring after dribbling his way through though… And I can’t tell you how irritated I was everytime a Japanese player brought Harry down and no foul was given. Grr… the Japs…

Strange. I never knew my brother was an Aussie fan you know. I mean, he doesn’t even like Harry. He said he thought Harry was a sissy, so why was he cursing the Japs along with me, and cheering crazily when the Aussies scored? My brother sounded every inch as infuriated as me with the Japs… he kept repeating how the Japs were dirty players, and said he never saw a more cheating goal than theirs… Aw.. he even sacrificed a “lucky sweet” for Australia… but like it was against West Ham, when he only ate it at half time, by 80+ mins, I was coming to terms with how it might not work this time…

My father and mother know nuts about football. My father just bets blindly, and talks rubbish most of the time. But some of those stuff these clueless people say can be quite funny at times. Like how my father said this was a match between the sumos and the kangaroos. For my mother, she was more interested in speculating the stuff they eat. Remember how she said the Japanese had more strength ‘cause they eat more fish? Well she also said the Aussies no strength ‘cause they were all drunk. -.-

So you Aussies and those who drink, don’t drink too much! Or else my mummy will say you all have no strength…

My mother left at around 60 minutes because she was sleepy though. Oh well. She missed the great stuff. The remaining 3 of us went crazy when the Aussies scored.

Guus Hiddink is like Rafa huh? All 3 goals were scored by his subs… Cahill and Aloisi. And I love his reaction to the Aussie goals… That’s one area where he’s not like Rafa! Aw… Hiddink just looked like an Australian then. But I do wonder if he feels any form of attachment to the national teams he coaches, seeing how often he changes teams… He was with South Korea… now with Australia… next Russia… does he feel any form of “patriotism” to these countries?

Seeing him then did make me feel like he did though, at least for Australia.
Hee.

He was also so mad when the Jap goal was allowed… he was so scary! Rushing over to the fourth official’s monitor I think… trying to see the replay.

:)

So happy.
I’ll be going to Australia tomorrow night… and now I can go there happily!
I’m really wondering what it’s like in Australia… are they as crazy as the English, South Koreans, or Japanese? With those flag hanging and all that… or is it like how it’s like when there’s a badminton or table-tennis or whatever sport competition involving Singaporeans… no one just gives a damn, and everyone is oblivious to it? I sure hope it’s like what I saw in the stadium tonight! ‘Cause for one thing…

I want to buy the inflatable kangaroo!!!!!
It’s a long shot, but I hope they sell it there.
The Aussie girl at the end of the match jumping and dancing in front of the camera with her kangaroo looked so cute... I just kept whining about how I wanted that kangaroo too. My brother and father told me to go and buy it in Australia… and I asked a very stupid question as to how we were suppose to bring it back (check it in with the luggage or hand-carrier) ‘cause it was so big. Figured it out why it’s a stupid question?

If you don’t get it… here’s the answer…
It’s inflatable.

!!!!!

Sigh.
I’m kinda tired now. Hehe. It was really like watching a Liverpool cup final tonight! Can’t remember the last time I felt this amount of passion supporting a team other than Liverpool!

Go socceroooooooos!!!!
I’ll catch you guys again on Aussie TV (I never asked my brother… but I assumed the motel we’ll be staying in that night has a tv with the WC on…)!

Thanks for the great night!

Love ya socceroos!

Love ya Harry!
Love ya Timmy!

Heh.

I want my inflatable kangaroo…

p/s I didn’t ‘stalk’ harry with the player cam channel like I wanted to.. the match was too absorbing for me to even try! ‘cause you see, if you switch to the player cam channel… you’ll only be able to see the player and none of the action that isn’t near him.. maybe if there’s a repeat telecast tomorrow, I’ll go stalk harry in the player cam channel. I promise not to drool or do funny things to the tv. (what were u thinking! I just want to observe and see if he has any pimples.)

< Netherlands 1 Serbia & Montenegro 0 >

Netherlands v Serbia & Montenegro
Fantasy watch:
Wesley Sneijder.
Hahaha, I just got him today actually. Also made him the captain over Deco who also plays today in the later match. It just felt strange not having a single Dutch player in my squad, so I transferred Lehmann out to get him. I don’t know much about Sneijder except that he’s great in FM, and he just came back from injury. My brother has Van Nistelrooy in this match.

Half-time thoughts:
Shit shit shit. I hardly see Sneijder, and when I do, he always loses the ball. He’s just… arghhh… he’s just a bad mistake. I wanted to get Robben at first, but because he’s a “forward” (and I’m sick of forwards) I didn’t. I thought Sneijder was like the left midfielder of something, but when I look at the Netherlands formation, it looks plain weird, ‘cause they don’t seem to have a left midfielder. Robben is more of a winger, a left winger, with Van Persie on right wing, and Robben has got Van Bronckhorst behind him. So it’s like, there’s just Robben and Van Broanckhorst on the left, and Van Bronckhorst is like a wing-back too. I took ages to find Sneijder, and realise he’s like… central midfield? I think Cocu and Van Bommel are somewhere in central midfield too, and the ball seems to bypass that area most of the time.

Yeah, most of the ball is going down the left flank. Or more precisely, everything is going through Robben. I can’t stand his face (he has a ‘come and whack me’ face) but he’s on fire. The Dutch look hot. I don’t mean hot as in sexily hot, but the orange colour makes them look hot. And of course, the sun looks so bright so the look even hotter.

I do like the orange colour of Holland, and I remember when they played Sweden some years ago, the stadium looked so damn nice! I like Sweden’s colours too.

ARGHHHH. WESLEY SNEIJDER. DO SOMETHING!! SOMETHING GOOD!!! ARGHHHH. I really just regret getting him. Wasted one transfer for nothing.

Full-time thoughts:
ARGHHHHHHH
BOOOOOOOOOO
Whack Robben.
I can’t stand him.
He’s such a solo king!!!!!
Idiot.
Whack him.

My Sneijder… ARGHHH!! I wanna whack him too, but he looks cute. Hahahaha. Yeah, he looks kinda cute. But he’s a useless bum. Oh well. He wasn’t that bad, just useless. He didn’t do anything much. I had an easier time identifying him and his position in the 2nd half, and was left screaming in frustration most of the time. Good thing was he took most of the freekicks, bad thing was he did nothing good with them. The only time he came close to doing something was when he nearly had a shot on target… All Ruud’s fault. Firstly, he blocked Sneijder’s ball from reaching the goalie (one gets points even for just having the shot on target), and secondly, he couldn’t convert so at least Sneijder got an assist. Idiot Ruud. He looked useless too. And in fact, he looked more useless than Sneijder. Something like Owen yesterday.

Stupid Robben always went for the shot whenever he could. He’s an idiot! Ok, he’s good, he was threatening… He was the only Dutch player who actually looked like he was playing really well (though I thought Van Persie did well too), but I can’t stand all the showing off and wanting to make it a one-man show.

Earlier I thought about getting Van Bronckhorst ‘cause I thought the Dutch formation allowed him to go up quite a lot to send in the crosses (when Robben moves further forward into the box), but now I think I won’t because he looks shit when it comes to defending.

ARGH.. My fantasy team is so dead. I only have Sneijder and Deco in action today, and Sneijder must have flopped as my captain. I think lots of people have C. Ronaldo, and rightfully so. I myself would have got him if I didn’t think he was such an asshole. Yeah, I’m a person who follows my principles rather closely! Hahahah. At least my conscience is clear, ‘cause I don’t have assholes in my team! :P

Yup, that’s a good excuse if I’m lousy huh… hahahaha!
We’ll see if I change my “principles” at a later point in the future.

Tomorrow’s 9pm match is… OMG!!! AUSTRALIA V JAPAN!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No prizes for guessing who’ll be my captain tomorrow. I’m a sentimental person, remember? Heh.

For now I’m off to sleep. Somehow the past 2 days have left me walking around like a zombie. Yesterday evening I was dozing off during dinner, and today I was dozing off in church. Grr. And I haven’t even caught a 3am match yet.

< WAIT... HARRY'S FAT?! >

Ok... according to the FIFA profiles...
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/player/159069_KEWELL_Harry.html
Harry's height is 183cm, and his weight is 85kg...
leaving him with a BMI (body mass index) of 25!
(caculate your BMI here

http://www.applepeach.com/bmi.htm .

Enter harry's height and weight there and read the comment. Or read here

http://www.nutrition.com.sg/ha/habmi.asp)
And that means he's... OVERWEIGHT.

OMG!!!!!!!!!

To leave some comparison, Ronaldo's profile states that he's 183cm and 82kg (BMI of 24). Yeah, lighter than Harry. Unbelievable!!!!!!

Kaka's also 183cm, and his weight is an unbelievable 10kg lighter than Ronaldo (13kg lighter than Harry), so he has a healthy BMI of 22. Males tend to have higher BMIs, so yeah, they have a higher limit for acceptable weights.

Ok, Crouchy's weight in his FIFA profile looks unbelievable. 69kg!?!! I remember reading it somewhere he was like 80+ to 90+ kg. How can it be 69kg?! Entering it into the BMI calculator leaves us with a BMI index of 18... and the comment "You are thin. Eat more." Lol.

Crouchy's dubious weight made me a little more than skeptical about the stats in the FIFA profiles.

So I went to investigate a little more...
Let's see... In the Yahoo sports profiles... Aha, see this!

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/fo/profiles/3946.html
Harry is 1.81m (shorter by 2cm than the FIFA one) and 74kg (lighter by 11kg). Now Harry's BMI of 23 looks right again.

Ok... Yahoo

(http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/fo/profiles/16153.html)

also states that Crouchy is 1.98m and 75kg. Slightly taller by 2cm and heavier by 6kg (not much difference eh?). The BMI index still leaves him underweight and the comment still tells Crouchy to "eat more".

Actually, to be honest I don't trust Yahoo's profiles more, because after all, they don't weigh the players, and they don't update it regularly. But Harry can't possibly be so fat! At least, he can't be fatter than Ronaldo! I've got one last person to check... Rooney. Let's see how fat Rooney is.

LOL!!! I accidentally entered Rooney's height and weight the other way round, and the resulting comment was "You are grossly obese, consult your physician!" Hahahahaha. Ok, I'll do it properly this time... wait... 178cm and 78kg (according to FIFA). Aha, same as Harry. FAT too!
Hahahahahaha.

Sad though... is my Harry really fat?
Let's see...



Ok, does he look fat?

Err... maybe a little I guess and I swear it's his top that's making him look bigger but NOOOOO!!!! HE'S NOT FAT!!! Maybe umm... just a little bit more muscular... I read somewhere that Harry was the player who had the most upper body strength at Leeds. Yes... he's just muscular.

And I tell you. The FIFA profiles are definitely not very accurate. So conclusion: HARRY'S NOT FAT!!!!!!

But yeah, Crouchy is thin. At least, no one can argue with that.

< England 1 Paraguay 0 >

England v Paraguay
Fantasy watch:
3 England players in action today…
Terry, Stevie and Mikey.
Stevie and Mikey were chosen, well, for sentimental reasons more than anything else…
Terry’s the only Chelsea player in my entire 23-man squad.
That’s because he happens to be the only Chelsea player I respect.
My brother has Terry, Stevie and Crouchy for this game.

---

Half-time thoughts:
Hmm… compared to yesterday’s match between Germany and Costa Rica, this match has been a pretty boring and tight affair. Neither team has much space to work with, and thus it can get pretty dull. England clearly look the better team, but haven’t created that many clearcut chances either.

My fantasy players aren’t doing very well… Of course, in my opinion, they have to get an assist or a goal to do well! Mikey isn’t even in the game at all and Stevie has blasted so many shots way over the bar and gotten a yellow card. For my brother, his Crouchy… the ref is seemingly biased towards Crouchy! He keeps ruling that Crouchy has fouled the defender.

My brother doesn’t like this Paraguayan player… their number 13… Paredes. He has been bulldozing down almost every single one of the England players! And I don’t mean that as a compliment to him. He’s body-slamming them down, and often gets away with it.

I find watching England matches a real chore. Can you imagine what it’s like to support half the team and hate the other half?

For example, I was cheering on for England… telling the guy with the ball to “go go go!!” when he was near the goal. Then I heard the commentator say Lampard’s name and immediately I started screaming, “NO NO NO!”

And everytime England get a freekick or cornerkick, initially I was excited, thinking maybe Crouchy or Owen or Stevie can score, until I remember Beckham takes most of the set-pieces and immediately I start cursing him, wishing him bad luck.

It’s just tough.

---

Full-time thoughts:
ARGHHHHH.
I feel as though I just wasted my time. It was a really dull but frustrating match. Dull because there wasn’t many chances created, and it was quite scrappy. 2nd half for England was just really messy. In the first half, at least they more or less dictated the game, but in the 2nd they were just all over the place.

So my fantasy team players didn’t do very well… I don’t know how they award points to defenders, so I can’t say much about how Terry did. But Stevie had no shots on target, hardly any crosses, and a yellow card. In fact, I think it was probably down to his role in the England lineup you know… in the 2nd half, he was only involved in defensive duties, and wasn’t really involved in the attacking… And Mikey… what can I say? He never really did anything, and was taken off early in the 2nd half. With Mikey around, the only way I expect him to get points is if he scores. He’s the sort of player who does practically nothing else except scoring. So if he doesn’t score, he hardly gets any points for doing anything else.

I thought Joe Cole was pretty good…
But eh… Downing doesn’t exactly impress me you know? There’re rumours about us signing him… to replace Harry? Err… okay, sorry. I’ve seen Downing play three times thus far, and each time he just sucked. I know he’s supposed to be good… and comparatively, I haven’t exactly seen much. But the little I’ve seen is just not impressive! I’m not being biased, ‘cause I admit Joe Cole’s good, but my brother also agreed with me that Downing isn’t very good. At least for this game. I can’t remember a single moment when he actually crossed the ball into the box, because he was always stopped by the right back. On one occasion, when he knocked the ball forward so he and the right back can compete in terms of pace for the ball, he just lost out. Oh well.

My brother got more and more worked up as the match progressed, because of what was happening to his Crouchy on the pitch. This is where the game was frustrating. THE REF IS JUST SO BLOODY HORRIBLE!!!!

WHAT THE HELL DOES HE HAVE AGAINST PETER CROUCH?!

Crouchy got caught for fouls so many times, even when he really looked like he did nothing at all. And then, he got the yellow card. GRRR… The ref was also horrible towards many of the England players. For example, Joe Cole won a header once when he had two Paraguayan players competing with him for the header, one in front of him and the other behind him. Where on earth is the foul he committed?

Maddening… but poor Crouchy… he was really a victim of bad refereeing.

Ahh, I sound like I was supporting England huh? I guess I mostly was, since obviously I have more favourite players in England than in Paraguay. I have one favourite player in Paraguay though! Roque Santa Cruz! The last time I saw him was in WC2002… so I’ve really missed him… Sadly I didn’t see too much of him today. He wasn’t involved much and watching with my brother and father naturally prevents me from switching to the player cam channels to try and “stalk” Santa Cruz or Owen… Hee.

Oh, just saw that Lampard is the official MOTM. Well… he was like a Stevie attacking… and those shots… stupid fat frank. Glad he didn’t score though. Yes, I’m bitter! I curse all England players except for the Liverpool ones and Mikey!

---

FINAL SCORE

ENGLAND 1 PARAGUAY 0

Scorer for England: Gamarra (og 3)

Team for England: Robinson, Terry, Ferdinand, Neville, A Cole, J Cole (Hargreaves 82), Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Owen (Downing 56), Crouch

Team for Paraguay: Villar (Bobadilla 8), Caceres, Caniza, Gamarra, Toledo (Nunez 82), Acuna, Bonet (Cuevas 68), Parades, Riveros, Santa Cruz, Valdez

Other matches results:
Group B -
Trinidad & Tobago 0 Sweden 0

Group C -
Argentina 2 Ivory Coast 1
- argentina: Crespo (24), Saviola (38)
- ivory coast: Drogba (82)

< Germany 4 Costa Rica 2 >

Introduction
Finally, the World Cup is here!
One month of non-stop football action starts here.
Football on TV almost everyday. What could be better?
I’ll admit to being no expert when it comes to international football, or even about just football in general. Sometimes when I think I already know a lot, I end up getting embarrassed when I realise I don’t even know simple things like Arsenal’s Adebayor being from Togo.

I haven’t exactly watched much football action outside of Liverpool. I’ve heard of names like Podolski and Torres, but have seen neither of them playing before.

Thus this World Cup, my first watching as a real football fan, will be an enriching learning experience for me.

---

Germany v Costa Rica – Pre-match thoughts
OKAY!!! I’ll make this clear first, I know hardly anything much about all the teams in the WC except for England! Grr. Yes, I don’t even watch Brazil play. WHAT! After all, I said this was my first WC as a football fan right!

The last time I watched Germany play was when they played Brazil in the WC Final in 2002. Only German names I knew then were Oliver Kahn, Michael Ballack (who was suspended for the final due to his “tactical foul”) and Miroslav Klose (he did score a lot in that WC).

From the stuff I’ve read, it seems like the German fans don’t have much faith in their national team. Seems like they only rate Ballack, and even then they don’t like him that much because of his decision to move to Chelsea. Totally agree on the latter part, because I don’t like him either. Haha.

Let me see… so who do I like from the German squad?
I know Philip Lahm, as in how he look like, from Euro 2004. Heh. I think he’s damn cute. To be frank though, it’s hard to exactly place a finger on who I like from Germany when the only German I’ve seen playing before (besides those from a rather vague 2002 memory) is Lehmann.

Still, I really don’t understand why the German fans don’t believe in their national team more. They do sound as though they’ve quite a few good players, perhaps a little young and inexperienced, but I’ve heard enough of Podolski and Schweinsteiger (I HATE SPELLING HIS NAME. But I did that without referring.) to convince me that they are good enough. I remember seeing both of their scoring stats for the national team which were quite impressive.

Host nations always seem to do well, so I don’t think it will be much different this time. I do think they’ve a good chance of clinching the trophy you know.

Moving on to Costa Rica.. hahaha. Umm… what do I know about them? Let me see… they’ve Paulo Wanchope right? He used to be from Man City, but I don’t think I ever saw him play. Ahhh… I do remember Bolanos though. Remember that guy? From Saprissa and had a trial with Liverpool too.

I suspect my father has placed a bet on Costa Rica because he’s been going on about his “the ball is round” quote all day when talking about predictions for the game. Yah yah, I know, the ball is round, but I really think Costa Rica are too big an underdog for this game, and Germany simply can’t afford to clinch anything but a win.

I’ll be rooting for Germany in this game. Hopefully they’ll kick off the opening game with a bang, and instill more faith into their fans!

I’m especially looking forward to seeing exactly how good these two chaps, Podolski and Schweinsteiger are…

---

Fantasy watch:
This is the portion about the players I have in my fantasy team.
For this match, I’ve got 3 German players in action.
Lehmann, Schweinsteiger, and Podolski.
I even have Schweinsteiger as my “captain”. That’s quite a lot of faith placed on someone I’ve only seen in Football Manager!

---

Half-time thoughts:
2-1 to Germany right now.
Surprisingly, it has been a rather open game. Though the Germans mostly have the upper hand, if they do not extend their lead, Costa Rica do have a very likely chance they could nick a goal back into the game. I never thought Wanchope could look so threatening, but he has! He has been his side’s main goal threat. His goal was a little “controversial”, because he did look on the brink of being offside, but in my opinion, it was just that. It was quite marginal, but I think he did time his run well enough to keep himself just onside when the ball was played. That darn Arne Friedrich looked to have played him onside.

I messed around with my player cam channel for a while at the start of the game. Altogether I’ve got 4 World Cup channels. One’s the main one I’m watching, another one is called “tactical” and it seems to be the overhead view… and the remaining two are the player cam channels, focusing on one player on each team for various stages of the game. I watched Schweinsteiger for a while, seeing him hopping up and down was quite weird. When the Aussie game comes, I hope I can catch Harry on this player cam thing… it makes you feel strangely “close” to the player somehow. Schweinsteiger was caught sticking out his tongue at one moment.

The thing though, is that I couldn’t really see what’s going on in the game through the player cam channel. I didn’t even know the game had kicked off (because I switched over to the channel before it kicked off) until I saw Schweinsteiger going into a tackle. The player cam channel is really just like for stalking purposes. Hahaha.

Anyway, I did feel a pinch when Lahm and Klose scored! That’s because I had both of them in my fantasy team at some stage! I had Klose in my team until some guy told me that he’s shit and won’t score many, so I was like, just listen to him since I’m stupid right? And I had Lahm until this morning, when I decided I just wanted Podolski, and anyway, I didn’t think Lahm was a scoring defender!

And one thing I want to ask… WHY IS PHILIP LAHM SO SMALL!!!!!???!!!

Earlier I said I knew he was cute from Euro2004… what I didn’t mention was that I just saw this pic of his face close up, and thought he looked damn cute. Yah, he’s cute. BUT HE’S TINY!!!! HE LOOKS SO TINY!!!!! When I saw them lining up before the game, I was like, “wait.. this shortie here… is he who I think he is?”

I must go check his height after this. For goodness sake, he looks like my size!

Alright, 2nd half kicking off now. Hopefully more goals. And please, from my Podolski or Schweinsteiger (I tell you, typing his name is a chore. Takes quite a bit of time.).

---

Full-time thoughts:
Ok, better keep this short since I was already dozing off towards the end there. I did catch the screamer of a goal by Frings, but besides that, 2nd half went by in a blur for me because I was just so sleepy.

I’ll just make a couple of statements:
Great goal by Frings. Super super goal that made my eyes open wide, and that was quite a feat considering the state I was in.

Klose… ARGH. Shouldn’t have listened to other people and just went for him in fantasy. After all, I should have known that WC stars aren’t always the ones we talk about. Look at Wanchope too.

Credit to Costa Rica. They made sure they were never totally out of the game.

Germany were brilliant in attack, especially in the opening stages of the first half. But they have a really big problem in defence. Don’t want to say Ballack’s right about Klinsmann’s tactics, but they do have a major problem defending.

Though neither Schweinsteiger or Podolski scored, these two… hmmm… they certainly never showed signs of inexperience or fear and freezing up on the big stage. There’s just something in their attitude that just seems to exude that kind of confidence I admire a lot. And Lahm too… German fans should have more faith in their young players.

I realise I know one more player from Costa Rica. Ronald Gomez. He’s from Saprissa. I recognized him instantly when I saw him. I must tell my brother tomorrow about the guy from Purple Monsters… It’s a private joke between the two of us. Haha.

---

FINAL SCORE
GERMANY 4 COSTA RICA 2

Scorers for Germany: Lahm (6), Klose (17, 61), Frings (87)
Scorers for Costa Rica: Wanchope (12, 73)

Team for Germany: Lehmann, Lahm, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Borowski (Kehl 72), Frings, Schweinsteiger, Schneider (Odonkor 90), Podolski, Klose (Neuville 79)

Team for Costa Rica: Porras, Gonzalez, Marin, Martinez (Drummond 67), Umana, Centeno, Fonseca, Sequiera, Solis (Bolanos 78), Gomez (Azofeifa 90), Wanchope

Other match result:
Poland 0 Ecuador 2 (Tenorio 24, Delgado 80)
- HA! See! I said Ecuador will go through remember! The Straits Time's "guy" said Poland. Bleah. Ecuador!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha.