< back to Liverpool.... >

yes. this blog isn't going to get updated anymore. *cries*
World Cup is over. Now it's back to Liverpool.
Back to the other blog too.

http://ladylala.blogspot.com

hope u guys enjoyed the WC as much as I did (actually, I didn't like it too much because of all the diving, cheating, injustice!... but it was kinda fun in a way I guess. at least there're great memories).
Still love the Socceroos, but will have to wait for at least another 4 years before I really see them again...

see u guys over at the other blog though. :)

< Lala's Australian Adventures - Part 3 >

LALA'S AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURES - PART 3
saying goodbye to lovely Australia, leaving the wonderful TV there, and I think I've learnt some lessons from the experience...

19 June 2006 (Monday)
715AM:
Yeah, so the Aussies lost. I want to say I'm not disappointed at all, because it seems like (according to what I see on TV) hardly anyone is really disappointed at all. But... yeah, I feel kinda disapointed because I really don't think they deserved to lose!

The Socceroos can be proud of themselves though. They really played very well, and matched the Brazilians in every area except the result. Grr. All Harry's fault. Can't believe he missed an OPEN GOAL! Harry made a real big impact when he came on, but the problem was he did his job halfway. Threatening, but failed to kill them off. Bresciano and Viduka more than came close too. Even though to be honest, I didn't expect much of a performance (just expected desperate defending all the way) and hoped to avoid a thrashing initially, the Socceroos' missed chances left me biting my nails in frustration. Yeah, I ended up wishing them to win or at least draw, because I really think that was the least they deserved!

Especially in the 1st half, the Aussies had total control of the game. Yeah, Brazil may have had more possession then, but they were going nowhere close to scoring. In fact Australia had 3 shots on target compared to Brazi's 0, though yeah, all 3 shots were from out of the box... The thing was Australia was defending really well! It was heartening to see Emerton, Cahill, Moore, etc stopping the world's best players in their tracks. And for once, I got a real kick seeing Lucas Neill sticking in a tackle (legal one) into a player - Ronaldinho, that is.

While I don't dislike any particular Brazilian player, I don't really like the whole worship of the Brazilians. Yeah, I'd admit I have little respect for them compared to others. I don't understand comments like how there's a big gap between them and the rest of the worl,d because really to me, like Chelsea, like any other team, they're still only 11 normal human beings on the pitch.

Why is it impossible to stop Ronaldinho? I saw him tripping and falling today, and I also saw Lucas Neill stopping him in his tracks.

Yeah, so the Brazilians still won in the end. But I don't know, I think compared to Liverpool, the final scoreline seem to have lesser importance when supporting the Aussies. With Liverpool, we expect nothing less than a win in each game, but over here with the Aussies, everything they're doing right now is already exceeding our expectations by a mile.

The Socceroos were attacking the Brazilians incessantly after conceding the goal. How many teams would do that, even when they know their weakness in defence? Having only 2 men in defence (yeah, it looked that way after Hiddink took Moore off) was like suicidal, considering Brazil's attacking prowess. Ok, so it didn't exactly pay off when the Aussies conceded that 2nd goal, but still I admire Hiddink's bravery for taking the game to the Brazilians, and wanting to beat them at their own game. And for me at least, they matched them at it. But like what Hiddink said later, perhaps what they're only lacking is that killer pass or shot. Still, as I said, expectations are not high, and the Socceroos' performance was definitely very heartening.

What everyone has been telling me is that the only reason why the Brazilians don't look impressive to me at all is because they haven't reach full potential yet. They're only playing at 60%-70%, and still they're carving out results. The Aussies are obviously putting in more than 100% in every game, and still they lost to a 60% Brazil. I think I'm supposed to be worried about that, but I'm not. Because what I admire about the Socceroos is precisely this. Despite knowing they're huge underdogs, they really put in their best effort and stuck together as a team. As for Brazil, while I respect them for what they've achieved, I'm still skeptical about this whole 'reaching their max potential' thing. You can argue they just need to warm up a bit, but in my book, you have to be ready by this stage. Thinking they can do the job without putting in their best is really just sheer arrogance and complacency. And okay, those are two traits I really dislike.

Haha, they're talking about how bad Markus Merk, the ref was. Yeah, by the way, where did I see Merk before? I'm sure it was some CL match, but which?

Anyway, like all the rest of the Aussie fans, I'm proud of the way they played. The players should feel the same way too. Only Harry... aim properly, will you? Haha, kk, just kidding.

20 June 2006 (Tuesday)
854AM:
Today's the day I go back to Singapore.
Sorry to those who miss me in Singapore, but I sure wouldn't have minded staying here longer...
Australia's a nice country, really nice. I've been here 3 times already, but I definitely see myself coming here again in the future. There's still Sydney, Melbourne, and many other places I have to go.

Australia's a big country, so there are bound to be differences and new suprises at every corner, but I think soem things are the same within this entire country. Life here is really peaceful, quiet, slow, people here seem more friendly and contented. Compared to back home at least. My father kept remarking how the drivers here never honk at each other, they smile at pedestrians and how salespeople never 'scold' him, unlike in Singapore. My elder brother said that they find no need to honk at each other because there's no rush anyway, and yeah, that's quite true. It's so unlike how it is in Singapore, where I feel stressed practically every moment. Worrying about studies, money, work... There's always something at the back of our minds. Here, despite how I think the food here is really expensive (around $10 for a simple meal), I don't think anyone finds it hard to afford life here. Everyone has a nice home, car, everything.

Toowoomba, the town I'm staying right now, is really like very quiet. It's not exactly rural, because there're lots of houses here, and there's a city centre with shops and all. But the fact that it's surrounded by mountains & hills, and there's hardly anyone in sight most of the time, does make it feel as though I'm in the countryside.

This place isn't without its bad points, and precisely that's why I'm not migrating here right this instant. I can't stand the climate or the food. It isn't as cold as it was in New Zealand, but a temperature of 10 degrees celsius is still freezing for me, and coming from a place where it's always humid leaves my lips kinda dry and sore everytime I travel overseas. The food is like... okay, firstly it's too expensive. And then, it's also bad. I've had a few good meals here, but half of them were real bad. I can't get used to eating western food all the time, but they can't seem to cook Chinese food properly either.

My father once ate this duck rice meal, and the duck meat still had feathers on the skin!

And another thing, but this applies more to Toowoomba than Gold Coast, is how it's so inconvenient. One has to drive to the city centre to get anything we need. Most shops close at around 5pm, though I think it was worse in Perth because I went there in summer (sun sets later), and now that it's winter, it's dark by 5pm anyway.

You know, yesterday I was so tempted to buy so many things. There was this sports store that sold a lot of Socceroos merchandise. There was that official jersey (that came in junior sizes, the one I have is in the men's small size..), those T-shirts, scarves, and this really adorable bear that could wave its arms and sing "Ole Ole Ole"! There was also a Harry DVD going for only $15! ARGH... but i didn't buy any of them even though I had some money left. Practicality reasons.

I did buy my inflatable kangaroo though! Nothing like the one I wanted, but I've seen this one on TV too. It's just not as cute as the ohter one. After much debate over names (Captain Socceroo, Timmy, Harry, Roo-ney), I finally settled on King Roo, Roo for short.

745PM (S'pore time):
I should be reaching Singapore in about an hour's time. I'm getting pretty sick of sitting here. I've watched 3 movies in the past... 7 hours? I've watched "Eight Below", "Firewall" & "Ultraviolet". I'm like a couch potato huh? Even when I was in Australia, I was watching a lot of TV, mainly news (soccer news in particular) & football-related shows.

I guess I should be pretty excited about getting home, but to be honest, while I'm looking forward to seeing my computer again, I'm really more sad than happy. Sigh... I'm already missing Australia you know? I really liked it a lot there. Had lots of fun indeed. DreamWorld & MovieWorld were real fun. I'm glad I wasn't such a scaredy-cat (even though it's still no rollercoasters for me). Toowoomba was also, in a way, nice. Yeah, I spent a lot of time in my brother's car, travelling hundreds and hundreds of miles to get from one cold place to another cold place, but throughout this whole trip, I was just thankful for the peace and tranquility. It's only when I was out there did I realise how I needed this break. Break from even things I enjoyed, like mapling.

I know I may sound corny saying this, but I think it was only when I was out there, seeing those vast stretches of grasslands did I realise how meaningless some of the things I was doing back home were. I'm not saying like, hey, I went to Australia and suddenly found the meaning of life. No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that it made me realise that even while you're chasing some of the goals you've set here, there's a big and wonderful world out there, and being in some of these places may sometimes end up making you rethink your goals.

I don't wan tto sound too philosophical and overly-sentimental about this, because I know once I reach home, I'll go straight back to mapling, watching football and worrying about tuition work (yeah, at the risk of sounding like a bad tutor, I've to be frank and say the thought of calling them to schedule the next lesson doesn't excite me) and uni stuff (that'll be in more than a month's time though).

The whole trip has just been like so surreal, sort of like a dream...

I know that I'll always have those wonderful memories of Australia. And as much as possible, I'll try and feel that peace and tranquility within me too.

Yeah, we're starting to descend.
Welcome back to real life.

---

Some other random pics:

(at my brother's workplace... the RSAF base there in Australia)


(I think this is at Picnic Point... in Toowoomba.)


(at Brisbane Airport. Yeah, they show the WC there too, but I think Changi Airport's WC corner is better with the Xbox360 consoles...)


(my brother with Roo. Roo's wearing my Aussie jersey...)


(outside my brother's house with the rented car)

Oh I did really love Australia...

< Lala's Australian Adventures - Part 2 >

LALA'S AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURES - PART 2

from DreamWorld to Toowoomba, from Spongebob to rainbows to a certain Sheree Murphy (Mrs Harry Kewell)... watching tv all the time, and Lala was laughing all the way.

17 June 2006 (Saturday)

905AM:
Well, yesterday's Dream World trip was kinda fun, and I didn't even like, got scared the hell out of me. All the rides had a certain rating, so we didn't take those that were obviously scary, but took all the "moderate-thrill" ones onwards. I think I like the mini-coaster one the most. It looked a little scary, but really wasn't. Just fast, that's all. And I'm fine with high-speed rides. The boat one down the rapids was fun too. In fact, we took it 3 times. You can get pretty wet from that, and it's fun to ride as a family since each boat can have up to 6 people in it. My father needed much convincing to take that ride with us after the 3 of us rode it once. He was apparently traumatised from the Movie World Spooky Coaster experience.

Of course we didn't take the rollercoaster rides and the Tower of Terror rides. The Tower of Terror cars were making a hell of a noise. Dream World park was like so damn big, but you would hear the Tower of Terror rides from any corner. The noise the cars make as they zoomed up and down the tower sounded like a rocket taking off if you were near, or like a fighter plane zooming over if you were elsewhere. Just hearing it scares me.

Dream World is really big. Not only do they have the rides, they also have animals. Yeah, we saw the kangaroos and koalas. Spongebob can be found in DreamWorld too. DreamWorld just comprises of many "worlds", like "Australian Wildlife Experience", "Gold Rush County", "Tiger Island", "Nickelodean Central", etc. In fact we just didn't have enough time to explore all the places. Yes, 7 hours wasn't enough to finish the entire park!

(spongebob, patrick and us!/don't ask me what the kangaroos are doing..)

After dinner at the Chinese restaurant at the hotel lobby, it was TV time again. For the past few days, 8pm onwards is TV time for me and my brother. Hm... we watched 'Shallow Hal', 'Fifa Fever' (some football documentary), 'Big Brother' (some reality show), 'Song for the Socceroos'. Oh well, we just kept surfing channels that's why we watched so many shows. Around this time, the SBS channel always seems to show football-related shows, thus 'Fifa Fever' & 'Song for the Socceroos'. I can't believe they actually have a competition to find a song for the socceroos! The one with the top score for this episode was this one called "Here comes the Socceroos", and you know, the guy who composed the song said he was from Liverpool, UK, and the hosts and audience immediately went "Wow". Haha. I was like, "Wow", too. (note: it was actually a repeat telecast... the competition ended some time ago, and the winning song was called "Green and Gold". I've heard it, sounds like of weird to me though.)

Then... I saw more of those Nike commercials about Australia v Brazil! Besides the Bresciano one, there's at least 2 more ('cause I've seen two more) where that ugly man (he looks more like an alien) talking about how great Brazil is. Aye, it was quite funny to see Aussies dissing themselves, talking about how shit they are compared to Brazil! I'm sure it's really some Aussie humour thing though. You see, for example, the man/alien was saying how the socceroos will never beat Brazil, 'cause they're "ranked 42nd in the world".

"Sure you've beaten Uruguay.... on penalties"

"And who? Solomon Islands? They're 140th in the world!"

Then he switches on the TV, and there's Ronaldinho showing off some tricks.

And he starts gushing, "Ahhh... joga bonito Ronaldinho...."

Then like at the end of every such Nike commercial, the words "History is against us", "Stuff History" appears

(note: apparently that man/alien thing is called 'History')


(should be this, I think. may differ slightly though.)

To be honest, I think the general feeling among Aussie fans is that they don't think the Socceroos can win Brazil, but then again, they aren't going to write them off completely. It's just that, they have pretty low expectations of the team. To them, it's like, qualifying for the WC is already an achievement. Anything more than that is just a bonus. That's why the Japan result was like so great for them. I can't count how many times I've seen the replays of Cahill's goals on TV during the commercial breaks.

And yeah, the Aussies sure know they're major underdogs against Brazil, and these ads poking fun of themselves are just meant to lighten the mood, and perhaps making the fans realise how any kind of result against Brazil should be viewed as a major success for Aussie football, or soccer, as they call it. Yah, now I recall how there was one part where the man/alien was saying, "You guys are nothing in football, oh wait a minute, you guys call it soccer." (and then he cackles wickedly. Haha)

On the other hand, it can also be said that these commercials could have been trying to fire up the socceroos. You know, like letting them know how everyone else in the world sees them, thinking they have no chance against the Brazilians, and trying to do some reverse psychology thing. Well, anyway, I know we won't have these kind of commercials in Singapore (everyone would complain!) so I find them rather interesting.

Today, we'll be going around with my elder brother and sis-in-law at last. No idea where we're going exactly. I think it's just around Gold Coast or Brisbane.

831PM:

Right now, they're showing the different sports on TV. One's rugby (Australia v England) & another's AFL (Australian football league). My brother tried explaining the difference between rugby, Aussie football & American football to me, but seriously I just don't really get it. Anyway, what's so interesting about these sports?!! All 3 involve guys tumbling on top of each other, and I just don't see the fun in it.

I think people here have actually seen rugby and Aussie football as their main sports all the while. As for the real football (soccer), they're only starting to warm up to it now. Today I heard this radio phone-in which was quite funny. The caller said something about how the fastest-selling vehicle recently is the (some particular brand I can't remember) bandwagon, because everyone's suddenly saying, "Oh, we love the socceroos!" and "Harry Kewell is so great!" The way he said it was really hilarious. I saw this letter in the papers once from this reader, about how the media (except SBS) is suddenly saying how they've "always loved the Socceroos", when no one really used to give a damn. And when they had this article about rugby in the newspaper front page, the headline had to start with "While we were distracted by the other sport..." (obviously referring to soccer as "the other sport"). Oh well, I seriously don't understand what's so good about rugby! But for the newly-coverted socceroos fans, I guess it's okay to jump onto the bandwagon this time! After all, I can also be considered one of them... Only that I've realised Kewell is great much earlier...

Do you know the Australian rugby team are called the Wallabies? I wonder who're the Koalas then...

Anyway, today our elder brother was pretty late in picking us up. He only turned up at around 12pm. He then drove us to Byron Bay. It's apparently in a different state, in New South Wales. It's at the most easterly point of Australia, so I suppose it was the Pacific Ocean we were looking at up there at the lighthouse area. It was super windy and cold. But it was still quite an experience.

(most easterly point of Australia!/rainbow from inside the car)

Today, we also saw many rainbows! There were times we actually saw 2 rainbows at the same time, though I'm not sure how that was possible. Some reflection thing? But it's the frist time I really saw such clear and big rainbows. On numerous occasions, we could actually see both ends of the rainbow. They always seem to end in the water. It was really just a beautiful, beautiful sight.

(a video of a rainbow I took while in the car. not very well-taken since the car was moving! haha. and there's no sound. my cheap digicam doesn't come with sound, and in this case, it wasn't needed anyway)

Oh, and yah, I went to the casino today! Haha, just to see what it was like inside. Of course I didn't gamble. None of us did. And needless to say, the guard asked to see my identity card. I knew he'd ask for it. It gets pretty tiring sometimes though. I suppose I like looking young... and I behave like a kid anyway...

Oh, and I heard I'm like 6th or 7th in the fantasy league already. Apparently even my brother has overtaken me.

18 June 2006 (Sunday)

705AM:

Haha, the Italy v USA match was so funny. 3 players sent off! 1 disallowed goal for both sides too. And yeah, the final score was 1-1. Ahh.. why Luca Toni got subbed off early. Grr, he was my captain I think. But you know something? The Italians are really hot. Hmm... I always thought they're like the sexiest team. Maybe it's because of their tight shirts... but haha, I've seen them without shirts on more than one occasion too. They often do those calendar shots you know. I remember seeing one pic of Cannavaro with nothing else on except a ball to cover THERE. Hahahaha, sorry... I just wish they can produce a similar Liverpool calendar too. Haha. But you know, there used to be this poll on the worst football jersey, and at the top of the list was Italy's. I didn't understand why at first, but I read the article, and here's food for thought: Yeah, the footballers look hot in the tight shirts, but what about those fans with beer bellies? Haha, just imagine.

My brother is like, taking a bath right now. And it's really all because he wants to create that 'mist' on the mirror so he can write on it. It didn't work for him as it did for me over the past few days, you see. But I told him the best method to create it is by taking a hot shower. Hot air condensing on cold surface thing...


(a message written by me on the mirror in the bathroom)

After breakfast, we'll be checking out of our hotel, before our brother pick us up. I got a little car sick yesterday. Can't stand long car rides really, so hopefully today will be better. But Toowoomba's really... far. About 300km away from here I think.

753PM:

Hahaha, so funny. I just saw an interview involving Cahill, Aloisi and some Brazil coach (not the main one though), and... Sheree and Harry! Separately though. Sheree was so funny. She was asked about Harry's hair, and she was saying how he really loved his hair, and it reached an awkward point when he was asking whether he should cut his hair. She told him to cut it, but he was reluctant to. She also said how now that he's cut it, he looks so young, like an 18-year-old, which was bad for her. Haha. She really does look like an old woman. Yeah, if I'm not wrong, she's actually slightly older than him anyway. Hmm... I thought she was English, but seems like she's supporting Australia. She said she hoped Harry would get a goal, but she doesn't really care. She just wants them to score! And she says she hasn't seen Harry in nearly a month already... Hmm...

Right now, I'm in Toowoomba, which is really on top of a mountain or hill. My brother said we're like 700m above sea level? Yeah. It's colder here too. To be honest, I don't think I can really live here. Yeah, sure it is quiet and peaceful, but to me, it's really... too quiet. I can like, film Silent Hill here or something. There're many houses here, but I've hardly seen anyone so far. And there's really hardly anything else here! No buses, passenger trains, shopping malls, nothing!

Tonight will be Brazil v Australia, but even though I'm in Australia, sometimes I don't feel like I'm here at all! The only socceroos fans I'm seeing are still on the TV, in Sydney or Germany, on the news. Sigh, only bonus is that I definitely get more Socceroos news here than in S'pore. But yeah, it's all in the NEWS! Radio, papers, TV... I get lots of news about the WC campaign, seen many interviews, saw many pictures and all. But no, I don't see fans jumping up and down the streets, the only ones I see are all on TV.

Oh well, it's okay I guess. But I've been so tempted to buy every newspaper I see whenever they have pics of the players in them. And you know, there're quite a lot of papers. I only bought 3 so far, but they already fill my luggage to the brim. And I don't want to look like a karung guni...

(more newspapers for souvenirs...)

Oh yeah, they have some WC spectacular show right now. 'Live' from Germany. I saw the list of special guests, and there was Harry!

10PM:

Boo. Harry wasn't there 'live' (ok, don't tell me it's obvious since he has a match later). It was a pre-recorded interview. But Sheree was there. Haha, in the interview with Harry, he was asked whether he was more worried about Sheree being on the show, and he was like, "She'll be fine. She always speaks her mind. She'll be a great laugh." And yeah, she was a great laugh indeed. They spent quite some time discussing about Harry's groin. They asked her if Harry's groin had anything to do with her, and she was like, "I don't know..." When asked about what's wrong with Harry's groin, she started, "One moment it's okay, and...", and immediately everyone burst into laughter.

Haha, she can say some pretty embarrassing things about Harry sometimes, but I think I like her enough. I just wish she'll stop hurting Harry's groin! She also mentioned about having met Posh, Stevie's girlfriend, and Wayne's girlfriend. Heh, it's a long time I've heard anyone mentioned something about Liverpool, so hearing Sheree mention Stevie's girlfriend and Harry mentioning about currently "working under 2 great managers" made me feel a little strange, in a good way though.

Ok, this show is actually something like a concert over at Munich for all the Socceroos fans there. There're quite a few celebrities, though I admit I only know Sheree & Ronan Keating... Their cricketeer (this Shane Warne guy who the crowd seem to love), some Rugby Union guy, Sydney FC chairman... I don't really know them... but okay, how I know them! They look like they're enjoying themselves, but only problem is, it's like an Aussie thing. I can't really understand their jokes! Grr... they're laughing again. Oh well, that's why I like Sheree. At least I understand her. Think I'll go catch some sleep before the match later first.

---

part 3 will be the last part... where the socceroos get defeated by the Brazilians, Lala ends her search for the inflatable kangaroo and leaves behind a lovely place where she'll always have wonderful memories of...

< Lala's Australian Adventures - Part 1 >

My last few posts here before I go back to my original blog... Wanted to do this long ago, but was too lazy. I finally have got the time to post this! While on my week-long Australia trip, I basically had this journal in the form of my foolscap pad. Now that I'm flipping through it... OMG, it's like... 20 pages long! I can type the entire thing out till my fingers ache I guess. ARGH, but I still want to post this, 'cause I'll most likely throw away the foolscap pad soon.

Will have to do this in a few parts though...
And I've decorated this whole online diary version with pictures too! Hehe.

Read if you're interested... it was really a wonderful and memorable trip.

---

LALA'S AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURES
where she spent most of her time chasing inflatable kangaroos, socceroos, watching tv and some other things.

13 June 2006 (Tuesday)
1125PM:
Hello. I'm writing this on a foolscap pad on the plane right now. We're expected to reach Brisbane at around 4am, and meanwhile I just don't know what to do. I just managed to catch the movie 'Aquamarine' on the plane. They're quite a few decent & recent movies available on the plane's entertainment system (SIA ROCKS!). Oh by the way, I just got my 1st souvenir! My brother grabbed a copy of today's Australian papers before entering the plane... the front page was all about the Aussies' victory against Japan.


(my first piece of souvenir!)

Speaking of the Socceroos, there were these free Xbox 360 Fifa soccer games at the departure area (Changi Airport rules!) and I thrashed my brother with the Socceroos. I won his England 2-1 (conceding first), and once I got the hang of it, I whipped both his Ukraine and Spain 5-1. He got quite frustrated but my Harry just couldn't stop scoring....


(at changi airport where they had this World Cup entertainment corner. They show repeat telecasts there too.)

Haha. Kk, I'll go and see what I can entertain myself with now. Mummy is falling asleep while Daniel is still playing the games. I think I better go to the toilet before Mummy blocks my way onto the aisle when she sleeps. Ok, they're turning off the lights, but I doubt I can sleep on a plane.

14 June 2006 (Wednesday)
545AM (Brisbane time - Brisbane is 2 hours ahead of S'pore):
Oh man. My head is throbbing right now from the lack of sleep. We should be descending anytime now. In the past few hours, I watched another movie "Failure To Launch" before trying to get some rest. Didn't exactly sleep, but tried resting my eyes. My brother's laughter while watching some cartoon did irritate me and interrupted my rest though.

Then I watched some football videos, one of which showed Xabi. Interviews with him and his brother, & some footages from our CL homecoming. Seeing that reminded me of how Yishi, back in the LFC forum, would have wanted to see this. It's also the first time I was seeing Mikel say anything. The way he described how he watched the CL final made him sound like a Liverpool player. It was weird how he kept referring to Liverpool as "we".

Then there was this top goals of WC 2002, and you wouldn't believe whose goal was 1st! Salif Diao v Denmark.

Lol.

423PM:
Right now I'm in my hotel room. My brother and I are sharing a room simply because I can't stand my parents' snoring. Just woke up from a much needed nap and we should be meeting up with my elder brother and sis-in-law sometime later in the evening. They are coming in from Sydney this evening. My elder brother's not too much of a football fan, but I'll ask him if the atmosphere in Sydney is different from here. To be frank, if I didn't know better, there doesn't seem to be any much indication that people here know about the WC at all! I'll put that down mainly due to how Gold Coast is more of a tourist area. While we were coming in from the airport, it was just like a main highway with a few houses after every few miles, so I can't really expect football-crazy people jumping around down the streets. I saw on the TV that the city streets in Melbourne and Sydney were quite a different scene. So far, the few indications that this lot of people here know the WC exists is a single signboard down the highway telling us the time and date of the Brazil clash, our Malaysian-born driver telling us how the matches are telecasted live on all tvs here, the Aussie papers having the socceroos on the front pages, a few shops selling WC-related stuff.

The search for my inflatable kangaroo is proving to be rather difficult. But you know what? I actually saw the exact same one I wanted in a shop! It was hanging up there from the ceiling, but when I asked the salesgirl, she said they were still trying to get stocks in, and that one hanging up there was the only one they had and they couldn't get it down. How unlucky can I be?!

At least, I have gotten my 2nd piece of souvenir already. Another newspaper! Hahaha. At the airport, I saw this copy having a pic of some Aussie players training. Harry was smiling so widely with Timmy behind him. There was actually another one with an even bigger picture, but I bought this one 'cause it seemed to have more articles about the Socceroos in it.


(2nd piece of sourvenir!)

15 June 2006 (Thursday)
552PM:
It's only 5.52pm now, but it looks as though it's 9+pm. The sun sets around 4.30pm here, so it's quite spooky to see how short the day lasts. Today we went to Movie World, and I certainly enjoyed myself more this time than when I came here in 1998. At least this time, I dared to take more rides, and was no longer afraid to take pictures with the cartoon characters. Oh, and we saw Rooney! Ya, of course, and Colleen too. In fact, the first thing we did there was to watch this Shrek 4-D movie. How is it 4-D? Well, not only did we get to watch a 3-D movie, it was also something like a simulator ride + you can actually get water sprayed at you & we actually felt something tingly on our legs (goodness knows what was that) when there were supposedly spiders "thrown" at us (from the screen). It was definitely the most interesting ride/show of all. (Oh bloody hell, my nose is bleeding right now. Don't know why. Note: My nose continued bleeding every now and then till I reached home. No idea why.)


(my brother and I with wayne and colleen)

Anyway, I'm still pretty much a scaredy cat, so I didn't take any of the 2 rollercoasters there. But I pretty much took all the other rides there. The scariest one we took was the Scooby-Doo spooky coaster. That was hell man. The driver tricked us when he said we must take that ride! It was bloody scary because we were always caught by surprise with the way the car moved! It wasn't exactly due to the dark, because I could still see the tracks ahead of us. But you see... it wasn't always about the tracks ahead of you. Once, our car suddenly stopped in front of this wall or curtain. Initially I thought we were going through the barrier, so I was kinda scared when the car actually moved... upward. As in, vertically upward like a lift. Then I thought they were going to drop us back down, but you know what? The car suddenly moved... BACKWARDS! And yah, there was a sudden drop as it went backwards too. I'm glad I made it out alive.


(rollercoaster "superman escapes" - scary, of course I didn't take!/scooby-doo spooky coaster - some people say this is worse than the rollercoasters though)

The rest of the rides & shows were okay. Pretty fun and all.

Well, rewinding back to yesterday... After dinner we went back to our hotel rooms, and I basically just spent the time watching TV. Yeah, football. The matches start later here, so I only watched the first half of the Spain v Ukraine match. You know, around that time, that was when we saw more ads relating to the Socceroos. There was one Nike one I particularly liked. It showed a man in the stands yelling at Bresciano who was kicking a ball on the pitch.

The man was shouting at Bresciano, "How will you beat Brazil, Bresciano? You won't! You don't even know what does Joga Bonito mean!"

Bresciano then asked Aloisi to pass him the ball, before volleying it high into the stands to knock that man down.

Then these words appeared on the screen:

"History is against us"
"Stuff history"

Then the Nike slogan Joga Bonito and all appeared. The end.
(note: actually you know what, I realised later this was just one of the series of Nike "stuff history" ads in Australia. Some of the ads can be found on Youtube. See here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search=socceroos+nike&search_type=search_videos)

That was pretty cool huh? First time I ever saw that ad. Oh, and they also show the Pringles ad that has Cisse and Stevie here. Oh oh, and yeah, there was this trailer about this Johnny Warren documentary (no idea who's he) and for some reason, they played YNWA as the background music for that trailer. When that came on, initially I thought it was my handphone ringing.

My brother and sis-in-law only came at around 11+ yesterday. Their flight was delayed and they came to our hotel just to inform us on the plans after Friday. He also told me about how there were many South Koreans beating their drums down the Sydney streets when they won their match against Togo. Crazy people, I saw they had fireworks in S. Korea! They're really mad about their national football huh? My brother also said they caught the Australia v Japan match at a pub there. They had placed a bet on a Japan win, so when the Japs scored, they were trying not to show their glee, but when the Aussies scored, the men there went absolutely crazy.

Hmm... guess there's more of a football atmosphere in Sydney than here! Of course, I'm sure there're people watching the matches at the pubs here, but still Sydney sounds more fun... Okok, I'm not complaining...

16 June 2006 (Friday)
644AM:
I think Mikey's dead. I saw the 2nd half of the England v T&T match & Rooney came on for Crouch. Wasn't Crouchy supposed to be Rooney's replacement? Hmm... instead Crouchy later went on to be the first England player to score at this year's WC. I'm happy for Crouchy, but the plan was for Mikey and Crouchy to kick Rooney out of the lineup! Crouchy has done his job, but not Mikey... Sigh. I've been getting updates from HH via sms on my fantasy team progress. Seems like someone has just overtaken me into 3rd place. Well, the fact that I had Mikey as captain last night wouldn't help either, though Stevie did score for me. I'm quite proud both England goals were from Liverpool players! Actually, when Rooney came on and both Carra and Mikey went off, I suddenly wanted T&T to win, so people would blame it on Eriksson's changes. Guess it didn't work though!

Oh yeah, a little bit more about TV...
Yesterday I watched the last episode of this reality TV show called "Nerds FC". Ok, apparently this show is about gathering some nerds who've never kicked a ball before to form a football team. Yesterday they played their biggest match against A-league team Melbourne Victory. They lost 12-2, but it was actually a great result! I sort of thought Victory was already giving them chances, but they got a real kick from scoring their first goals. Well, actually the 2nd was an own goal. On the Wednesday episode, I saw they lost to this ladies team 6-0, and that was a great result too, 'cause apparently they used to lose by a bigger margin.

Yesterday I also watched the Johnny Warren documentary. Ok, he's sort of like an ambassador for football in Australia. He was an ex-socceroo, and his lifelong mission was trying to promote the sport in Australia. Sadly, he died of lung cancer in 2004. He seemed like a man who really had the passion for football, and I saw this part where he started this 'Captain Socceroo' TV show. It was quite cute! Haha! Had a cute song too. And Mark Viduka was talking about how he used to rush back from school to watch the show. Haha! And they were showing Warren's birthday wishes from various famous people, and there was a brief video of Harry there too! He was wearing a Leeds jersey though.

I had to see so many glimpses of Harry and his ugly two-ponytail when they showed the highlights of the Australia v Uruguay match last year. You know, there was a tribute to the late Warren at the start of the match, and it seemed like they were playing our YNWA anthem to the tribute too! I guess it was appropriate, but still they stole our song! I'm proud they stole it though.

Well, I don't know why I'm not seeing more of Harry on TV here. I've seen Timmy pop up numerous times, staring out of the TV screen and saying, "I'm Tim Cahill and you're watching the World Cup on SBS." (SBS is the TV channel here that's showing the WC matches) Aloisi does that too. Well, maybe Harry's too famous and too busy to do such stuff.

Ok, we should be going for breakfast soon, then it's off to Dreamland! Bloody hell. I'm going to take more heart-stopping rides!

< lala's world cup awards >

Since fifa sucks, I thought I might as well give out my own awards.

Only problem is that I watched less than half the matches, and among the matches I watched, I fell asleep through them most of the time. YES, I'M QUITE PATHETIC!!!!! The only matches I watched from start till end without falling asleep (or wanting to sleep) I think were only the Australia matches! Hahaha. Sorry. So... no... I've not exactly seen how great Argentina were. I watched the first 20 mins of them against Serbia, then I watched the first few minutes of them against Mexico, and I watched bits and pieces of them against Germany... somehow, yeah, I fell asleep in their matches too. Sad huh?

Oh well. I'll still try and get something out of what I actually saw. Not very reliable of course, but whoever left an impression on me while I was awake must still be quite something... haha.

So here goes -

Favourite match:
Australia 3 Japan 1
- really... memorable. Australia's opening match, their first ever goals at the World Cup... and it was quite something huh? Timmy... I remember standing up and knocking the chair over when he scored his 2nd.

Villain that ruined my entire WC:
Fabio Grosso, the Italian hero.

Mascot of the tournament:
Roo!


(the two kangaroos look similar, don't they? well, I think they are... King Roo was so proud to see himself on TV!)

Favourite goal:
Has to be between Timmy's 2nd and Harry's. Hahaha. I know, they definitely aren't the best goals of the tournament, but this is FAVOURITE goal right? Ok, I'll pick Harry, since I like Harry more.

(probably my favourite pic too... happy harry)

Best Player:
Fabio Cannavaro, of course.

Worst Player:
Wayne Rooney. So, how has this wonderkid light up the World Cup? Mind you, he never even scored a goal in the qualifiers. The difference for England between winning and losing? Well, I guess so...

Worst refereeing:
Actually, there was quite a bit, wasn't there? Especially against my Australia... from the Japan goal, to those penalties denied against Croatia, to the Grosso dive... I had to pick the most obvious blunder though, that's the 3 yellow cards to Simunic. It was freaking funny though, considering it came from a "top" referee like Graham Poll! Well, since the Aussies still went through, it was real funny.

Most boring team:
Can't really pick a best team, 'cause I'd say Australia. Haha. I also can't exactly pick a worst team... so I'll just pick the most boring team instead. And that has to be ENGLAND! ARGH!

Most irritating player:
Besides Grosso that is. Sissy Ronaldo. I like seeing him cry though.

One Match I wish I had watched:
Ok, maybe I do wished I had watched finish that Argentina v Serbia match, but since I went to sleep after the first 2 goals, well, forget it! I'm picking the one which seemed quite fun also, that's Portugal v Netherlands! 20 cards, that must have been entertaining! I saw the last few minutes of the repeat telecast, and seeing Deco and Van Bronckhorst sitting next to each other in the "bad boys corner" was quite funny! They didn't even look devastated to be sent off, it seemed as though they had resigned to their fates and making the most of the situation by chatting with each other.

All-star XI:
Buffon

Lahm
Cannavaro
Thuram
Zambrotta

Riquelme
Pirlo
Zidane
Ribery

Klose
Henry

the rest of the 23-man squad: Ricardo, Lehmann, Grosso (idiot), Sagnol, Ayala, Marquez, Neill (I just had to include this Aussie!), Gattuso, Kaka, Maniche, Crespo, Torres

blah. Don't argue with my choices. As I said I was asleep most of the time. Argh.

< Golden Ball, & other awards by FIFA >

MY FABIO CANNAVARO DIDN'T WIN THE GOLDEN BALLLL!!!!!!!!!!!
WHYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

He lost narrowly, just 35 votes, to Zizou. Eeks, I can't help but say it's unfair! I think they gave it to Zidane just because they pitied the old man... Yeah, I know he's a legend, I know he was fantastic against Brazil, BUT... even putting the headbutt incident aside, Cannavaro was better throughout this tournament! For the matter, I think even Pirlo was better (more consistent) than Zizou... ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

And it isn't as if Zidane's the only old man. Cannavaro is getting old too. In fact, although he never said it, I really wonder if he'd be in the next World Cup. He's only a year younger than Zidane in case you didn't know!

And why the pity too? Ok, so maybe they wanted him to end his career on a high note, but.... ARGHHH, that guy has won practically EVERYTHING!

See this, from wikipedia:

With the French national team:

FIFA World Cup
Winner: 1998
Runners Up: 2006
Appearances: 1998, 2002, 2006
European Championship
Winner: 2000
Appearances: 1996, 2000, 2004
With Juventus F.C.:

European Super Cup: 1996
Intercontinental Cup: 1996
Italian League - Serie A champions (scudetto): 1996/1997, 1997/1998
Italian Super Cup: 1997
With Real Madrid:

UEFA Champions League: 2001/2002
Intercontinental Cup: 2002
Spanish League - La Liga champions: 2002/2003
European Super Cup: 2002
Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003
Personal honours:

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Award: 2006
FIFA World Player of the Year: 1998, 2000, 2003
European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or): 1998
UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2001-02

THIS OLD MAN WE PITY HAS WON ALMOST EVERY MAJOR COMPETITION/PERSONAL AWARD THERE IS!!!! Both the Serie A and Spanish league too. Only thing he doesn't have is the EPL title. ARGHHHHHHH. And trust me, I don't think people will remember him for his headbutt as much as for being a legend.

Cannavaro... yikes. I guess defenders just get less of the headlines than players like Ronaldinho or Zidane. Oh well. I think he'll still be happy... I just feel that it's unfair for him, that's all!

And in the same soccernet article, I saw this too -
Other Fifa awards from the World Cup finals:

Golden Shoe (top scorer): Miroslav Klose (Germany)

Most Entertaining Team: Portugal

Best Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)

Best Young Player: Lukas Podolski (Germany)

Now, WHY THE HECK IS PORTUGAL THE MOST ENTERTAINING TEAM? THEY'VE ENTERTAINED US WITH WHAT? THEIR ACTING? ARGHHHHHH. Ok, so maybe they made an England match more interesting than it usually is, and they had the match with the most cards too... entertaining indeed.

< No longer bitter... Congrats Italy! >

Italy v France - World Cup Final

1.54am:
Ummm… did I miss the closing ceremony or something? I mean, there MUST BE ONE right? Before the Euro2004 final, before the CL final, they always had a pre-match show or something… boo, did I wake up late or did they have it at all?

Yah, I like to see them dance and sing, any problem with that?

Hmm.. Italy v France… I tell you, I won’t be here watching if this wasn’t the World Cup Final! Like neither team, so I’m like… I have no idea who the heck I’m supporting. Guess I’m wishing for a France win because of the grudge I have against Italy, but the opposite result wouldn’t get me overly upset either. For one thing, I do want Fabio Cannavaro to win the Golden Ball!!!! Yes, I am one of those few who believes he deserves it more than Zizou the man…

Haha, I’m er… supporting Ribena, I mean, Ribery. Placed a $1 bet with my boyfriend that he’d score. Actually we wanted to bet with each other on the result, but then both of us wanted France to win… then I just offered him a different deal that sounded too good to him. Hahahaha. He thinks the $1 is sure his now, but we’ll see, won’t we?

Ahh… look at that golden ball.
Ok, kick off now!May the (I can’t really say BEST…) better team win.
:)

2.07am:
Err… what kind of penalty was that?
Ummm… I suppose everyone now is like, “Hail Zizou!”
Oddly enough, I feel kinda sorry for the Italians now.
Was that a penalty?
You get what you deserve I suppose… but that means the French haven’t got what they deserved yet either… arghhh, this is confusing! This is what happens when you have two teams who have “dived” their way into the Final! Who the heck do you support? Grrr…

2.20am:
Woohoo!
This is fun eh?
Except… my players haven’t scored yet…
AHHHH!!! GET IN THERE RIBERY!!! (and Totti too actually)

2.48am (half-time):
Haha, ok, forget about my players… They aren’t really that great. I just got them because nobody had them. (I have the standard Henry too, but everyone has him, so it doesn’t matter) Haha, desperate measures you know…

About the match itself, well… it has been pretty even I guess. Italy do look slightly better to me though. Hmm… I think I’ve got the backline for my all-star team already. It has to be “Lahm, Cannavaro, Thuram & Zambrotta”. I had Lahm and Cannavaro penciled in since quite early… I really like Cannavaro man. Zizou’s not my type of player though… Am I strange? But really, I like Cannavaro’s reliability and consistency. He’s just really solid man. I swear seeing him naked (well, he had nothing covering him but a ball that is) have nothing to do with how I’m seeing him.

Er… we get the half-time entertainment too? Hahahaha. This is strange! OMG. I hate opera singers. Hahahaha.

Ok, why am I the only person who doesn’t think the world of Zidane? The way I see it, he seems to be guilty of some diving too, ok, not exactly without contact, but he can exaggerate the situation sometimes. Well, HH said no player is completely innocent of diving… but WHYY!!! I just wish the world is as nice as I want it to be. And also, I really don’t want Zidane to win Golden Ball. NO, I’m not BAD, I just don’t think he deserves it. He only started turning up after the Spain match, while Cannavaro has been doing his job all this while. I’m just not the type who jumps into the whole hype about Zizou I guess. People want him to win this trophy because he’s retiring after this… but I don’t see the point! That guy has won practically EVERYTHING. Hahaha. Ok, I’m just jealous that he has won everything, I guess. The very same reason why I don’t like Brazil to win… hahaha, I wonder if people think the same of Liverpool and our trophies (give others a chance, eh?).

3.52am (end of normal time):
It’s raining now… what a good time to sleep… yah, actually I’m feeling pretty sleepy right now…

4.19am:

(zidane getting sent off!)

(the reason why he got sent of... silly pic I got off another website!)

Err… I’m speechless!
WTH IS GOING ON WITH THESE “BIG” PLAYERS THESE DAYS?!
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
I think that means Zidane won’t get the Golden Ball anymore?
I suppose it’s sad for those Zidane fans, but I’m just like, completely flabbergasted. I thought Wayne was one loony, but Zidane? Unimaginable. I don’t get it at all! If Looney is young and reckless, I thought Zidane was experienced and wise enough? Don’t get it. I suppose some people will be saying maybe Materazzi said something… but still, just seemed like one crazy moment to me.

4.30am (heading for penalties…):
Sigh. You know, I’m like, err… actually I think I want Italy to win now. WOW! I just heard Italy has lost all their shootouts! Woah, I didn’t know any team could be worse than England. Well, why I want Italy to win… err… because of the whole Zidane thing I guess. The crowd have been booing the Italians… and this time I feel they didn’t deserve it? I’d have booed Zidane instead actually. It’s kinda weird I guess. The Italians have been booed for many games now. They were booed at the end of the Australian game, they were “playing against 50,000 people” in the German game… and now they are seemingly getting booed because Zidane got sent off.

Sigh. This game is more drama than I expected. Hmm.. seeing Pirlo stepping up for a penalty… err… have I seen him taking a penalty before? Oh, I did. CL final. Ok, he scored this time.

Barthez not doing a Dudek huh? Thought he’s like a clown or something? Hahahhaa.

Wiltord. Scored.

Materazzi. He’s a defender! Well, I think this game has few regular penalty-takers around now.
Scored.

Trezeguet. WOA! He wanted to be like Zidane? Eeeks! Scary miss!

De Rossi. Scored. Haha. Can’t believe that guy is still here. When he got banned, I thought I’d seen the last of him.

Abidal. Who’s he? Umm… scored.

Del Piero. Hehe, why does Pirlo keep hugging Cannavaro? Anyway, scored. I want to hug Cannavaro too…

Sagnol. Scored.

Wow, this is going down to the wire! If the Italians convert this, they win it…

OMG!!!! GROSSO AGAIN? My arch-enemy. And he scored. BAH. Hahaha, ok, forget it. He’s such an idiot!! Hahaha. Don’t worry though, this time ironically I don’t hate him as much as I did previously.

Only thing is though… can they stop making him sound like God? It’s strange though. I wonder if I had done him anything wrong in my previous life. I never even heard anything about him until he got that stupid penalty for them to knock my Aussies out. And then all of a sudden, he becomes their hero for 3 matches (Australia, Germany, France)!

You know, I think… I’ve decided to forgive Italy now. Yeah, and Grosso too. I don’t think I can ever forget how my Australia went out… and I don’t suppose I’ll ever stop wondering what would have happen if the Italians weren’t awarded that penalty… but it’s time to move on I guess… Putting that aside, the Italians really have deserved their wins in every way. Even in that Australia game itself, if not for the penalty, if they’d win it, I’d have thought they deserved it anyway. That was something I kept denying to myself I guess.

It’s just that, in those 3 crucial games (Australia, Germany and France) the Italians have played, you just couldn’t say exactly that the opposition deserved to lose. Nope, not even in this case. But when you think about it, the Italians still do deserve their wins in the end… strange huh? Not really though, many matches have been like that. You just feel that neither side deserves to lose.

Ah. Cisse’s there. Nice to see him. But he’s not in England? Never mind.

HEY! That trophy… I got my picture taken with it a few months back you know! Hahahaha. I’m assuming it’s the same trophy like what they say of course. Not that I can tell the difference if it was a fake that was going on those tours though.

Yeah, I think Italy deserved to win… I’ve been complaining about how some teams were putting in less than 100% effort in this WC, and I think at least on that note, the Italians can’t be faulted for their effort. And when I think about it, they did have quite a number of players who really shone. Buffon, Cannavaro, Pirlo will definitely be in my all-star XI, and in most people’s too. Gattuso, Zambrotta, and ok… Grosso, have also been outstanding.

Yup, how sad Zidane isn’t allowed to go collect the medal huh? About Domenech.. I only have one question in my head… why did he sub off Henry anyway? I thought Henry was excellent today… Unless he was feeling tired or groggy after the earlier knock…

Hahaha, can they stop molesting the trophy? Caressing, kissing… ARGHH, now they’re whacking it. What’s wrong with them? Now Materazzi’s putting a hat on it. Hahaha. Silly.



(molesting the trophy/putting a hat on the trophy. poor trophy)

Sigh. It feels so much better not feeling bitter about this anymore. Ahh!! Cannavaro! I wonder if it feels better for them winning the WC or us winning the CL. I really wonder…

For one thing, that trophy’s tinier than Old Big Ears.

Hahahaha.

Um… where’s the fireworks anyway?

Aren’t the Germans giving the Italians those fireworks?

Hmmm…

Sigh. And yeah, I lost $1. Oh well…! I’ll give him that $1 and ask him to pay for my dinner. Haha.

Seeing the highlights now. I think I like Pirlo too. He… looks like an elf. Everytime I see him, I place imaginary elf ears on him. Yeah, he really looks like an elf. My brother calls him, rather affectionately, “Pillow”. He’s in his fantasy team, something which I was unable to understand at first. Everyday he’d be like, “How’s Pillow?” Seeing him putting his arms around Cannavaro throughout the shootout struck something in me. Oh shit. I think I’m into gay porn or something. I liked seeing Stevie kiss Xabi, then I liked seeing Timmy and Harry together, and now Pillow and Cannavaro. AHHHH.

Ok, the Italians do get fireworks after all.

(fireworks!)

So… it’s the end of the World Cup…
After one month of non-stop action, Italy are world champions.
Well done, Italy. You guys deserved it.

And I LOVE YOU FABIO!!!!! (Cannavaro, not Grosso, that is) He may not be the tallest defender, but he’s a giant in the Italian defence. AHHH!!


(he's TALL!)

p/s. haha just realise I'm in today's papers again. another one-liner. I almost "poured out" all the complaints I had about this WC while talking to the journo on the phone (she said she liked aussie!) yesterday. and of all the things I said, she put in the one line about Grosso and Ronaldo... guess that'll be the last time I see my name in the papers for quite a while, seeing how the WC has ended, and the poll will end today I think...

pps. just realised there was a closing ceremony! BOOO!! SHAKIRA WAS THERE!!!!!!! Just saw her pic... :( I missed it I guess... looking at the pictures now, and adding them here... how come Clinton was there too? Don't get it.

(shakira...)

< Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Lahm... & Klinsmann >

Germany v Portugal
a few minutes after Schweinsteiger scored his 2nd:
Schweinsteiger...

Ah!

When he scored that 2nd goal, I didn’t know whether to kill him or not. Haha, but even I had to smile. I wanted to kill him for a number of reasons though. Firstly, why only NOW!!! Bloody hell, he’s in my fantasy team alright, but he scored against MY GOALKEEPER!! He should have scored in that 1st game, when I had him as my captain… not now! And Ricardo doesn’t seem to be getting any saves, so Ricardo’s negative score set me back quite a bit despite Schweinsteiger’s points. And that boy even got himself a yellow for taking off his shirt. Haha. Silly ass.

But alright, I had to smile though. I do like him quite a bit. He’s at Bayern right? Heard Bayern being linked with my Harry… and no offence to Harry, but why on earth do they want Harry if they have such a talented young player?

I remember even since the Costa Rica opening match, I got myself 3 favourite German players, namely, Schweinsteiger, Podolski and Lahm. Ahh, none of them are particularly very handsome, but Schweinsteiger has a sexy name (it takes a bit of effort to memorise the spelling, it takes a hell of an effort trying to pronounce his name. I for one keep stumbling over the syllables) and the latter 2 are CUTE! Hahaha. REALLY!! I don’t know why, but I find the way Podolski looks particularly endearing. He’s like, AWWW, makes you want to pat his head for looking like a mummy’s boy! And Lahm’s just, well, small and adorable.

Moreover, what struck me about them even then was that these 3 players, despite their young age, seemed to be brimming with confidence. I had never seen them play before that, but they looked like players who weren't going to freeze on the big stage, or self-destruct under the pressure (like Rooney always seem to do). They just seem to be those sort of players who had enormous confidence in themselves and wanted to go out there to enjoy playing football on the biggest stage in the world.

I’m glad all 3 of my boys got ‘something’ at the end of this WC campaign. They deserved it. Schweinsteiger has to be the MOTM for this game, Podolski got the Young Player award (I voted for him on the website you know, although he didn’t get enough votes, and had to went through from the panelists’ votes) and Lahm got into the 23-man all-star squad.

I think the German team deserves praise for how far they’ve gone this campaign. You know, usually I dislike supporting the host country, because I always somehow feel there’s a “kelong” factor involved. I couldn’t stand it when France won it in 98, somehow felt Japan and South Korea went so far last World Cup because of the same reason… but this time I just can’t help but like Germany, and think whatever they’ve achieved is really down to themselves. In fact, if not for the Italians… arghh, haha, never mind.

Wow, so they do get medals for 3rd place huh?

Ok, to be honest, I’m not so sure if this 3rd place play-off is relevant, but to me it’s like, it only happens once every 4 years… one match more won’t mean any harm, and if they get medals for it, might as well make another team (slightly) happier you know. The thing is, they must be feeling so rotten after losing at such a late stage, this can go both ways… either cheer them up (a little) or they don’t feel like playing but still have to. I do think the game this time is relevant though, because I feel the German fans had to have this game to show their support for the team one last time, and give them one last ovation.

Haha, can they stop showing Michael Schumacher?! Yes, we know he’s there, stop showing him anymore!

Sigh. I think the only thing missing from this awards ceremony is the presence of a trophy…

But…
AHH!! FIREWORKS!

Aww.. it’s so nice to see them smile.

Another German I like is Jurgen Klinsmann. Hmm… he has shown me that there’s another way of succeeding as a manager/coach without being like Rafa, really tactically astute and all. I’ve been wondering, Klinsmann had no prior coaching experience to this, so what makes him so successful? Well, it’s obvious isn’t it? He just seems to inspire his players so much, they go out there, believing in themselves and do the job for him. I know there was a row between Ballack and him, with Ballack saying something about how the way Klinsmann want them to play (more attacking and all) is very risky, but I feel Germany has really been a great team to watch this time. Young, refreshing, great attacking display most of the time too.

Ok, while I’d admit this is the first real World Cup I’m watching properly, with more knowledge of the game this time, I do think that previously, the German teams always feel like the dull, boring and old team. Yeah, I think they were among the favourites, but even then they sounded real boring and old. What a change this time though! I like the whole young and refreshing outlook to the team.

I do hope Klinsmann will continue being their coach, because yeah, I do like him… I think he can still learn more, and I think the young players will learn a lot from him too. True, he doesn’t have that much managerial experience, but he has a different sort of experience as a former player, and the players just seem to look up to him for that. (Don’t bother about Ballack who questions his ideas, he’s an ass) Yes, strangely he reminds me more of a captain than a coach though. In his own way, he leads by example. He’s the role model for the young players you know.

Another thing about Klinsmann I like is how he often smiles and encourages his players. What a sight he is on the sidelines! Besides those tight-fitting shirts he always wears… Well, I noticed how everytime his team misses a chance or something, although he’d first show the “ARGHH!” look (like any other fan), he’d then start applauding his team and encouraging them to keep it (the effort, not the miss) up. Haha, yes, I do wish Rafa can be more like that sometimes! You know, display more positive emotions… boo, but I guess they’re just two really different type of managers. Both seem to succeed though!

So really, well done to Germany this time! They do look like they’ve got a bright future ahead of them (although I’m wondering who’ll be their goalkeeper in 2010 since Lehmann himself is already 36 now!), especially if Klinsmann stays, and I hope he does. Love my 3 boys especially. I wish I could see at least one of them at Anfield, but it’s hard huh?

I still don’t like Ballack though. And I think soon I’ll dislike him more when I see him in that blue shirt of Chelsea’s. And sometimes, I don’t like Oliver C*nt too. Today I liked him because it was like a farewell to him, haha, but usually I don’t like him because he makes too much noise about Lemon. He should be a nice old man all the time like when he wished Lemon good luck in the shootout against the Argies though.

So yup, still don’t think I am really a German fan. (yes… I still love my socceroos more…) I just like and admire the young enthusiasm and refreshing outlook. And my 3 favourite boys too… remember their names! Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Phillip Lahm! Oh, and I think their coach is the hottest in the whole WC too. (and he’s nice too, remember what he said about the Italians after the match?) Hahahaha. Sorry.

< I give up (cursing Italy) - not a promise though >

Germany v Italy
Half-time thoughts:
With the limited chances created at either end, it’s probably supposed to be more boring than anything. Yet… I actually find it a very intriguing encounter. It’s like watching all these tactical play come into action…

For some reason, I’ve always felt Italy has the most well-balanced team. Yeah, you know, teams with a solid defence (think Chelsea and Liverpool…) tend to do well… And in this case, Italy has that, but also boasts pretty good strikers. Only problem for them is, their strikers, though having good reputations, haven’t exactly scored much. Well, not like the German strikers anyway. Still, you can never rule out the Italians’ attack, especially since they can be pretty quick and precise on the counter.

The Germans have been doing pretty much okay themselves, but look seriously suffocated of space because the Italians are just converging on them in numbers. They have been doing okay considering the limited space they have… but it’s definitely harder to create the chances against the Italians. They probably created that one real golden chance, which Schneider blasted his shot over the bar from a few yards out but at an angle… Hope he doesn’t get to rue that golden opportunity, because it’s not easy to create that sort of chances against this side…

I do worry for Germany’s defence sometimes. They are coping with stopping the Italians on the break, but seem to be conceding too many freekicks and corners around the box.

Alright, although the ideal timing for Germany to score the winner would be in the last minute of injury time, I seriously won’t mind if they knock the Italians out earlier. Everytime I see that Grosso’s face, I feel an overwhelming urge to hurl something at the TV you know…

End of normal time:
I’m falling asleep…
No, it’s nothing to do with the match..
I’m just tired..

5.27am:
SHIT!
BLOODY HELL.
I WAS SLEEPING WHEN I HEARD THE COMMENTATOR SHOUT. AND OF ALL PEOPLE. .

CRY!!!!!!!
ITALY GO DIE!!!!!!!
Can’t believe they’re so lucky…
And that Grosso guy, why he so lucky???
Oh. Game over. Poor German fans. It’s ok…
Ouch man. I feel for the German fans. ARGHHHH!!! I know how it feels! Damn it!
Seeing that German girl cry reminded me of myself a few weeks ago...

Sigh.
Yes, I can’t believe it. I can’t, can’t believe it. I’m not so incredulous as to can’t believing that Italy can win. I just can’t believe lightning can strike twice, and this time, maybe more painfully because this time, it was much later… and I also can’t believe that THAT horrible twat, of all people, was the one who scored. I have been preaching about how eventually all these teams should get what they deserve, and I’m convinced like hell that Grosso should be getting retribution and not becoming some Italian hero. Yeah, I know I’m not God, but I just can’t help feeling sick whenever I see this Gross guy okay?

HELL.
I’m feeling a little violent.

ARGHHHH!!!!!! FORGET IT!!!! I GIVE UP!!!!!
ITALY YOU CAN GO WIN YOUR WORLD CUP NOW. I GIVE UP.
Really, they might as well have had their names carved on it now. When lightning struck once, I thought they’d get their retribution sooner or later. But when lightning stuck twice, and harder this time, I have nothing to say, except that I got it wrong.

Yeah, Italian fans can rub it in my face for all they like. I’m giving up. This World Cup is just so pointless now.

Sigh. Seeing the highlights now. Bloody hell, Germany could have had a penalty… ARGHHH, never mind, forget it. As I said, I’m just left feeling sick to the stomach, but what the heck can I do?

I’ll be cheering on France next. I’m going closer and closer to the brink with every step. I don’t even like France for goodness sake. ARGHHH. But what to do? Among all the semi-finalists, it was like Germany first, then France, then Italy, and lastly Portugal for me. And I was like, NO WAY MUST ITALY OR PORTUGAL WIN, because they’re the biggest cheaters and divers here. CRAP. DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN ITTTTT!!!!!!

I know I must sound like some crazy idiot, always saying Italy is actually a very good team, but I still hate to see them win. Eh, even though Chelsea is a good team, none of us like seeing them win either, right? Grrr. Only difference is I wouldn’t have hated Italy if they never brought it upon themselves. I like Cannavaro and Gilardino… (especially Cannavaro) and I still do… but I HATE DIVERS!!!!! Sigh.

Watching the interview with Klinsmann now. I think I like him… I wish I can be more like him actually. He was so calm and diplomatic about everything. (praised his team, but gave a “bigger compliment” to Italy… and even wished them luck) And he spoke much better English than the reporter too. Hahaha. I don’t know why the reporter’s English reminded me of some Singaporean who can’t speak properly… like my parents or something. Hahaha. Oops.

Sigh.. I do wish I’m not so bitter and unforgiving these days. It’s like, I’m bent on seeing them getting their retribution before I’m ready to forgive anyone you know? It’s hard to just forget about it, when the pain of seeing my Socceroos eliminated the way they were is still there like it just happened seconds ago.

Italy… you can see them in different light I suppose. As I said, I do think they have the most well-balanced team, and definitely would have deserved to go all the way… the thing is though, I can’t understand why they still feel the need to dive, to cheat in the process. They’re good, minus the playacting part, they’re still good, so why must they taint our beautiful sport? I can’t speak much for this game, since I was asleep for parts of it… but in the Australia game, could they not have won it if we had gotten to extra-time? Why did they want to do what they did in the 93rd minute? Even losing on penalties (not the controversial one) would have made me feel better than what I did.

Who knows really… I guess I may be wrong… If God feels they deserve this, maybe it was on account of other factors that’s not the cheating… We’ll just see what happens in the final. I’ve given up cursing them that much (curses may sometimes backfire…). Not wishing them good luck though, because they seem to have too much of that.

And yes, in case you haven’t guessed it, I’m fully awake now.

Note (5 hours later...):

I'm apologising for saying they're lucky earlier...

And for my dramatic reaction...

Now that I've calmed down and read through all the things people have said about the match (which I was sleeping through the later part)... it seems like Italy did deserve their win this time (*rolls eyes* Note that it's THIS TIME!). I know Germany had their own chances too, and I still stand by the fact that it could very well have gone into penalties and Germany could have won... and I still stand by my statement that I don't like that Grosso guy very much. No matter how great a goal he scored this time, I still don't like him. Same with Ballack though. I like the whole German team except for him. The thing is though, I would rather just pick Cannavaro and switch him with Ballack, and I'd then like Germany and dislike Italy without any qualms. So... at the end of the day, I think I just like Germany - Ballack + Cannavaro. Hahaha. Any arguments with that? :)

But as I said, if they win like this all the time, minus the cheating and diving, I wouldn't have disliked Italy in the first place... They do have the quality, and that's why it irks me when they resort to all those kind of antics. It's just like this whole Italian football match-fixing scandal thing which I don't understand. If the allegations are true that is. I can't understand why all these top clubs needed to do that, because a look at their squads would tell you they should win their matches fair and square, without any problem right?

Ok, I better shut up now, before some Italian fans show up.

Once again, sorry if I offended any Italian fans... I thought maybe I should delete the earlier outburst, but I think anyone would understand it was just an emotional reaction...

< England... byebye! >

England v Portugal
Half-time thoughts:
Ahhh.. Lousy lousy lousy.
Both England and Portugal that is.
I’m supporting Portugal for this one, yes, despite that sissy Ronaldo in their team, I just decided I’m against almost the entire England team, and the general England attitude such that I can’t wait to see them go out.

It’s kinda irritating both ways though. I just can’t stand Ronaldo especially. He’s really Portugal’s biggest liability. What’s up with that solo king? He can’t seem to understand what’s passing and teamwork. Whenever he gets the ball, he starts looking for the goal, and hang on to the ball despite having a teammate in a better position. There was once he had the ball, was dribbling down the flank with Stevie hot on his heels. I was there screaming, “PASS IT! DAMMIT! PASS IT! YOU CAN’T WIN STEVIE!!!” But I was like talking to the wall, (ok I was talking to the TV) and he persisted with having the ball instead of releasing it for another player, and my words were just prophetic. Stevie came in with a tackle when he caught up before lashing out verbally at Gary (according to the commentator, for not being in his position). Yeah, Stevie, you rule, but I can’t stand your teammates, so I’m sorry. Damn Ronaldo. He sucks.

There’s hardly separating both teams, although if I was being honest, Portugal are definitely living it more dangerously because they tend to be too sloppy in defence. They have enough talented attackers, but when I see Ronaldo, and to a certain extent, Figo, wasting time on the ball, not willing to pass it… I just get so irritated. I don’t really like the Portugese too much either you know. It’s just that, from here onwards, I’m supporting whichever team that plays England. I simply have had enough with them. Complaining, moaning about this and that. Too hot, pitch too dry, whatever. Well, they can go back and enjoy their nice weather and nice pitch with spa massages and all. Good riddance anytime man. This is like the biggest competition, and if they can’t realize the importance of it, they don’t deserve winning it at all.

Ok, enough about my rant about not liking England. I think I’ve made that very clear. Now it’s time to talk about how bad they are. Sven simply doesn’t seem to have a clue. The only Liverpool player playing is Stevie the man. Well, not being biased here (ok, a bit maybe) but listen to my brother when he starts ranting about why Crouchy isn’t playing. We even heard one incredulous remark made about Rooney just now. Well, Rooney the boy wonder has only scored 2 goals in 2 years for England. WOW, what a great scoring rate! My brother of course, then started on his gushing over Crouchy and his great scoring rate (it’s 6 in 10 matches for England). My brother was supporting England initially, but once he saw his favourite Crouchy wasn’t there, he started drafting up a wonderful scenario for him which includes either Rooney getting injured in the first few minutes (he even yelled at Stevie to slide Rooney, how crazy is he?) or Portugal scoring first, so Crouchy can be brought on to save England. He is into his crazy ‘theories’ lately, so indulge him.

Sigh. Just miss my Socceroos so much. They’ve always displayed the will to win, and they always had great teamwork and all… :( In my opinion, they definitely deserve to be here more than these two teams. They would have showed them how you should play on the biggest stage! Grrr… I’m not kidding you know? I’m serious… These two teams can learn a thing or two from my favourite Roos…

End of normal time:
ARGHHHH… bloody hell. Are all the matches I’m watching going to last this long?
Ok, I’ll admit, I won’t feel too upset if England win this, especially if their winning goal comes from a deserving player (i.e Stevie, Lennon, Crouchy, Hargreaves).

By the way, I’m sure Cristiano Ronaldo’s career at Man U is now over. Going to Real Madrid huh? Yup, he’s definitely going. The England fans hate him now, Wayne his brother hates him too I’m sure.

As for Wayne Rooney… what can I say? I told you so? I know England fans are going to start moaning about the ref’s decision to send Rooney off, because some players do escape with pushing and shoving, but somehow when I saw that, I knew instantly he’d be off, and it wasn’t just because I’m biased. His stamp on Carvalho’s groin just made me wince, I’m surprised that guy managed to get up at all. That blind Shrek is always charging aimlessly, and in this case, he was trying to show off his WWE prowess.

To Penalties:
This is feeling kinda tiresome now…
And I’m now wondering who I’m supporting.
I know I won’t want Stevie or Crouchy or Carra to be the villain (because Shrek is!) but then again, I know I’d be wishing for Lampard to miss. Ahhh… at least there aren’t such problems with the Portugal side. I have no real feeling for them. Just heard that England never won a penalty shootout in WC before? Will this be their first…? Hmmm… we’ll see, we’ll see. The way I see it, neither team deserves to go through? Portugal is just lousier. That’s a fact. As for England, they’ve only started putting in more effort when Rooney got sent off, so it’s too late for me to start feeling sorry for them. I’m a cruel and harsh person. Sooner or later, they MUST be punished for their earlier mistakes. We’ll see if it’s now though… I’ll leave it up to God for this one.

Got to start calming down. My heart beat tends to go a notch higher during penalties. I don’t really care about this shootout... calm down…

Hell, Simao looks nervous. Ok, I am too.

Ok, here goes.
1-0 to Portugal. Simao.
Next up, Lampard…
Surely he won’t disappoint, says the commentator.
AH, HE DOES DISAPPOINT.
Fat Frank misses.
Ok, I shan’t gloat…
Now’s Hugo Viana.
EH? HE MISSED?
For a moment I thought it went in… aw… that was real unlucky.
Went off the post. But not in.
Hargreaves now… he’s nice… I do feel for him… we’ll see.
It just goes in. He deserves that luck I suppose.
But I just realized the quality of these penalties aren’t as good as the German ones yesterday.
Petit, petit.
…..
Missed.
I think England is gonna win this.
Ok, I’m supporting Portugal right now, but I can’t wish for Stevie to miss.
Crap.
Err.. he missed.
Ummm…
England and Portugal are real crap at this!
Postiga now.
Went in easily.
Jamie Carragher…
Err… has to retake it..
Oi, this is stressful.
…
OMG!!!
My LIVERPOOL PLAYERS!!
Now it’s down to… of all people it’s Roonaldo.
What the…
He’s like the last Portugese player I want to win this.
EEKS!!!
At first I thought he would be asked to retake it.
EEEEEEEKKSS!!!!

Poor Stevie… don’t cry boy. You can go back and win trophies with Liverpool now. It’s not your fault… it’s all the fault of your teammates. Now do you realize how great your Liverpool teammates are? For whatever they do, at least they definitely put in more effort than this bunch of fellows who simply left it too late. Even Traore works harder than them. Haha. Okok, while I don’t feel sorry for England in general (they really deserved it over the past performances… though not this one), I feel sorry for those few players who genuinely worked their socks off throughout the matches.

I know a lot of people who support England, and they’re nice friends of mine… but you know, I still think their fans deserved what they got… Perhaps it’s the minority though. It’s the bunch who booed at Crouch and Hargreaves I’m mad against you see. The England fans can be the most vocal, most passionate bunch of people, but sometimes they can be too much… And the whole England craze over the likes of Lampard, Rooney, etc… It may be I’m just anti-Chelsea, anti-Man U, but I need to remind them that it’s their unsung heroes and benchwarmers like Crouch, Ashley Cole, Aaron Lennon, Hagreaves, Steven Gerrard (he’s not exactly unsung, but can be when he’s playing a defensive role) who have performed beyond expectations, while the likes of Terry, Lampard, Rooney the loony, and even my favourite Mikey, just failed them terribly. Time to wake up England people. Those big players, not that I want to rub it in, ‘cause I’m sure they’ll continue shining for their respective clubs, it’s just that they aren’t exactly always that reliable like you think you know?

I was once an England supporter, and I was one, when they got knocked out by Portugal in Euro2004. Got me so upset then, but now… I’m not the least bit upset. Perhaps feeling a little sorry for those few English players who genuinely didn’t deserve it, but I feel this was the only way England could have learnt their lesson. I know at times even my Liverpool can get away with only starting to perform towards the end of a game or have individual heroes rescuing them from a shit game (think the Cup Finals), but I just really got so sick of England’s general attitude I started wishing no hero would be able to rescue them this time…. Come to think of it though, Lennon was the closest they could have to a saviour in this game. That boy was damn good. He’s like everything I think Ronaldo should be like. Brilliant skills, but knows how to pass the ball.

I don’t exactly hate England, that’s too harsh a word, especially now that I feel they’ve at last got what they deserve… so I’m genuinely hoping Steve McClaren does a better job than Sven. Less of those scandalous stuff in the media, and be more daring in axing “star players” whenever needed… Sigh. Hopefully they just learn from their lessons huh? And I can’t stand all those empty talk shit also… I remember how they were saying this is the best England squad? Ok, so maybe it could have been, potentially… but once you start thinking of an injured Mikey, a patient-turned-mental-illness-sufferer Rooney, mr-I-don’t-know-what-I-have-to-do-before-ppl-see-me-more-than-a-beanpole Crouchy, and I-never-even-see-him-play-before Walcott, it just makes people wonder… And then there are those big names like I’ve mentioned earlier who just didn’t perform like they should have… too bad really, and please don’t moan about luck. When you think about it, anyone should have seen it coming from the first group game onwards. Only thing was, we all expected England to start shining soon, but it wasn’t soon enough.

I’m genuinely not trying to rub it in for England fans, but this is harsh reality for you. If my Australia didn’t go through because of the lack in quality, your England shouldn’t have gone through because they just weren’t prepared. They weren’t prepared to put in the effort, Sven wasn’t prepared to drop his favourite players, Shrek didn’t have the mental preparedness… It has been 40 years I know, but this was the reality. And in terms of squad quality, I do think Spain had a better squad you know… but then again, they weren’t prepared enough either…

Yes, I’m not really a Portugal supporter like any of you should have guessed. They aren’t that great, and they have some cheaters and divers whom I can’t stand either. Maniche… I thought he’s their best player so far… and yet he too disappointed me with an over-the-top playacting. Oh well. Don’t worry, Brazil/France will take care of them I’m sure. They really suck you know. Maybe they’ll play better with Deco, who knows… I just know the Portugal I saw today was actually worse than 10-man England. Yeah, I’m a weird person. A bit cruel as to how I deep down wish all these teams can play into my tiny perfect plan and all the “evil” teams can eventually self-destruct each other. Nothing better to do now that my Aussies are out you know?

I still believe I’m quite fair though. The way I plan it, everyone should be getting what they deserve in the end… Haha. And I think only Germany deserves to win the trophy now. I might be wrong, but they are the most deserving to me. Provided Brazil wins France later (or it might change this theory), look at Fat Ron’s face, then Sissy diver Roonaldo, then that Grosso guy who made me cry, then Philip Lahm’s innocent face. Tell me who out of this 4 deserves to win? OKKKKK, I hear some saying Fat Ron, but okok, I think you get what I mean. Portugal and Italy must definitely go out, ‘cause they’re cheaters.

THE END! HAPPY ENDING REALLY! Now… all our Liverpool players are going back to where they belong… the only place they can win more medals for themselves!

< Germany through to semi-finals... >

Germany v Argentina
Half-time thoughts:
What’s happening? Everyone seems to be copying England…

One word to sum up the entire first half: BORING.

My brother fell asleep while watching. Sighh… Nothing much to say about this half really. Neither side created any real chance, but Argentina have more of the possession, look slightly more threatening… that’s it.

This is the first real match I’m watching since that Australia game… Spent the past few days of break trying to overcome my grief… I still feel some sense of emptiness and loneliness… watching any other team in this WC won’t generate the same kind of emotions…

And with my “2nd team” Spain also out, I don’t know… maybe I’m sort of supporting Germany now because they don’t really piss me off except for Ballack… I just hope I don’t jinx all the teams I’m supporting…

BUT THIS IS FREAKING BORING! GRRR…

After penalty shootout:
Haha, ok… I slept quite a bit through the 2nd half and extra-time. As usual, think I saw enough to get a clear idea on what’s going on though. Argentina seemed to me as though they suicided themselves really. They weren’t really in any position to lose it… until they brought off Riquelme and Crespo, seemingly deluded that they can actually defend for the rest of the game or something. They really didn’t have to do it you know… but once they did it, and let Germany take control of the game… even though Germany didn’t look as sharp as the Argies in attack, they got their goal, and the Argentinians were faced having to get something without their 2 key players. To their credit, even without the 2, they still looked as though they could get something… but I guess by then the momentum was just with the Germans who had more confidence now…

That’s the number what penalty shootout I’ve been through in just over a year? Let me see… has to be the 4th one, and I’m so proud to say I’ve “won” all of them! Hahaha. That is, the team I was backing won. Yeahhh.

Yup, penalty shootouts are a cruel way for a team to lose, but I do have to say, all 4 of the penalties taken by the Germans were way class. I was a little surprised at how well they took their penalties, considering the amount of pressure they must be feeling… yeah, having the backing of fans can help you sometimes, but it can still feel pretty nerve-wrecking knowing the hopes of the entire nation rest on your shoulders (or feet)! The Argentinians in this case, just have to blame themselves on not taking their penalties better. I think only the first taker, Julio Cruz did a good job by placing it into the “unsavable region” in that top corner. I remember reading once how there’s like this unsavable region in the goal… and those top corners are really quite impossible to save. Hard to place a penalty so perfectly though.

And also, credit to Lemon for saving those penalties. He can be quite a lemon sometimes, but I think he has a pretty decent penalty-saving rate? After all, they won that shootout against Man U in the FA Cup final… and I remember Lemon saving one from Stevie last season…

Germany still have some work to do before they can think of winning the trophy though. Their defending was at times shaky, passes sloppy, and there weren’t enough individual quality to win those one-on-one battles and all. I think what took them through this time was perhaps their tougher mentality and the fact that Argentina just basically suicided with those changes by Pekerman. I remember how I thought their really late goal against Poland made a big impact on their campaign this World Cup, and now I really think that experience might have given them a little more belief in that they can grab a goal late in the game indeed. Haha, I know I’m a real sucker for this sort of “tougher mentality” thing, but I’m right you know. Football isn’t always just about the way you play the ball with your feet. If it was, Argentina would have went through…

And I wonder what was that scene at the end of the game about… looks to me like the Argentinians were furious about something and they were going to beat some people up… Hmmm… I guess I’ll go read about it in the morning. It’s 2am! Bloody hell. Isn’t the Italy match starting in only an hour’s time? I gotta sleep though… After what the Italians did to my Australia, I think some will probably find it weird that I want the Italians to go through… In fact I want them to if possible, go all the way to the final… where they can lose to a last minute controversial decision against them. Then I’ll laugh my head off, ‘cause then they’ll get a taste of their own medicine and feel double the agony of being so close, yet so far… Heh. I’m an evil person.