< 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.