2001's A Beautiful Mind, adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-nominated book of e same title, starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany and Ed Harris. it was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, includin Best Picture, and Best Director for Ron Howard.
e film is inspired by real events in e life of e gifted mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. most well-known for his equilibrium theory, Nash made breakthroughs while strugglin w schizophrenia all through his life, which threatened destroy e beautiful mind. his theories were eventually recognised, influenced global trade negotiations, national labour relations, and evolutionary biology, earning him a 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics.
Crowe was as usual excellent in this outing, portraying a reclusive, awkward n schizo man. as e title character, n without a female lead, it can be argued tt he carried e film to a Best Picture. Bettany is e other guy who caught my eye. u sldnt find anyone else better for his role as a literature student. he could switch between frivolity n intensity seamlessly, n his charm is everywhere. it was more bewilderin to understand how Connelly won an Oscar for this. i felt she did not stand out in e few scenes she had, n was always second-best. Harris always looked e same to me in whichever film he stars in, n tt is not good.
let's relive some of e best lines from this film.
Nash's amazing theory tt debunked e great economist Adam Smith tt total self-interest is not good for e collective:
"if we all go for the blonde and block each other, not a single one of us is going to get her. so then we go for her friends, but they will all give us the cold shoulder because no on likes to be second choice. but what if none of us goes for the blonde? we won't get in each other's way and we won't insult the other girls. it's the only way to win. it's the only way we all get laid."
(Alicia de Larde is Nash's wife. they married in 1957. this scene was during dating.)
Alicia: how big is the universe?
Nash: infinite.
Alicia: how do you know?
Nash: I know because all the data indicates it's infinite.
Alicia: but it hasn't been proven yet. how do you know for sure?
Nash: I don't, I just believe it.
Alicia: it's the same with love, I guess.
speaking at the Nobel awards ceremony:
"I've always believed in numbers. in the equations and logics that lead to reason... I've made the most important discovery of my life. it is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reason can be found. perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind. but it is a better gift to discover a beautiful heart."
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Secret Affair: the aftermath
i wanna cap off this awesome ntuwkwscifoc2008 with a blog entry. but it was so much i dont know how to organise or structure it. so i figured i'll just give a lazy point-form list.
1.
i guess i'll have to start with Linguine, my beloved OG. really, there's just so much to talk about. to summarise e main emotion i felt through n after e camp, is pity i didnt have enough time with u guys n couldnt know u all better. i would have loved to stay with e OGLs n e freshies through e camp, but as u all should know by now i was involved in a whole lot of other stuff. very much like shixiong was last year, as AGL to my Mee Tai Mak. but he made a difference to our OG, so tt was what i wished for this year, tt even tho i had to be away much, i could still be a significant presence in e OG. i hope i was.
i think it's too much to ask for e freshies to understand, coz ive been thru it n it's not tt crystal to freshies e roles of e main comm, CI club, n other seniors not all e time with e OGs. i know most of e time only e OGLs left a stronger impression on e impressionable young minds. by now u should know of my involvement in Initiation, FN, n HC. for e first, i was stationed somewhere (this shall stay a mystery) so i could not accompany u guys all e way, esp at e location after e lorry ride. but i tried my best to protect Linguine from e horrible tekan by other seniors, so i think i did something. u all could have met alot worse shit. haha.
n also just a sidenote here. to tt someone (among a few) whom i cared for tt Initiation night while u were blindfolded n shivering, i did feel a tinge of disappointment after we broke camp on friday, because u never once did come up to me with a bare minimum "thank u". then next morning i realised i havent read e card Linguine did for me, then i saw u had expressed ur gratitude in e card. n i felt comforted. ok maybe ur not a very vocal person.
for FN alone, i had to miss 水天 with all of u. pity. i know it must have been damn fun. i actually dropped by raffles marina in cheryl's car so i could see how u guys were, n appeared at e Meepok Man movie screening as well while other ghosts were busy dressing up outside. haha.
lastly, my last-minute increased involvement in HC did a damage too. because of our OGLs' role in HC, me n mad were supposed to step up n take over e OG at times. but turned out i had a starring role in e whole affair n to successfully pull it off i had to either be away or give a straight face at times. sorry to those of u who appeared beside me but i wasnt friendly. it was part of everything.
n lastly i guess not staying with e OG at Hall 13 played a part too. because Hall 13 is at e northern tip of NTU n my hall is at e southern tip, please understand. haha. i had to go back hall at times, n usually late at night i couldnt walk u all back (altho i did on thursday night can!). urgh. i even missed e filming shixiong did of our OG for e final FOC video coz im e assigned one to look after all ur belongings.
anw. just to reiterate. e sentosa night's talk i had with a bunch of u was real n i meant everything i said, of course except e last HC part. so stop wondering if tt was a whole load of bull. so, true to tt, i think it's a pity i couldnt talk with everyone. some of u were knocked out e moment u hit ur sleeping bags. i personally felt tt session was e one moment i really felt i was with e OG. im sorry to those who were there, coz by tt night i still didnt know who u guys were so i dont remember anyone except huiling, pedro, sabrina n jiahui. it was supposed to be a small group but it just got bigger n bigger, im touched.
oh yes n another revelation. for e sentosa game, Battlefield, e plan to build a sandcastle tt way was in fact coz i was informed our OG would be ganged by e other three intentionally, part of e HC plot. so to prevent us from dying a terrible death, i decided to teach u guys e sandcastle my OG last year built, which was also ganged by e other three OGs but survived til e end.
oh well. i hope i left my mark in Linguine n all of u will remember me as part of ur rite of passage. coz i volunteered to be AGL (i was approached to be OGL but i had my reasons to decline it) for this noble reason. haha. stay together. at least for e opening weeks of school. u guys made e right choice of coming for FOC. everyone who didnt always tell me tt. but even as e months pass n new cliques form, no one takes away what Linguine gave u. trust me on tt. u saw 2007's Mee Tai Mak n Mee Pok at this year's camp. we dont hang out as a clique anymore, but we're still great buds.
to individual freshies.
sufiyan, grace, pedro, zhiyuan, candy, ur attitude n spirit were vital to e OG. thanks for helping bring up e x-factor within Linguine.
joanne, ur quite everyone's favourite at this FOC huh. haha. not just were u handpicked to be sonic e hedgehog, ur face appeared in so many photos n videos!
jiahui n sheryl, i think u twins had/have alot of potential within e OG. rah-rah on.
tiffany, tho u joined late, e seniors never had to worry about ur assimilation. ur outgoing nature n pleasing demeanour ensured u became an important part of e OG too.
nice talking to derrick, yanling, jayne, wanqing, huiling, felicia, maxie, radiah, jeslynn, jianyue, kiahui, sabrina, hanisah, xinyi, kiki.
sze ee, eldon, kimberly, ur quite e iceberg huh. haha. talk more to me when school opens leh.
ok n lastly i save it for yimei n xinyi, my two fave st nicks girls. u two like to form ur own small clique n stand alone right. haha. maybe tt's why i clicked best with u guys lah. coz im e same. im e default loner in wkwsci (yea right). but credit to u two, u contributed alot to e OG. u never hesitated to join back with e rest every time i nudged u two. Fusili has their twin towers, i think u two make tougher twin towers.
2.
i became so crazy... once again. trust me, esp freshies, im not usually like tt. im e quiet one, in fact. what u saw at FOC of me is exactly result of what i told some of u. if u choose to come for camp, u have to play n be up for it. no point making tt decision but being introverted thru e camp. like i said, u gotta be buey paiseh. n i think i left many of u with tt impression of me. bleh.
3.
Linguine. we're damn strong can. haha. i said this to afew of u, but ive never seen an OG so dominant in games at any camps. orientation games are designed to require different skills, tt's why all OGs should be rather equal. but we totally ran away on e first day! we were well into triple-digit in score while e rest were double. what's more, i was abit down on e first day coz our OG abit too quiet n lacking initiative. so it was harder to believe how good we were at games. well, guys, ignore e final results, it's not about winning. u know u took something irreplaceable away from this camp.
i think e seniors might not have reflected to u guys, but we're damn proud of e Starry Starry Night skit lah. partly due to me being from 2007's Best Skit, when i saw u all rehearsing at ADM in e afternoon, i had a feeling Linguine's gonna win it. dont worry about having no progressive plot or not following e theme of e camp, e other OGs are just boring. mine last year was total aimless n we made e whole hall split. ur skit was awesome.
n i have to be buey paiseh abt this. we have e prettiest OG this FOC lah (i mean our girls only, Linguine guys). some of e male seniors in e other OGs almost wanted to transfer to Linguine. haha.
4.
a vow made last year, tt e Mee Tai Mak people would reunite in e same OG this year, could not be fulfilled due to certain reasons. so i joined e OGL team of wenxu n jacq, one didnt go last year, e other was formerly of Mee Kia, so was my fellow AGL mad. a fresh start i suppose. i did go attend seniors camp with e two OGLs n we were then in e same Red Bull OG too. but when i met e three of em for our pre-camp meetings i realised we dont really know each other well. n we had to strike up a chemistry. it was a now-or-never thing. if we couldnt gel, how could we gel our freshies. n most importantly we had to look like we're besties so e camp would look good to e freshies.
now tt FOC is over, i can surely say we definitely are closer.
Linguine's cheers are damn cool right. e four of us thot of it all man. n for me personally i even had to fight Fusili for former Mee Tai Mak's cheers. if u wanna know why Linguine (or at least e four of us) is so good at cheering, tt's coz, as seen at e pre-camp briefing, we were e only OG practising our cheers loud loud.
thanks mad, for being e fellow AGL, for making e effort to gel us four seniors, for showing enthusiasm when most of us were tired, for being e quieter complement to me whom e freshies could confide in.
thanks jacq, for an irresistable energy, for being always so cute n funny, for tt dry sense of humour, for shouldering massive responsibility thru e camp.
thanks wenxu, for e leadership, for e ceaseless stamina, for always doing e thankless jobs, for going against ur usual self n becoming dumb when required.
5.
of course, it would be criminal to focus on just e four of us. Linguine would not be as awesome without e SAs. thank u for agreeing to join us after we asked u, or coming to join us on ur own. we were still worried we wouldnt have enough SAs! in e end we had e most of e four OGs, after i checked with e rest. haha.
a shout out to super-senior marcus (u guys were lucky to have him), shixiong (having e CI club president around definitely had its perks), philip (e man of wkwsci), cheryl ong, clement (a prominent n relaxing figure who helped e OGLs n AGLs greatly), bernie (one of e most rah-rah freshies last year, glad she agreed to join us), zijie (Chronicle photo editor n FOC publicity head as our photographer, what more to ask for), yiling, huimin, danielle.
n e mysterious amanda mok who's originally our first SA but couldnt make it in e end. freshies, did u spot her cameo during FN?
6.
after a year of studies n all our own lives n into our own small cliques, it's always amazing at this sort of camps when people come together, to relive e past or to know each other better, where lines are not drawn.
from seniors camp, as part of e FN team, i got to know kristle better. she's not just e smart ah lian sia. under pressure to deliver at these two camps she has done well to make things happen, as e able assistant to jeanette. she's damn funny n super 讲义气. her driving me n my stuff around this FOC was priceless.
n symbiotic with her as e other senior who had no OG for e larger part of e camp was my Mee Tai Mak buddy, titus. we all know after last year's FOC we never got into e same clique. but im glad we're still buddies. he's a brudder who will always be there for me man.
n of course, there's my senorita melissa. one of e people i was damn proud of as my OG mate. i was lookin forward to another camp with her. im still so glad she made it as an OGL, tho not being very close to e FOC people before this. just a pity i could not fulfill e one-year plan to be in her OG. still, we hung out abit here n there n i think being from different OGs actually struck up good energies within e whole camp.
part of seniors camp's Red Bull, were amos n pamy, better known together as pamos. never got to know em super well, esp since they're from Mee Pok. but since e last weeks of sem 2, i found em such swell individuals. it brought over to seniors camp n FOC n i must say they're really people worth knowing lah. amos is not very expressive but is good company. pamy has totally changed my impression of her since sem 1, when most MTM-ers thot she's stuck-up. no she's nowhere near tt. pamy is sucha sweet girl whom everyone rightly loved at this FOC.
e oft-misunderstood cameron showed me this FOC he can be a good worker. his clique, esp sara-jean, has constantly reminded me tt below his apathetic n rebellious shell, lies a true friend who will always deliver. i never questioned e fact tt he's alot deeper than what most people know, because he has impressed me when we talked. but he still seemed overly individualistic at times. this time, i had many good opportunities to work n interact with him, n i slowly got to know him better. cameron can be very real n sincere, n once he includes u in his circle of trust, he'll treat u like a brudder. when he got down to work with his OG, he was wholehearted. he's opinionated, n with him around, things will always improve.
cheryl chan became unusually friendlier than she had been e whole year knowing me. i guess it's love tt changed her. haha.
all in all. this was about e seniors coming together. love it.
7.
ok, let's be honest here, how many of u wernt exactly pleased with e FOC comm before this. CI club had its issues with em, e OGLs had their issues with em, n some seniors were not happy with either money matters or how seniors camp went. but FOC will always succeed because it's FOC. people want it to succeed. n very much FOC comm deserves e most credit. they might have stepped on many toes, but e effort could not be doubted n without em we wouldnt have a camp. n thru e two camps, were chances to know e FOC comm better. i know i did.
i got to know cheryl ong way before this vacation, possibly because of my undying support for FOC n their comm. i gave em canvassing lobangs, i tried my best to appear at their canvassing events, i discussed w her who to find as OGL, i gave my support thru e entire seniors camp tho i wasnt an OGL or subcommer.
then there is ruiqi, e loud, funny n happy girl u'll always see around SCI. i knew her from being classmates, but we only talked abit. but because of FOC, n esp due to HC, we became better buddies.
QQ is another one. we're only acquainted before all this, but interactions at seniors camp n then FOC brought us to another level. i found out she's actually quite a capable girl when work is required. CI club? haha.
jinyong, ive talked to, but never really knew before actual FOC. he was e kind of person, u wanna know better, but never seem to cross paths with. but ive heard alot of positive things about him. this FOC i would say we both took e initiative to open up more to each other, n he came across as a good worker who will be there for u if ur in his circle of trust. dependable lad who brings e right energies.
her job as financial controller is crazy, we all know, but siti never fails to joke n play when necessary. i think she's been a good ambassador of FOC comm who networks well with non-comm people.
of course, e three MTM-ers who made e comm. jeanette, thad n james. except for jeanette, whom ive still been in touch with thru e year, e others have gone on their separate ways after FOC 2007. but every time i see em around school, they still offer tt same friendship from a year ago. im just glad we had e chance to hang out again this FOC. they were definitely much warmer than at seniors camp. whenever i talk to thad n james, i feel like we've known each other for so long. hope e brotherhood lasts!
n e few whom i didnt know before these two camps: keax, jasmine, zijie, christine. i realised u guys are great individuals too n im gonna cherish e new found friendships. jasmine n christine are so funny. zijie is super friendly n unassuming. keax is just loud n bubbly. haha.
8.
pity e whole CI club couldnt be there. e traditional club introduction on e first day was missing quite afew of us. but 老大 still made us look good lah, i feel. he's so charismatic u know. he also led e wee kim wee cheer he invented out of thin air, scrapping e tongue-twisting CS cheer. n thanks for e once-again praise n publicity for ISG 2007. n wth's with "actually my preferred person for e next club president is in this LT now".
still, i felt e club had a good presence n representation at this FOC. it was important. we have to let e FOC comm know that FOC is a part of club activities, tt we'll support it, n CI club n FOC comm is a two-way rship. a shout out to OGL lyon, AGLs sara-jean, kenneth, melvin, SAs shixiong, philip n lastly e effort by zak to show up.
for e man himself, i really wanna thank him for everything at this camp. no gayness though. he was e best spokesman we can have for CI club. although he had so little air-time, im very sure all e freshies now know him well n in e process e club. thanks for joining Linguine too, when i recruited u. n then trying to pull e whole bunch of seniors to join us, including marcus. n thanks for slogging to produce tt final FOC video. even without a voice most of e camp, u still tried to rah-rah e school n talk to juniors. zai.
9.
i became so involved in HC in e end. n to think i only knew e *censored* e night before. being thrust into a key OG within this HC, n as an AGL i had to take up this responsibility. linking up e key characters, be e mode of communication, standing in for jacq at times, partner wenxu when she's missing, create e commotion in place of my OGLs etc.
if e freshies wanna know what i did within this whole *censored*, here it is.
- remember e first NTU game? making e connection between jacq n jason at e rooftop. an impromptu decision was made to sudden-death e game w a senior-vs-senior, n as Ravioli picked jason, i picked jacq, for obvious reasons. so without being planned, all e seniors present started teasing em. unfortunately e blur ruiqi was totally unmoved by e scenes.
- staring at n being pissed with ruiqi, yet laughin with her e next moment, is damn weird. haha.
- e sentosa night's talk. original intention was HC, coz i was told e OG needed to be fed gossip n e OGLs wernt e best people to do it. but truthfully, it was a good talk n true to CS FOC tradition, we always talk on sentosa night. nothing fake about tt.
- where did jacq go? haha. remember i kicked up a small fuss Day 2 morning coz jacq disappeared with jason for a beach stroll? in front of e whole Linguine. then i "called" her, which was in fact *censored* n there was no one on e other end of e line. then i walked all e way down to e beach to find her n jason, we stood there awhile, *censored* like we were talking, then i walked back.
- Amazing Race. ooh la la all e gossip. whatever u heard me talking about e whole day was intentional.
- e climax. began with us being late for tiong bahru, onto e bus, back in SCI, n e *censored*. last minute then they told me im involved in breaking up e *censored*.
- this has nothing to do with me, but it has seemingly become a tradition. e random table tt contains marcus which u guys sat in n listened n interviewed. e catch: e marcus table is always crap only.
10.
one year on, n i cant forget u guys. i believe for those of us who turned up this time round, it was e memories of Mee Tai Mak and I Heard A Rumour that led to it. we were e honorary Best OG, delivered e sterling Best Skit, n was e unanimous enemy of e people, simply because we're so damn good.
altho we see each other all e time in school, we've our own cliques, n nothing beats coming together again for tt same thing tt united us a year ago. i know we didnt exactly have alot of time this camp to hang out, but it was great nonetheless to be together.
for thad, jeanette, james n melissa who signed on to contribute for The Secret Affair, we deeply thank u. i know it was Mee Tai Mak tt drove u guys.
i remember i was asking elicia months before this to come for FOC already. eventually, she did turn up, after thad n i sms-ed her separately, to help mavis n waisze with their sentosa game station. crazily enthu n loud girl lah (did i mention everyone hated Mee Tai Mak last year n she was one of e reasons?). before she appeared, melissa n i were already fighting to take her. n when she showed up at e sapphire pavilion, so many seniors shouted out to her n ran over! haha. i rushed over to drag her to join me, so did Fusili's MTM-ers. how heartwarming.
i will never ever, for as long as i live, forget e cheer fight we had with Mee Pok on Day 2 at sentosa. it was stuff of dreams, really. i never thot we would have e chance to come together again. but miraculously, so many MTM-ers turned up tt afternoon. we got together, talked n reminisced, then decided to cheer abit. then i remembered my teasing of kristle missing her Mee Pok OG, so i continued again with our MTM-ers in her face. haha tt forced her to go gather her MP-ers, n e rest was history. n u thot they're e enthu OG? we seriously outnumbered em. haha. for tt cheer fight alone i lost my voice again.
a shout out to e MTM-ers tt afternoon. melissa, jeanette, james, thad, sara-jean, yiling, cheryl chan, titus, meisee, mavis, waisze, elicia, shixiong n cheryl ong. oh yes n ah lian, yiting, was in e crowd as e fake freshie unable to join us. haha.
11.
i wonder. n im troubled. why am i e perennial second-best. Mee Tai Mak tried all it could, sweat n bled, n still finished second, albeit controversially. this year, most of e MTM-ers were with Fusili, who uncannily lost most of what it competed in n thoroughly didnt exactly have e fighting spirit their seniors had in abundance. n for my Linguine, whom i told repeatedly tt im super competitive, we definitely looked like we're gonna win big this time as we ran away into a huge lead from e first day. but e Mee Pok-inspired Penne caught up n they emerged victorious n stole my Best Skit crown too. so perennially a second-best, my fate is. it gets tiring u know, being second again, while e same faces celebrated once more.
12.
to all who contributed to FN's blah-blah Penthouse, whatever its original name was, good job! i think from seniors camp til now, we seriously deserve credit. then, e seniors who trialed e routes wernt frightened by previous routes, so we pledged to give em a good one. n we succeeded. most of em reflected tt our route, supposedly e mildest coz it was held on e familiar fifth floor of SCI, turned out to be e fiercest in terms of scare factor. we made some cry, n made some guys jump. so we had a reputation to protect for actual FOC.
altho, with my experience in both runs, i would say this time wasnt as good due to change in personnel, at times softening our impact for distraught freshies, n having to handle bigger groups, we still earned some accolades lah. NBS n EEE routes could not earn e sort of reviews we did, n i believe it's not about e eeriness of e route, but e ghosts n e stunts pulled. apparently many freshies thot ours was e worst! other freshies observed tt many who did our route broke down here. im sorry for em, but im proud of our achievements.
good job, amos, sheila, danielle, jin, jinyong, keax, ruiqi, siti, ros, bernie, philip, stanley, zhihui, angela, melvin, cheryl chan. e butcher n his kitchen is e awesome. rock on!
anw. im quite surprised no one within e whole huge FN team did any sort of ritual before conducting FN. esp since this time involved alot of Chinese funeral material, like paper money, joss sticks, altar candles, obituaries n paper offerings. i hope my n shixiong's little something as respect to e netherworld helped.
13.
how do u keep coming back. haha. e super-senior marcus once again made his appearance. he is year 6, way into his working career, flying high with mediacorp n just wrote upcoming comedy First Class. but he keeps appearing in SCI.
ive seen him at some random CS events like Academy Awards. shixiong hinted to e camp n esp Linguine right from e start that a "spiritual figure" of SCI will be appearing soon, someone loved by everyone n who can make u laugh non-stop. what a shining testimonial! but we didnt expect him to be sucha big part of this camp. he appeared while e camp was checking into Hall 13 for accommodation, n tagged along from Initiation onwards! wow, committed lah. he even did e whole Amazing Race with us n gamely played along with HC.
i guess this place really means alot to him, from talking to him n judging from his blog posts. formerly of CI club too, he's been involved in all FOCs since his own. who better to offer advice at such events. i heard he even authored n compiled a manual on how to run FOC! Linguine, we're all proud to have marcus in our OG isnt it! n so, like every year, marcus is loved by everyone. shixiong's final FOC video even gave him a cameo tribute right at e end. i remember while into his anus theory, i realised he's e only one in e whole Starry Starry Night hall who had a chair n was sitting on a chair, unlike e floor-warming us.
14.
now i know why e CS tradition of Animal Blindfold Game is so fun for seniors.
15.
actually Initiation was fun. tho tiring, almost playing out like FN. some seniors had hated e idea during seniors camp. it was something associated more with hall camps. when i spoke to marcus about it, he reflected he's not one who supports e idea. but thru this experience, i guess if it's conducted in e right way, it should be fine. gotta explain e rationale, gotta take good care of e freshies, n not go too far. still, i heard a significant number hated it. hmm.
anw. many seniors, esp e AGLs, are still baffled n abit unhappy why we wernt told we're running Initiation. we had no clue what to do at our stations man.
n what a pity i didnt see e storm drain segment. i couldnt follow Linguine there coz i was stuck in SCI.
16.
thanks for all e citings/references, esp e two OGs, including joanne, who reenacted e FN Butcher during Starry Starry Night skits; getting advice from me on how to do song-song-dao-jurong; how to speak hokkien; how to act beng; even recognising my voice (blindfolded) durin Initiation when u wernt from my OG.
17.
dammit i still got cheers n games i haven taught Linguine.
18.
pity 滚滚 was missin at Starry Starry Night! man, FOC comm, u should have done better there. he's another spiritual figure of CS. or rather, his song performance. but yes i loved e final cheer-every-cheer moment, doing e wee kim wee cheer n Ecstacy cheer all together. n finally a 3-cheer for me, n e sweet appreciation card from e OG. thank u.
19.
now is e hard part again. where are all e photos n videos. ha.
p.s. ok i think i broke my record for longest post ever.
1.
i guess i'll have to start with Linguine, my beloved OG. really, there's just so much to talk about. to summarise e main emotion i felt through n after e camp, is pity i didnt have enough time with u guys n couldnt know u all better. i would have loved to stay with e OGLs n e freshies through e camp, but as u all should know by now i was involved in a whole lot of other stuff. very much like shixiong was last year, as AGL to my Mee Tai Mak. but he made a difference to our OG, so tt was what i wished for this year, tt even tho i had to be away much, i could still be a significant presence in e OG. i hope i was.
i think it's too much to ask for e freshies to understand, coz ive been thru it n it's not tt crystal to freshies e roles of e main comm, CI club, n other seniors not all e time with e OGs. i know most of e time only e OGLs left a stronger impression on e impressionable young minds. by now u should know of my involvement in Initiation, FN, n HC. for e first, i was stationed somewhere (this shall stay a mystery) so i could not accompany u guys all e way, esp at e location after e lorry ride. but i tried my best to protect Linguine from e horrible tekan by other seniors, so i think i did something. u all could have met alot worse shit. haha.
n also just a sidenote here. to tt someone (among a few) whom i cared for tt Initiation night while u were blindfolded n shivering, i did feel a tinge of disappointment after we broke camp on friday, because u never once did come up to me with a bare minimum "thank u". then next morning i realised i havent read e card Linguine did for me, then i saw u had expressed ur gratitude in e card. n i felt comforted. ok maybe ur not a very vocal person.
for FN alone, i had to miss 水天 with all of u. pity. i know it must have been damn fun. i actually dropped by raffles marina in cheryl's car so i could see how u guys were, n appeared at e Meepok Man movie screening as well while other ghosts were busy dressing up outside. haha.
lastly, my last-minute increased involvement in HC did a damage too. because of our OGLs' role in HC, me n mad were supposed to step up n take over e OG at times. but turned out i had a starring role in e whole affair n to successfully pull it off i had to either be away or give a straight face at times. sorry to those of u who appeared beside me but i wasnt friendly. it was part of everything.
n lastly i guess not staying with e OG at Hall 13 played a part too. because Hall 13 is at e northern tip of NTU n my hall is at e southern tip, please understand. haha. i had to go back hall at times, n usually late at night i couldnt walk u all back (altho i did on thursday night can!). urgh. i even missed e filming shixiong did of our OG for e final FOC video coz im e assigned one to look after all ur belongings.
anw. just to reiterate. e sentosa night's talk i had with a bunch of u was real n i meant everything i said, of course except e last HC part. so stop wondering if tt was a whole load of bull. so, true to tt, i think it's a pity i couldnt talk with everyone. some of u were knocked out e moment u hit ur sleeping bags. i personally felt tt session was e one moment i really felt i was with e OG. im sorry to those who were there, coz by tt night i still didnt know who u guys were so i dont remember anyone except huiling, pedro, sabrina n jiahui. it was supposed to be a small group but it just got bigger n bigger, im touched.
oh yes n another revelation. for e sentosa game, Battlefield, e plan to build a sandcastle tt way was in fact coz i was informed our OG would be ganged by e other three intentionally, part of e HC plot. so to prevent us from dying a terrible death, i decided to teach u guys e sandcastle my OG last year built, which was also ganged by e other three OGs but survived til e end.
oh well. i hope i left my mark in Linguine n all of u will remember me as part of ur rite of passage. coz i volunteered to be AGL (i was approached to be OGL but i had my reasons to decline it) for this noble reason. haha. stay together. at least for e opening weeks of school. u guys made e right choice of coming for FOC. everyone who didnt always tell me tt. but even as e months pass n new cliques form, no one takes away what Linguine gave u. trust me on tt. u saw 2007's Mee Tai Mak n Mee Pok at this year's camp. we dont hang out as a clique anymore, but we're still great buds.
to individual freshies.
sufiyan, grace, pedro, zhiyuan, candy, ur attitude n spirit were vital to e OG. thanks for helping bring up e x-factor within Linguine.
joanne, ur quite everyone's favourite at this FOC huh. haha. not just were u handpicked to be sonic e hedgehog, ur face appeared in so many photos n videos!
jiahui n sheryl, i think u twins had/have alot of potential within e OG. rah-rah on.
tiffany, tho u joined late, e seniors never had to worry about ur assimilation. ur outgoing nature n pleasing demeanour ensured u became an important part of e OG too.
nice talking to derrick, yanling, jayne, wanqing, huiling, felicia, maxie, radiah, jeslynn, jianyue, kiahui, sabrina, hanisah, xinyi, kiki.
sze ee, eldon, kimberly, ur quite e iceberg huh. haha. talk more to me when school opens leh.
ok n lastly i save it for yimei n xinyi, my two fave st nicks girls. u two like to form ur own small clique n stand alone right. haha. maybe tt's why i clicked best with u guys lah. coz im e same. im e default loner in wkwsci (yea right). but credit to u two, u contributed alot to e OG. u never hesitated to join back with e rest every time i nudged u two. Fusili has their twin towers, i think u two make tougher twin towers.
2.
i became so crazy... once again. trust me, esp freshies, im not usually like tt. im e quiet one, in fact. what u saw at FOC of me is exactly result of what i told some of u. if u choose to come for camp, u have to play n be up for it. no point making tt decision but being introverted thru e camp. like i said, u gotta be buey paiseh. n i think i left many of u with tt impression of me. bleh.
3.
Linguine. we're damn strong can. haha. i said this to afew of u, but ive never seen an OG so dominant in games at any camps. orientation games are designed to require different skills, tt's why all OGs should be rather equal. but we totally ran away on e first day! we were well into triple-digit in score while e rest were double. what's more, i was abit down on e first day coz our OG abit too quiet n lacking initiative. so it was harder to believe how good we were at games. well, guys, ignore e final results, it's not about winning. u know u took something irreplaceable away from this camp.
i think e seniors might not have reflected to u guys, but we're damn proud of e Starry Starry Night skit lah. partly due to me being from 2007's Best Skit, when i saw u all rehearsing at ADM in e afternoon, i had a feeling Linguine's gonna win it. dont worry about having no progressive plot or not following e theme of e camp, e other OGs are just boring. mine last year was total aimless n we made e whole hall split. ur skit was awesome.
n i have to be buey paiseh abt this. we have e prettiest OG this FOC lah (i mean our girls only, Linguine guys). some of e male seniors in e other OGs almost wanted to transfer to Linguine. haha.
4.
a vow made last year, tt e Mee Tai Mak people would reunite in e same OG this year, could not be fulfilled due to certain reasons. so i joined e OGL team of wenxu n jacq, one didnt go last year, e other was formerly of Mee Kia, so was my fellow AGL mad. a fresh start i suppose. i did go attend seniors camp with e two OGLs n we were then in e same Red Bull OG too. but when i met e three of em for our pre-camp meetings i realised we dont really know each other well. n we had to strike up a chemistry. it was a now-or-never thing. if we couldnt gel, how could we gel our freshies. n most importantly we had to look like we're besties so e camp would look good to e freshies.
now tt FOC is over, i can surely say we definitely are closer.
Linguine's cheers are damn cool right. e four of us thot of it all man. n for me personally i even had to fight Fusili for former Mee Tai Mak's cheers. if u wanna know why Linguine (or at least e four of us) is so good at cheering, tt's coz, as seen at e pre-camp briefing, we were e only OG practising our cheers loud loud.
thanks mad, for being e fellow AGL, for making e effort to gel us four seniors, for showing enthusiasm when most of us were tired, for being e quieter complement to me whom e freshies could confide in.
thanks jacq, for an irresistable energy, for being always so cute n funny, for tt dry sense of humour, for shouldering massive responsibility thru e camp.
thanks wenxu, for e leadership, for e ceaseless stamina, for always doing e thankless jobs, for going against ur usual self n becoming dumb when required.
5.
of course, it would be criminal to focus on just e four of us. Linguine would not be as awesome without e SAs. thank u for agreeing to join us after we asked u, or coming to join us on ur own. we were still worried we wouldnt have enough SAs! in e end we had e most of e four OGs, after i checked with e rest. haha.
a shout out to super-senior marcus (u guys were lucky to have him), shixiong (having e CI club president around definitely had its perks), philip (e man of wkwsci), cheryl ong, clement (a prominent n relaxing figure who helped e OGLs n AGLs greatly), bernie (one of e most rah-rah freshies last year, glad she agreed to join us), zijie (Chronicle photo editor n FOC publicity head as our photographer, what more to ask for), yiling, huimin, danielle.
n e mysterious amanda mok who's originally our first SA but couldnt make it in e end. freshies, did u spot her cameo during FN?
6.
after a year of studies n all our own lives n into our own small cliques, it's always amazing at this sort of camps when people come together, to relive e past or to know each other better, where lines are not drawn.
from seniors camp, as part of e FN team, i got to know kristle better. she's not just e smart ah lian sia. under pressure to deliver at these two camps she has done well to make things happen, as e able assistant to jeanette. she's damn funny n super 讲义气. her driving me n my stuff around this FOC was priceless.
n symbiotic with her as e other senior who had no OG for e larger part of e camp was my Mee Tai Mak buddy, titus. we all know after last year's FOC we never got into e same clique. but im glad we're still buddies. he's a brudder who will always be there for me man.
n of course, there's my senorita melissa. one of e people i was damn proud of as my OG mate. i was lookin forward to another camp with her. im still so glad she made it as an OGL, tho not being very close to e FOC people before this. just a pity i could not fulfill e one-year plan to be in her OG. still, we hung out abit here n there n i think being from different OGs actually struck up good energies within e whole camp.
part of seniors camp's Red Bull, were amos n pamy, better known together as pamos. never got to know em super well, esp since they're from Mee Pok. but since e last weeks of sem 2, i found em such swell individuals. it brought over to seniors camp n FOC n i must say they're really people worth knowing lah. amos is not very expressive but is good company. pamy has totally changed my impression of her since sem 1, when most MTM-ers thot she's stuck-up. no she's nowhere near tt. pamy is sucha sweet girl whom everyone rightly loved at this FOC.
e oft-misunderstood cameron showed me this FOC he can be a good worker. his clique, esp sara-jean, has constantly reminded me tt below his apathetic n rebellious shell, lies a true friend who will always deliver. i never questioned e fact tt he's alot deeper than what most people know, because he has impressed me when we talked. but he still seemed overly individualistic at times. this time, i had many good opportunities to work n interact with him, n i slowly got to know him better. cameron can be very real n sincere, n once he includes u in his circle of trust, he'll treat u like a brudder. when he got down to work with his OG, he was wholehearted. he's opinionated, n with him around, things will always improve.
cheryl chan became unusually friendlier than she had been e whole year knowing me. i guess it's love tt changed her. haha.
all in all. this was about e seniors coming together. love it.
7.
ok, let's be honest here, how many of u wernt exactly pleased with e FOC comm before this. CI club had its issues with em, e OGLs had their issues with em, n some seniors were not happy with either money matters or how seniors camp went. but FOC will always succeed because it's FOC. people want it to succeed. n very much FOC comm deserves e most credit. they might have stepped on many toes, but e effort could not be doubted n without em we wouldnt have a camp. n thru e two camps, were chances to know e FOC comm better. i know i did.
i got to know cheryl ong way before this vacation, possibly because of my undying support for FOC n their comm. i gave em canvassing lobangs, i tried my best to appear at their canvassing events, i discussed w her who to find as OGL, i gave my support thru e entire seniors camp tho i wasnt an OGL or subcommer.
then there is ruiqi, e loud, funny n happy girl u'll always see around SCI. i knew her from being classmates, but we only talked abit. but because of FOC, n esp due to HC, we became better buddies.
QQ is another one. we're only acquainted before all this, but interactions at seniors camp n then FOC brought us to another level. i found out she's actually quite a capable girl when work is required. CI club? haha.
jinyong, ive talked to, but never really knew before actual FOC. he was e kind of person, u wanna know better, but never seem to cross paths with. but ive heard alot of positive things about him. this FOC i would say we both took e initiative to open up more to each other, n he came across as a good worker who will be there for u if ur in his circle of trust. dependable lad who brings e right energies.
her job as financial controller is crazy, we all know, but siti never fails to joke n play when necessary. i think she's been a good ambassador of FOC comm who networks well with non-comm people.
of course, e three MTM-ers who made e comm. jeanette, thad n james. except for jeanette, whom ive still been in touch with thru e year, e others have gone on their separate ways after FOC 2007. but every time i see em around school, they still offer tt same friendship from a year ago. im just glad we had e chance to hang out again this FOC. they were definitely much warmer than at seniors camp. whenever i talk to thad n james, i feel like we've known each other for so long. hope e brotherhood lasts!
n e few whom i didnt know before these two camps: keax, jasmine, zijie, christine. i realised u guys are great individuals too n im gonna cherish e new found friendships. jasmine n christine are so funny. zijie is super friendly n unassuming. keax is just loud n bubbly. haha.
8.
pity e whole CI club couldnt be there. e traditional club introduction on e first day was missing quite afew of us. but 老大 still made us look good lah, i feel. he's so charismatic u know. he also led e wee kim wee cheer he invented out of thin air, scrapping e tongue-twisting CS cheer. n thanks for e once-again praise n publicity for ISG 2007. n wth's with "actually my preferred person for e next club president is in this LT now".
still, i felt e club had a good presence n representation at this FOC. it was important. we have to let e FOC comm know that FOC is a part of club activities, tt we'll support it, n CI club n FOC comm is a two-way rship. a shout out to OGL lyon, AGLs sara-jean, kenneth, melvin, SAs shixiong, philip n lastly e effort by zak to show up.
for e man himself, i really wanna thank him for everything at this camp. no gayness though. he was e best spokesman we can have for CI club. although he had so little air-time, im very sure all e freshies now know him well n in e process e club. thanks for joining Linguine too, when i recruited u. n then trying to pull e whole bunch of seniors to join us, including marcus. n thanks for slogging to produce tt final FOC video. even without a voice most of e camp, u still tried to rah-rah e school n talk to juniors. zai.
9.
i became so involved in HC in e end. n to think i only knew e *censored* e night before. being thrust into a key OG within this HC, n as an AGL i had to take up this responsibility. linking up e key characters, be e mode of communication, standing in for jacq at times, partner wenxu when she's missing, create e commotion in place of my OGLs etc.
if e freshies wanna know what i did within this whole *censored*, here it is.
- remember e first NTU game? making e connection between jacq n jason at e rooftop. an impromptu decision was made to sudden-death e game w a senior-vs-senior, n as Ravioli picked jason, i picked jacq, for obvious reasons. so without being planned, all e seniors present started teasing em. unfortunately e blur ruiqi was totally unmoved by e scenes.
- staring at n being pissed with ruiqi, yet laughin with her e next moment, is damn weird. haha.
- e sentosa night's talk. original intention was HC, coz i was told e OG needed to be fed gossip n e OGLs wernt e best people to do it. but truthfully, it was a good talk n true to CS FOC tradition, we always talk on sentosa night. nothing fake about tt.
- where did jacq go? haha. remember i kicked up a small fuss Day 2 morning coz jacq disappeared with jason for a beach stroll? in front of e whole Linguine. then i "called" her, which was in fact *censored* n there was no one on e other end of e line. then i walked all e way down to e beach to find her n jason, we stood there awhile, *censored* like we were talking, then i walked back.
- Amazing Race. ooh la la all e gossip. whatever u heard me talking about e whole day was intentional.
- e climax. began with us being late for tiong bahru, onto e bus, back in SCI, n e *censored*. last minute then they told me im involved in breaking up e *censored*.
- this has nothing to do with me, but it has seemingly become a tradition. e random table tt contains marcus which u guys sat in n listened n interviewed. e catch: e marcus table is always crap only.
10.
one year on, n i cant forget u guys. i believe for those of us who turned up this time round, it was e memories of Mee Tai Mak and I Heard A Rumour that led to it. we were e honorary Best OG, delivered e sterling Best Skit, n was e unanimous enemy of e people, simply because we're so damn good.
altho we see each other all e time in school, we've our own cliques, n nothing beats coming together again for tt same thing tt united us a year ago. i know we didnt exactly have alot of time this camp to hang out, but it was great nonetheless to be together.
for thad, jeanette, james n melissa who signed on to contribute for The Secret Affair, we deeply thank u. i know it was Mee Tai Mak tt drove u guys.
i remember i was asking elicia months before this to come for FOC already. eventually, she did turn up, after thad n i sms-ed her separately, to help mavis n waisze with their sentosa game station. crazily enthu n loud girl lah (did i mention everyone hated Mee Tai Mak last year n she was one of e reasons?). before she appeared, melissa n i were already fighting to take her. n when she showed up at e sapphire pavilion, so many seniors shouted out to her n ran over! haha. i rushed over to drag her to join me, so did Fusili's MTM-ers. how heartwarming.
i will never ever, for as long as i live, forget e cheer fight we had with Mee Pok on Day 2 at sentosa. it was stuff of dreams, really. i never thot we would have e chance to come together again. but miraculously, so many MTM-ers turned up tt afternoon. we got together, talked n reminisced, then decided to cheer abit. then i remembered my teasing of kristle missing her Mee Pok OG, so i continued again with our MTM-ers in her face. haha tt forced her to go gather her MP-ers, n e rest was history. n u thot they're e enthu OG? we seriously outnumbered em. haha. for tt cheer fight alone i lost my voice again.
a shout out to e MTM-ers tt afternoon. melissa, jeanette, james, thad, sara-jean, yiling, cheryl chan, titus, meisee, mavis, waisze, elicia, shixiong n cheryl ong. oh yes n ah lian, yiting, was in e crowd as e fake freshie unable to join us. haha.
11.
i wonder. n im troubled. why am i e perennial second-best. Mee Tai Mak tried all it could, sweat n bled, n still finished second, albeit controversially. this year, most of e MTM-ers were with Fusili, who uncannily lost most of what it competed in n thoroughly didnt exactly have e fighting spirit their seniors had in abundance. n for my Linguine, whom i told repeatedly tt im super competitive, we definitely looked like we're gonna win big this time as we ran away into a huge lead from e first day. but e Mee Pok-inspired Penne caught up n they emerged victorious n stole my Best Skit crown too. so perennially a second-best, my fate is. it gets tiring u know, being second again, while e same faces celebrated once more.
12.
to all who contributed to FN's blah-blah Penthouse, whatever its original name was, good job! i think from seniors camp til now, we seriously deserve credit. then, e seniors who trialed e routes wernt frightened by previous routes, so we pledged to give em a good one. n we succeeded. most of em reflected tt our route, supposedly e mildest coz it was held on e familiar fifth floor of SCI, turned out to be e fiercest in terms of scare factor. we made some cry, n made some guys jump. so we had a reputation to protect for actual FOC.
altho, with my experience in both runs, i would say this time wasnt as good due to change in personnel, at times softening our impact for distraught freshies, n having to handle bigger groups, we still earned some accolades lah. NBS n EEE routes could not earn e sort of reviews we did, n i believe it's not about e eeriness of e route, but e ghosts n e stunts pulled. apparently many freshies thot ours was e worst! other freshies observed tt many who did our route broke down here. im sorry for em, but im proud of our achievements.
good job, amos, sheila, danielle, jin, jinyong, keax, ruiqi, siti, ros, bernie, philip, stanley, zhihui, angela, melvin, cheryl chan. e butcher n his kitchen is e awesome. rock on!
anw. im quite surprised no one within e whole huge FN team did any sort of ritual before conducting FN. esp since this time involved alot of Chinese funeral material, like paper money, joss sticks, altar candles, obituaries n paper offerings. i hope my n shixiong's little something as respect to e netherworld helped.
13.
how do u keep coming back. haha. e super-senior marcus once again made his appearance. he is year 6, way into his working career, flying high with mediacorp n just wrote upcoming comedy First Class. but he keeps appearing in SCI.
ive seen him at some random CS events like Academy Awards. shixiong hinted to e camp n esp Linguine right from e start that a "spiritual figure" of SCI will be appearing soon, someone loved by everyone n who can make u laugh non-stop. what a shining testimonial! but we didnt expect him to be sucha big part of this camp. he appeared while e camp was checking into Hall 13 for accommodation, n tagged along from Initiation onwards! wow, committed lah. he even did e whole Amazing Race with us n gamely played along with HC.
i guess this place really means alot to him, from talking to him n judging from his blog posts. formerly of CI club too, he's been involved in all FOCs since his own. who better to offer advice at such events. i heard he even authored n compiled a manual on how to run FOC! Linguine, we're all proud to have marcus in our OG isnt it! n so, like every year, marcus is loved by everyone. shixiong's final FOC video even gave him a cameo tribute right at e end. i remember while into his anus theory, i realised he's e only one in e whole Starry Starry Night hall who had a chair n was sitting on a chair, unlike e floor-warming us.
14.
now i know why e CS tradition of Animal Blindfold Game is so fun for seniors.
15.
actually Initiation was fun. tho tiring, almost playing out like FN. some seniors had hated e idea during seniors camp. it was something associated more with hall camps. when i spoke to marcus about it, he reflected he's not one who supports e idea. but thru this experience, i guess if it's conducted in e right way, it should be fine. gotta explain e rationale, gotta take good care of e freshies, n not go too far. still, i heard a significant number hated it. hmm.
anw. many seniors, esp e AGLs, are still baffled n abit unhappy why we wernt told we're running Initiation. we had no clue what to do at our stations man.
n what a pity i didnt see e storm drain segment. i couldnt follow Linguine there coz i was stuck in SCI.
16.
thanks for all e citings/references, esp e two OGs, including joanne, who reenacted e FN Butcher during Starry Starry Night skits; getting advice from me on how to do song-song-dao-jurong; how to speak hokkien; how to act beng; even recognising my voice (blindfolded) durin Initiation when u wernt from my OG.
17.
dammit i still got cheers n games i haven taught Linguine.
18.
pity 滚滚 was missin at Starry Starry Night! man, FOC comm, u should have done better there. he's another spiritual figure of CS. or rather, his song performance. but yes i loved e final cheer-every-cheer moment, doing e wee kim wee cheer n Ecstacy cheer all together. n finally a 3-cheer for me, n e sweet appreciation card from e OG. thank u.
19.
now is e hard part again. where are all e photos n videos. ha.
p.s. ok i think i broke my record for longest post ever.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
my zone qualifier
2008年第十四届义安城全国(东区)舞狮锦标赛
东区–加基武吉民众联络所
East zone - Kaki Bukit CC
1 珑权体育协会
2 日兴醒狮健身院 *
3 沙岡万山福德祠醒狮团
4 北源小学
5 静山民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
6 孺廊小学龙狮团
7 德明政府中学童军醒狮团
8 友诺士民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
9 关善坛龙狮学院 *
10 裕华民众俱乐部龙狮团
11 少林得英堂国术健身社
12 新洋龙狮运动坊
(27/7 1230pm)
13 西海岸民众联络所文化艺术团
14 清德龙狮学院
15 灵应龙狮院
16 新城龙狮学院 *
17 南大龙狮团
18 义安理工龙狮团
19 裕鸿龙狮武术院 *
20 群立小学龙狮团
21 德乐小学醒狮团
22 河谷林居民委员会
23 义峰体育会 *
24 统一龙狮学院 *
(* denotes super strong troupes)
four teams will go through to e finals at Ngee Ann City.
东区–加基武吉民众联络所
East zone - Kaki Bukit CC
1 珑权体育协会
2 日兴醒狮健身院 *
3 沙岡万山福德祠醒狮团
4 北源小学
5 静山民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
6 孺廊小学龙狮团
7 德明政府中学童军醒狮团
8 友诺士民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
9 关善坛龙狮学院 *
10 裕华民众俱乐部龙狮团
11 少林得英堂国术健身社
12 新洋龙狮运动坊
(27/7 1230pm)
13 西海岸民众联络所文化艺术团
14 清德龙狮学院
15 灵应龙狮院
16 新城龙狮学院 *
17 南大龙狮团
18 义安理工龙狮团
19 裕鸿龙狮武术院 *
20 群立小学龙狮团
21 德乐小学醒狮团
22 河谷林居民委员会
23 义峰体育会 *
24 统一龙狮学院 *
(* denotes super strong troupes)
four teams will go through to e finals at Ngee Ann City.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
The AGLs
Posted by behindthebasics
hello!
on behalf of both wenxu and myself,
OUR AGLS!!!!
thiampeng and madeline!
but no one calls them that.
feel free to call them tehping and mad.
everyone does!
SEE YOU GUYS ON MONDAY!
cheers!
VVIP,
jac. =).
-above content ripped from ntuwkwscifoc2008's blog, foc2008.wordpress.com-
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
how La Furia Roja did it
finally, e massive footballing country i grew up knowin as e perennial chokers/underachievers n to me e next best team (after holland) to have not won a World Cup now has something new to show for their huge reputation. after e 1964 European Championships home win, spain has landed its second major title in 44 years n in its history.
i gave my vote to spain to win in e final against germany, with e only factor pullin me in e other direction being germany's doggedness as a tournament team tt never gives up. like how i had believed they would definitely remove portugal n turkey. but ultimately, e matadors prevailed with their brand of attackin adventurous football over german might, which is good for all football fans.
germany went from being a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 as e tournament progressed, to better utilise e wing threats of Lukas Podolski n Bastian Schweinsteiger, to allow Michael Ballack a free role, n to remove e misfiring Mario Gomez. in e other corner, e standard 4-4-2 of spain was forced to alter into a 4-5-1 for e final as top scorer David Villa was injured. problematic for spain? not really. e momentum n groove was with em n it would be hard to repress it. even with a lone striker in Fernando Torres, he would definitely be too big a headache for e unstable german defence, especially e weak link, Per Mertesacker. e german midfield's shape n talents are good n can beat other teams on any day, but it already looked shabby even before we kicked off against a slick spanish engine room. this midfield was mobile n creative, while e germans were rigid n lacked ideas, basing itself more on a trio of individual talents. maybe a blessing in disguise for e spanish when Cesc Fabregas had to be drafted in, making up an excellent midfield force. if Ballack was shackled by e turks, prospects didnt look good for him here. germany has Philip Lahm, but spain has Sergio Ramos too.
player of e tournament Xavi starts from deep, but is highly dangerous when he does his radar passing near e opponents' goal. David Silva n Andres Iniesta, though not full wingers, could interchange when things didnt look good. in e final, as e quick Lahm was doing a good job preventin Silva from playin his usual dribblin game, Iniesta came over n took over e role. e Barca starlet is irresistible n plays such a direct game Lahm was put on e backfoot. in all e drama happening in midfield, germany still had to contend with a certain Fabregas. it was indeed no easy feat. it was simply fate n fitting tt spain scored just one goal, one tt magnificently reflected how e match would n eventually turned out. a typical Torres' poacher goal. latching onto a quick pass with amazing change of pace, he makes clowns out of defenders n uses his superior stride n pace to unleash a shot. n he did all these to e quick fullback Lahm, of all people. made us think how e hell do we actually stop this striker.
from my followin n as usual petty analysis of e tournament, ive broken down how they managed to do it, in a tournament with such stiff opposition in talented squads like holland n portugal.
let me start from within. e spain squad came into e tournament boasting a very talented outfit. but it always does n there were other such teams as well. e key difference was, spain clicked as a team, individuals peaked, n they lasted all e way, without letting ghosts haunt em. one of e reasons how they could do so was due to a very young, new n adventurous team. e livewire Andres Iniesta, lynchpin Marcos Senna n young supremo Fabregas, all key players, only debuted in 2006. another two first teamers, Ramos n Villa, debuted a year earlier. ur lookin at a team refreshed from previous ghosts n raring to go. even captain Iker Casillas is only 27, but has played for a good decade already. e best proof of a resurgent spain is e dug-deep victory over world champions italy in e quarter-final, a team spain has not beaten in a competitive match since 1922.
spain had e shortest team at this tournament, which is definitely something worth highlightin in a european football game tt considers size n power relevant. while short, this team had no lack of guts. they were daring n took on opponents without worries, what a sight it has been for spectators. these short players are none other than outstanding footballers like Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Villa n Puyol. all short, but famous for being big on heart. for e very fact tt they take e game to e opponents, spain was also e top scoring country this tournament. what better way to boost ur confidence than scoring n scoring. in addition to e 4-1 thrashing of a poor russia on opening day, they swept e rejuvenated one 3-0 in e semi-final, a scoreline tt made critics sit up. it was a side tt had silenced e orange tide in e previous round, an orange tide tt had made fools out of italy n france in e Group of Death.
it is not to say spain was awesome n monstrous all e way. luck, as always, played its part. of e 16 finalists for euro 2008, spain was actually seeded last in pot 3. of course, if it had fallen into e last pot, it would have effectively drawn 3 group stage teams ranked higher than itself. but although they were seeded last in e third pot, they were still in this pot, meaning it would be ranked third in its eventual group. n how lucky can u get. e pot 1 team came in e form of defending champions greece, which was definitely not going to repeat its feat four years ago having slid horribly in form. pot 2, which boasted italy n croatia, gave spain sweden, a team traditionally inferior to e former. maybe having no pressure of being favourites helped too. spain, being seeded 12th, was even behind romania.
of course, like all major tournaments have played out, for a team to win, there are usually giants who fall unexpectedly. we almost can never see all e top teams in a tournament perform to their peak. tt would be too hard to win isnt it. spain was undefeated, hence it was one of e few teams tt actually lasted e tournament n lived up to expectations. germany did not enter this edition on good form n with a talented squad, but we never write e germans off, n they delivered once again. but powerhouses france n italy didnt show up, portugal had no way past e german machine, n holland became e disappointment of e tournament.
i still remember many media analysin e shift in traditional tactics seen at this tournament. out goes 4-4-2, in comes 4-2-3-1. e proposition of this 4-2-3-1 is exciting. two, n not just one, destroyers. attacking fullbacks. a triumvirate of offensive weapons, behind a capable lone striker. e media proposed this as holland n portugal were exciting e senses in e opening stages. e triumvirate is e key to killing off opponents. holland had Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart n e magical Wesley Sneijder. they even had Arjen Robben in reserve. portugal boasted Deco, Simao n e hotshot Cristiano Ronaldo. but ultimately, this formation was exposed as e two giants were eliminated. it depended too much on e triumvirate to play opponents silly. it was great marketing of e sport, but this triumvirate usually works only against weaker opponents. once it's shackled, e team is gone. germany closed down portugal, while an off-day in e dutch camp includin striker Ruud van Nistelrooy gave russia a famous victory. yes germany changed to tt formation later too but e same fate happened to em in e final. it wont be easy replacing e tried-n-tested n well-balanced 4-4-2, which spain also used to perfection. one anchorman was enough in Senna, Xavi n his two sergeants Iniesta n Silva roamed. most importantly, would u prefer a lone van Nistelrooy, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, or a twin threat of Torres n Villa?
moving on from spain, there were afew other topics for focus this tournament. italy n france were crap, tt was as simple as it was. e world champions seemed to be missing e superstars needed for any team to win. france is seriously a declining force. e new generation is not comin in quick enough. e two tournament favourites, holland n portugal, disappointed. holland promised so much, being touted by most to blitz e competition n lift its second crown after outclassin italy n france in e Group of Death. even in a meaningless third group match against a hot-blooded romania, e dutch reserves tore em apart. e foursome of van Persie, Sneijder, van der Vaart n Robben looked unstoppable. unfortunately e whole team didnt show up against e underdogs of russia n a script already written was torn up. portugal simply does not need more elaboration. they have become e new chokers.
kudos to russia, turkey n croatia. they deserve mention everywhere in fact. i remember blasting e russians after their defeat to spain, calling em easily one of e worst teams this tournament. at e back of my head, i did notice they had a certain Guus Hiddink on their bench. n he did it again, bringin another country further than expectations. e return of e awesome Andrei Arshavin from suspension, n e up-gear of e rest of e team, helped em win over e neutrals. turkey simply bulldozed a path out of seemingly nothing. in total e turks only led their matches for less than 10mins, but made e semi-finals. they scored late goals against switzerland, czech republic, croatia n germany, but in e last it just wasnt good enough. still, ive never seen such impossible spirit. 22 of e 23 played, due to injuries n suspensions. they lost only thru a late goal to germany while playin w a bare squad of 14 players. i thought korea 2002 was crazy.
e story of e european leagues' top scorers was another something tt caught many's attention. not because how good they were or how they were competing for scoring honours, but because of e no-show. e crazy 42-goal cristiano ronaldo put only one into e net this tournament. top scorers from Serie A n La Liga, Alessandro Del Piero n Dani Guiza, were substitutes for their countries. at least Guiza scored twice as a sub. e other juventus star, Serie A runner-up golden boot David Trezeguet was totally left out of e french squad. well but most of us wouldnt think it was his form, we definitely blame Raymond Domenech more. lastly, from e Bundesliga, top scorer Toni tried n tried but it just wouldnt go in once. another bayern star, klose, did his part for germany but was not his usual clinical tournament self like before. mario gomez, who came with a good league reputation, totally flunked.
i gave my vote to spain to win in e final against germany, with e only factor pullin me in e other direction being germany's doggedness as a tournament team tt never gives up. like how i had believed they would definitely remove portugal n turkey. but ultimately, e matadors prevailed with their brand of attackin adventurous football over german might, which is good for all football fans.
germany went from being a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 as e tournament progressed, to better utilise e wing threats of Lukas Podolski n Bastian Schweinsteiger, to allow Michael Ballack a free role, n to remove e misfiring Mario Gomez. in e other corner, e standard 4-4-2 of spain was forced to alter into a 4-5-1 for e final as top scorer David Villa was injured. problematic for spain? not really. e momentum n groove was with em n it would be hard to repress it. even with a lone striker in Fernando Torres, he would definitely be too big a headache for e unstable german defence, especially e weak link, Per Mertesacker. e german midfield's shape n talents are good n can beat other teams on any day, but it already looked shabby even before we kicked off against a slick spanish engine room. this midfield was mobile n creative, while e germans were rigid n lacked ideas, basing itself more on a trio of individual talents. maybe a blessing in disguise for e spanish when Cesc Fabregas had to be drafted in, making up an excellent midfield force. if Ballack was shackled by e turks, prospects didnt look good for him here. germany has Philip Lahm, but spain has Sergio Ramos too.
player of e tournament Xavi starts from deep, but is highly dangerous when he does his radar passing near e opponents' goal. David Silva n Andres Iniesta, though not full wingers, could interchange when things didnt look good. in e final, as e quick Lahm was doing a good job preventin Silva from playin his usual dribblin game, Iniesta came over n took over e role. e Barca starlet is irresistible n plays such a direct game Lahm was put on e backfoot. in all e drama happening in midfield, germany still had to contend with a certain Fabregas. it was indeed no easy feat. it was simply fate n fitting tt spain scored just one goal, one tt magnificently reflected how e match would n eventually turned out. a typical Torres' poacher goal. latching onto a quick pass with amazing change of pace, he makes clowns out of defenders n uses his superior stride n pace to unleash a shot. n he did all these to e quick fullback Lahm, of all people. made us think how e hell do we actually stop this striker.
from my followin n as usual petty analysis of e tournament, ive broken down how they managed to do it, in a tournament with such stiff opposition in talented squads like holland n portugal.
let me start from within. e spain squad came into e tournament boasting a very talented outfit. but it always does n there were other such teams as well. e key difference was, spain clicked as a team, individuals peaked, n they lasted all e way, without letting ghosts haunt em. one of e reasons how they could do so was due to a very young, new n adventurous team. e livewire Andres Iniesta, lynchpin Marcos Senna n young supremo Fabregas, all key players, only debuted in 2006. another two first teamers, Ramos n Villa, debuted a year earlier. ur lookin at a team refreshed from previous ghosts n raring to go. even captain Iker Casillas is only 27, but has played for a good decade already. e best proof of a resurgent spain is e dug-deep victory over world champions italy in e quarter-final, a team spain has not beaten in a competitive match since 1922.
spain had e shortest team at this tournament, which is definitely something worth highlightin in a european football game tt considers size n power relevant. while short, this team had no lack of guts. they were daring n took on opponents without worries, what a sight it has been for spectators. these short players are none other than outstanding footballers like Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Villa n Puyol. all short, but famous for being big on heart. for e very fact tt they take e game to e opponents, spain was also e top scoring country this tournament. what better way to boost ur confidence than scoring n scoring. in addition to e 4-1 thrashing of a poor russia on opening day, they swept e rejuvenated one 3-0 in e semi-final, a scoreline tt made critics sit up. it was a side tt had silenced e orange tide in e previous round, an orange tide tt had made fools out of italy n france in e Group of Death.
it is not to say spain was awesome n monstrous all e way. luck, as always, played its part. of e 16 finalists for euro 2008, spain was actually seeded last in pot 3. of course, if it had fallen into e last pot, it would have effectively drawn 3 group stage teams ranked higher than itself. but although they were seeded last in e third pot, they were still in this pot, meaning it would be ranked third in its eventual group. n how lucky can u get. e pot 1 team came in e form of defending champions greece, which was definitely not going to repeat its feat four years ago having slid horribly in form. pot 2, which boasted italy n croatia, gave spain sweden, a team traditionally inferior to e former. maybe having no pressure of being favourites helped too. spain, being seeded 12th, was even behind romania.
of course, like all major tournaments have played out, for a team to win, there are usually giants who fall unexpectedly. we almost can never see all e top teams in a tournament perform to their peak. tt would be too hard to win isnt it. spain was undefeated, hence it was one of e few teams tt actually lasted e tournament n lived up to expectations. germany did not enter this edition on good form n with a talented squad, but we never write e germans off, n they delivered once again. but powerhouses france n italy didnt show up, portugal had no way past e german machine, n holland became e disappointment of e tournament.
i still remember many media analysin e shift in traditional tactics seen at this tournament. out goes 4-4-2, in comes 4-2-3-1. e proposition of this 4-2-3-1 is exciting. two, n not just one, destroyers. attacking fullbacks. a triumvirate of offensive weapons, behind a capable lone striker. e media proposed this as holland n portugal were exciting e senses in e opening stages. e triumvirate is e key to killing off opponents. holland had Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart n e magical Wesley Sneijder. they even had Arjen Robben in reserve. portugal boasted Deco, Simao n e hotshot Cristiano Ronaldo. but ultimately, this formation was exposed as e two giants were eliminated. it depended too much on e triumvirate to play opponents silly. it was great marketing of e sport, but this triumvirate usually works only against weaker opponents. once it's shackled, e team is gone. germany closed down portugal, while an off-day in e dutch camp includin striker Ruud van Nistelrooy gave russia a famous victory. yes germany changed to tt formation later too but e same fate happened to em in e final. it wont be easy replacing e tried-n-tested n well-balanced 4-4-2, which spain also used to perfection. one anchorman was enough in Senna, Xavi n his two sergeants Iniesta n Silva roamed. most importantly, would u prefer a lone van Nistelrooy, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, or a twin threat of Torres n Villa?
moving on from spain, there were afew other topics for focus this tournament. italy n france were crap, tt was as simple as it was. e world champions seemed to be missing e superstars needed for any team to win. france is seriously a declining force. e new generation is not comin in quick enough. e two tournament favourites, holland n portugal, disappointed. holland promised so much, being touted by most to blitz e competition n lift its second crown after outclassin italy n france in e Group of Death. even in a meaningless third group match against a hot-blooded romania, e dutch reserves tore em apart. e foursome of van Persie, Sneijder, van der Vaart n Robben looked unstoppable. unfortunately e whole team didnt show up against e underdogs of russia n a script already written was torn up. portugal simply does not need more elaboration. they have become e new chokers.
kudos to russia, turkey n croatia. they deserve mention everywhere in fact. i remember blasting e russians after their defeat to spain, calling em easily one of e worst teams this tournament. at e back of my head, i did notice they had a certain Guus Hiddink on their bench. n he did it again, bringin another country further than expectations. e return of e awesome Andrei Arshavin from suspension, n e up-gear of e rest of e team, helped em win over e neutrals. turkey simply bulldozed a path out of seemingly nothing. in total e turks only led their matches for less than 10mins, but made e semi-finals. they scored late goals against switzerland, czech republic, croatia n germany, but in e last it just wasnt good enough. still, ive never seen such impossible spirit. 22 of e 23 played, due to injuries n suspensions. they lost only thru a late goal to germany while playin w a bare squad of 14 players. i thought korea 2002 was crazy.
e story of e european leagues' top scorers was another something tt caught many's attention. not because how good they were or how they were competing for scoring honours, but because of e no-show. e crazy 42-goal cristiano ronaldo put only one into e net this tournament. top scorers from Serie A n La Liga, Alessandro Del Piero n Dani Guiza, were substitutes for their countries. at least Guiza scored twice as a sub. e other juventus star, Serie A runner-up golden boot David Trezeguet was totally left out of e french squad. well but most of us wouldnt think it was his form, we definitely blame Raymond Domenech more. lastly, from e Bundesliga, top scorer Toni tried n tried but it just wouldnt go in once. another bayern star, klose, did his part for germany but was not his usual clinical tournament self like before. mario gomez, who came with a good league reputation, totally flunked.
only thing good out of evan almighty
"it is an opportunity... when people pray for patience, u think God gives em patience? ...He gives em e opportunity to try to be patient... if u pray for courage, does God give u courage or e opportunity to be courageous? if someone prays for the family to be closer, u think God gives em warm, fuzzy feelings? ...or does God give em e opportunities to love each other...?"
i'm not a Christian. but this was awesome.
"how do we change e world? ...one Act of Random Kindness... 1 ARK"
i'm not a Christian. but this was awesome.
"how do we change e world? ...one Act of Random Kindness... 1 ARK"
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Euro 08 wrap-up
Team of the Tournament
GK Casillas (we'll have to take u; first goalie to lift e Henri Delaunay)
RB Sergio Ramos (stand-out wingback in a tournament of wingbacks who redefined e attackin defender; hard in e tackle, fierce on e offence)
CB Pepe (only true CB to make e team; was good at Real Madrid's winning season, was e star for Portugal this time; small stature belies his defending abilities, and like all Brazil-born defenders, can be a dangerous offensive weapon)
RCB Corluka (another impressive wingback, selected simply because he can be a CB as well and there are seriously no other CBs who stood out)
LB Lahm (minor blunders here and there cannot hide e fact this dwarf is world class; personally, hes e last person i want to come up against if im a winger; scored last-gasp winner in e semi-final, shut out Silva in e final)
RW Schweinsteiger (one of Germany's stars in recent years, incomprehensible why he didnt start e tournament; other than e sending-off, his mobility, tricks, and deadballs prove Germans are not bland)
CM Xavi (Player of Tournament, has to be first name on teamsheet; passing and playmaking supremo; made 84% passes against Germany, made 91% during e highly congested match with Sweden, amazing)
CM Sneijder (gets my nod ahead of Modric because he not just showed e world his real class, he also scored and played like hes a league above others)
LW Podolski (forward or winger, every time he gets e ball u feel something's gonna happen; a sure bet for scoring goals)
ST Villa (tournament Golden Boot has to feature, even though he fizzled out in latter stages; the Spanish frontline is so good because it makes things happen out of nothing; fearless and always harrying defenders)
ST Torres (his presence alone struck fear into markers; e chief architect, more than Villa; goals do not matter if u contributed as much as he did, and anyway he has a midfield who can score any day)
Reserves:
Buffon (ever-reliable)
Akinfeev (one for e future)
Grosso (Germany '06's star performer left out at start of tournament, but after he came on never lost his place again; one of e creative forces of a stale Italy)
van Bronckhorst (outperformed expectations of this traveller; actually looked refreshing)
Zhirkov (he doesn look pretty, he doesn play pretty, but u know ur lookin at a key player when half e time e camera's on him; horse-like stamina, was still gallopin in extra-time)
Servet Cetin (ok finally another CB who did well)
Sabri Sarioglu (supporting Turkey's many lost causes from e back)
Bosingwa (was an early stand-out wingback, but Portugal sucked)
Senna (should be in e first eleven, just unfortunate hes a defensive midfielder and we all love flair players; his importance to e Spanish conquest cannot be underestimated)
Modric (i love this player; one of two players i would definitely bring on, e other being Arshavin)
Iniesta (full of running and always an eye for goal, he and Xavi outshone their Barca teammates; e supreme template of e free-role midfielder)
Silva (blew hot and cold, but still consistent enough to star for Spain; effectively one-footed but sky-high confident; attacked much taller and bigger opponents endlessly)
Robben (his form is back, and that's scary, because this is a world class match-winner)
van Persie (another match-winner so adept at sneakin around stealthily; has unbelievable technique)
Arshavin (for that semi-final performance, u cant be in e first eleven, but boy were u a match-winner)
Hakan Yakin (only group-stage player to make it into this dream team, for still being that Swiss inspiration and scoring goals for a poor side)
Ballack (deserves respect for draggin Germany almost single-handedly to e final, but honestly many times it was his below-par performances that put them in those shit)
Mehmet Aurelio (gets a place for a lesson in "how to shackle Ballack")
Tuncay Sanli (midfield general of Turkey and one of their star performers)
Arda Turan (if u wanna know how Turkey play like that, he may be a good spokesman)
de Rossi (he may not be e playmaker Donadoni wants, but selecting him at least ensured u get both a destroyer and an attackin threat, so why not)
van der Vaart (last of e deadly Dutch triumvirate; doesn explode, but always dangerous)
Deco (no doubt e soul of Portugal, when he plays, they purr)
Srna (an ordinary player turned good; plays a simple game, but in e end made other more stunnin wingers read:Ronaldo look aimless)
Nihat Kahveci (first name to roll of ur tongue for Turkey, so he gets a place; scored one of tournament's best goals against Cech)
Semih Senturk (e man to bring on when things look crap; e new supersub)
Cassano (left out early, but became e star of an idea-less side; his creativity is refreshing among e many formula Italians)
van Nistelrooy (not an outstanding tournament, but e world-best centre forward's average game usually is good enough)
Mutu (as e star of Romania he deserves a place here, because his team fared well, without much credit, in e Group of Death; shouldered nation's hopes)
Pavlyuchenko (surprised many by handling e lone striker role so much better than other more illustrious names; this guy shoots for fun, from anywhere, so u can bet he'll score)
Olic (tireless; prime example of e Croat force)
Team of the Tournament (the one ur Sunday team would want to try playing)
Cech (how uncharacteristic; no one would have believed ur arguably e best in e world)
Nikopolidis (for being part of Greece '04)
Dellas (for being part of Greece '04; at least Charisteas scored a goal)
Abidal (terribly ineffective this time round)
Thuram (time u move on)
Jansen (clown of e tournament)
Mertesacker (mainstay all thru to final, but that doesn hide e fact tt hes just a big bunglin ogre)
Materazzi (still as bad; got dropped from the first eleven)
Paulo Ferreira (whoever believes hes a decent player needs to clean his glasses)
Cristiano Ronaldo (sorry, just not good enough from "e best player on e planet")
Malouda (u sure ur e man who lit up Germany '06?)
Vieira (gave him a place in e 23 and he cldnt be fit enough to play)
Anelka (ur just not international calibre)
Henry (ur prime's over, take it graciously)
Baros (still e man Czech Republic turns to, but huffed and puffed ineffectively with a nation's weight killing him)
Mario Gomez (big reputation, but made e goal look like a golf hole)
Toni (given e ultimate lone striker role and scored nil)
GK Casillas (we'll have to take u; first goalie to lift e Henri Delaunay)
RB Sergio Ramos (stand-out wingback in a tournament of wingbacks who redefined e attackin defender; hard in e tackle, fierce on e offence)
CB Pepe (only true CB to make e team; was good at Real Madrid's winning season, was e star for Portugal this time; small stature belies his defending abilities, and like all Brazil-born defenders, can be a dangerous offensive weapon)
RCB Corluka (another impressive wingback, selected simply because he can be a CB as well and there are seriously no other CBs who stood out)
LB Lahm (minor blunders here and there cannot hide e fact this dwarf is world class; personally, hes e last person i want to come up against if im a winger; scored last-gasp winner in e semi-final, shut out Silva in e final)
RW Schweinsteiger (one of Germany's stars in recent years, incomprehensible why he didnt start e tournament; other than e sending-off, his mobility, tricks, and deadballs prove Germans are not bland)
CM Xavi (Player of Tournament, has to be first name on teamsheet; passing and playmaking supremo; made 84% passes against Germany, made 91% during e highly congested match with Sweden, amazing)
CM Sneijder (gets my nod ahead of Modric because he not just showed e world his real class, he also scored and played like hes a league above others)
LW Podolski (forward or winger, every time he gets e ball u feel something's gonna happen; a sure bet for scoring goals)
ST Villa (tournament Golden Boot has to feature, even though he fizzled out in latter stages; the Spanish frontline is so good because it makes things happen out of nothing; fearless and always harrying defenders)
ST Torres (his presence alone struck fear into markers; e chief architect, more than Villa; goals do not matter if u contributed as much as he did, and anyway he has a midfield who can score any day)
Reserves:
Buffon (ever-reliable)
Akinfeev (one for e future)
Grosso (Germany '06's star performer left out at start of tournament, but after he came on never lost his place again; one of e creative forces of a stale Italy)
van Bronckhorst (outperformed expectations of this traveller; actually looked refreshing)
Zhirkov (he doesn look pretty, he doesn play pretty, but u know ur lookin at a key player when half e time e camera's on him; horse-like stamina, was still gallopin in extra-time)
Servet Cetin (ok finally another CB who did well)
Sabri Sarioglu (supporting Turkey's many lost causes from e back)
Bosingwa (was an early stand-out wingback, but Portugal sucked)
Senna (should be in e first eleven, just unfortunate hes a defensive midfielder and we all love flair players; his importance to e Spanish conquest cannot be underestimated)
Modric (i love this player; one of two players i would definitely bring on, e other being Arshavin)
Iniesta (full of running and always an eye for goal, he and Xavi outshone their Barca teammates; e supreme template of e free-role midfielder)
Silva (blew hot and cold, but still consistent enough to star for Spain; effectively one-footed but sky-high confident; attacked much taller and bigger opponents endlessly)
Robben (his form is back, and that's scary, because this is a world class match-winner)
van Persie (another match-winner so adept at sneakin around stealthily; has unbelievable technique)
Arshavin (for that semi-final performance, u cant be in e first eleven, but boy were u a match-winner)
Hakan Yakin (only group-stage player to make it into this dream team, for still being that Swiss inspiration and scoring goals for a poor side)
Ballack (deserves respect for draggin Germany almost single-handedly to e final, but honestly many times it was his below-par performances that put them in those shit)
Mehmet Aurelio (gets a place for a lesson in "how to shackle Ballack")
Tuncay Sanli (midfield general of Turkey and one of their star performers)
Arda Turan (if u wanna know how Turkey play like that, he may be a good spokesman)
de Rossi (he may not be e playmaker Donadoni wants, but selecting him at least ensured u get both a destroyer and an attackin threat, so why not)
van der Vaart (last of e deadly Dutch triumvirate; doesn explode, but always dangerous)
Deco (no doubt e soul of Portugal, when he plays, they purr)
Srna (an ordinary player turned good; plays a simple game, but in e end made other more stunnin wingers read:Ronaldo look aimless)
Nihat Kahveci (first name to roll of ur tongue for Turkey, so he gets a place; scored one of tournament's best goals against Cech)
Semih Senturk (e man to bring on when things look crap; e new supersub)
Cassano (left out early, but became e star of an idea-less side; his creativity is refreshing among e many formula Italians)
van Nistelrooy (not an outstanding tournament, but e world-best centre forward's average game usually is good enough)
Mutu (as e star of Romania he deserves a place here, because his team fared well, without much credit, in e Group of Death; shouldered nation's hopes)
Pavlyuchenko (surprised many by handling e lone striker role so much better than other more illustrious names; this guy shoots for fun, from anywhere, so u can bet he'll score)
Olic (tireless; prime example of e Croat force)
Team of the Tournament (the one ur Sunday team would want to try playing)
Cech (how uncharacteristic; no one would have believed ur arguably e best in e world)
Nikopolidis (for being part of Greece '04)
Dellas (for being part of Greece '04; at least Charisteas scored a goal)
Abidal (terribly ineffective this time round)
Thuram (time u move on)
Jansen (clown of e tournament)
Mertesacker (mainstay all thru to final, but that doesn hide e fact tt hes just a big bunglin ogre)
Materazzi (still as bad; got dropped from the first eleven)
Paulo Ferreira (whoever believes hes a decent player needs to clean his glasses)
Cristiano Ronaldo (sorry, just not good enough from "e best player on e planet")
Malouda (u sure ur e man who lit up Germany '06?)
Vieira (gave him a place in e 23 and he cldnt be fit enough to play)
Anelka (ur just not international calibre)
Henry (ur prime's over, take it graciously)
Baros (still e man Czech Republic turns to, but huffed and puffed ineffectively with a nation's weight killing him)
Mario Gomez (big reputation, but made e goal look like a golf hole)
Toni (given e ultimate lone striker role and scored nil)
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Manchester United 1-0 Barcelona
i would not say Fergie played e all-flowing game tt characterises Man Utd's style, but they dont deserve as much criticism as post-1st leg. he was right abt one thing. e United tt showed up in this leg did go out to attack n reminded e opponents this was Old Trafford. but criticism, esp by Barca coach Frank Rijkaard, are unworthy. United did not play like "other English teams" in killing play. when we had e ball, we played our game. just tt when u had e ball, we armoured up n took on e classic English discipline n killed "your" play. this was the respectable thing abt United's strategy n performance.
basically, e strategy employed was clear to see. it's home, so we attack. we have no away goals, so we attack. but it's Barca, they need e away goal, n this is a Champions' League semi final, so we must maintain e discipline showed in e 1st leg.
ive always felt rather timid when Man Utd play giant clubs, even those English ones. that's why e goalless 1st leg felt an achievement. maybe it's a defensive attitude lah, although i must say opponents fear us too. even with our impressive goalscoring record through e years, i always go into a match with a world class team thinkin we cant score. i guess tt doesnt set me up for disappointment.
when it mattered, Man Utd always seem to score that odd goal. and who better for this occasion than e man who was booked in 1999 at this stage and missed e triumphant final. moreover, a trademark piledriver that's been missing from his recent portfolio. what a time to get it.
typical Man Utd deadly counter attack, e superb Gianluca Zambrotta unfortunate to make e mistake under pressure, squaring e ball across to e wily Paul Scholes, always anticipating and ready to pounce. even before he received e ball, he had set his body up for e right direction so no time would be wasted. intelligent thinkin. first touch and e ball spinned upwards, so he has to let fly a half volley. with one more bounce, Scholes hit e ball precisely with his outside foot, curling it ouwards to e top corner leavin Victor Valdes stretched to his fullest.
e Old Trafford was amazing, if not just scary. they booed (unless u find tt unsporting) every single time Barca was on e ball. they were like e 12th player who harried e opponents n unsettled em. of course, from e way Barca played, n being such a massive club, they didnt seem affected. but still, it was something n good to see em responding to Fergie's call for their presence. e image of a whole stand of thousands holdin placards tt read "Believe" before e match, or e whole stadium waving celebratory towels in e last 10mins, will be lasting ones.
Man Utd celebrated like they've won something when e final whistle went. but o well. maybe it is like tt. it's been years since we've reached e final. this is it. 9 years from 1999. Fergie can become e 1st coach to win it twice without sufferin a defeat at all. Scholes, cruelly suspended in 1999, has waited for this n it could be fairytale. n it's 50 years after e Munich crash. destiny. u cant beat it.
basically, e strategy employed was clear to see. it's home, so we attack. we have no away goals, so we attack. but it's Barca, they need e away goal, n this is a Champions' League semi final, so we must maintain e discipline showed in e 1st leg.
ive always felt rather timid when Man Utd play giant clubs, even those English ones. that's why e goalless 1st leg felt an achievement. maybe it's a defensive attitude lah, although i must say opponents fear us too. even with our impressive goalscoring record through e years, i always go into a match with a world class team thinkin we cant score. i guess tt doesnt set me up for disappointment.
when it mattered, Man Utd always seem to score that odd goal. and who better for this occasion than e man who was booked in 1999 at this stage and missed e triumphant final. moreover, a trademark piledriver that's been missing from his recent portfolio. what a time to get it.
typical Man Utd deadly counter attack, e superb Gianluca Zambrotta unfortunate to make e mistake under pressure, squaring e ball across to e wily Paul Scholes, always anticipating and ready to pounce. even before he received e ball, he had set his body up for e right direction so no time would be wasted. intelligent thinkin. first touch and e ball spinned upwards, so he has to let fly a half volley. with one more bounce, Scholes hit e ball precisely with his outside foot, curling it ouwards to e top corner leavin Victor Valdes stretched to his fullest.
e Old Trafford was amazing, if not just scary. they booed (unless u find tt unsporting) every single time Barca was on e ball. they were like e 12th player who harried e opponents n unsettled em. of course, from e way Barca played, n being such a massive club, they didnt seem affected. but still, it was something n good to see em responding to Fergie's call for their presence. e image of a whole stand of thousands holdin placards tt read "Believe" before e match, or e whole stadium waving celebratory towels in e last 10mins, will be lasting ones.
Man Utd celebrated like they've won something when e final whistle went. but o well. maybe it is like tt. it's been years since we've reached e final. this is it. 9 years from 1999. Fergie can become e 1st coach to win it twice without sufferin a defeat at all. Scholes, cruelly suspended in 1999, has waited for this n it could be fairytale. n it's 50 years after e Munich crash. destiny. u cant beat it.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United
what exactly do u yearn for more n how exactly are u gonna do it?
Man Utd were only 3 points ahead, albeit w a much superior goal difference, n this was a potential 6-pointer. w only 2 matches left after this, this match could decide e title. it is tt close, if Fergie hasnt realised. so it is a big match, even if it is stuck btwn e two legs of e Champions' League semi-final. n Fergie seemed to not have realised tt e opponents Chelsea are in a similar position. they have tt front to fight as well in afew days, against Liverpool. both teams r in this shit together lah, please. so we're at e business end of e season. n it's e time when real men stand up n be counted. players live for n thrive in this. tts e difference btwn e two teams this time.
Chelsea, without regards for e comin fixtures, understand tt all their top players have to feature now. they fielded their strongest team (unless u consider Florent Malouda first-team), w e exception of a stricken Frank Lampard (n yes without such a key player, no offence to e Lampard family, United still did not capitalise). with Stamford Bridge, e formidable Bridge, unbeaten in 100 matches since February 2004, as e setting, Man Utd did e inexplicable. Phenomenon Cristiano Ronaldo, together with Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez, were rested. those 3 can already be considered e main reasons for United's amazing season. what were Mikael Silvestre, Darren Fletcher and Nani doin in e line-up?
Chelsea looked snarling in defence, powerful n efficient in midfield w Michael Essien and Jon Obi Mikel holdin forte, n inspired in attack. Man Utd went for a sole striker n played like its offence was havin a try-out in training. Nani was so bad he was almost detrimental to United. Wayne Rooney has v much shown this season tt he cannot single-handedly win a game for United without e support of his star colleagues like Ronaldo and Tevez. so u let him lead e line alone? Fletcher, whom i like, was given a run-out, but against e illustrious Chelsea midfield? oh come on.
i guess Fergie brought club captain Ryan Giggs back to control e game for us in e absence of players like Ronaldo and Paul Scholes. but Giggs is seriously declinin n this match he was always a yard short n a second slower, n failed to make any meaningful impact. these few weeks him n Scholes have really deteriorated a lot, to an extent tt i haven before seen, n im startin to believe their time is almost up. u see this isnt prejudgment. ive followed e club for 12 years n these two are e icons of this generation. they've performed at such high levels for more than a decade tt many times there were hints of decline. critics wait to catch em off-form n say tt they're burnt out. but they came back stronger. this time age has really played its part.
they have reinvented emselves over e years. Scholes was more known for his late bursts into e area, threat from e midfield hole, n blistering shots from far. as he aged n became slower to contribute w goals, he concentrated on his other weapon - passing. forgive me for being a Scholes diehard fan, but watch him, i dare say his range of passing n passing abilities are one of, if not e best in e world. as years passed, he fell back abit deeper to collect e ball, to have a bigger impact on matches in terms of controllin e tempo. this magnified his game-reading skills.
Giggs' main weapons in his heyday (n there are afew actually) were a dribbling style combined w speed n change of pace, plus a mean crossing ability. he reminded ppl of e legendary George Best, n tts a scary thought in itself. ppl could not handle Best, n they cldnt handle Giggs as well. but thing is, Giggs' dribbling is largely effective only when he's comin fast at u. v different school of dribbling from masters like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, or even Joe Cole. he aged, n he got slower. he could no longer burn fullbacks. so he reinvented himself. for his heyday #2, he went higher up e wing, so he did not have to run as far to take on defenders. he depended more on delivering good crosses now. it reduced his dynamism, but to complete this heyday #2, he utilised fully another weapon of his - an amazing ball control. this aspect distinguishes Giggs from many other professionals in e English league. he has great understanding of e ball n can make it stick to him naturally. he's slower, so he cant keep holdin e ball anymore, so he shall use his ball control to e fullest n play others on. he became a focal point for most of Man Utd's lightning-quick attacks, integrating his vision n passing into e moves. so u have a player tactically n technically gifted. n Giggs has e added advantage as he struck fear into opponents. they know even if they can catch him or stop him, what he can do w a ball can still settle games. this coincided w him movin more infield, becomin more involved in plays. heyday #3 is even more high-profile than #2, n is e period stretchin into present day. this was when he has reached a certain level of maturity n experience, n could affect outcomes of matches by simply being on e field. this coincided w him being made captain of United and Wales. w tt ball control, vision, n game-reading skills, plus a more centralised position, he now hold extensive influence in matches. he sometimes can even impose this on match officials, who respect him for his accolades n discipline in an illustrious career.
but like i mentioned earlier, Scholes and Giggs have really aged n i dont believe they can go on for v long more. Giggs will want to break Sir Bobby Charlton's appearance record, but Scholes may be contemplatin retirement.
e central defensive partnership was first choice, if tt was any consolation. but when Nemanja Vidic left e field before even e quarter-hour mark, Wes Brown slotted inside n Owen Hargreaves filled rightback, n it was Barcelona again. just tt this time at leftback was e inferior Silvestre. suddenly e team looked weak.
w 25mins still remainin, against e late-late-show team of England, Fergie committed e amateur mistake of going in retreat, bringin in John O'Shea for e outstandin Anderson. n let e powerful opponents come at em. Fergie really should know better. this was Stamford Bridge n as such a reputable club we should have gone at em. maybe he was encouraged by what happened at Nou Camp. he seemed especially proud of tt, while fans didnt.
Chelsea were not afraid n threw on Nicolas Anelka, Andriy Shevchenko, n almost Juliano Belletti to pile on e pressure offensively. so away team went reverse n home team went forward. no contest. when barrage n barrage of attacks on United's goal seemed futile n Drogba, Anelka n Cole especially quiet, it took a dubious penalty to confirm tt Chelsea always score at home.
Man Utd were only 3 points ahead, albeit w a much superior goal difference, n this was a potential 6-pointer. w only 2 matches left after this, this match could decide e title. it is tt close, if Fergie hasnt realised. so it is a big match, even if it is stuck btwn e two legs of e Champions' League semi-final. n Fergie seemed to not have realised tt e opponents Chelsea are in a similar position. they have tt front to fight as well in afew days, against Liverpool. both teams r in this shit together lah, please. so we're at e business end of e season. n it's e time when real men stand up n be counted. players live for n thrive in this. tts e difference btwn e two teams this time.
Chelsea, without regards for e comin fixtures, understand tt all their top players have to feature now. they fielded their strongest team (unless u consider Florent Malouda first-team), w e exception of a stricken Frank Lampard (n yes without such a key player, no offence to e Lampard family, United still did not capitalise). with Stamford Bridge, e formidable Bridge, unbeaten in 100 matches since February 2004, as e setting, Man Utd did e inexplicable. Phenomenon Cristiano Ronaldo, together with Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez, were rested. those 3 can already be considered e main reasons for United's amazing season. what were Mikael Silvestre, Darren Fletcher and Nani doin in e line-up?
Chelsea looked snarling in defence, powerful n efficient in midfield w Michael Essien and Jon Obi Mikel holdin forte, n inspired in attack. Man Utd went for a sole striker n played like its offence was havin a try-out in training. Nani was so bad he was almost detrimental to United. Wayne Rooney has v much shown this season tt he cannot single-handedly win a game for United without e support of his star colleagues like Ronaldo and Tevez. so u let him lead e line alone? Fletcher, whom i like, was given a run-out, but against e illustrious Chelsea midfield? oh come on.
i guess Fergie brought club captain Ryan Giggs back to control e game for us in e absence of players like Ronaldo and Paul Scholes. but Giggs is seriously declinin n this match he was always a yard short n a second slower, n failed to make any meaningful impact. these few weeks him n Scholes have really deteriorated a lot, to an extent tt i haven before seen, n im startin to believe their time is almost up. u see this isnt prejudgment. ive followed e club for 12 years n these two are e icons of this generation. they've performed at such high levels for more than a decade tt many times there were hints of decline. critics wait to catch em off-form n say tt they're burnt out. but they came back stronger. this time age has really played its part.
they have reinvented emselves over e years. Scholes was more known for his late bursts into e area, threat from e midfield hole, n blistering shots from far. as he aged n became slower to contribute w goals, he concentrated on his other weapon - passing. forgive me for being a Scholes diehard fan, but watch him, i dare say his range of passing n passing abilities are one of, if not e best in e world. as years passed, he fell back abit deeper to collect e ball, to have a bigger impact on matches in terms of controllin e tempo. this magnified his game-reading skills.
Giggs' main weapons in his heyday (n there are afew actually) were a dribbling style combined w speed n change of pace, plus a mean crossing ability. he reminded ppl of e legendary George Best, n tts a scary thought in itself. ppl could not handle Best, n they cldnt handle Giggs as well. but thing is, Giggs' dribbling is largely effective only when he's comin fast at u. v different school of dribbling from masters like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, or even Joe Cole. he aged, n he got slower. he could no longer burn fullbacks. so he reinvented himself. for his heyday #2, he went higher up e wing, so he did not have to run as far to take on defenders. he depended more on delivering good crosses now. it reduced his dynamism, but to complete this heyday #2, he utilised fully another weapon of his - an amazing ball control. this aspect distinguishes Giggs from many other professionals in e English league. he has great understanding of e ball n can make it stick to him naturally. he's slower, so he cant keep holdin e ball anymore, so he shall use his ball control to e fullest n play others on. he became a focal point for most of Man Utd's lightning-quick attacks, integrating his vision n passing into e moves. so u have a player tactically n technically gifted. n Giggs has e added advantage as he struck fear into opponents. they know even if they can catch him or stop him, what he can do w a ball can still settle games. this coincided w him movin more infield, becomin more involved in plays. heyday #3 is even more high-profile than #2, n is e period stretchin into present day. this was when he has reached a certain level of maturity n experience, n could affect outcomes of matches by simply being on e field. this coincided w him being made captain of United and Wales. w tt ball control, vision, n game-reading skills, plus a more centralised position, he now hold extensive influence in matches. he sometimes can even impose this on match officials, who respect him for his accolades n discipline in an illustrious career.
but like i mentioned earlier, Scholes and Giggs have really aged n i dont believe they can go on for v long more. Giggs will want to break Sir Bobby Charlton's appearance record, but Scholes may be contemplatin retirement.
e central defensive partnership was first choice, if tt was any consolation. but when Nemanja Vidic left e field before even e quarter-hour mark, Wes Brown slotted inside n Owen Hargreaves filled rightback, n it was Barcelona again. just tt this time at leftback was e inferior Silvestre. suddenly e team looked weak.
w 25mins still remainin, against e late-late-show team of England, Fergie committed e amateur mistake of going in retreat, bringin in John O'Shea for e outstandin Anderson. n let e powerful opponents come at em. Fergie really should know better. this was Stamford Bridge n as such a reputable club we should have gone at em. maybe he was encouraged by what happened at Nou Camp. he seemed especially proud of tt, while fans didnt.
Chelsea were not afraid n threw on Nicolas Anelka, Andriy Shevchenko, n almost Juliano Belletti to pile on e pressure offensively. so away team went reverse n home team went forward. no contest. when barrage n barrage of attacks on United's goal seemed futile n Drogba, Anelka n Cole especially quiet, it took a dubious penalty to confirm tt Chelsea always score at home.
Barcelona 0-0 Manchester United
give Barcelona some credit. e papers have mostly been centring ard how Fergie planned n went out to choke e opponents, n totally gave up any intentions to attack. some ppl have commented tt Manchester United looked Italian n played like catenaccio. near, but if u analysed e match closely, United were kept out of havin a go at Barcelona, by Barcelona.
this is Man Utd. a team tt prides on possession play, swift killer blows, n swaggers ard pitch. even when they're down against top teams, they usually dominate possession til e final whistle. it is how Fergie learnt football should be played, n what he passed on to his old guard, who then impose it on e newer generations. this season, they've perfected e art. remember 5-1 Newcastle, 6-0 Newcastle, n 3-0 Liverpool? these are reputable opponents who are supposed to be close in quality to United. but if u had been living on another planet n only watched these matches, u would have thot tt Newcastle and Liverpool are in a different league from United. such was e Red Devils' domination of e matches, n how they smothered e ball ard e field like e opponents wernt there. they easily stringed together 20-odd-pass sequences in e closing stages of e matches.
n at Nou Camp, e final possession count read only 27% to United. please do not say it was just Fergie's conservative tactics. this team is built to be arrogant. but Barcelona controlled e tempo of e match thruout n didnt allow United to play.
e line-ups did not say much. Barcelona preferred a single out-n-out striker in Samuel Eto'o, but e attackin nature of e team was obvious. Lionel Messi returned, n e midfield also boasted Deco n Andres Iniesta. only a fool would think this was a cautious line-up. durin Barca's all-conquerin days of 2006, their irrepressible midfield was e crux of their offense, when they worked as a unit to dismantle oppositions. in fact, Man Utd's line-up also looked fine. Paul Scholes n Michael Carrick continued their reliable partnership in e middle of e park (although some believe Owen Hargreaves and Anderson are more continental and hence more suited), n e only notable change was Park Ji-Sung's run-out over club captain Ryan Giggs, who was ready on e bench.
but from e whistle go, some things became obvious. winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been allocated as sole striker, much owing to his goal-scoring record this season; Carlos Tevez fell deep, while Wayne Rooney went out right. Scholes, usually the perfect fold for Carrick, was given similar duties as e latter, to sit in front of e defence as e second anchorman. there were many question marks over e strategy of Fergie. why was Scholes, infamous for his lack of tacklin skills, used as a destroyer n restrained from what he does best, in e attackin midfield hole? by joinin Carrick, we can see clearly Fergie's defensive approach. why was Rooney used out right when he's an instinctive striker but lacks flair? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was experimented before by Fergie to be moved out to e wing, but he succeeded to an extent as Solskjaer played simple, direct wingplay, and he had pace n a fair amount of flair. Rooney was almost invisible whole night n did not excite e Catalan crowd, a letdown to e hype ard him, as compared to Messi, Bojan Krkic or Geovanni. e choice of Ronaldo upfront was simple math - 38-goal return, n this man would give e Barca defence something to think abt whole night. but wrong. Ronaldo is best maraudin from deep, in momentum n in full flow. he cant wait. hes not a natural striker, but more a forward. n as a forward, he needs someone to complement him, all season being Rooney. so this night, he only succeeded in scarin e Barca defence, but there was only so much he could do.
i would have to admit United were astute in defending n one could easily see tt their main duties for e night were defensive. Barca controlled e match. basically e scenes were repeated. Deco or Xavi would control e tempo, decide e next move, n start playin. Messi, Iniesta and Eto'o would usually get e ball, n try to work something out. Man Utd sat back. when e time was ripe, Scholes or Carrick or Evra or Hargreaves would stick in to make e tackle. if at best, Barcelona made it to e last line, Rio Ferdinand would blast e ball away into safety. Rooney, Tevez and Park did their part by harryin opponents from e midfield region. if United did get e ball under control, they would give it to Scholes, Carrick, Rooney or Tevez. unfortunately, this was e main disappointment of e night for United. usually so adept at it, Barcelona's close attention left Scholes, Carrick and Rooney dead most of e time, 3 players who arnt exactly good in tight situations. so e ball is lost n returned to Yaya Toure, e main destroyer for Barcelona. in essence, there was no link-up to Ronaldo, let alone threats to e Barca goal. but if one does not consider Man Utd as Man Utd this night, it was an exceptional defensive display.
maybe he was being cautious in such a cauldron, but definitely not negative. Ronaldo might have been moved inside as a tactical change; Eric Abidal or Gianluca Zambrotta are two of e best at fullback. but no, w e confidence of Fergie in Ronaldo this season, i dont think he would think tt way. Rooney? i felt tt he was played simply bcoz he's Rooney. Fergie has to choose e best team for e occasion, not e best individuals. other than his lung-bursting defensive contributions, his selection was off.
however, this match was for e taking, if Fergie hadnt realised. Barcelona was in a slump. they're not e team of before. not tt team tt passed ard so lightning-quick like only vintage Arsenal can. n Nou Camp hasnt been tt formidable this season. well, we can only understand tt maybe it was Fergie's experience, tt u must always show respect to e biggest clubs of e world. maybe coz Champions' League semi-final is just too huge. maybe he has last season's football lesson by AC Milan at e back of his head. but if he had dared n allowed us fans to dream, he would have taken e game to Barca, n there could yet be a better result.
make no mistake. conceding nothing at Nou Camp is an achievement in itself. tt was most prob e idea in Fergie's head when plannin his strategy. but this is a two-legged affair. u bring e opponents home w a 0-0 aggregate, means u have to do better than e 1st leg to win e tie. once they score at Old Trafford, u have to beat em, bcoz a scoring draw n ur out. Old Trafford is e Theatre of Dreams, but it still cannot claim to be a fortress like Anfield, Stamford Bridge or San Siro. essentially in this tie, it doesn matter much who has home advantage. when Barcelona come by, please watch out. they are a team tt can score in any ground in e world. we'll have to control n dominate, but not slip up behind to an early Barca goal. n we've never needed e Old Trafford crowd more than now.
this is Man Utd. a team tt prides on possession play, swift killer blows, n swaggers ard pitch. even when they're down against top teams, they usually dominate possession til e final whistle. it is how Fergie learnt football should be played, n what he passed on to his old guard, who then impose it on e newer generations. this season, they've perfected e art. remember 5-1 Newcastle, 6-0 Newcastle, n 3-0 Liverpool? these are reputable opponents who are supposed to be close in quality to United. but if u had been living on another planet n only watched these matches, u would have thot tt Newcastle and Liverpool are in a different league from United. such was e Red Devils' domination of e matches, n how they smothered e ball ard e field like e opponents wernt there. they easily stringed together 20-odd-pass sequences in e closing stages of e matches.
n at Nou Camp, e final possession count read only 27% to United. please do not say it was just Fergie's conservative tactics. this team is built to be arrogant. but Barcelona controlled e tempo of e match thruout n didnt allow United to play.
e line-ups did not say much. Barcelona preferred a single out-n-out striker in Samuel Eto'o, but e attackin nature of e team was obvious. Lionel Messi returned, n e midfield also boasted Deco n Andres Iniesta. only a fool would think this was a cautious line-up. durin Barca's all-conquerin days of 2006, their irrepressible midfield was e crux of their offense, when they worked as a unit to dismantle oppositions. in fact, Man Utd's line-up also looked fine. Paul Scholes n Michael Carrick continued their reliable partnership in e middle of e park (although some believe Owen Hargreaves and Anderson are more continental and hence more suited), n e only notable change was Park Ji-Sung's run-out over club captain Ryan Giggs, who was ready on e bench.
but from e whistle go, some things became obvious. winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been allocated as sole striker, much owing to his goal-scoring record this season; Carlos Tevez fell deep, while Wayne Rooney went out right. Scholes, usually the perfect fold for Carrick, was given similar duties as e latter, to sit in front of e defence as e second anchorman. there were many question marks over e strategy of Fergie. why was Scholes, infamous for his lack of tacklin skills, used as a destroyer n restrained from what he does best, in e attackin midfield hole? by joinin Carrick, we can see clearly Fergie's defensive approach. why was Rooney used out right when he's an instinctive striker but lacks flair? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was experimented before by Fergie to be moved out to e wing, but he succeeded to an extent as Solskjaer played simple, direct wingplay, and he had pace n a fair amount of flair. Rooney was almost invisible whole night n did not excite e Catalan crowd, a letdown to e hype ard him, as compared to Messi, Bojan Krkic or Geovanni. e choice of Ronaldo upfront was simple math - 38-goal return, n this man would give e Barca defence something to think abt whole night. but wrong. Ronaldo is best maraudin from deep, in momentum n in full flow. he cant wait. hes not a natural striker, but more a forward. n as a forward, he needs someone to complement him, all season being Rooney. so this night, he only succeeded in scarin e Barca defence, but there was only so much he could do.
i would have to admit United were astute in defending n one could easily see tt their main duties for e night were defensive. Barca controlled e match. basically e scenes were repeated. Deco or Xavi would control e tempo, decide e next move, n start playin. Messi, Iniesta and Eto'o would usually get e ball, n try to work something out. Man Utd sat back. when e time was ripe, Scholes or Carrick or Evra or Hargreaves would stick in to make e tackle. if at best, Barcelona made it to e last line, Rio Ferdinand would blast e ball away into safety. Rooney, Tevez and Park did their part by harryin opponents from e midfield region. if United did get e ball under control, they would give it to Scholes, Carrick, Rooney or Tevez. unfortunately, this was e main disappointment of e night for United. usually so adept at it, Barcelona's close attention left Scholes, Carrick and Rooney dead most of e time, 3 players who arnt exactly good in tight situations. so e ball is lost n returned to Yaya Toure, e main destroyer for Barcelona. in essence, there was no link-up to Ronaldo, let alone threats to e Barca goal. but if one does not consider Man Utd as Man Utd this night, it was an exceptional defensive display.
maybe he was being cautious in such a cauldron, but definitely not negative. Ronaldo might have been moved inside as a tactical change; Eric Abidal or Gianluca Zambrotta are two of e best at fullback. but no, w e confidence of Fergie in Ronaldo this season, i dont think he would think tt way. Rooney? i felt tt he was played simply bcoz he's Rooney. Fergie has to choose e best team for e occasion, not e best individuals. other than his lung-bursting defensive contributions, his selection was off.
however, this match was for e taking, if Fergie hadnt realised. Barcelona was in a slump. they're not e team of before. not tt team tt passed ard so lightning-quick like only vintage Arsenal can. n Nou Camp hasnt been tt formidable this season. well, we can only understand tt maybe it was Fergie's experience, tt u must always show respect to e biggest clubs of e world. maybe coz Champions' League semi-final is just too huge. maybe he has last season's football lesson by AC Milan at e back of his head. but if he had dared n allowed us fans to dream, he would have taken e game to Barca, n there could yet be a better result.
make no mistake. conceding nothing at Nou Camp is an achievement in itself. tt was most prob e idea in Fergie's head when plannin his strategy. but this is a two-legged affair. u bring e opponents home w a 0-0 aggregate, means u have to do better than e 1st leg to win e tie. once they score at Old Trafford, u have to beat em, bcoz a scoring draw n ur out. Old Trafford is e Theatre of Dreams, but it still cannot claim to be a fortress like Anfield, Stamford Bridge or San Siro. essentially in this tie, it doesn matter much who has home advantage. when Barcelona come by, please watch out. they are a team tt can score in any ground in e world. we'll have to control n dominate, but not slip up behind to an early Barca goal. n we've never needed e Old Trafford crowd more than now.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
call me senior, u cao freshie.
before exams...
mugging intensively for communication research. visual literacy. biology.
flippin thru information literacy. speech & argumentation. hopin e papers will be easy on me.
believing im dead this sem.
nothing else.
after exams...
(which was just three days of five papers. dont say im crazy. it's how our cores are planned. n we dont mind. this is a "rigorous curriculum" ok.)
television. finally. Rocky Balboa. awesome. soccer w e CS team. it's been awhile. CS men's talk. drive. chomp chomp. supper w e roomie n benwei. liondance. run. finally. pull-ups n crunches. finally. youtube. afternoon naps. shopped n got myself boxers, pants, n a huge bag. Heroes 2. finally completed. donut factory. ponggol nasi lemak. sports journ internship. City of God. FYP documentary Singapore Standard Time. michael moore's Sicko. more running. ntu route 378, twice in two nights. 2046. rockumentary This is Spinal Tap. ippt.
mugging intensively for communication research. visual literacy. biology.
flippin thru information literacy. speech & argumentation. hopin e papers will be easy on me.
believing im dead this sem.
nothing else.
after exams...
(which was just three days of five papers. dont say im crazy. it's how our cores are planned. n we dont mind. this is a "rigorous curriculum" ok.)
television. finally. Rocky Balboa. awesome. soccer w e CS team. it's been awhile. CS men's talk. drive. chomp chomp. supper w e roomie n benwei. liondance. run. finally. pull-ups n crunches. finally. youtube. afternoon naps. shopped n got myself boxers, pants, n a huge bag. Heroes 2. finally completed. donut factory. ponggol nasi lemak. sports journ internship. City of God. FYP documentary Singapore Standard Time. michael moore's Sicko. more running. ntu route 378, twice in two nights. 2046. rockumentary This is Spinal Tap. ippt.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
unbelievable? believe it.
u are an arts-inclined person, or a conditions-manipulated science student whos more interested in social science than genes n Newton. n ur intrigued by e media, so much so tt ur willin to deviate frm e path of riches of engineerin or accountin. be different, u insisted. u gave ur best shot for a place in e elite communications school in asia. u get it. for ur place, 4 others were rejected. media. film, journalism, tv, magazines, adverts, public relations, radio. screw e engine n calculations.
along e way, u meet an unfamiliar but fearsome foe.
its inexplicable how Statistics managed to sneak into our coursework.
hello. last time i saw numbers n when 1 only equaled 1 n 2 stayed as 2 (which isnt e case in arts) was 2002 olevel a'math. i tried tutorin lower sec math but i stumbled aplenty along e experience.
imagine e panic when ur world becomes one where yes can only be yes n u cant argue til its a no. so i gotta mug. really mug. e kind u crash ur head w facts.
trust me. ppl were clueless. even for e supposedly and arguably intellectual population (this is a dirty word now) of WKWSCI. when a tough course comes along, ppl seek answers. but at least w smart questions lah. Stats, ppl were askin dumb questions. no one was afraid. coz anyway it seemed like no one got it. e questions seemed dumb, but not many could understand em too anyway.
theres a serious problem, n proof tt mass comm students sldnt be takin Stats, when 90% of e cohort, three weeks into it, say Chee-square/Chai-square/Kee-square instead of Kai-square.
along e way, u meet an unfamiliar but fearsome foe.
its inexplicable how Statistics managed to sneak into our coursework.
hello. last time i saw numbers n when 1 only equaled 1 n 2 stayed as 2 (which isnt e case in arts) was 2002 olevel a'math. i tried tutorin lower sec math but i stumbled aplenty along e experience.
imagine e panic when ur world becomes one where yes can only be yes n u cant argue til its a no. so i gotta mug. really mug. e kind u crash ur head w facts.
trust me. ppl were clueless. even for e supposedly and arguably intellectual population (this is a dirty word now) of WKWSCI. when a tough course comes along, ppl seek answers. but at least w smart questions lah. Stats, ppl were askin dumb questions. no one was afraid. coz anyway it seemed like no one got it. e questions seemed dumb, but not many could understand em too anyway.
theres a serious problem, n proof tt mass comm students sldnt be takin Stats, when 90% of e cohort, three weeks into it, say Chee-square/Chai-square/Kee-square instead of Kai-square.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
e gender confusion
i admire what shixiong said e other day while in a girl's car. at times it was chauvinistic, i admit. but i admired his assertiveness. we got caught in some gender stereotypin, n shixiong was blunt in his message. "what gender equality do females want, if, as and when they like, they're proponents of double standards themselves?" -in response to driver's displeasure at chauffeuring us, and tt guys sld chauffeur girls. (shixiong was especially offended as he had once went out of his way to chauffeur her to n fro her house to help her retrieve sth impt.) he had no shame.
instead, e assertiveness shone thru to me. im one who always preach to my male friends tt a rship is 2-way, n guys sld never always give in. we have to love ourselves juz like we know girls love themselves alot. indeed, i know of many girls who dun want at-ur-service guys. only when u can cherish urself, will u be able to cherish ur partner better.
do spore women expect too much? (ST, 24/2/08) by a female journalist
women's expectations of their male dates are more like they're going out with Prince Charming than a real, live man. such mindsets and expectations set the feminist movement back 50 years.
"some women are hypocritical as they demand to be taken seriously and treated equally, but when it comes to dating etiquette, they expect their boyfriends to attend to their every need", female, senior marketin n communications consultant
"women set standards selectively. in certain areas, they want us to perform to their expectations. yet at other times, they want to have their say. they are sending mixed signals and they confuse us sometimes", male
"if you expect the man to accept you as his equal, you can't also expect him to run around treating you like a porcelain doll on a pedestal. it just does not make sense in our modern world", female
"singaporean women should take time off to reflect upon themselves and see how they can meet men's expectations", female, dating agency's founder
"how do these women expect to be taken seriously or seen as an equal? if it makes your man happy to do these things, it's perfectly ok to let him. but we set ourselves up for failure and disappointment when we put pressure on the opposite sex to do all the things that we're perfectly capable of doing", female, image consultant
hey. truth is. guys have no qualms openin doors for u, payin for things, or carryin ur stuff. but it comes from e heart. if these become 'expected', then it's a chore n we're turned off. dun be offended juz bcoz ur a female lah. as e New woman, u sld know there are hypocritical females out there. if ur not one, ur not one. look at this w an open mind. girls juz wanna be loved. we know it, please. it's juz sickenin when u fight tooth n nail w us abt equality, n nxt moment hypocritically - n w a swing of ur hair - expect us to serve u. please, this is not an MCP post.
instead, e assertiveness shone thru to me. im one who always preach to my male friends tt a rship is 2-way, n guys sld never always give in. we have to love ourselves juz like we know girls love themselves alot. indeed, i know of many girls who dun want at-ur-service guys. only when u can cherish urself, will u be able to cherish ur partner better.
do spore women expect too much? (ST, 24/2/08) by a female journalist
women's expectations of their male dates are more like they're going out with Prince Charming than a real, live man. such mindsets and expectations set the feminist movement back 50 years.
"some women are hypocritical as they demand to be taken seriously and treated equally, but when it comes to dating etiquette, they expect their boyfriends to attend to their every need", female, senior marketin n communications consultant
"women set standards selectively. in certain areas, they want us to perform to their expectations. yet at other times, they want to have their say. they are sending mixed signals and they confuse us sometimes", male
"if you expect the man to accept you as his equal, you can't also expect him to run around treating you like a porcelain doll on a pedestal. it just does not make sense in our modern world", female
"singaporean women should take time off to reflect upon themselves and see how they can meet men's expectations", female, dating agency's founder
"how do these women expect to be taken seriously or seen as an equal? if it makes your man happy to do these things, it's perfectly ok to let him. but we set ourselves up for failure and disappointment when we put pressure on the opposite sex to do all the things that we're perfectly capable of doing", female, image consultant
hey. truth is. guys have no qualms openin doors for u, payin for things, or carryin ur stuff. but it comes from e heart. if these become 'expected', then it's a chore n we're turned off. dun be offended juz bcoz ur a female lah. as e New woman, u sld know there are hypocritical females out there. if ur not one, ur not one. look at this w an open mind. girls juz wanna be loved. we know it, please. it's juz sickenin when u fight tooth n nail w us abt equality, n nxt moment hypocritically - n w a swing of ur hair - expect us to serve u. please, this is not an MCP post.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
e first step is finally taken
today can be considered a milestone in my 舞狮 career.
(decided to use Chinese for some of e terms coz i realised some things cant be expressed in English, esp w regards to such Chinese material)
it's been almost 4 years since i was under e tutelage of anyone in this arena. when i graduated from 南初国术团 in May 2004, it was e last time i was a disciple. of course, u may argue, 一日为师 终生为父. i will never forget tt. Loy Kee Fatt is always my 师父. but being under someone, in the present tense, was a thing of e past. after May 2004, im officially a graduate of the troupe. essentially tt means i dun report to tt 师父 of mine anymore. me n e few active alumni still go to him for advice n knowledge, but it's on an ad-hoc basis. we dun even follow his strict regime anymore, not like he insists. we go back to help out w e 师弟师妹 regularly, but we're on our own. we go out n meet more people. we learn more things than he can provide us within e troupe. we got to know other 师父 (whom are usually referred to as 教练 as they're not related to us), n learn more, n improvise e different aspects of e various 门派. but it was all on an unofficial basis.
so tt's e problem. we slack off in e foundation skills. when we're under a tough n disciplined environment, we were noobs. when we go out into e world, we lose e discipline unfortunately. technically we may have improved thru e years, from more exposure n experience. but it's a combination of both tt brings out e best in us.
i was nervous. today wasnt just any other usual training. adrian convinced a 3rd-generation master, 黄师父 from 鹤山会馆, to become our 师父, 顾问, n choreographer to help w our virgin attempt at the Nationals (全国舞狮锦标). this 前辈 is in his 60s, n belongs to the last generation of old-school masters who are equally, n proficiently so, adept at 舞狮, 武术, n many other Chinese cultural elements. from the 4th-generation onwards, like my original 师父, practitioners become more specialised, n also less inclined towards e 传统， v much due to e advent of 舞龙 n 跳桩. w so many troupes springin up, many ridiculously, e standards n adherence dropped. procedures of representative practises like 采青 became distorted n tradition went downhill. even e Nationals lost its soul n judges now look out more for death-defying stunts than 狮形 n 含义. 黄师父 has been in this circle since e year Singapore became independent. he's seen all e shifts. he should know. he's so senior tt he has even retired as a judge for e Nationals. today, he advises many troupes, some highly reputable. w his experience he has moulded champion teams. he has taught people how to become champions, but he hasnt lost his religious following of e traditional. he draws a clear line between competition requirements n e practises. w e former, he has moved w e times, but w e latter, he's still stubbornly adamant, which is a good thing. he is extremely glad we're an interested bunch, n arnt some idling delinquents, tt's why he's willing to pass on his knowledge n help us without conditions.
it's a milestone bcoz it's been a long time since i was so regimental. i was ramrod straight while he talked to us. we were in awe of his presence. we stood around him like he's a giant. well, he is, figuratively. we greeted him 师父, n later bade farewell to him w e classic 解散 salute. we're of different schools of e art. he's a master in 鹤山派狮, while we're cross-trained in his niche n 佛鹤派狮, so we had to adapt to him. this is of course not easy. when we reached e moment to show him what we've got, we went silent. this was it. jiajun went 1st as he's our choice of 狮头 for e competition. i could see he moved up a level from his usual performance, as he had to display his best. but still he was put down, bcoz jiajun isnt drilled in the foundations like we were, so he is bound to be lacking. adrian volunteered himself next, to break e ice in a way, bcoz he had trained under 黄师父 at 鹤山会馆 before. he also displayed his best, n was considerably up to his standards. n when 黄师父 asked who's e drummer, i felt a nervy tinge up my spine as they pointed at me. i was a much better drummer some years back, when i practised consistently. but e me today is just stable n nothing spectacular. so i went up to e drum n did my thing. haven felt so nervous in a long time, not even w public performances, bcoz a master was eyeing me now. lucky in 鹤山鼓典 a traditional approach is favored, so i could still revert to it being once trained in traditional 南鼓.
i was all prepared to 扎马 or practise 狮形 for hours today, which is back-breakin for rusty practitioners like us. he did mention a faithfulness to 马步, but today was just an introduction, n he left in a little more than an hour.
back to basics. what more to come in e comin months leadin to e Nationals. but im exhilarated to be gettin in touch w these forgotten things again. they'll only make me better. it is our greatest honor to learn from him. in practice n theory, he has literacy not many others have anymore.
(decided to use Chinese for some of e terms coz i realised some things cant be expressed in English, esp w regards to such Chinese material)
it's been almost 4 years since i was under e tutelage of anyone in this arena. when i graduated from 南初国术团 in May 2004, it was e last time i was a disciple. of course, u may argue, 一日为师 终生为父. i will never forget tt. Loy Kee Fatt is always my 师父. but being under someone, in the present tense, was a thing of e past. after May 2004, im officially a graduate of the troupe. essentially tt means i dun report to tt 师父 of mine anymore. me n e few active alumni still go to him for advice n knowledge, but it's on an ad-hoc basis. we dun even follow his strict regime anymore, not like he insists. we go back to help out w e 师弟师妹 regularly, but we're on our own. we go out n meet more people. we learn more things than he can provide us within e troupe. we got to know other 师父 (whom are usually referred to as 教练 as they're not related to us), n learn more, n improvise e different aspects of e various 门派. but it was all on an unofficial basis.
so tt's e problem. we slack off in e foundation skills. when we're under a tough n disciplined environment, we were noobs. when we go out into e world, we lose e discipline unfortunately. technically we may have improved thru e years, from more exposure n experience. but it's a combination of both tt brings out e best in us.
i was nervous. today wasnt just any other usual training. adrian convinced a 3rd-generation master, 黄师父 from 鹤山会馆, to become our 师父, 顾问, n choreographer to help w our virgin attempt at the Nationals (全国舞狮锦标). this 前辈 is in his 60s, n belongs to the last generation of old-school masters who are equally, n proficiently so, adept at 舞狮, 武术, n many other Chinese cultural elements. from the 4th-generation onwards, like my original 师父, practitioners become more specialised, n also less inclined towards e 传统， v much due to e advent of 舞龙 n 跳桩. w so many troupes springin up, many ridiculously, e standards n adherence dropped. procedures of representative practises like 采青 became distorted n tradition went downhill. even e Nationals lost its soul n judges now look out more for death-defying stunts than 狮形 n 含义. 黄师父 has been in this circle since e year Singapore became independent. he's seen all e shifts. he should know. he's so senior tt he has even retired as a judge for e Nationals. today, he advises many troupes, some highly reputable. w his experience he has moulded champion teams. he has taught people how to become champions, but he hasnt lost his religious following of e traditional. he draws a clear line between competition requirements n e practises. w e former, he has moved w e times, but w e latter, he's still stubbornly adamant, which is a good thing. he is extremely glad we're an interested bunch, n arnt some idling delinquents, tt's why he's willing to pass on his knowledge n help us without conditions.
it's a milestone bcoz it's been a long time since i was so regimental. i was ramrod straight while he talked to us. we were in awe of his presence. we stood around him like he's a giant. well, he is, figuratively. we greeted him 师父, n later bade farewell to him w e classic 解散 salute. we're of different schools of e art. he's a master in 鹤山派狮, while we're cross-trained in his niche n 佛鹤派狮, so we had to adapt to him. this is of course not easy. when we reached e moment to show him what we've got, we went silent. this was it. jiajun went 1st as he's our choice of 狮头 for e competition. i could see he moved up a level from his usual performance, as he had to display his best. but still he was put down, bcoz jiajun isnt drilled in the foundations like we were, so he is bound to be lacking. adrian volunteered himself next, to break e ice in a way, bcoz he had trained under 黄师父 at 鹤山会馆 before. he also displayed his best, n was considerably up to his standards. n when 黄师父 asked who's e drummer, i felt a nervy tinge up my spine as they pointed at me. i was a much better drummer some years back, when i practised consistently. but e me today is just stable n nothing spectacular. so i went up to e drum n did my thing. haven felt so nervous in a long time, not even w public performances, bcoz a master was eyeing me now. lucky in 鹤山鼓典 a traditional approach is favored, so i could still revert to it being once trained in traditional 南鼓.
i was all prepared to 扎马 or practise 狮形 for hours today, which is back-breakin for rusty practitioners like us. he did mention a faithfulness to 马步, but today was just an introduction, n he left in a little more than an hour.
back to basics. what more to come in e comin months leadin to e Nationals. but im exhilarated to be gettin in touch w these forgotten things again. they'll only make me better. it is our greatest honor to learn from him. in practice n theory, he has literacy not many others have anymore.
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