Onwards to the Quarter-Finals

So the second round matches are finally over. Unfortunately no real surprises here...all the previous World Cup winners are in, and it's gonna be an exciting quarter finals.

1. Germany vs. Sweden: 2-0
The first match to kick-off, and easily the best match of the lot. Germany started off strongly and were 2-0 within the first twenty minutes. Sweden might have made a match of it had they scored the penalty, but truthfully they never looked like they were gonna trouble the Germans.

2. Argentina vs. Mexico: 2-1
The 'New World' contest. The Mexicans matched their illustrious opponents player for player up to the extra time wonder goal by Rodriguez. The result was very much hanging in the balance, although it was very likely as time wore on, that the Argentinians were going to snatch it.

3. England vs. Ecuador: 1-0
Oh dear! Guess by far the worst match of the lot, especially with so much expectation of an England walkthrough. Beckham as usual, was unimpressive, and apart from his goal that won the match, was largely pedestrian. And he blames it on an illness. Think Eriksson's tactics leave much to be desired, and he will have to buck up. Beckham out, Lennon in? I hope so...

4. Portugal vs. Holland: 1-0
The dirtiest match of the eight? Don't think so. Probably as much of the referee's fault as the players'. Maniche's goal was brilliant, and though the Dutch tried their very best, they just couldn't do it. van Nistelrooy's career may be coming to an end with his non-selection in times of trouble for the Dutch. Deco and Costinha suspended, question mark over Ronaldo. Portugal will be depleted to face England. Maybe a respite for Eriksson? We'll see...

5. Italy vs. Australia: 1-0
Daylight roberry!! An awful way to lose a match. The Italians really pulled of an 'Italian Job' on the referee. But the Australians have themselves to blame. They should have done better with their numerical advantage, and waiting for extra-time cost them a place in the quarter finals. Fair to the Italians, Cannavaro marshalled the defence extermely well, but with Materazzi suspended and Nesta still out, who'll be there in the centre of defence? Only time will tell.

6. Switzerland vs. Ukraine: 0-0 FT/ET (0-3 on penalties)
Contender for the worst match, but England-Ecuador match nicked it. Absolutely minimal attacking play and/or chances on goal. But it never looked like it was going to be an exciting game. Schevchenko and co. practiced their penalty taking well, and may go far.

7. Brazil vs. Ghana: 3-0
Guess this result was never in doubt. Especially after ten minutes, and Brazil never looked back. If Ghana had taken their first half chances, it may have been difficult for Brazil, but they would have prevailed in the end. Again Ronaldinho did not sparkle. Maybe he will come to life in the coming rounds. Ronaldo is now the record holder for most number of goals scored in the World Cup finals. More to come? We wait excitedly.

8. Spain vs. France: 1-3
Absolute heartbreak for the Spanish as they fair to pass the second round once again. Henry's theatrics? Maybe it was a foul, but I think the authorities should take action against the attempt to get Puyol sent off. But maybe like Aragones said, the Spanish side exciting as it was, lacked the big match experience. They'll be a team to watch in the future. And Zidane gets another match to show off his skill and flair...his goal was sweet.

All in all, a lot of excitement, yellow/red cards, goals, theatrics, and individual brilliance. And there's more to come. Quarter finals are up next!

A New Addition

Well, this is the new addition to our household. Urm it's my nephew...so only limited pictures available on this blog.

Ethan's the name...wonder where my brother got the name from...

Anyway I think the house will be a noisier place from now on!

WC Roundup...Round 3

Darned it...France made it into the second round. So all the favourites made it this World Cup. No underdog giant killings like the last. Well it would make for a hopefully good run-in to the finals.

Not much excitement during the last round of matches as most of the major teams have already made it through. Well, I was hoping France wouldn't have made it, but too bad. Think Brazil's match was the most exciting of the lot with Ronaldo scoring twice. Guess his demise was overly exaggerated. We'll see in the coming matches whether he would continue to improve and surprise us all.

Kewell: zero to hero? That's what legends are made of. From the boos of 2005 Champions League finals to scoring the goal which made Australia a last sixteen team, he must be flying high. Will he do better in the coming rounds? We'll have to see...

The last sixteen matchups:

1. Germany vs. Sweden, Argentina vs. Mexico.
Sweet games! Germany would have the tougher of the two favourites against a strong Swedish team. Would home advantage play a crucial part? Maybe...but the Swedes would be a hard nut to crack. Ballack and co. would have to buck up. Stylish and flashy Argentina would make short work of Mexico, I think. Should be no surprise there. A Germany-Argentina quarterfinal would be mouthwatering indeed...

2. England vs. Ecuador, Portugal vs. Netherlands.
Portugal-Netherlands would be the match to watch. Maybe too close to call. Will just have to wait and see. The winner's opponents? England I hope, but Ecuador would be as tough to crack as the Swedes. But England has the best midfield quartet in the world, and with a crippled strikeforce, would have to come to the fore. Its about time Erikkson moved Gerrard further upfront to support Crouch or Rooney. A tough match to call. Looking forward to an England-Holland quarterfinals.

3. Italy vs. Australia, Switzerland vs. Ukraine.
The Azurris seemed to have put their domestic match fixing scandal behind them. Not too flashy but looked solid enough. Maybe too much for the Australians, but I'm sure Kewell, Cahill and Viduka would give them a run for their money. The Swiss looks solid defensively, but has got no forwards comparable to the Ukrainian double of Shevchenko and Rebrov. Defence vs. Offence...who will win this underdog match? Italy's opponents are still waiting...

4. Brazil vs. Ghana, Spain vs. France.
Brazil should have a cakewalk here; will have to wait and see how Ronaldo fares. Is it a flash-in-a pan performance against the US? Anyhow the brilliance of Ronaldinho, Kaka and the rest should see them through to the next round. Their opponents? I'll pick Spain anytime against the French. Dazzling, young and well-drilled, I think they'll break their second round hoodoo to make it against Brazil. Guess France would have to pick up the pieces and rebuild around a new playmaker.

An interesting and exciting next four days.

Ecuador next...

Can't sleep after watching the England match against Sweden. Fortunately I only watched the second half, so got a bit of extra sleep. Still agonising over the poor defending by England. I pray that this does not continue, otherwise England won't get very far.

Didn't see the Cole goal, but the Gerrard goal was a beauty. But the two goals conceded were due to poor marking. First goal: who went for the ball with Allback? The second: no one was with the two strikers coming in from the far post. Not too mention the two Swedish strikes that hit the woodwork. Poor defending by English standards. So much so that from every corner and free kick, Swedes looked like they were gonna score.

Poor Michael Owen. His luck wasn't very good since he decided to leave Liverpool. Hopefully the injury doesn't look as bad. Beckham to me looked very pedestrian today. I hope he's saving his best for the later rounds. I strongly feel Gerrard should play up forward; he looks all the more threatening compared to Lampard. And Hargreaves appeared to have a pretty solid game as the holding midfielder.

All in all, some cause for concern. They next meet Ecuador. Would be a tough fight, if not a struggle. Eriksson's got a lot to do before Sunday.

WC Round Up...Round 2

I guess the second round of group matches were quite unremarkable. Expectedly most of the major footballing teams made it to the second round: Germany, England, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Holland and Italy. Who's missing?

France. Not that they do not have a chance...but they have to beat a lowly Togo to do that; a mean feat for a team big on stars and hope, but short on goals; for God's sake they only scored once since winning the 1998 World Cup. With players like Henry and Trezeguet in their side? Something is seriously wrong with the team.

Still a lot of underdogs have a chance: South Korea, Australia, the U.S.A., Czech Republic; they have to win their matches to seal qualification to the last 16. So there'll be a lot of exciting final group matches starting today. Ivory Coast is one team a lot had high hopes for, but unfortunately in the Group of Death, they died early on.

England avoiding Germany? I hope so. Because Germany appears to be impressive so far. And England is not. Let's hope Becks and Co. get their act together before a real disaster happens. At least they'll have about 4 hrs to decide whether to win or lose the match against Sweden. I guess at face value facing Ecuador is the better option, but then again you never know with these minnows. They might just spring an upset or two.

So far, Argentina seems to be very impressive. Their 6-0 win of Serbia & Montenegro, now that was a delight to watch...a footballing extravaganza. The second goal: what a build-up; you hardly see a goal like that anymore nowadays. With Riquelme as a livewire, young Messi, poaching of Crespo, Argentina may well go all the way to the Finals. And Maradona may still get more speeding tickets or a heart attack. The team is still young, I think that it what worries opponents the most. Maybe in a year or two they will take the mantle away from an aging and uninspiring Brazil.

Aah...Brazil. Not much need to be said regarding their match against Australia. Poor Ronaldo. Think he really should retire from football. Ronaldinho, no silky skills from him just yet. Think the most impressive player in the side is Kaka. Guess without him Brazil would just be another England, struggling to win matches. But with players of such high quality in the side, it'll just be a matter of time before they explode into action. We'll just have to wait and see...

So tonight my favourite England's playing again. I'll stay up to watch...hopefully with a happy heart at the end...

Cartoon Marathon

Just finished a marathon of cartoon movies. Had been behind times lately, so thought I'd catch up on some animated movies. Saw 'The Wild', 'Over The Hedge' and 'Cars' in a four hour marathon. Phew...was it taxing.

Speaking of animated movies, I still remember how it all started. Late 80's with 'Little Mermaid'. Then came 'The Lion King'. Now that was a spectacle. After that it all went quiet for a while. Last eight years came a flurry of animated movies. Think the earlier ones were better. Not in terms of animation of course, but more in the storyline. Animation is fantastic but it doesn't make a movie to be remembered. I liked 'Mulan', 'Monsters Inc.', 'Finding Nemo', 'Toy Story (the original)', 'The Incredibles', to name a few.

Despite much of the hype, 'Madagascar', 'Ice Age 2', 'The Wild' and 'Over The Hedge' is just so-so. 'Cars' is a different premise. Maybe because it didn't focus on animals for a change. Yup, too many animal-related animations, it was getting to be a bore. Or maybe because it was a Disney movie...made it a more family-orientated. A bit of original laughs too. I liked Mater, the tow truck. Think it had some of the best lines in the movie.

Earlier animations had more meaningful, 'lesson-to-be-learned' stories initially, but I guess became watered down over the years because of commercialisation. Too bad really, because cartoons reach out to both young and old...which of us have not seen a cartoon we really remembered? Would be a great learning tool for kids and teenagers. And the music too. They were great then, but who can remember a great tune from animations nowadays?

All that said, I still look forward to animation movies. Probably I remain a kid at heart. Hopefully one with a good story and great music to boot.

Keep up the good work Disney and Pixar!

England Escape

Crouch's 82nd minute opener.

I think I heard a very loud collective sigh of relief from all the England fans around the world. A very loud sigh of relief...

For one, England escaped from the jaws of a draw. Rooney had a run...luckily he didn't break his foot. And all the world jumped for joy at the final whistle.

Made to look so ordinary by the minnows of football, Crouch and Gerrard saved them the blushes. For most of the time they never made any headway. Owen looked tired, Lampard missing chance after chance, Cole running around like a headless chicken, Beckham doing what he does best...not leading by example.

Gerrard had a subdued role. Eriksson must be a fool to keep him back as a holding midfielder. He hardly had a run or look at goal. The only time he got forward, he scored a goal! Eriksson might as well play Carrick as a holding midfielder and let Gerrard loose. Btw, did anyone notice Gerrard had a near perfect long pass record in the match? Almost every pass he made found an England colleague.

Crouch did not have a good game. But he got the breakthrough England needed. That was enough. That is what he was paid for to do. Too bad he didn't do the 'Crouch'...that would've been lovely to see.

But credit must also go to Trinidad and Tobago. They started off with a plan and stuck to the plan. The held England at bay. Introduction of Lennon and Rooney did the trick...given them something to think about. And threw their plans askew.

Now...for Sweden. Think England must put in a better performance to convinve their detractors. With topping the group, they should be more relaxed and go out and perform. And perform they must. Confidence they must obtain. Ecuador is lying in wait...

P.S. As you might have thought...I am a Liverpool fan!

WC Round Up...Round 1

Nope, I didn't manage to watch the England-Paraguay match. In a way, thank God, because it was a poor game. By England's standards. Hopefully it's a sign that the only other way to go is ...up.

Phew...the 1st round of matches are over! Tiring to say the least. Both physically and mentally.
Didn't really watch the matches...mainly caught the highlights. Some teams are good, others downright poor; some surprise us.

Best match so far: guess has to be Spain vs. Ukraine; if not for the number of goals then for the flair and way Spain played. Trinidad & Tobago vs. Sweden was good too, only if for the Trinidan's fighting spirit.

Most impressive team so far: my vote goes to Spain. For now. Inventive attacking play. And with flair too. Not many 'big' names in the team either. Italy, Argentina and Germany seems solid too. They should progress to the second round. Unless there are upsets.

Least impressive team so far: gee...this is a toss up. Between France, England and Brazil. Think I'll go with France. Yup, for now. Brazil, for all the hoop-la, hasn't been performing well as a team. But I'm sure we'll get to see them in the Quarter-finals at least. England? Hope they make it too. France? Err...maybe a repeat of 2002?

Best newcomer: has to be Australia. Their first finals in a long time, they impressed with the come back win against Japan. Their best player? Has to be Tim Cahill. He is impressive with Everton, and he is impressive with the Australian team. I guess the rest of the new teams are just so-so.

Best player: Hmm, didn't get to watch much of the games, so can't say. But I guess Ronaldinho hasn't impressed just yet. The Spanish strikers: Villa and Torres seems to be clicking together very well, and linking up with the Spanish midfield.

Worst player: Ronaldo? Need I say more? Maybe he shouldn't be in the team, with all his problems.

Most expected player yet to play: undoubtedly Rooney. Maybe his metatarsal has healed, but I don't think Eriksson will risk him, even with Owen out of form and Crouch, not the best striker around. England midfield quartet has to step up and take the lead. They're one of the best in the world.

Second round starting today: Germany vs. Poland. It's make or break day for Poland. If they lose, they're out. Will they make it? I don't think so. Next England vs. Trinidad. That'll be the match I'll be waiting for.

Till then...

Football....Football...every day

OK...OK...so the World Cup's started. Nice game Germany. And Ticos. Lotsa goals too. Didn't see the Ecuador-Poland match. But the underdogs won. So kind of a good start to the tournament.

Tonight it's England vs. Paraguay. So Rooney's fit to play...if England makes it past the group stages. Prayers have been answered. Gerrard OK too. Gods are smiling upon England. Danged...have to work. But wait! There's a TV at the workplace...maybe there's a chance to sneak off and catch the game. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Pray for me too...

Roo-ting for Rooney

Well, today's the big day...June 7th...the whole England supporting community holds their breath for star player Wayne Rooney. He will undergo the defining CT scan which will decide his World Cup fate: dazzle among the stars, or watch from the comfort of his home.

Personally I couldn't care less whether he actually gets to play or not. Brilliant as he may be, the team is not built around him. England has a lot of players which can stand up to be counted when the time needs them. Look at Gerard, Lampard, Cole, Owen, Crouch, to name a few. It is they, and not Rooney alone, who will decide England's fate in this championship.

Of course it'll be a massive boost if he can play; another headache for England's opponents. No one denies his extreme talent and skill: slick dribbling, powerful bursts or runs, good with both his feet. His presence or absence will be felt either way.

We will know in a few hours time. And so will he. He is young, and has at least another four World Cups ahead of him. Sir Alex is right to nurture him, bide his time and let the wounds heal. There are other World Cups.

So we all wait...

Musicals

Just watched DCOM's High School Musical yesterday. Huh? I know it's not supposed to be available on ASTRO till 25th...but that's the miracle of Internet and broadband.

Wow...that's all I can say. Breath of fresh air in this world of violence, sex and 'drama'-laden TV shows. OK it's got all the usual themes, but with the addition of music. Really love the music. Mix of hip-hop, rap and pop. Also the dance moves and choreography. Good work Mr. Ortega! Seemed so effortlessly woven into the movie...without the music, the show would still be there but without the spark that defines it. The last time I something like this was in...Sound of Music? Plus they give chances for new actors to hit the screen...hey, Hillary Duff started there you know...

Too bad shows like this are not more popular...you hardly see them on the air. This world could use a bit more of fresh music...

Will try to catch it again on 25/6...I'm a sucker for these shows...LOL

P.S.: DCOM is short for Disney Channel Original Movie...

Over and over again...when will we learn?

"Only fools learn from experience. I learn from experience from others."

Otto von Bismarck

Well, I guess that doesn't apply to us Malaysians. Be it the public or authorities. Time and again we read about innumerable 'incidents' that needlessly repeat themselves over and over again. These are not acts of God...they are just due to stupidity and 'I-don't-care-less-until-i-see-$$' attitude.

Take for instance the motorvehicle accidents we come across daily. Majority of them are motorcyclists. Yet these speed demons never learn: riding without helmets, weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds, roadhogging, to name a few...it is as if they are too eager to get their names on the pages of the newspaper.

Well it's fine by me if you die...but please die there and then!!; Don't put others at danger or become a burden due to your own stupidity and carelessness.

Another example, the landslide incident that claimed four lives on Wednesday (31/05/2006). Four or five similar incidents over the last ten years? At the same area? Come on...the authorities should have acted long before now. Or maybe that lives were not lost previously...so no big deal. Now who pays the price? Certainly not these individuals whose palms must have been grased many times over...

Too late to cry over spilt milk, nasi sudah menjadi bubur, oh Chief Minister!

Will it happen again? I'm sure it will...
Will we ever learn? I'm sure we won't...

World Cup Fever

Countdown: 7 days to go....

The fever is in the air. Very contagious. Young and old, male and female, fan or not: no one will be spared. It's all around us. Resistance is futile.

May or may not stay up to watch the matches. Unlike Japan/Korea 2002, it's late night/early mornings. But sure bet i'll be watching each match from quaterfinals onwards...have made arrangements. Group matches and second round...will try and watch, especially the England matches.

No booklets, magazines, memerobilia for me. Don't fancy them. I just love watching the game. I'm not gonna go crazy over it...


Who will win the cup?

Difficult...personally I fancy England. The team they have is one of the best since 1966. Even without Rooney. Solid defence; good midfield; too bad strikeforce may be a bit blunt. They've got Gerrard and lampard; Backs still can cross the ball. Crouch? Don't mind him doing more of his 'dance'...as long as England wins.

Of course there are the others: Brazil, Argentina, Germany. France? Just hope they don't crash out at the end of the group stages.

Dark horses? Hmmm...maybe the Czech republic. They did quite well in Euro 2004.


We'll see...after all it's just less than a week away. Now where's my Panadol...

Male vs. Female brain!?

Look how developed the human brain is!! So these are the key differences that makes us male and female...think about it...how true...

Disclaimer: No offence intended...

Here it goes...

A friend of mine said to me last year: 'You should blog, and not whine so much...'

Well I kept whining....and kept doing the things I did best: complain

Kept procrastinating, and finally today I decided to try to make this work.

So here it goes...hopefully it makes some sense to all of you readers out there!

Don't Work Too Hard!!

Friend of mine emailed this to me today.

Found it rather ironic.

New resolutions:

1. Be lazy. No one notices you if you work hard anyway.

2. Try not to die on the job, hopefully...

That should keep me going for the next few months...