Chelsea Football Club vs FC Barcelona at the World Cup

Fairplay:
Halfway through the round of 16, the score for fairplay between CFC and FC Barcelona stands at 0-2. Thanks to dirty play by members of the catalan club, the game with the worst dicsipline at a WC finals took place yesterday, where diver Anderson Deco and late tackler Giovanni van Bronkhorst were sent off.

Goalkeeper:
Petr Cech produced breath-taking displays to redeem his nation against underdogs Ghana. Victor Valdes? Probably watching the WC on his 50cm tv at home.

Captains:
Club captain Terry is England vice-captain, and is now the rock of the English defence. Puyol? He is good but probably not that good. Also, Chelsea new boys Ballack and Shevchenko are captaining their countries into the quarters and second round, while Barcelona signing Gudjohnson is also watching WC at home.

Defenders:
Terry, Carvalho, Gallas, Ferreira, Wayne Bridge and Huth are at the WC (del Horno is injured). Only Puyol and dear Gio flies the flag for the Barca defence.

Midfield:
Robben is starring for Holland, Essien MOM for Ghana against the Czechs, Lampard has played throughout, Cole grabbed a goal and there's still Maka and Ballack. From Barca: Xavi, Ronnie (who has dissapointed), dear Deco, van Bommel and Marquez. Pretty even still.

Attack:
Crespo 3 goals, Maniche (ex Chelsea midfielder) 2, Shevchenko 2, Drogba 1. Marquez 1. Even Craig Moore has scored more goals than World Player of the Year.

So far so good for CFC, but watch this space!

acronym generator

D	Dramatic
A	Amazing
N	Neglected
I	Intelligent
E	Enjoyable
L	Lovable

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fuck man im neglected, pls pay some attention to me, shower me with love. thanks.

Daniel OUTTO!!

Vamos, vamos Argentina

With the football (for soccer for Americans and Australians) fever escalating to a 4 year high, the performance put up by Le Seleccion last night did not dissapoint any. The passing football, slick footwork and constant movement on show was soccer marijuana to me. This, to me, is what football is about. It is about technique, it is about grace and vision in passing, and most of all, it is about teamwork.

Le Seleccion plays football as a team, more than any other team. Players are constantly running off the ball presenting themselves to teamates as outlets to pass to. Players are constantly passing the ball, not trying to take on whole defences (ala Ronaldinho, and failing). And we haven't got to the final balls played; the through balls or crosses that i suspect were laser guided to the striker. On the occasions when a 1 man show took over, Tevez showed why he is the next big thing for Argentina (and maybe for Chelsea?).

This is football at its purest, purer than the showboating team in gold and green. In the movie goal, when Santiago Munez refused to pass the ball and kept up with his dribbling, the coach pulled him aside and show him that no man can run faster than a passed ball. This current Argentina side has demonstrated that they understand this principle very well, and their passing moves opposition players around and takes them out of play, opening gaps in defences. The players are aided in their passing game by their skills, as seen by the backheel assist by Crespo in the 2nd goal and the numerous flicks by Crespo, Riquelme and Sorin.

Which brings me to the trio of Sorin, Saviola and Riquelme. FC Barcelona rejects. Barcelona has been finding a striker of late and bought Gudjohnsen, but i cannot see why Rijkaard has ignore the goal scoring attributes of El Conejo. Saviola has pace, technique and good finishing, combined with determination as seen in the lead up to the 3rd goal, and great off the ball running as positioning as seen in the 2nd goal against Cote d'Ivoire, when he managed to stay onside and then latch on to the through pass.

Imagine Riquelme in Barcelona's midfield now. What a dream midfield it would be (except that it is missing Lampard, Ballack, Makalele, Joe Cole and Robben). Ronaldinho, Deco, Riquelme, Xavi, Giuly. With Messi and Iniesta ready substitutes. How did they let this gem of a player go?

They also let the inspiration and running of Juan Pablo Sorin go, who would fit in seemlessly at left back instead of van Bronkhorst. He would be able to support Puyol in defence as well as support the midfield in attack.

It is my dream to pass like Riquelme, and i will try to emulate Le Seleccion's style of play and the effectiveness of their passing.

TIP OF THE DAY: Argentina to win the World Cup!

Argentina are truly able to win this world cup. However, no team is perfect, and what can be said about this Argentinian team is that they do look gread with the ball and when attacking, but not so good defending and without the ball. The defence is not the best, with Ayala's lack of pace betraying his age, Heinze has just returned from injury and Sorin and Burdisso are not exactly great tacklers. And a heavy responsibility falls on Mascherano to sweep up the attacks in the midfield, as Riquelme, for all his attacking genius, is not going to help out much in that department.

If the defence is able to learn how to weather a storm, and protect fragile 1-0 leads, then they would be able to go all the way. If they don't, then results will hinge on the competency of their opponents to take advantage of this weakness.

A win is a win is a win

Before yesterday's match between England and T&T, i predicted the result to be a 0-0 tie, drawing from England's lifeless performance in the last round against Paraguay and T&T's solid defending, resolutely repelling the Swedish attack that contained famed strikers Zlatan and Larsson.

England's disjointed play and uninspiring attacks at the Trinidad goal for 84 minutes almost justified my belief that T&T would hold out, but alas, lady luck was with that balding goose, and England pulled through to the next round. They summarised the match that a win is a win.

Is a win a win then? How can we justify playing for a win, when the World Cup is a showcase for talent and genius in the sport? More importantly, should a team be satisfied with their results alone, or should they be concerned over the manner in which the results are achieved? Knowing well that if a team doesn't start playing well in the earlier stages of a tournament like this, they may never hit form in time to overcome rivals at the later stages.

In my opinion, every team must have a realistic assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, and play accordingly, as well as setting goals realistically. When S&M play Argentina tonight, it is very acceptable for them to start off defensively, slowly consolidating play and on occasions relying on quick counter attacks to break down the Argentinian defence. It is unrealistic for them to start of the match attacking a technically superior Argentinian side, when it only takes a pass from Riquelme to set a striker through on goal.

Back to the England game, it is true they have qualified and that takes pressure of them in the Sweden game, but it is their onus now to play good football; not necessarily attractive football but effective football, as is deserving from the talent in the team. With great passers like Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham, and Joe Cole to provide incisive runs, it is unacceptable that the football produced is as dull and uninspired as seen so far. It is true that a win is a win, but now they have to use the next game to ensure that the play produced by the players is enough for them to achieve a respectable final position in this World Cup. A second round knockout at the hands of underdogs Ecuador or the old enemy Germany would be a kick in the teeth to all the England fans overdosed on expectations that this team could be the team to produce the World Cup a second time. (Whether they play with or without Rooney doesn't matter, they are talented enough than to rely on him). A win may be a win now, but playing unproductively and unadventurously may result in losses and exit later on.

Maybe a question to be answered is who or what is more important in football: the talent and skills of the players or the tactical nous and cunning of the managers and captains? There may be no answer to this question.

After some thought, there is a factor that helps us find the answer. When we think of football, we think of 11 men vs 11 men trying to get the ball into the opponent's net more times than the opponent puts the ball in your net. In this case, we have to revert back to the strengths and weaknesses inherent in teams. If a team has a match winner far superior in skill and technique to any player in the opposition, then maybe the coach and the players will style their game to support this genius. On the other hand if the team has no natural flair player, or the better / more experienced players are more defensive minded, then the coach has to work out a system that can serve the team's strengths. In both cases, we must take into account the team's realistic targets and their strengths and weaknesses.

Thus i do not condemn defensive play, rather i find that if my team is playing with solid defensive players, and our strength is in compact defending and supporting, then why should we attack? Attacking will only expose our defence to unneccessary pressure by defending with fewer people.

Reminding me of a competion i once played in. RJC held a beach soccer competion as part of a fun day in sentosa. I was not signed up, but weian was keen on playing and since harry's team was short of players we joined them. Our team consisted of chia joo (keeper), me, harry, weian and daryl. We were the underdogs in every match, and didnt score a single goal in normal play. Due to our great defensive work we didnt concede a single goal either and won every match on penalties.

With our inferior skills when playing against teams made out of all soccer team first choice players, how could we be expected to attack? Thus our game plan was defence, and in each progressive game our defending grew better and more resolute. We were not going to let them shoot or pass and dribble freely. When they shot it was always well saved. We were more comfortable defending in numbers than attacking and risking being countered. Thus by playing to our strengths we were able to overcome all opposition.

To some a win is a win. In some cases the win may be a win now but a loss later. And in other cases a draw is a win, is the only win possible.

Great Ocean Road, Great Otways National Park

Spent 2 days in Great Ocean Rd and Great Otways Nature Park.

Day 1: Drove from Melbourne to 12 Apostles and back to Lorne from 0700 to 1800, stopping along the way at Lorne, Erskine Falls Apollo Bay, Cape Otway and 12 Apostles, with 5 hrs of sleep the past 2 days and 5 pints of guiness in my stomach the night before. 500km.

Day 2: Drove offroad for 2 hrs, had fish and chips then drove back from Lorne to Melbourne. 150km, 75km offroad.












Picturesque town of Lorne












Sant and me at Erskine Falls












Cape Otway Lighthouse












On top of the lighthouse












Looking down from the lighthouse












12 Apostles












Nice warm bed in Lorne












Offroad driving












Nice puddles

All in all, a great trip.