My Say On Suarez

I must say that I was pretty sleepy when it happened. The Uruaguay vs Italy was freakin boring until the last few minutes, no? But we all know what happened. Uruguay won, Italy got dumped out of the tournament, and Luis Suarez apparently bit an opponent. Yes, again.

I was in disbelief, really. I thought I was dreaming. But I wasn't. And I couldn't understand it. Apa hal mamat ni? Like, seriously? So before I go any further, let's agree that what he did was wrong, unprofessional and he should be banned.

Of course you can sense a "but" coming. Ahem. BUT, I find the the over-the-top hypocritical reaction by the people on my various timelines highly amusing.

The reason is obvious, of course. Every one of us has got our own bias when it comes to everything that happens around us. So, first come the haters, who will hate on everything. Then, those who can't stand the fact that Suarez has annihilated the teams they support over and over again these past few years. Then, there will be the clueless ones who know nothing about anything but will quickly jump on the bandwagon by sharing memes and quotes they hardly understand.

Out of this lot, of course I'm most irked by the "knowledgable" ones who are keen to defend and offer excuses to other flawed geniuses the sports world has ever seen. The Maradonas, the Cantonas, the Zidanes, etc...

First they will say, "but those guys never bit anyone, what?". Sure, of course not. Cos surely different people have different flaws. But, cheating and blaming it on God, or assaulting a ticket-paying fan, or heatbutting opponents are acts that are pretty shitty by anyone's standards.

But the shitheads who are constantly on Suarez's case just can't accept the fact that he is seriously flawed, and will be punished, and that will be that. You know, like real life?

Of course the same shitheads don't even realise, or have never said anything about certified-thug, Joey Barton, making his comeback to the BPL next season. Why? Because he plays for QPR and won't probably be scoring against their favourite teams.

Biting someone on the field is weird and unacceptable, but really, think about it, how does it affect the "victims'" careers? As compared to reckless players who tackle their opponents and leave them out of work for months or years? Or that one player who admitted to tackling another player out of revenge (come on, real fans should know all this).

A sport played by human beings (as far as I know), has also seen other bad behaviour such as inciting mutiny against one's own manager, fighting own teammates, spitting, stamping (on people's testicles), cursing, brawling, and the list goes on.

The other popular thing to say now is, "How can this guy become a role model?" But when I point out other footballers with shitty track records as human beings, the answer would be, "but they do it in their own homes, it doesn't affect football or other players." So yeah, taking drugs, having affairs (with your own siblings' wives), drunk driving, etc are all OK, and they would still qualify as role models because they've never bitten anyone on the field?

I'm confused, really. Sports role models are supposed to show only good examples while playing their sport and whatever they do outside of it, is OK? So, Tiger Woods is OK, right? OJ Simpson? Tony Adams? Graham Rix? Tonya Harding?

Let's have a consensus. I'm OK either way as long as we stick to it, really.

So, Suarez will and should be banned. Shithead hypocrites will rejoice at first, but will then say it's not enough cos he's Luis Suarez and he should be buried on the moon and never be allowed to see a football ever again. Cos they just can't let go, these shithead hypocrites...

The World Cup Is Here!

Been so busy with life, hadn't had the time to write a proper post with predictions and all. But if you really know me, you'll know that there is only one team I will ever pick to win the World Cup...

P.S.: Will be back with more of my predictions and an update on a possible guest spot on a local World Cup TV show. Stay tuned!

So What Do We Do Now?

Yup, the World Cup is over, so what do we do now? I mean, there was always something to look forward to on telly, but now, we have to watch... um, I don't even know what's available now. Thank God for DVDs then.

Anyway, if I had to rate South Africa 2010, I'd give it a 7/10. Which is not bad, really.

In terms of the infrastructure, I think South Africa had done their best. The stadiums look good, although they lack that one venue that could fit in like 100,000 people. That's the benchmark for me, at least.

In terms of the results, this World Cup served up some great surprises, and overall I'm pretty pleased as well. No matter that England crashed out earlier than expected. (like that is such a major surprise lah).

But in terms of the football played; well, it wasn't the best we've ever seen, to be honest. Spain, I guess played the best football and ultimately deserved to win the whole thing. But there WERE plenty of dull matches, especially during the earlier rounds. And it was a shame that the Dutch thought it was a good idea to kick (ass) their way to the cup, which they thankfully failed.

But there are plenty of things to remember this World Cup by; the vuvuzelas, the whole twitter buzz, the HD experience.

So I say, thank you South Africa! And let's do this again in 2014!

The World Cup Terrible XI

Here’s my list of the worst performers, for various reasons, at this year’s World Cup:

Robert Green
At the biggest game of his life so far against the US, the West Ham keeper kissed his international career goodbye by letting slip a tame shot into the net. Approximately three billion people rained curses on him at the same time.

Felipe Melo
A habitually violent player, Melo made things difficult for Brazil by stamping on Arjen Robben in the quarter-final and got sent off in disgrace. Mellow, he is not.

Oh Beom-seok
The South Korean defender gave away free-kicks and was mostly asleep during the entire match against Argentina which saw them whipped 4-1. So unlike a true, high-spirited and alert South Korean player.

Patrice Evra
Couldn’t defend to save his life, Evra then led a revolt against his own coach. Refer “Anelka”…

Mark Van Bommel
The Dutch midfielder committed like a gazillion fouls and was deliberate in his attempt to play like an amateurish thug.

Kaka
Suddenly became a card-collecting menace who failed to score even once.

Cristiano Ronaldo
The most expensive player in the world managed only ONE goal, that too, against North freakin’ Korea. Other times, he mostly strutted around like a peacock on the field and threatened to cry every time he was fouled. Bosan.

Asamoah Gyan
The very last second of extra time and you’re given a chance to take your team into the semi-finals. All you have to do is score. FROM THE PENALTY SPOT. But nooo…. “Super-confident” Gyan crashed his attempt against the bar and broke millions of African hearts. LOOOSER…

Yakubu
Four yards away from a gaping goalmouth (against South Korea) and he fluffed his shot. Budak tadika pun boleh score lah wei…

Nicolas Anelka
Le Sulk managed to suck even more at the World Cup. After a pedestrian performance (literally!) against Mexico in the first half, the Chelsea striker launched into a foul-mouthed tirade against manager Raymond Domenech. He was sent home immediately after refusing to apologise, but the incident led the rest of the team refusing to train. Talk about a bad influence, this guy is the very epitome of it.

Wayne Rooney
Where do I even start? Shrek was so bad, it wasn’t even funny. See, I’m too disgusted to even finish this write-up…

World Cup Final Prediction

So now it's down to ONE final match (I mean, who cares about who comes in third or fourth, right?). Whoever it is, the World Cup 2010 final will produce some history of its own. We will see a NEW winner in a long, long time, and for the first time ever as well, Europe will actually bring back the cup from a different continent.

So, who is it gonna be?

Predictions by my Facebook peeps at least have been split, with an almost equal number of people picking both Holland and Spain.

But crucially to most people. the world's most famous Octopus had spoken, I mean, chosen, Del Bosque's men.

And I pick Spain as well...

Why? Cos although Holland has won all of its matches in the tournament, which is an excellent achievement, Spain had taken its time and is peaking just at the right time. They have the confidence, the experience of being in a final two years ago and of course, the players to win the whole damn thing.

Holland has been brilliant in patches, and players like Arjen Robben could turn around the game in a second. But I think Spain will choke them up from the start and not allow the Dutch to get into any sort of rhythm and will ultimately be frustrated.

On Spain's side, the midfielders will reign supreme while the defence will do its job properly. And we know they're more than capable of scoring that crucial goal with David Villa in top form.

So there it is; my pick is Spain. And the scoreline will be 2-1.

World Cup Semi-final Predictions

Man oh man, so apparently, I only got ONE prediction right for the quarterfinal stage. But really, teams not playing to form has been the theme of this year's World Cup, so it was not a real big surprise that the likes of Argentina and Brazil got dumped and sent home.

Anyway, it's the semis now, and here are my predictions:

Uruguay vs Holland
Holland has the only 100% record in the competition, yet there are still doubts hanging over their heads. But against Brazil, Robben and co showed that they could outplay (and out-annoy) anyone in the competition. Uruguay's damn lucky to be in the round and should thank the fact that the Ghanians are the world's worst penalty-takers. So some might say, "mestilah Holland menang!". Well, it's been proven in this World Cup that nothing should be taken for granted. But having said that, I believe Holland will prevail in 90mins.
Prediction: Holland 2 Uruguay 0

Germany vs Spain
Fuh, what a cracker this is gonna be huh? Obviously, Germany and their fans are now feeling super confident (some Germany fans even believe that they could win the next 4 World Cups, pfft...). Spain have had to labour hard for their results, but look to be in good shape as well, especially with David Villa playing a vital role. I also think the battle in midfield would be brutal, and expect to see some casualties.
Prediction: 1-1 after 90mins, but Spain to win 2-1 in extra time

World Cup Quarterfinal Predictions

Well, I was pretty accurate with the 2nd round predictions, wasn't I? The two I got wrong was based on sentiment, so there you go. But the rest went pretty much according to what I expected.

So now it's time for the quarterfinal predictions!

Brazil vs Holland
Fuh, what a match this is, altho Holland has flattered to deceive on many occasions. But it would be a great encounter if Brazil were to fall behind, which I think we will see tonite. Their star players would then have to show their real character, serving up scintillating skills along the way.
Prediction: Brazil to come behind and win 2-1

Uruguay vs Ghana
High hopes for Ghana indeed, and thankfully they're facing only the 3rd best team from South America. Uruaguay's ok but if you mark out their forwards, you would have a great chance of winning
Prediction: 0-0 at full time. Ghana to snatch solitary goal in extra time.

Germany vs Argentina
Another cracker, this. Germany has been the surprise package with energetic young players and tactical discipline. Argentina has deserved the hype but it would be awesome to see how Maradona would completely lose his mind if they were to lose.
Prediction: Argentina to win 2-1 in extra time.

Spain vs Paraguay
Favourites Spain have shown loads of progress and striker David Villa is on fire. Paraguay's lucky to be in this round and won't put up too much resistance, I'm afraid.
Prediction: The most one-sided affair of the round this will be. Spain to win 2-0.

World Cup 2nd Round Predictions

As I'm writing this, there's still an hour to go before the big ENGLAND vs GERMANY clash. No prizes for guessing which team I'm behind... My prediction? England will edge it 2-1, with a break out performance by one of their stars.

And here are my other predictions for the 2nd round (wanted to do this yesterday which would have included the 2 cracking games yesterday, but was too busy lah):

Argentina (3) vs Mexico (2)
Paraguay (0) vs Japan (1)
Spain (3) vs Portugal (1)
Holland (3) vs Slovakia (1)
Brazil (2) vs Chile (0)

Oh England!

Caught the England vs Algeria game earlier this morning on RTM (no astro at the hotel where I'm staying), and I must say that I was simply disgusted. Disgusted!

It was without a doubt the worst England performance at the World Cup I've ever seen. Even worse than the horror show in 1990 when the Three Lions drew with Ireland, 1-1.

The England players looked devoid of ideas and conviction and as a commentator said on ESPN, when they left the field, "the boos actually drowned out the vuvuzelas". Padan muka!

The pundits were going on and on about England's lame performance but I think they needed more than the 30mins allocated.

But allow me to summarise. The "superstar" players were crap. Shrek, I mean Rooney, couldn't even control the ball, Lampard was reduced to 5mph shots, Gerrad gave away the ball too many times and even the corners were executed with no clear strategy or intent in mind.

And don't get me started about the "semi superstars". Lennon's too green for such a heavy task, Wright-Philips is basically on a free Safari vacation, Heskey's simply making up the numbers... and it goes on and on.

The only silver lining for Fabio Capello's squad is that their destiny is still in their own hands. Beat Slovenia (not as easy as it sounds), and they're through to the next round, where (judging by what's been dished out so far), they'll simply crash and burn.

I sooo pray that I'll be proven wrong...

The World Cup Is Here!

The World Cup is back! Woohoo!

As I write this, a few matches have been played and so far, it’s a mixed bag of yawners and semi-crackers. One thing everyone has somewhat agreed is this: the Vuvuzela is the most annoying thing at the World Cup. Ever.

Anyway, those who know me would know that my undivided support is for England. Yes, boring choice, bla bla bla... But, so what? I mean, instead of being a poseur and declare my support for a team I hardly know about just to sound cool, picking England is just natural for someone who’s been watching the English game since the days of “Big League Soccer”.

...

I know, I know… they’ve not won anything since 1966, but that’s called being a real FAN. Heartbreaks are part of the deal. Yes, you have the choice to switch support to a different team but then, that would be called a "sham".

But back to those heartbreaks, England have supplied plenty when it comes to the World Cup. The biggest was of course in 1986 when they got dumped out of the quarterfinals by Argentina. It wasn’t all their fault tho as we all know how Maradona used his hand to score that first goal, which immediately sowed the deepest of hatred in me for the man and his team.

But I remember after England lost that game, I wanted to quit school. For real! I knew the taunts from my classmates would be too much to bear. So I wanted to leave school and become a musician. If that’s not hardcore, I don’t know what is lah.

Then there was Italy in 1990. A great team that was, with the likes of Gascoigne, Lineker and Barnes in the side. But after doing well to reach the semis, they lost out to Germany in a penalty shoot-out.

...

I didn’t want to quit school then, but I did want to burn my whole Star Wars collection out of frustration, which I didn’t. Phew!

So this year, England are “favourites” again and there are plenty out there who believe that this generation of players will finally bring back the Cup for the Queen. Including me.

But I am preparing some old stuff to burn. Just in case.

Enjoy the World Cup, peeps!