Monday, July 30, 2007

Beckham in the States

This issue has way too much hype.

The former English Captain wasn't as good of a player that the crowd thought he was. He was okay, above average with a good right foot, but that's all to it.



Fair enough, he scored memorable important goals, won important trophies, inspired others, will one day look back at his wonderful career and wish he could do it all over again.

But it sickens me to hear people that relate him as the best footballer in the world. Ladies and gents, One day I'l make a list of top footballers of the decade, maybe the century if i've found enough clips to judge, but Becky boy is not and will never be in that league.

He lives a live where people admire him all over, married to a spice girl, played in the biggest clubs but he's far from the greatest.

Since his move to the states, he just turned from footballer to popstar. Earning so much more than his teammates, haven't played a competitive game, I never heard of so much hype building up to a simple friendly against Chelsea earlier on.

Football is not even a big sport in the states, when was there so much hype when a 30 year old English sportsman came to join the NBA, NFL, MLB or whatever. Since when?

Okay, he will get better soon and will get some games, probably a lot. Moving from the La liga to the MLS, it is safe to assume Becky boy will get complacent, underestimate the league and find himself in a rough spot. A hard start.

Brazilian Legend Pele got some advise for him here

I don't know when he will start playing, but I hope he plays more football than appearing in Movies and commercials. Lets hope he actually brings the American soccer game to another level. As in really make it more popular.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Iraq wins Asian Cup

I'm as shocked as you are. Iraq, the war torn country won the Asian Cup beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 with a goal by Y.M. Khalef.

I always thought that they were a strong team, and they will do well in the Asian Cup, but I never knew that they would do this well... Congratulations.

Before this its all about the best defense. (Iraq) versus the best offense.(Saudi Arabia)

Stats don lie, Iraq only conceded 2 goals before this while Saudi Arabia scored 12, in the whole tournament. And the record stays.

Correct me if I'm wrong. But the Iraqi team is build up of players from the different 'tribes' or groups that usually do not get along. They put this behind them, put their sorrows of the war behind them, and placed the cup right in their sights.

Fairy tale ending really. Beating pre-tournament favourites Australia earlier on, hardly anyone would bet on them to reach the quarter-finals. In 10 years time, maybe 20 or 30, when directors finally make good soccer movies, they might make a film on this one.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Because I like living in the past



Played Football Manager before? Guess who's in the Credits.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Blackburn Rovers!


Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the yo-yo team of 2007/2008.

We will see the rise of Mark Derbyshire, the fall of Benni McCartney, and red card after red card after red card.

Maceo Rigters will be a decent signing no doubt, contenders to be one of the signings of the season if there are no plagues injuries and self doubt.

Don't get me wrong. Blackburn have a very talented squad. Very talented.

Go check out the squad here

Look through player by player, and I can tell you that if they have the money to buy one super star player to push them hard enough, get rid of Mr Mediocre Mark Hughes, they can be the next Tottenham Hotspurs, pushing for a Champions League spot.

If I'm given a management role, out of the top 4 clubs, I'l take Blackburn Rovers. Pressure wise, it seems relative lower compared to the others.

So how will Blackburn do this Season?

Like I said, yo-yo. It goes up and down.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Asian Cup updates.

Since this is like news of 23 hours ago, (plus plus) Its not really up to date updates anymore.

But just in case if you still do not know, The Asian Cup finals will feature Iraq and Saudi Arabia. And the third and fourth playoff will be between Japan and Korea.

Initially My predictions for the finals was Japan vs Iran. With the possibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the 3rd place playoff match. Guess I was wrong(3 out of 4 teams in the semis was predicted correctly, thats not too bad, even though the Asian Cup can be pretty predictable).

The Japan Vs Saudi Arabia Match has to be the match of the tournament. It was Technique versus speed, and Speed won the game. Awesome match to watch I tell you. Almost like Brazil versus England without the boring tactics. Both teams deserved to be in the final.

Oh and Iraq scored more penalties compared to Korea.

I'm going to give the finals a miss unfortunately, but I shall at least give my predictions for the upcoming 2 matches.

Japan beats Korea

Saudi Arabia beats Iraq.

No surprises this time. Lets see if i'm right.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Japan Vs Saudi Arabia

So many media anticipation for this match. Japan had quite a run towards the end of the tournament.

ITs the repeat of Asian Cup final 1992. Like 15 years ago, and Japan won. I remembered that match well, the Japanese were the underdogs making their mark in football in front of Asia. And that victory propelled them to where there are now. Not exactly the Brazil or France of football, but at least an Asian Powerhouse, and the world does take notice of Japanese Football. Lead to co-hosting the 2002 World Cup as well.

Wait, that was liki 15 years ago, And I was 5 then? How I know all these crap?

I saw the highlights of the 1992 Asian Cup last week! Dramatic one.

Anyways, Japan Vs Saudi Arabia. Who will prevail?

I'm going to choose Japan for this one.

Why?

No tactical analysis, no player comparison, no history reading. Its just a pure gut feeling. Japan will win.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

No mood

No mood to post anything now. Come back tomorrow.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

More on the Asian Cup

Yesterday's predictions were spot on.


Japan celebrates their penalty victory against the Australians.

No offense to the Australian fans. But like I said before, I feel like the Australians came into this Confederation, thinking they will dominate the whole continent. Its not that easy is it now.

And Iraq won. No surprises there.

Tonights matches would be a lot tougher to call.

Iran Vs South Korea

I expect this to be a really good match. But I think Iran would win this one. They are a very strong team.

Saudi Arabia Vs Uzbekistan

I don't know why so many people consider Uzbek's 3-0 win over China a shocker. No shocker to me, I expected it from the start. People are overrating China. So what if they were in the World Cup in 2002. What progress did they make after that?
Another hard match to predict. But I guess when it comes to big matches like these, the Saudis can get it done.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Asian Cup Action Tonight.

It will be tonight anyways, if you happen to be from this region.

Match Number one would be Australia Vs Japan. A lot of people see this as a Dream final. Funny. Let me remind everybody what I think. Australia and Japan are overrated. I firmly believe that both will not Win this Tournament. Ok, maybe reach the finals and that's it.

Is Australia the Brazil of the Asian Cup? (have a really bad start and end up winning the tournament). No. I hope its a Japan victory, welcoming Australia to the AFC and prepare better for the next time. Give them a torrid time, showing them that you're welcome to join the Asian Confederation but its not going to be easy.

Of course the last time these teams met, it was the World Cup where Australia won 3-1. Why issit different this time? There is no Gus Hiddink Fulls stop.

Match number 2 would be Vietnam Versus Iraq.
Iraq wins. Well done Vietnam.

Who knew that Vietnam, the only Co-host to make it through to the Quarterfinals. I have to say, among all the groups, Vietnam and Thailand had the more possibilities and hopes of doing well. In all, all the co-host exceeded expectations and their fans can be really proud. Malaysia not included.

Anyways, Iraq is a stronger team than what people Imagined. I see them as a dark horse of winning this tournament. I believe that they won't win this one, but will do well enough. Maybe a Final appearance.

I hope the finals would be between an Arabian team versus a Eastern Team. Then we would have a great tournament. How about Japan VS Iran.

Yes I believe Iran as a spanking chance to win. But they have a difficult path ahead.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Faubet and Dudek

If you haven't read, Dudek is going to Real Madrid.

I knew, he was going to leave Liverpool. But I thought he wants first team football and going to Madrid, and probably play back up to Iker Casillas? Funny.

We all remember him from that 2005 Champions League Final where he made early blunders, and soon became the hero. Yes from that magnificent double save in Extra time as well. He will be remembered by Liverpool fans the penalties.

West Ham bought Julien Faubert for 6.1 Million pounds and is out for 6 months! That must be like nearly all if not all of the allocated transfer funds for the season gone.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Birmingham City's Season Preview

So Birmingham comes back to the EPL. In my opinion this is one heck of a boring team. The only match of interest during the season would be the local derby against Aston Villa.



Even their logo/crest is kind of boring.

This season, Birmingham made these signings.

Richard Kingson - Remember Ghana in the World Cup? This is their keeper.
Nick Wright - I don know anything about this guy
Daniel De Ridder - Supposedly similar to Van Der Meyde. Look what he did in England
Olivier Kapo - From Juventus. This my friends is going to be Birmingham's player of the year.
Stuart Panarby - Average transfer for a relegation battler
Garry O'connor - Havent heard of him for a while. Apparently he's in Russia. haha!

Besides Olivier Kapo, the team is still rather weak to mount a challenge for a midtable position. I do not doubt that Birmingham can shock us and be the Reading 2006/2007, but that is rather unlikely. What I feel that they need to do is to buy a reliable striker.

Other than that, its a relegation battle. Maybe, ,just maybe they can do enough to push for the 12th or 13th position at the end of the Season.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Malaysia 0 Iran 2

Ok ok we all know Malaysia is going to lose, but I can at least say that I'm proud of our performance tonight.

We held strong, played a defensive and safe tactic, unfortunately a penalty was given against us which I feel was unfair, and in the second half, a well deserved goal by Iran.

Iran deserve to win no doubt.

But Malaysia are starting to play like a team again. No one expected them to do anything in this match. Iran being the no.2 team in Asia as far as the rankings go, having players playing in Europe including Ali Karimi from Bayern Munich, having players that has been nominated and some won the 'Asian Player of the year award' it would take more than a miracle to beat a team like that.

Malaysia, lacking in Stature, technique, skills, stamina, ball control and many other important attributes did not lack the fighting spirit. Malaysia should play this sort of football in the previous 2 games.

Anyway, besides the constant goalmouth action in the Malaysian Penalty box, I guess there can be a couple of proud moments for Malaysia in this match. This includes a good run by Aidil, beating 3 Iranian players before making a shot not worth taking. And lets not forget A Shukur Adan shot from probably 30 yards that could have been the goal of the Tournament, but the Iranian keeper kept it out just in time.

Okay, 3 games in the Asian cup, 3 losses. What is next?

This is what Malaysia should do.

Short term:
Change the coach. If a Malaysian isn't qualified, hire a foreigner. There's lot to learn from others right now. I think a good choice for now would be Steve Darby. Give the fella a shot.
Try to stick to one team without making a lot of changes. Everytime I watch Malaysia play in different tournaments, I see different squads. We're still a learning country when it comes to football, not like Brazil, rich with talent and dropping stars is a no problem issue.

Long term:
Build the sport for the future. No point crying about how bad the game is now. Start from school level and do it seriously.

Yes yes I know, Parents only want their kids to study these days.

Adopt the method from the states. Each school should have a football team with good football facilities and players should be sent to competitions and take them seriously. And what the country can do is to offer these students scholarships for maybe local colleges and Universities if they can score an average score in their studies and excel in sports. Then they will play for their colleges and get a free education.

Yes, that is what we need to do. Sports ministers, take note. Same goes for the other sports.

Seriously, in football alone, we really need to step up.

Aston Villa's Season preview



Team number two is Aston Villa.

Now, Aston Villa last season had a very good start. The last team to score a defeat in the beginning of the season, future looks bright under Martin O'Niell.

But at the end of the day, they finished 11th, mediocre really.

What was the problem with Aston Villa then and the years before?

They had a very very small squad. Chariman Doug Ellis was seen as a very stingy man that does not wish to invest on a lot of players, and with a new Chairman, Randy Lerner not doing that much as well, it is going to take a while for this team to progress.

With new signings of Nigel Reo-Coker, and Marlon Harewood, I personally see this as a step backwards. Reo-Coker is an average player, that will one day get a few international caps due to the injuries of the bigger stars. And thats about it. Harewood? What? I think this player has already peaked 2 seasons ago. He's done all he can do. He's not going to outscore the likes of John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Which reminds me, the only bright hope about Aston Villa is Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Other than that they are a boring squad filled with underachievers and will NOT be successful. Sorry guys.

This is going to be another mediocre season and a possible relegation battle when the injury season strikes the villains.

Okay, maybe a good cup run if they draw weaker sides, other than that another season of nothingness.

Voronin started good.

Two goals in a friendly is a very good sign of things to come. It might just be a friendly but it is a positive one. Here are the Liverpool goals. And Riise's thunderbolt! If he can score 3 like that this season... I would be so happy.

First goal



Second goal



Third goal


Lets hope we see more of these during the season in matches of importance :D

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Arsenal's season preview

Its turning August soon. The EPL season is about to start. Its about time for me to go through team by team and how I think they will do in the coming season. We're talking about the 2007/2008 season of course.


The gunners are a far cry of the team that dominated English football a few years back. Personally and probably like 50% of the fans out there will blame it on the Stadiums fault. Maybe not in the long run. After moving from Highbury, and spending so much on the new stadium, it is clear that development in the squad is not impressive. Wenger's policy of signing youngsters is not exactly the best thing either.

I'm not saying that its bad, its good for the future, a hope for good things to come. Develop talents when they are young and fresh, totally nothing wrong with that. But the hard part comes when you are a title hunter. How to develop talent and at the same time, mantain a squad good enough to not only challenge but win titles. Its a tough juggle.

Players that are potentially good may end up being just a fringe, soon moving to smaller clubs to get first team football. We hear this story way too often.

So good old Wenger decided to play a huge portion of his young talent in his first team. True, a lot of them deserve their spots. But its no title winning squad.

So this season, we are looking at the Arsenal which in previous seasons have developed their youngsters, and these youngsters gained 1 year of maturity.

People talked about Henry leaving, and the conspiracies and the reasons behind it, but lets forget about him for now.

Signings that would probably see a lot of first team action would be Eduardo Da Silva and Bacary Sagna. We will see more of Theo Walcott, Diaby, Djourou, maybe Denilson. Possible cameos will include Justin Hoyte, Bendtner and maybe Vito Mannone.

What can we expect from this Arsenal squad this season?

We expect Fabregas to take a super major role to bring the whole club forward. An injury to him will kill of Arsenal's season. We've seen an Henryless and Fabregasless Arsenal in the past, we all know what happened to them.

Robin Van Persie must be the new Dennis Berkamp. No excuses, and the player that might surprise us will be Eduardo Da Silva. In my opinion, he has a good chance to be the buy of the season. We'll see.

What will they win this season?

Sorry, the League cup will be the only good bet. Maybe a good run in the FA cup and a better run in the Champions league. The squad is still weak in Depth. Could be the repeat of last season.

I will predict their possible standings in the EPL after I am done previewing all 20 teams. That's right! All 20!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Brazil wins Copa America

In case you have yet to read about it or missed the game, and you found ourself here, then let me inform you that Brazil just beaten Argentina 3-0 in the final.

If you asked me, they just answered critics, on how Dunga is not fit to be in Charge, and they did it without the likes of Ronaldinho or Kaka. Its impressive. Considering that they struggled so much earlier on.

But don't they all tell you that?

Check out the goals.



Amazing goals. Really. Finally a Brazilian team. Not Brazilian individuals!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Voronin and Babel

The two other signings by Liverpool besides Torres and Benayoun.

Voronin, I've never seen him play. I've only heard of him. He can be the surprise package of this season. Coming in silently with all the hype on Torres.

Babel, I knew about him from the good old CM, FM days. Back then he was 17. A very good talent indeed. He's fast enough, he's got technique and a good shot. Plays at a winger's role too. (I'm sure he'll be playing wing for Liverpool)

For both these players, I don't have much to say about them. I shall let these clips do the talking.



Voronin



Babel

Looking good ;)

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Malaysia 0 Uzbekistan 5



Lets be realistic.

On paper, Uzbekistan is a better team than China. After a 5-1 defeat to China, what can the Malaysian fans expect?

I watched the first half of this match and that was it. Outplayed in almost every department in the field.

Okay, the Uzbeks got a player from the glorious club of Dynamo Kyiv. Maksim Shatskikh. Thats the team where Shevchenko came from before his Milan and Chelsea Career.

Why did Malaysia lose so badly again this time?

3 reasons

  1. Bad concentration
  2. Poor positioning
  3. Players just stand and watch.

Concentration of the Malaysian players are bad. Considering that they are paid professionals, it is a complete disgrace. Contributes to poor marking and poor passing.

Positioning was horrible. Especially in the midfield.

Every time a Malaysian player controls the ball, the whole team just froze and look instead of moving into dangerous positions or make good runs. On the side of the field, there was almost no overlapping moves, that can great dangerous chances.

Its like watching a bunch of schoolboys play against an Organized team.

Something must be done.

If I'm not mistaken, Malaysia is the first team Knocked out of this tournament. 2 loses in a row, conceding 10 goals, not good.

Iraq 3 Australia 1

Did someone mentioned that Australia was the clear favourites in this tournament?

The only team in the AFC, the newest biggest team in the AFC that made it past the first round in the last world cup was named one of the favourites to win this Asian Cup tournament.

With names like Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Tim Cahill, Lucas Neil, Mark Shwarzer, Marco Breciano and so on, they have to be the favourites on paper.

Instead they got well beaten by Iraq and are in danger of getting knocked off the Asian Cup first round.

I don't know about you, but I can't name a single Iraqi player.

Its not like the Iraqi team is incapable, they've proved themselves to be a serious team to consider, but honestly, Australia is supposed to be the big daddy of this tournament, bullying most of their opponents on the way.

As usual, the Socceroos coach does not get the fan's backing. We'll see.

Personally, I believe that there is no drive in the team. No will to win, they are facing Complacency. They are not working as hard as they should, not scouting their opponents weaknesses, play too much predictive football.

Thats my opinion anyways. It could be anything.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Messi Next Maradona?

When you start off your career with a bang, you'll be compared to one of the greatest of all Time. If you happen to be Argentinian, and play in an attacking midfield or striker's role, people are going to compare you to Maradona. The new 'Maradona'. Wait, How many new Maradonas are there? Let me name a few.

Ariel Ortega, Juan Román Riquelme, Javier Saviola, Diego Latorre, Sergio Agüero, Andrés D'Alessandro, Carlos Tevez, Pablo Aimar and Lionel Messi.

And I'm beginning to believe that when they mentioned that Lionel Messi is the Next Maradona, they meant it for real.



Reason #1: Messi scored that Maradona like goal from his own half

Reason #2: Messi scored with his hand! Like Maradona.

But you know what? Maradona took years to do this. Maradona took nearly 20 years to make friends with the greatest Brazilian Player. And Messi's done it in a couple of months.

Messi is progressing way too fast, accomplishing too much. Next thing you know, he will play in the Serie B. Then do drugs. Have his own TV show, and be absolutely fat, well before he is 25.

At this rate, Maradona will be the next Lionel Messi.

Messi will come up with a sex tape, and Maradona will do the same 2 years later.

You'll see.

Malaysia 1 China 5

I think the scoreline speaks for itself. Getting beaten 5 to 1 in a tournament like the Asia Cup is completely disastrous.

This year, the Asian Cup is hosted by four nations, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. In the South East Asian region, this are pretty much the top four teams, well Singapore is proving their worth, but lets not talk about their 'international team' today shall we?

Fact is, Malaysia is the lowest ranking team in the tournament, but seriously, that is a bad excuse.

When you host a tournament, you get the home crowd cheering for you, you play in an area that you're familiar with, familiar food, familiar places, no need to really travel. Point is, advantage is yours. Okay, China is a big team in Asia, trying to prove themselves. In all fairness, I honestly hoped that Malaysia could score a draw against China. Or at least a respectable defeat with a good show. What more can a fan ask for?

Our co-host all scored their first wins of the tournament so far. And to be realistic, Malaysia's next opponents includes Uzbekistan and Iran, its a good bet that both games would bring us defeat.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Torres. Good signing or bad?

Okay, this will be the first post where I admit(like anyone still doesn't know) that I'm a Liverpool fan. Liverpool bought Fernando Torres for 26.5 million pounds.

His record as a youngster speaks for itself. His name alone once brought fear to the sides he face. He had such a good start to his career, everyone was certain that this fella is going to be a force to be reckon with. His former club respected his talent and even made him captain.

But years gone by and now he is 23 years of age, still relatively young, we all expected him to be a striker that nets 25 goals a season. But so far in his professional career, he only has 91 goals in his 243 appearances. Not a very strong ratio for a Striker who brought so much promises. Averaging 16 goals a season that is not too bad either.


But for a 26.5 million pounds price tag, I personally feel that that is way too much.

I think the neutrals will think that this is a complete waste of money, and strikers at Liverpool will never do well anyways. Benitez's rotating policy will not help either. Its a good bet that he will only net 12 goals in all competition if he's fit. And that is not even worth the money paid.

However, now the Spaniard will play in front of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. Its still too early to tell how well Torres will do.

I have not watch enough of his matches to conclude whether or not he is fast or strong enough for the English game.

This is my prediction:
I think Torres would have a bad start scoring once maybe in his debut then suffer a goal drought for a long period of time. Then people will question his value and worth before having a good run of goals in the mid season. At the end of the day, He will net around 13 to 15 goals in all competitions and be placed as one of the flops of the season.


Sorry I dont see him soaring high this time around.

On the bright side, I believe that he would not be one of the flops that Liverpool will load off later, *cough cough* Cisse, Bellamy *cough cough*

I think he will learn the English game and improve in the following seasons. Too early to tell though.

First Post!

Yes, Its called Lets talk balls. I think I have a lot of opinions regarding football, whether its tactical, on any player, the way it should be done, or even just things that are related to the game off the field. I'm no pundit, but I think my say counts.

Soon, this blog will be filled with reviews, pre-match predictions, post match talk, my amateur playing career, and even some stuff from the virtual gaming world of football. Anything that would satisfy the needs of my hopeful readers.

I hope I can reach out to readers all over, and please tell your friends about this site.