A week of fellowship

Football season is over, so it's back to regular updates on Stan's regular life..haha. Well, the whole of last week has been particularly fun and fantastic. It was a period of reminiscing the fellowship time with the folks in Nilai. It started off with the World Cup final "party" in King and Reuben's apartment where a bunch of us gathered together to watch the biggest game on planet Earth in the wee hours of Monday morning. I paid Jonathan's CG a visit later in the evening. On Tuesday night, I had a movie outing with Reuben, King, Maddie and Lerdie in Putrajaya. After the movie, we went around parading in Burger King paper crowns. I guess we all want to do something crazy before Maddie goes back on Wednesday..ahaha.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up with a bad fever and diarrhea. By lunchtime, I was vomitting and had no appetite to eat anything. After popping in a few panadols, I went to CF meeting shivering and feeling exhausted from the toilet trips and cold. I figured out that the cockles that I ate in one of the foodstalls for lunch is probably not fresh and thus contributes to the sudden nuclear explosion in my stomach. Because of the fever, Wednesday felt as if it was passing really slowly but thank God towards the end of the night, I was feeling better already. Anyways, CF meeting was good and it was also timely because that was the time when Justin and Jan Vy had just finished their holidays and had returned back to Nilai. Thursday night was visiting Kylie's CG and Friday was dinner with Pastor Vic. I also took the opportunity to settle a few stuff throughout the week like getting my academic transcript and my haircut. By Friday, my stomach and fever problems were gone to my relief.

I fetched Lerdie back to her house after Friday dinner and Jonathan followed me to my staying place on that night too since he's following me and Lerdie to the FES 48th Annivessary Hi-Tea on Saturday. I was running quite late on Saturday because of lunch and some minor traffic jams along the way. That got hamster rattled up but we did reach the venue on time before the event started. I got to meet some of the Camp Cameron people and of course, the good old FES staff members. It was fantastic to see Chun Chung there and good news to hear that he's coming back to FES and returning to back to ICF as our advisor. The hi-tea is also another opportunity to pay tribute to Annette who will be leaving FES at the end of the year to go international. After the high-tea, Jon and I went to 1 Utama for dinner and watched Predators in the cinema at 10pm. It's quite an action-packed movie but alot of mysteries remained unsolved.

Yesterday morning was particularly funny and amusing. I told Lerdie that I'll be picking her up at 8.30am in the morning. And I did reach her house on time since I made sure I wake up early. The moment I saw that her front door was closed, I had a bad feeling. Jonathan gave her a call but the phone was switched off. Looks like she's soundly asleep. So, we got down and started spamming the door bell and no response! Uh-oh, this is definitely not good! Eventually we got tired of spamming and decided that we may have to sit out stranded at the gate until hamster decides to leave slumberlalaland and it could even be hours later. Two other scenarios which I thought could possibly happen were that hamster was in her godma's house and forgot to inform us and the other is that she misheard it to be 9.30am instead of 8.30am. Finally at 30 minutes later, my phone rang and it was a giggling voice at the other end requesting for another additional 15 minutes for preparation since she just woke up. While waiting outside the gates, Jon and I rained down destruction on two ant colonies who interestingly made their hive out of leaves. Anyways, I guess hamster figured out the irony of ironies especially since she posted on FB yesterday that I'm late..haha. To top it up, she forgot her house keys and after church, she had to camp in Grace's apartment for dinner before her parents came to fetch her. Well, that concludes the one week of super adventure and fellowship.

This coming week will be a resting week before the major roadtrip to Singapore next week! :)

Spanish Armada triumphs

First Europe, now the world

Two of the world's most under-performing teams in modern football have finally reached the position they have all been fighting for so long. History will definitely be in the making as none of teams had won the World Cup before. For Nederland, they were never able to reach the final since a double attempt in the 1970s. To do so for the third time with a number of recognizable global talents in their team provided them with probably the best chance to break their duck in lifting the World Cup trophy. For Spain, they had just broken their hoodoo to reach the semi-finals and this was their first ever World Cup final that they're involved him. The Spanish similarly had a fantastic favourable chance to add a star to their crest with what seems to be the golden generation at their possible maximum potential. With a world-class keeper, established defenders, intelligent midfielders and a dangeros marksman, the Spanish armada looks set to be world conquerors after establishing their foothold in Europe 2 years ago. I backed Nederland since they're my 2nd personal favourite national team

Nederland and Spain carried with them the tag of being the advocates of fast attacking football and it was expected that the final encounter between them will produce plenty of attacking action from end to end. However, it turned out to be a cagey match with physical challenges flying everywhere. Referee Howard Webb was flashing yellow cards like they were coming from a waterfall. Although the Dutch were responsible for the majority of the cards being flashed, I still felt that the Spanish were reacting excessively and that the referee has in a few occassions missed blatant Spanish fouls on the Dutch.

In any case, the Dutch could be en route to win their first major trophy if not for Robben's miss of the century when he went one-on-one with Casillas. Incredible. I have no idea how Robben could miss that with the goalie at his mercy. He could have made history. That miss came back to haunt Nederland as the Spanish settled the deal with an Iniesta late goal in extra-time. Anyways, Kudos also to Casillas for making several excellent saves as he keeps a clean sheet for every knock-out game. Santa Ike, as he was hailed, truly deserves to be standing there to lift the World Cup trophy as captain after lifting the European cup two years ago.

That concludes the whole month of tournament as the late nights ended and people return back to their daily routines as they await for the opening of the Premier League.

Singular Spanish kill

Puyol is mobbed after scoring the sole winning goal with his head

Paul was right afterall, to the dismay of all the German fans around the globe. I would say he's in grave danger of ending up in one disgruntled Deutsche dinner plate very soon..haha. Trivialities aside, it's time to dissect to see what went wrong for die Mannshaft this time. From the start, it looked to me that Deutschland is gonna be in plenty trouble given the amount of Spainish possession. The Spanish wasted no time in laying siege to the German goal and pushing the Germans to their own half. Such was the domination of the Spanish that Deutschland had ZERO shots within the first 30 minutes and they did not have any opportunities to venture out of their half. It's not that the Germans were bad at their game because they intercepted and defended quite well at times, but the Spanish had taken offensive and forced the Deutsche players to play at the Spanish tempo. Spain dictated play for the majority of the game with their fast-paced quick passing and the Germans struggled to keep with such a tempo. The Germans were made to look sluggish once again like how they did during the Euro 2008 final.

The dominating factor for Spain was their midfield once again as it seemed to me that they stick to their positions very tightly this time. It gave the illusion of outnumbering the Germans where for every corner Schweini or Poldi spins, there will be at least 3 Spanish players chasing after him. The Spanish must have realised that for the past few games or so, the Germans benefited from large empty spaces and by overcrowding the midfield, they would have difficulties playing the through balls for their counter-attack or to create anything for that matter. With the Spanish not leaving their positions to close down players, the Germans were frustrated countless number of times whenever they want to get their ball forward. The receiving man at the front is probably marked by a bunch of red shirts or the ball who have been lost in the little space that they had. The Germans were not comfortable with playing at such tight quarters at all and they struggle to make anything out of it.

The outstanding player for me from Spain is Pedro who literally ran Mertesacker, Friedrich, Boateng and Lahm ragged as they tried to chase his silky moves. Although he was selfish towards the last few minutes of his play, his time with the ball had rattled the German composure and their mentality as he digs deep into their territory. Constant pressure is the style that Spain had adopted to keep Deutschland on the edge as they were not spared any chance to settle on the ball. Actually, I didn't expect Thomas Mueller's absence to be of such a problematic weight to Deutschland but given the run of events, that was the case. Piotr Trachowski clearly could not fit onto the giant shoes of Mueller in connecting Schweini, Poldi or Ozil to Klose and his presence was largely non existent there. What I felt is that Schweini, Poldi and Ozil had occassionally got into some great positions but they lack one person to connect the final pass to Klose. This left Klose stranded like a no-man's island in the middle and with him lacking the pace to sprint, he was never gonna be able to dribble past the Spanish wall. I thought that Tony Kroos made a better replacement than Trachowski himself. Mueller would obviously make a big difference because he was more adventurous in his runs and is willing to take the risk and most importantly, was the linking chain.

I would say that the German crime of the night was not their defending because I thought that they did well to disrupt several world-class Spanish attacking moves which ordinary teams would have easily succumbed. Their losing factor was their inability to fashion and materialise any sort of attacking chance for themselves. Instead, they rather sit out and were contented to wait for Spain to make a mistake for them to capitalise on. They were waiting for their counter-attacking chance. This was never gonna happen because the Spanish had kept it tight for the entire field with short passes. A defensive team can sit out and defend all day long but given the frequent rate in which Spain were attacking with their shots, the law of probability states that surely one stray attempt will go in and that was what happened with Puyol's header which was the most unglam finishing of all. Spain left it late, and the Germans in the end had little time to change the course of their fate. There is no way a team could win if it does not fashion chances on its own even with a good defence. It's basic - a win requires at least 1 goal and that was what the Germans failed to achieve at the end of the night.

Kudos to Spain, they deserve their final spot because they played better overall and no surprises there as many had expected that they had the quality to reach that far. It was already anticipated by many that Spain will be in the final but Holland certainly came as the surprise package after beating Brazil. For Deutschland, it will be a time of reflection for the young players and a time to pick themselves up in time for the 3rd place-off. It's yet another 3rd place attempt, always the case of so near yet so far. Time to finish whatever remains well. Whatever happens, this World Cup 2010 Deutschland team can look back in pride in that they were the side that pumped four goals each into Australia, England and Argentina. A decent campaign for the Germans overall, just the lack of gas to finish the final portion of the tournament. This I felt was a tragic end for such an exciting side with lots of potential. In any case, all the best for Deutschland as they chase the consolation prize of a 3rd place medal :)

Precision defending and quickfire raid

A third goal for Deutschland from Friedrich and it's game over for Argentina

Team Deutschland found themselves up against another major footballing nation and this time they were a much better deal than the English. Argentina has performed rather well in the tournament so far by winning all their games and defying the critics regarding the managing style of its enigmatic manager, Maradona. The atmosphere prior to kickoff was electricfying as both sides started to play mind games by mudslinging each other in the media. The Germans started the ball rolling by pointing out that the Argies were sore losers while the South Americans accused their European opponents of dishing out a lack of respect. The Argentinians were still agitated over the way they had lost to the Germans 4 years ago and were determined to make amends this time. It is a tight call but somehow before the match, I just had the feeling that the German tactical organisation would triumph again on a shabby plan of play Maradona had for his team. It is a well known fact that Maradona is no believer of tactics and he has even tell his players like Messi to do anything that he thinks fit on the field because that was the kind of freedom he wanted even when he was a player. As such, Argentina's victory as of far could only be attributed to the individual flair and talent and not the management skills of the coach.

This is quite unexpected but Deutschland stormed to a superb start within the first few minutes. Schweinsteiger delivered a superb free kick cross into the box which Mueller connected with a diving header. 4 goals now for the young lad whom many did not take notice before this World Cup. There were individual glimpses of Messi's brilliance in the first half but none of them could result in a goal. The Germans looked more likely the one to score the second goal in the first half but a glorious missed chance by Klose denied them the oppportunity. It was a narrow lead that the Germans held on with 1-0 at half-time. The second half saw a more desperate Argentinian side as they launch barrage after barrage of attacks and pinning the Germans in their own half. However, the Germans held their ground and in the 67th minute, a determined Mueller refused to let his fallen body hinder the opportunity to release the ball to Podolski who duly passed the ball to Klose for an easy finish. Kudos to the superb teamwork display and unselfish play there. The Germans had the time of their lives again at the 73rd minute when Schweinsteiger slither and waltz past several defenders (attackers actually..lol, how did Higuain and Di Maria ended up trying to close down Schweini instead of the defenders?). Schweini finished off his move by passing it to Friedrich to apply yet another cool easy finishing. To send Argentina in the dumps, a counter attacking move in the late minutes of the game enabled Klose to raise his tally 14 World Cup goals, equalling Gerd Mueller's record and one shy of Ronaldo.

The scoreline was just mind-blowing. Neither Michael Ballack nor Angela Merkel would have thought that such a scoreline was possible but it happened. The Argentinians were made to look like amateurs in the face of cold, hard clinical finishing of the Germans. It's not just their finishing that's impressive. I would say that their defensive is top-notch precision as they intercepted balls in a timely fashion and the tackles were cleanly executed. Ball distribution was wisely done in that eventhough they had less time in possession, they made sure that their passes count. In facing such organised gameplay from the Germans, Maradona's slipshot approach to tactics management and organisation was exposed. Individual talent fell short as the Argies ran out of ideas in breaking down the solid German defence that seems to be impenetrable. On the other hand, the Argentinian defence failed to organise themselves well and I lost count of the number of times where Lahm could crept up unmarked and unapposed down the right wing and had a free cross into the box. Schweini was particularly outstanding in pulling the strings as the midfield playmaker/general with his 2 assists and deservedly so named as man-of-the-match. He may not be free-scoring as he did like in the past, but his holding midfield role nevertheless ensured that the ball distribution to the attackers is in top condition. The class of 2006 is showing maturity over here.

The Germans clearly did their homework in restricting their opponent's talisman Messi either on the wingside or have him shoot outside the box. The calmness and composure displayed by the Germans whenever they needed to get rid of the ball out of their own half deserves applause and it was the same calmness that enabled them to aim accurately for the killing blow. The performance of Deutschland in this match echoes ever more resoundingly that there's no 'I' but the star player is actually the whole team collectively working as a unit with clear communication and understanding with each other. The way they are passing the ball seems to show that they are not desperate for personal glory but are happy to let their better positioned teammates to seal the deal. To provide a total 4-0 demolition job of an Argentinian team that seemed to be on high morale is no ordinary feat and they have indeed deserved their spot in the semi-finals for the wonderful football that they play.

Der Mannshaft had indeed exceeded everyone's expectation on how far they would go and now the only team that stands in their way for the final berth is Spain, their opponent from the European final in 2008. I think that Deutschland would have a better chance this time considering that the Spanish weren't playing their best football around in this tournament especially with Torres misfiring and the majority of the deliverance of goods depended solely on David Villa who had rescued them time and time again from the past two knockout matches by scoring the winning goal. Deutschland on the whole, I would say, would be the more complete team but questions are raised in that one possible weakeness is that the inability to score first for Deutschland may be damaging for their morale as shown by the Serbia match. Nevertheless, after observing Spain in their match against Paraguay, I would say that while the attacking range of talent is impressive, Deutschland may just expose the lack of speed in the backline 4, especially Puyol who looked like he's gonna struggle like Matthew Upson in keeping up with the speedy German counterttacking moves. Here's hoping that Deutschland would turn out triumphant to have another chance at being Weltmeister :)