Zabaglione

The lead singer of a band who doesn't know how to play any instrument is like a goalkeeper of a soccer team.
Important but not really playing the game.
An Italian dessert.

2B

Bumped into the legendary Chan Yik Ley sure evoked the memories of 2B '98 where the all conquering OKI party swept the class elections. It was a great team, reminiscent of the Brazillian team of the 1982 led by Zico, Socrates and Falcao. We conquered every single blade of grass in the Rafflesian campus and like all great teams, friendship blossomed and winning or losing didn't matter anymore as long as we are in it together.

Between the posts was late bloomer Derek Goh whose shot stopping ability and underdog status did him good against high profile and complacent opposition. The controversial goal scored by 2C which blasted his chin and went rocketing into the sky remains one of the greatest myths. Whether the ball really did go in remains a mystery as 2C celebrated without checking out the condition of the injured Goh. Chan Yik Ley scored the consolation goal via a spot kick as we lost 3-1. Derek is now at NUS and I have lost contact with him despite all the phonecalls we shared during sec2. Starcraft mates and best mates really.

There wasn't really a better striker of the ball than Andrew who is a natural talent at shooting and getting into dangerous positions. Nicknamed 'the Albino', he is a foreign import from Taiwan but has served the team well and done good to local footbal like Mirko Grabovac. Alessandro Duric, Egmar Goncalves and so on. I still remembered the 2 goals he scored against 4G during the interclass soccer tournament in the grouup of death. 4 years of secondary school life together but I really felt I should have gotten to know him just a little better. Andrew is now at NUS doing Medicine.

There weren't any great defenders at that time. Like all teams in the Brazillian league, defenders and goalkeepers were attackers as well. There were only 2 defenders in the team then. Ben Chew and Azrulnizam Shah who were both rugby players form the spine of the team. Azrul who loves venturing forward always leaves gaps in the defense leaving Ben Chew and Derek Goh helpless at the back but is no less a tough tackler who plays with a lot of heart. Ben Chew despite his size and strength is like Jaap Stam minus his footballing skills. He is nonetheless a member of MENSA and his father owns a coffee shop. Azrul who was in the VJ soccer team played together with David Beckham and has since moved on to persue his studies in a local university.

Junming who was one of my best friends was a youth national table tennis player and possess one of the most natural left foot in the modern game. He can play left back or left midfielder, he is also an excellent defensive midfielder with great ball distribution skills and a shot that spells more precision that power. 'Hopi Janmong' is a gentleman on and off the pitch, rarely loses his temper and is my choice for vice-captain of the team. Junming is currently at NUS law much to his parents' objection.

Goh Xueying, who together with myself, was one of the youth products who blossomed during the 2 years in lower secondary school. Goh was a menace down the left flank and aided by the experienced and composed figure of Junming at the back hits defenders hard with his direct style and fancy footwork. An extremely selfless player, Andrew, myself and others found ourselves with an abundance of crosses from his right foot. Xueying has since hung up his boots to do medicine in NUS.

Chua Zhiwei who is also known as 'emu', 'Paul Emblem' or 'cow' is a die-hard Alan Shearer fan. Like Xueying, Zhiwei is a speed demon that pushes and knocks down opponents down the right, he is an uncompromising player who gives his best on the pitch. After 2B, he has conquered void deck soccer and is the epitome of the 'hit and run' play. Zhiwei is now a 2nd year law student at NUS.

Desmond Wee who sat beside me for the entire sec 2 was one of my best friends in RI and also one of the most controversial players in the team. His fight with Irwanto A-lim was memorable just as his brawl with Chan Yik Ley that lasted for about 10 minutes that started from me clipping Desmond's heel was. A tough tackler, he slides his opponents, pull their shirts and head butts whenever neccessary. Such is the tenacity of the player. I would remember the days that we sat together and talked about tactics for the next game, we would talk about the game that we loved, the players we like. He is probably one of the reasons why I love soccer so much. We talked about literature and music as well.

Yik Ley was no doubt the best player of the team and the most influential. A natural athelete, he has great stamina, great passing skills and his dribbling was probably the best in our whole level. Easily the match winner of any game, he creates and scores but most importantly boost the morales of the weaker players and inspire them to sharpen their game. Sat beside me during our sec1 years, I was constantly reminded by my larger than life head size and my extremely low athletism. He bonded the rest of us though I always remembered the intense but friendly rivalry he had with Desmond.

Till now, there isn't a better group of people to hang out with. Those were the best days of my life. Can't wait to get re-united again. Only if we can.

Bored

Bored in school. Bad use of manpower. Only 1 lesson today. Sit at staff room whole day do nothing. Hahaha. Money come to Papa.

MTV

Well, in case you didn't know, I'm this stupid child actor from the mid nineties.
Here you go.

关怀方式 MTV

Unreal

It wasn't pretty but there were positives from my little 5 day adventure. Regrettably, I have ambivalent feelings about my group, which, sometimes inspiring, sometimes disappointing and sometimes exhausting to the mortal soul. I came back feeling emotionally, physically and mentally drained but someone who understood people better and someone who squirmed out alive in a labryinth of complicated human relationships. As I trotted back home alone on the lonely MRT, facing the guy group members in front of me, I had to admit I was tired, jaded even, but I accentuated that with my depressing countenance, my mono-syllable replies and the murmuring of 'shack' repeatedly in their presence to show them i was beyond physical exhaustion.

I love my group but others have been feeding me with stuff to hate my group. I won't say my group is a bad group, it is a controversial group. Like all great football players who gets sent off in World Cup finals. They're in a league of their own. Angel, who got struck by an asthma attack could not join the rest of the group. I hate to say it, but she missed out both in a good and bad way. But the attack did her good in many ways. She could get rest and the people loved her even more. Angel is a wonderful individual and deserves to be loved, I couldn't ask for a better partner.

My role sometimes confuses myself. The fine line between just acting and reality. The ambiguity of reality. How many layers are there in the act? What is going through my mind when I'm acting? When I'm asked to play the role, do I leave clues to let people know who I really am? When I'm playing the role, do i play another role that tells people that I'm someone that I'm not. How about the other players? The other actors who are playing their roles? When they tell me they're acting, are they really acting? Or there is some truth in their animosity albeit just a little? I need to thank luq, uncle, weixin, cheryl, khaiyan, dillon, rongjun, johnson, nathaniel, jingshi and gang, darren for giving me either words of encouragement or lines to cheer me up.

I realised that I'm the reluctant actor. I reiterate that I only like to sing and I hate to act. I only act unless it's absolutely neccessary or doing someone a favour. Like in this case, I'm helping out with the camp. Or I'm acting to entertain some people to make the occasion a little lighter. Other times, I really just wanna talk about soccer, movies, life and making money. I've been pranked all my life by more serious issues like the one stated in the previous post and I've been ridiculed, shamed and hurt by the same subject so I could handle other stuff just a tad better than the rest.

After weixin left, I found myself quite bonded with kerri, marcus, xunxiang and jennifer who all gave me a hand when angel left and really relieved many of my responsibilities. After the aftermath of the human cluedo, i talked non-stop to different people for hours, explaining, apologizing, comforting, clearing doubts to both juniors and seniors. It was really quite amazing how all these drama could happen. It could only happen in SCI. Thank to my group who has given me something quite unforgettable, we had fun and we really had tears. We even had fits. But ultimately, we din care what the world thought of us and persisted. We are like Israel. We are the chosen people.

For my part, I tried my best to make everybody happy but that is rarely the case.
As I left the SCI building alone, I do feel somewhat unappreciated.

Sick and tired

I'm tired from the World Cup nights and I'm tired that I've to start work at 715 am at Bedok View Secondary School teaching students who have no will whatsoever to improve or break out of their own vicious cycle.

I'm tired with underachievement and my slice of bad luck in academic areas.

I'm tired with travelling long distances to school for meetings with no one interesetd in talking to me.

I'm tired of being myself and I'm tired of being someone else.

Love, football and music liberates me. At least when i'm with them, i forget about fatigue and I forget about the four walls of sadness that surrounds me, always ready to engulf me. But I'm too strong for that, really. My ego is there to feed me and I believe i'm being taken care after. I have grown inmune to anger and desperation. I may have become indifferent. I thought i would shout profanities on the lift going down but I did not. But I am angry. I'm not sympathetic at all. I believe I have lost my friendship with my mum because she is really pissing me off big time.

I came home from a movie with my empty battery handphone. I got a call to tell me I needed to go to the hospital to fetch her at 2a.m. Reason being intention of suicide. I hate being threatened. I was wondering what the hell went wrong. Throwing tantrums and right I was. I'm sick and tired of being a son.

I'm living with a time bomb waiting to swallow me with it. It burns and bruises me but it won't kill me. But bruises and burns wears a person down. Let's just pray that one day she gets it. That the whole world doesn't revolve around her.

I'm tired of being the nice guy consoling and encouraging when I just wanna rip her apart verbally.
I'm tired with the fact that that will never be possible.

Germans crash out

It was a classic football match between two teams that have won 3 World Cups each. I put on my shirt, pants and leather shoes to prepare for school at 1 a.m., trotted off to the Hong Kong cafe as a teacher and as a football fan with long time Azzuri supporter JG. Unknowingly I have backed the Germans because I own a 1974 vintage Adidas Germany jacket, a FILA Germany 'Fubol' T-shirt and a NIKE Germany sports band. As much as I dislike Michael Ballack, I liked how the Germans finish off their penalties like that was the first thing their parents taught them to do. I also like Oktoberfest and Bratwurst sausages. But that's beside the point. We were having a side bet to see which record will be broken. Whether Italy will finally break Germany's impeccable record at penalty kicks or Germany will defeat Italy in a World Cup game. Well, in the end, none of that happened.

The only notable surprise omission is that of Bastian Schweinsteiger who did not impress in the Argentina game. The game began rather cautiously with the Germans showing none of their steely nerves in the quarter final penalty shootout victory. The Italians settled down quickly and showed that they were not all about defense with some attractive attacking play that the Germans struggle to break down. 118 minutes later, they were to discover that Jens Lehman was in uncompromising mood. Francesco Totti looked out of sorts and tried to play too many through passes that found nobody. Mauro Camoneresi probably was thinking about his Juventus career than chasing the ball at his right flank. But other than those two, Italy was in majestic form with Cannavaro marshalling his team and his defence with such ease and authority. Andrea Pirlo was in the thick of all the action, his repertoire of short, long passes were all capable of carving out chances and one finally did at the second last minute of extra time. Drawing three German defenders at the edge of the penalty box, he shrugged off the challenges and held his ground before releasing Grosso in the area whose first-time curling shot hit the back of Lehman's net and silenced the entire nation. Minutes before, Gianlugi Buffon had to make a stupendous save to stop Lucas Podolski's dipping and powerful shot.

Statistics say that Italy will reach this year's finals. They have reached a World Cup final every 12 years since 1970. They lost to all-conquering Brazil in 1970. Won it at Espana 1982 courtesy of Paolo Rossi, lost in the penalty shootout against Brazil via a Roberto Baggio miss in USA 1994. And now will that see-saw finally turn in to Italy's favour in 2006? What goes around comes around as Karma puts it, this could very well be their year with France and Portugal's defence not looking as solid as theirs.

Jurgen Klinsmann who captured the imagination of every young boy who yearned to be a super striker has breathed new life into Germany's footballing chapter. They were defeated by the better team that night but their squad never looked strong on paper anyway. It is Klinsmann's aggressive and predatory instincts at his heyday that inspired an average German team to one of the most entertaining and enterprising team that Germany has ever produced. It is a hard pill to swallow for the Germany supporters. The most ardent Germany supporter will want Klinsmann to stay but perhaps questions will be raised whether he could commit to the national team on a more frequent basis when this young team embroils itself in the qualifiers for the Euro 2008 championships. Klinsmann has managed to fool the world by saying that his team will win the World Cup but deep down he probably knew that the players he had were simply just not good enough. He can never fool himself but he instilled this a winning and attacking philosophy into his players. A semi-final exit is probably not what a powerhouse footballing nation like Germany deserve but for this crop of players, they have far exceeded all expectations and Metzelder and Co. should be pleased with their efforts. Germany's squad depth was exposed cruelly by Italy. David Odonkor and Oliver Neuville are hardly world class players although they did combine to score the winning goal against a mediocre Poland side. While Klinsmann pulls out rabbits from his hat, Marcelo Lippi pulled out tigers and dinosaurs from his hat.



And the dinosaur can't come bigger than Alessandro Del Piero who like Thiery Henry, so outstanding for club but so ordinary for country. He's probably past his prime but that wonderfully taken last minute goal reminds us so much of the Del Piero in the late nineties where he led Juventus to the numerous league titles and European glory. In the hat includes a wealth of strikers, Fillipo "Pippo" Inzaghi, Vicente Iaquinta, Daniele De Rossi, Alessandro Nesta, so on and so forth. This Italian side is not the Paolo Rossi one man show in 1982 but a team centered on success, battling against scandals in their homeland and mourning for Gianluca Pessoto. With the exception of Luca Toni, all the strikers have gotten a goal each. Iaquinta, Del Piero, Totti, Inzaghi and Gilardinio. The full backs Grosso and Zambrotta also found the net. Andrea Pirlo will be the main man in the final together with Cannavaro and Buffon and I wouldn't bet against new scorers in the final. Possibly Genaro Gattuso and Daniel De Rossi to end their campaign as the side with the most scorers in the World Cup to win the trophy.

The quarters

And so we are down to 4 teams.



Germany vs. Argentina
It was actually a poor match and the tactical conservatism of Jose Pekerman eventually undid all the good work Argentina has done in this World Cup so far. Rather than to chase that elusive second goal to kill off the game, Pekerman uncharacterisitcally removed Riquelme and Crespo, the focal point and the targetman of their attack. If there is one thing certain about Germany and the World Cup, it is that one goal up against them is never enough. One Goal Not Enough. Miroslav Klose is proving to be the man of this tournament with that brilliant header to bury Diego Maradona back in his footballing grave. 10 goals, it is now for the Polish-born striker in the World Cup finals but the very first he scored against top class opposition. Lionel Messi, so brilliant every time he came on for the Argentineans was overlooked in favor of Julio Cruz who, to be fair, didn't have that bad an afternoon. It was also the tired legs of Juan Pablo Sorin who had such a fantastic World Cup who lost that bit of energy in his legs to keep up with the momentum of Miroslav Klose for that equaliser. Seeing how the Germans dispatching their spot kicks with ease, teams facing them in the semis and finals will be hoping they can finish Germany off in normal time. Nerves of Mercedes steel these Germans have, coupled with an ominous looking Jens Lehman who looks ever so calm and nonchalant between his posts. It looks increasingly promising that Germany will reach their second consecutive World Cup final and possibly their fourth World Cup trophy.



Italy vs. Ukraine
Ukraine never looked like they will beat a well-orgainsed Italy especially with captain marval Fabio Cannavaro thwarting all types of aerial or ground attacks. Fabio Cannavaro is quite simply the best centre back in this World Cup and they are unlikely to concede another goal given his devastating form. It doesn't matter who he partners really, his immaculate reading of the game and his leadership qualities give his fellow defenders the confidence and reassurance to do their jobs. Totti's last minute penalty against the Australians really exorcised the ghosts of 2002 when he got sent off and sent packing home when Italy crashed to a 2-1 defeat against South Korea. Totti, in my opinion is right up there with the likes of Riquelme, Kaka, Ballack in the playmaking department and the match against Germany in the semi-finals may very well be the stage to shine for Totti. Luca Toni's two goals against Ukraine must have done marvellous things to his morale and he will be hungry for more. Luck had a big part to play for Toni to not score earlier in this tournament. He is Peter Crouch version 1000, the same frame and similar height with more muscle, tenacity, skill and flair. It's a real pity that he has only scored 2 goals so far.



England vs. Portugal
Firstly, I think Wayne Rooney's sending off was ridiculous. His reputation probably had a hand in the sending-off and maybe also his hooliganish looks. Like what many papers had said, the referee should already have called for the foul in Rooney's favour when 3 Portugese defenders tried to dispossess him. As the whole world saw from their television screens, Rooney stamped on Carvalho's crotch and when Christiano Ronaldo came to add theatrics to the scene, Wayward Wayne shoved him and quite rightly so. C.Ronaldo's gamesmanship is disgraceful and intentional but who wouldn't want Rooney sent off in such an important game that decides the fate of two sucess-deprived countries? The shoving itself did not constitute a red card much less a yellow card, the stamp on Carvalho was probably unintentional and Rooney simply couldn't get out of the way. Rooney 2006 was not Beckham 1998 when the latter tripped Diego Simeone as retaliation, like I said, Rooney's reputation got the better of him and players like Ronaldo knows exactly how to exploit that.

England's exit from this World Cup should be a relief for most England fans with the ousting of Sven Goran Erikkson. It is not with ludicrousness I say that England has the strongest first 11 in this World Cup. They boast 4 players who have finished on the top 3 FIFA awards as well as European Player Awards: Michael Owen, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. If the team needs leadership, they have the captains and vice captains of the top clubs in English football: John Terry, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard. The most expensive defender: Rio Ferdinand. The most complete leftback in the World: Ashley Cole. They also have what the Brazilians fear most: Wayne Rooney. The manager with so much talent at his disposal is unable to get the best out of his players.

The England team is over-reliant on David Beckham's delivery but the complete omission of Beckham would mean losing England's most potent weapon. Lampard and Gerrard, unfortunately, cannot pay together on the same team. I would omit Lampard and put Gerrard in the middle of the park. Aaron Lennon if fit and gets more games at Tottenham should start for England. Flank play is something much lacking in England's arsenal. Lennon plays in a style similar to that of Arjen Robben but less selfish than the Dutchman. Joe Cole will be dropped too, his stepovers so easily forgettable and that wondergoal he scored against Sweden was overshadowed by their poor defensive display that night. England will need a faster rightback than Gary Neville to balance the left side of Ashley Cole to penetrate the flanks. England needs a hardman in the middle to partner Gerrard, a destroyer, someone to foil attacks and yet a good passer.The likes of Joey Barton of Manchester City comes to mind. Another bad boy in the England team to take some attention off their most creative player, Wayne Rooney. Wayne Rooney should play in the role he does in Manchester United and that is the second striker who sometimes become a fifth midfielder. Effectively, the formation switches from 4-5-1 when defending to 4-4-2 when attacking. The targetman up front will not be Mr. Peter Crouch but someone who is faster, stronger and a good header of the ball. Dean Ashton, James Beattie, Marlon Harewood and Darren Bent will all have been better choices. Someone to muscle it out with defenders, leaving Rooney to run at them. Stewart Downing, a natural left-footer should do better under Steve McClaren and if he reproduces his club form in country, he would be a player to watch out for his pace and the quality of his crosses. Another candidate for the left side of midfield will be Theo Walcott. Speed demons rushing down the flanks will open up space in the middle for Rooney and Gerrard to operate. And when the legs begin to tire, David Beckham can then come in for set pieces when the tired defenders have to check John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. You don't need to please everyone, get the right players for the right job. Frank Lampard will then be like Juninho Permubacamo of Brazil.



France vs. Brazil
The French are now the dark horses for the World Cup. Eliminating Spain and Brazil with majestic performances from the one and only Zinedine Zidane, how the romantics will love Zizou signing off such an illustrious career with a second World Cup medal. After all, this man deserves it more than anyone else. For he represents the skills, tricks and flair of South Americans, the power, balance and tactical astuteness of the Europeans, the quiet Frenchman is quite the chrarismatic figure on the field, a living legend who has already won everything there is to be in football. He will be remembered for a long time even if he does not win the World Cup after this performance against Brazil. There is really one Zinedine Zidane. The French team plays with less arrogance compared to the past French teams in major tournaments and that could really help them to be focused. Over-confidence has always led to the downfall of big teams and France 2006 certainly has their feet on the ground. They were written off at the start after mediocre displays in the group stages, they have stumbled and fell but the team is getting stronger and they have really nothing to lose and nothing to prove. All the French players want to win the World Cup for Zinedine Zidane but ultimately it is Zizou who will win the World Cup for them.