LIverpool Adidas Kits

FOUR NEW LFC KITS

REVEALED

Liverpool today officially unveiled four new kits which will be seen on our players this season. As well as the new home strip, the white Champions League away kit, the yellow domestic away strip and the home goalkeeper jersey were also on display.

I don't really like the fact that the new kits have collar, but it doesn' t look that bad on Gerrard. What can I say if you are good looking , you will look good in whatever clothes you wear. But, Van Persie doesn't look good in Holland's orange collared shirt! Hmph...

Back to the topic, overall, I don't liket the new kits design. There are too many white stripes on the shoulders of the home kit. Well, it's adidas trademark. I still prefer Reebok's. The yellow away jersey is the worst!!! Why yellow??? And why choose that shade of yellow? The European away jersey is not comforting either. Anyway, it doesn't matter if the designs are ugly, as long as they can win matches in those shirts, the rest will be forgotten.

And in case you are wondering why most, well almost all, the pictures are of Gerrard, it's nothing to do with my being his ardent fan, but it's more of the fact that he's the captain. So, the captain has the honor of leading the club in launching the new kits for the season!

I finished downloading Elizabethtown. I was a little apprehensive at first because the last time when I was done downloading CARS, I couldn't open the file. So, I was afraid the same thing would happen to the Elizabethtown file. Well, it didn't , but there's another problem. The language wasn't English. I think it's Spanish, but I'm not sure. ARGH!!! It wasn't written on the file that the movie had been changed to Spanish(or whatever language it was)! It's totally irritating me. I'd been waiting for a week for the file to be downloaded only to find that I didn't understand a single word they are saying! :(

I have to look for another file and this time, i specifically state ENGLISH!!! I hope the next movie I successfully downloaded would not be able to have any problem! (cross fingers) Well, at least I successfully, really successfully downloaded a documentary on Steven Gerrard: A year in My Life :D But the documentary is not that great! It gave me a little peep into the life of Steven Gerrard the "boring Steven Gerrard" so Gerrard said in the documentary. Lilly-Ella is so cute! There's a brief scene of Gerrard and his lovely 2yr old daugher in the swimming pool. They were in the swimming pool counting 1 to 10. Gerrard seemed to be teaching Lilly to count, but apparently, Lilly knows her numbers, because when Gerrard said ten after eight, Lilly still said nine and then ten, ignoring his playful daddy. So cuteeeeeeeeee!

I did a quiz at QuizFarm.com about What is your perfect major?

You scored as Sociology.
You should be a Sociology major!

Sociology
67%
Anthropology
67%
Linguistics
58%
Art
58%
Mathematics
58%
Psychology
50%
Philosophy
50%
English
42%
Journalism
42%
Engineering
42%
Theater
33%
Dance
33%
Chemistry
25%
Biology
25%

I will be having Sociology lessons next semester. I'm so excited! I hope I would enjoy it(then, may be I can consider switching major *shrug*). I think it would be roughtly the same as Philosophy, but perhaps a little easier to decipher??? I don't know. I did enjoy my philosophy class althought I was left feeling frustated at times because there doesn't seem to be a specific answer or a definite stand to an issue. But I like this better than sciences. I mean such subjects are real! They cover issues that are prevalent in the world that we live in. They make me think about social issues more throughly and hence i can understand the society better. But I shall approach the subject, Sociology, with an open mind, not to let myself setting any expectation of myself or the subject.

I went to eat the biggest pizza I had ever seen. The pizza restaurant is called Hideaway Pizza. Here's the history about Hideaway, taken from its website www.hideawaypizza.net :


" Oklahoma's oldest and favorite pizzeria was founded in Stillwater in 1957. The Hideaway has always been popular with OSU students and alumni for the great pizza, colorful decor and fun wait staff. The Hideaway has weathered the years well and in 1993 an expansion of the store's concept got underway with stores opening throughout the Oklahoma City and Tulsa region. "

The pizza lived up to its name. It's really really nice. The bread was crispy and the cheese was chewy and "strechable"(can't think of the correct word to describe it :P). Most of the pizza that I had eaten, the bread will be too think and the cheese wasn't that nice. This pizza has the prefect ingredients!

There are also some interesting facts about pizza toppings in the net :

One to the most favorite pizza toppings in
- America? PEPPORONI
-Australia? SHRIMP, PINEAPPLE, and BBQ SAUCE.
-Brazil? GREEN PEAS
-Coasta Rica? COCONUT
-India? GINGER and TOFU
-Japan? SQUID
-Pakistan? CURRY
-Russia? a combo of SARDINES, TUNA, MACKERAL, SALMON, and ONIONS.

Interesting!


And the design of the restaurant has a homely feeling to it. There are quite a no. of shops in the area. I have to explore the area one day! I wanted to take a photo of the very large pizza, but I didn't bring my camera along. I managed to find some photos of the place from the website though. Here they are:

The rest of the pictures are cut off, dunno why. Nevermind, next time I will take my camera along when I go there again. The picture of the restaurant (above) should be taken during fall. I can't wait for fall. The picturesque scenery of the yellowish-orange leaves against the red bricks of OSU builings, basking the autumn sun. And how nice it would be to walk along the road surrounded by the fallen leaves and the trees with their colorful crown on each side... That's beauty!

Perhaps I should take some pictures(of the trees or places with many trees) now and on aug and make a comparison! That sounds like a good idea :)

"Zidane, who has retired as a player, was fined 7,500 Swiss francs and handed a three-match ban by FIFA's disciplinary committee. As he is no longer a player, he will undertake three days of community services on FIFA's behalf as part of their humanitarian activities.
Materazzi, who admitted insulting Zidane, was given a two-match ban and fined 5,000 Swiss francs." (Courtesy of Soccernet)

So Zidane and Materazzi were both punished! See, I knew Materazzi said something hurtful to Zidane otherwise why would he headbutted Zidane headbutted him?

" FIFA discriminated against Italy when it decided to punish defender Marco Materazzi for provoking French captain Zinedine Zidane during the World Cup final, Italy's sports minister said on Friday."

Hello, your Italian player had admitted to the crime. If he's not punished where's justice. Sore loser! Talking about sore loser, remind me of Jose Mourinho and Chelsea. Well, Damien Duff is leaving Chelsea and so will some other player. Mourinho is trying to reduce the size of his star-studden team. See, players who go to Chelsea are stupid! They go there for? the money and to warm the benches! Well, unless you are really really good and most importantly has a very good relationship with the "Special One" you won't play! See Gerrard, luckily you didn't join the @#%# team! (yeah, even if you join them you will definitely play regularly, but that's besides the point. The thing is competition is very high. You may play one game, but you may not play for the next one. ) Don't join chelsea. Victory will be sweeter if you are in another club. Even if you are in Man U, the taste of triumph will be so much sweeter! People are expecting Chelsea to win everything, as if the other clubs are non-existance!

I went to explore the town a little today. I went to Cimmaron Plaza. I've never been there before, so I decided to go there. I took the blue color bus. And next week, I plan to take the purple one. Hmmp... a good way to explore the town. But the time spent waiting for the bus is "melting" me. I have to stand under the hot sizzling sun!!! I don't get it! Why the mayor of the city or whoever holds the authority don't think of building a shelter for the bus stop, instead of having just one pathetic board telling us that that is the bus stop! Argh! This is killing me.

Ok, back to my mini exploration. Cimmaron Plaza is quite an old place. There's a picture of it on the left. There are shops and restaurants. I went to walk from one end to the other. There were not much things to see really. At Walls Bargain Center, I bought a book for $2. Yeah, it's cheap. THe things sold at Walls is cheaper than outside, since it's cheap, you can't expect much. Many of the things are old, especially the clothes. There are a large number of clothes, but the designs are so out of date. Then again, what was I expecting? There's no free lunch in this world!

As I walk down there rows of shops, it's getting more and more boring. THere were furniture shop, game store and a convenient store which sell things more or less at the same price as Walmart. And there's a Creative office too. Creative, a tinge of homely(or Singapore) feeling in the city of Stillwater.

On the way back to the campus, the bus drove past OSU Flight School, where the future pilots of OSU are trained. I think it's cool! The whole city of Stillwater basically made of OSU. OSU is the heartbeat of Stillwater. Can't imagine what Stillwater will be like without OSU. Then I saw a house which design I like very much! The wall is made of stones ( I don't know the name of the stone). I want my future house to look something like that. I want the outside wall to be made of bricks or stones! I like log house too, but I will have to live up in the mountain or snowy places to have a log cabin! I realised that if I want to build my own house, America is the best place to be. WEll, places like Stillwater, where land is aplenty that is. I doubt you can build you own house in NY or California. May be you can, but you have to be a billionaire first!

pissed off

Gerrard really seems to be very pissed off. I wonder what causes him to be in such a foul mood. I hope that if one day I have the chance to meet him in person, he won't be in such a mood.

It's hard to be famous!!! Your life is under scruntiny all the time. Everywhere you go, cameras (be it journalists' or fans') will be awaiting you, clicking away as you are trying your best to shun. Your privacy is snatched right under your nose, and you can do nothing about it! Your every move, every action is being watched... Stardom comes at a price!

What kind of life is that? Definitely not the kind of life I want. Yeah, I do dream to be a footballer's gf sometimes. You get to watch football for free(my bf is playing!!!), you can ask ur bf to exchange jerseys with players that you want, you are pampered with expensive gifts, u are given lots and lots of money to spend your hearts away. But, you have to look good all the time. You have to have great body (or you will embarrased your footballer bf). And ya, I noticed that footballers are always after models, actresses, or some model-like gals. Can't they get "real" and date some "real" gals. I just read an article on the net about Rooney's gf, Coleen, she was thought to be pregnant because she has a small bump on the stomach!!! Hello, not every one has a flat stomach!!! REally, we are bombared with all these mindsets about the image of "perfect" girl (skinny, leggy, sexy), and you wonder why the girls today suffer from eating disorder and are willing to bear so much suffering just to be thin and look good. Beauty is skin deep! But the truth is people are still being judged by their appearance. Your appearance create the first impression! OH, LIFE!

Money and stardom vs privacy, the right to lead the life the way I like it to be? The former is very tempting, but I choose the latter. After all, money can't buy you everything.

I read about Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave Manchester United and he pointed out that the main reason was the Wayne Rooney incident. May be it have a great impact on his decision to leave Man U, but I think he did it(encouraging the refree) purposely. He saw this chance to create a tension between him and Rooney and subsequently, he could use this reason to leave Man U as he desired! Wow, what a brilliant idea! Well, he should be an actor with all the drama(and diving acts) he had created! I'm glad the young player award went to Podolski. He's a better role model for young budding footballer. Seriously, I don't think I want my kids to watch soccer. I mean, may be watch a little and play a little, but not till they are so crazy about it or worse start to emulate them. Soccer players are not a good role model(I don't support them 'cause I'm looking for a role model. Let's just say it's to satisfy my lust. Admit it, 22 guys on a field, there bound to be some eye-candies that you may not be able to find say in the classroom.)!!! Smoking, tatooing, ear-piercing, funny hairstyles, "free sex culture", violence.... I'm worried for kids who have made the footballers their heroes and ready to follow their every step!

Let's talk about my day now...

I had a lesson on Europe just now and it brought back my memories of the vacation I had last winter in Europe with my family! THe coldness of the winter, the majestic of the Colosseum, the gondola ride, the snow in Austria, the cute replica of the entire Netherlands in Madurodam,the snow mountain in Switzerland,the sausages of Germany, the chocolates in Belgium
and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.... Awwwwwww!!!!












I just know that Germany is the most populous country in Europe. I thought it was UK! And Monaco is a very very small country in southern France! And France is really against the cultural revolution brought about by the Americans (pop music, fast-food, Hollywood movies...) the French government is trying very hard to preserve the French culture. Radio stations must
played 40% French music, the government is funding the film industry, so that Hollywood won't take over, and there's a limitation to the height of the buildings to protect the inner-city skyline so theat the historic bell towers of Notre DAme and Eiffel Tower remain visually prominent!!! I think every country should do that. They should protect the historic buildings of the country!!! In some countries (like London), the historic building is hidden somewhere between the skyscrapers!!! Don't the citizens feel that it's such a pity to "bury" their historic past between the modern concrete? I mean, the historic site seems to be the most "humane" things that exist in today's bustling and fast-paced modern society. Just by looking at the history remains, one would be able to slow down a little and let their mind be brought back to the past. No?

And I did the most unthinkable things today. I need soil to grow some plants and since I don't need much soil, buying soil would be a waste. So... I decided to dig some soil from the grass downstairs, forcing my cousin to help me. Of course, I did on the bald patches. And then, there's a red car drove past us and the driver kept staring at us. Yeah, two Chinese in the middle of grassland doing don't know what. What a scene!!! So I quickly did as much soil as I could and left! In the end, I don't have enough soil! Stupid driver!!! But a little girl saves my day. While going back to the house, there's a little girl in her undies only and she said hi! Actually, she said," Hi! What's your name? What are you doing?" I only said, "HI!" to her. Her mother was coming out, so I don't want to say too much. Then as her mum carried her, she said, "Bye!" to us. I shouted, "Bye!" back. So cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....

Ignorance Is A Bliss

I just realised that Judaism, Christianity and Islamism are similar in nature. They are monotheistic. They believe in "One God". And the "One God" is apparently the same God. It's just that they are called differently. The Quran,for example, agrees with what is written on the Bible, though the Bible is thought to be incomplete. My professor mentioned that he found it bizarre that people under these religions will fight one another. There are numerous conflicts between Christians and Islams, resulting them in killing one another. They are supposed to be "brothers"! And even more bizarre when the believer of the religion used their religion as a mean to kill others of different religions! I totally agree with my professor. Mutilated beliefs are likely to be the reasons for these three religions believers to want to kill one another. I mean it's wrong to kill other human beings, but the fact that these three religions are strongly linked, make it even more unthinkable!!!

I have just watched the latest news on the Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon "wars". Tears formed in my eyes and my heart ached as I watched the scenes of the innocent lives that were sacrificed by the selfish people who claimed to be fighting for the cause of their citizens. Defending the citizens means protecting the citizens from harm and helping them gain happiness, peace,etc... But what have they done? Causing great suffering to their citizens. They preached one thing and do the other things. "Free my soldiers or I will attack!" So they said. And attack they did. And what's the result? No one is freed but many INNOCENT lives are killed! The end does not justify the means!!!!!!!!!!

I watched for a couple of minutes and looked away from the tv screen, wiping my tears away and reflecting on how lucky I am to be able to lead the life I have right now. I could be there in Israel or Lebanon. But here I am living my life peacefully. I may be homesick and wishing that things could be better with my life. But I only need to think of the victims in the MiddleEast or the people in poverty-stricken Africa to feel that MY LIFE IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER than theirs. What more could I ask???

I have to admit that I really, really hate to watch such scenes. They not only make me reflect on my life but more often than not, they make me feel guilty. Yes, I feel guilty to be able to have a peaceful life with nothing to worry about except my school grades, my driving license, my appearance... It's not my fault that the people are suffering. I'm not the one who blast the missles... I will tell myself, but to no avail. I hate to see such news or commercials. Yeah, I will donate. I know I have the duty to help the poor, the needy! I don't need a reminder!!! A reminder to do my duty? I think it's more like a reminder that I should feel guilty, that I should not lead my life with all the luxuries that I have even if I deserve them with so many people in this world are suffering and could be help with the money I spent on the luxuries(like what Peter Singer's idiotic theory says). But how many can I save? Does the money I donate really go to the needy? Don't I have a right to spend the money that are given to me by parents to buy things that will improve my life, things that will make me happy?

IGNORANCE IS A BLISS

Finally, I can say it. " I pass my written test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gerrard's picture on the right sums up my feeling right now ;)

I'm really glad that I can finally get this test over and done with. For now, I just have to concentrate on my practical test, which is more difficult. But the written test is not easy as well. I got 5 wrong !!! It's quite bad, okay!!! I nearly failed! There are questions that I have never seen before and the answers for some questions are so close together!!!

But my cousin failed. And this unable me to really rejoicing as this would hurt his feeling otherwise! *sigh*

The person-in-charge was so funny. I approched the counter and said, "Good afternoon, Sir!" I waited for a couple of seconds and he didn't reply. At this point of time, I thought he was fierce! Then I continue as a matter-of-factly, "I'm here to take my written test."
He answered, "Really?"
Me:"Ya?" ( I was wondering whether I have just said a stupid thing. Or is it he was trying to be funny? I chose to think of the latter.)
He just laughed at me and then proceeded to ask for the necessary documents.
As it turned out, he's a nice guy!

Here is an excerpt taken from Soccernet.com

Updated: July 10, 2006
A sad end to a magnificent journey

by Alex Chick

Zinedine Zidane's extraordinary red card had little bearing on the result, but it is undoubtedly how the World Cup final will be remembered.

A global audience tuned in to see the great man's apotheosis, his elevation to god-like status. Instead we saw a crushing reminder of his mortality.
In a sport where we have learned to blow the slightest incident out of all proportion, Zidane's shuddering headbutt to the chest of Marco Materazzi sent a high-voltage shock through the system of anyone watching.

It was so visceral, so immediately and obviously stupid that it was painful to believe Zidane could have done it. When Materazzi went down, the English TV pundit David Pleat insisted: 'It must be Trezeguet, it must be Trezeguet.'

It wasn't the only time Pleat identified a player wrongly, but this time it was understandable. Across the world, and especially in France, fans felt a sense of denial: 'No, it can't be Zizou!'
But it was. And Horacio Elizondo sent off the supreme football icon of the last 15 years, forcing him to trudge past the World Cup on his way to the dressing room in disgrace.

It was actually the France skipper's second controversial butt of the week, following the pictures of him smoking a cigarette on Wednesday. At least that storm in an ashtray will be forgotten.
Zizou's final match will inevitably affect the way we judge his career. After all, he headbutted someone in the World Cup final. This was no tame press of the head, exaggerated by the Italian. It was a genuine act of aggression, a bull charging at a matador.

It was the 14th red card of the former Real Madrid and Juventus player's career and his second in the World Cup, having been sent off for a Rooney-like stamp against Saudi Arabia in 1998. Of course he will not go down as a violent player, but his image is no longer flawless.

Had he stayed on the pitch and France had won, he would have surpassed everyone but Pelé and Maradona as the best player in football history. Now he will stay on the second level, alongside Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Franz Beckenbauer. Not a bad place to be, admittedly, but one on which he would look down had it not been for one crazy moment.

Mind you, if he can still win the Golden Ball award for the tournament's outstanding player, anything can happen. It is the third time on the trot that the award has gone to a man who slipped up in the final, following Ronaldo in 1998 and Oliver Kahn in 2002.

France coach Raymond Domenech was quick to point the finger at Materazzi. 'I don't know what he said to Zidane, all I do know is that he was the man of the match, not Pirlo [FIFA's choice]. He scored and he got Zidane sent off,' he said. 'Materazzi did a lot of 'cinema', a gust of wind would have knocked him over.'

Of course Materazzi provoked him, with what looked like a pinch of the nipple followed up with a volley of abuse. But such gamesmanship is hardly uncommon, and the Italy defender cannot have expected to hit the jackpot by eliciting such an astonishing reaction.

Domenech also suggested that the fourth official notified the linesman of the offence after seeing a video replay, a claim that has been denied by FIFA. They say the fourth official saw the incident 'with his own eyes' and notified the refereeing team through their headsets.

Whether an off-field arbiter should be allowed to affect decision-making in such a way is a debate for another day. He certainly ensured the correct outcome; it would have been a travesty had Zidane stayed on the pitch.

Zidane will be forgiven, even if his crime will never be forgotten. He has given so much to the French cause since his debut in 1994, and so much to the football world.

It would be a tragedy to let the end of Zidane's career obscure over a decade of brilliance. The journey is more important than the destination.

--------------------------------End-------------------------------------

I agree with the writer. Zidane will be remembered !!!!

And he smokes too??? Oh my, why do footballers smoke? They are athletes who have to look after their bodies. aNd smoking is bad for health. It kills!!!! Even GErrard smokes too. THe FIFA need to ban footballer from smoking too!!! It's not good an image for young kids to follow!!! I really really hate smokers. I think they're selfish people. Second-hand smokes is more deadly than the first hand ones. If they want to die from lung cancer or any smoking related diseases, then die alone! Don't harm those around him too!!! I can't stand smokers!!! The smokes sooooooooooo smelly and choking!!! Eewww....

I thought I would not blog again after the world cup. But then, I still have no friends and there are some things that I want to share, that I want to get it off my chest. I could write it down on my journal, but don't know why, I prefer typing than writing. So here is the entry of the day:

I slept late last night! I was wathing a documentary show on Discovery Health Channel. It's about a family with SIXTEEN children. Yes, SIXTEEN!!! And every child's name start with a letter "J".The mother practically gave birth to a child every year. The eldest is 18 years old and the youngest is a few months old. Wow!!! I wouldn't want to have so many children(I only want 2, preferably a boy and a girl, if I could have a twins, then it would be great. One pregnancy and it's over!) Firstly, I wouldn't have the patience!!! The parents and even the older siblings are so patience and the children rarely fight, throw tantrum, etc. (So unlike my siblings and I!) Secondly, I don't think my future husband and I will be able to support such a big family! The family live in a countryside in Arkansass! Note, countryside!!! And the children are home-schooled.

Then, the camera showed the C-section when the Mum gave birth to the 15th son. I usually would have covered my eyes, the blood and all. But, I really want to know what a C-section is like. I may have it in the future! And after seeing it, I'm for a natural birth. The baby was pulled out of the stomach, literally!! The doctor cut open the stomach of the mother and she put her hands into the stomach, got hold of the baby's head and pulled the baby out of the stomach. So gross!!! And shocking! I didn't know that the baby is going to be pulled out!!! Oh my! I wouldn't want my baby to be treated that way. I'm so for natural birth. At least the baby "comes out" by itself, or rather by the contraction. Yeah, the doctor may sometimes have to pulled the baby too, but usually, they would let the mother does all the "work".

I found another dime. The first time I found it was on the bus on the seat behind me. Actually, my cousin saw it and since i was nearest to it. I took it. He didn't want it so I kept it. I think it's for the extra price of egg that the cashier in the Walmart charged me! THe eggs cost 92cents and the cashier forgot what's the price so she keyed in 97cents. I wasn't being calculative here. I was finding some logical explanation to my luck in finding the dime! See, a dime for 5cents. It goes in a circle.

So, yesterday, while throwing rubbish, I say a dime on the street. I dare not take it at first. I scared the other residents will see me (hey, it may be a trap for all you know!) . THen on my way back, i looked around, making sure that the coast was clear and took the dime home. I couldn't think of any other logical explanation this time. May be have been cheated without knowing it!

I'm going to have my written driving test later. And I'm so scared!!!! I scared I fail!!! I have done my studies, research, etc. And I really, really, really hope that I would be able to say, "I pass!!!" After the test!

Zidane has explained his reason for head-butting Materazzi.

From Soccernet.com

Zidane: Materazzi insulted my mother and sister

Zinedine Zidane has publicly apologised for his sending-off in the World Cup final, but claimed he did not regret his actions against Marco Materazzi.

Zidane, who was captaining his country in his final match before retirement, stated that Materazzi insulted his mother and sister in the seconds leading up to the incident, which saw the France midfielder thrust his head into the Italy defender's chest.

'I reacted badly and I would like to apologise for it,' Zidane told Canal Plus. 'I would like to apologise because a lot of children were watching the match. I do apologise but I don't regret my behaviour because regretting it would mean he was right to say what he said.

'There was no tension with Materazzi before or during the match.

'He just put his hand onto my shirt and I told him to stop. I told him that if he wanted it I could give it to him at the end of the match.

'Then he said very harsh words to me and repeated them several times. I left but then I went back towards him and things went very fast. The words he said concerned my mother and sister.

'I heard them once, then twice, and the third time I couldn't control myself. I am a man and some words are harder to hear than actions. I would have rather been knocked down than hear that.'

'Afterwards I explained to the referee that I had been provoked, but my behaviour is not forgivable,' Zidane said.

Without Zidane, who had earlier given France the lead with a penalty, extra-time finished with the score locked at 1-1, and Zidane's team lost the penalty shoot-out 5-3 to Italy.
Asked whether he plans to attend FIFA hearings into the incident, Zidane said that he would seek to defend himself.

'I will go and I will tell everything I have just said,' he added. 'The reaction is always punished but if there is no provocation there is no reaction. The guilty person is the one who provokes.

'If I reacted that way, it is because something bad happened. Do you really believe that 10 minutes before the end of my career I would be able to make such a bad gesture? The provocation was very serious.'

The incident was a sad way to end what has been a glittering career for Zidane, but he insisted he would not change his mind about retiring.

'This is a decision I have made and I will not go back on it,' he said. 'This is definite. I will not play again.'

Materazzi himself, who scored the equaliser for Italy on Sunday, made a statement of his own while Zidane was speaking on French television.

'I didn't mention anything about religion, politics or racism,' he said. 'I didn't insult his mother. I lost my mother when I was 15 years old and still get emotional when I talk about it.
'Naturally, I didn't know that his mother was in hospital but I wish her all the best.

'Zidane is my hero and I have always admired him a lot.'

----- End-----

I think Materazzi is acting innocent! I mean who would you believe, Zidane or Materazzi? Of course it's Zidane. For Pete's sake, that guy is retiring from international football after the end of the match.!Why in the world would he head-butted anyone in the last few minutes before the time, and risking gettign a red card? If it's about Materazzi blocking his way or anything, that prevent him from moving forward, Zidane would not lose his cool like that! He knows too well how to keep his temper. To make a cool-headed player like Zidane blew his top, Materazzi must have done(or said) something wrong! I saw that Materazzi was saying something to Zidane and later, the accident happened. Too bad I don't know how to lip-read!

May the truth prevails!

aurelio_benitez_paletta_

Liverpool's two new signings. Mark Gonzalez from Chile will be joining Liverpool squad too. Hmph... Spanish, Spanish,Spanish! If Arsenal is the French team of EPL, Liverpool is the Spanish team. The players not necessarily from Spain, but they speak Spanish!!! So much so for Ravalution!

Yeah, Craig Bellamy is also a new member of the Liverpool Team. I don't know why Rafa signed him! He has this bad boy image that doesn't go down well with me. Then again, Rafa signed Peter Crouch, didn't he?

Hamann is leaving for Bolton, no for Manchester City... Erm... I think it's more like he's leaving Liverpool to join Bolton but then after a day, he decided to leave Bolton for Man City. Wow! And I thought Gerrard's fickle-mindedness (Should I join Chelsea? Or should I stay in Liverpool?) was bizarre! Anyway, good luck for him. Hope he has a good time there before retiring.

We(liverpool fans) will remember you! You'll Never Walk Alone.

Klose won the Golden Boot! Scoring 5 goals in this tournament. I still think 5 is so little!!! But, it's hard to score goal you know! Just ask Lampard!

Zidane won the Golden Ball Award!!! I'm so happy for him!
Excerp from Soccernet

Trezeguet, however, preferred to focus on all the great things achieved by his international team-mate, who was France's 1998 World Cup hero.

'Considering all that Zidane has done for the national team we can only say thank you and bravo,' he said. 'He is an exceptional player and an exceptional human being and he will recover.

'He just needs time to be with his family right now. Of course, we had all hope for a better ending for him and for our national team.'

I agree with Trezeguet. We should erase the bad memory and remember Zidane as a legend worth following! It's sad really how a small blunder will cause people to forget every great thing the player has done. You are hailed and praised for one day and the next day, you are critisized and jeered just for a small blunder that you have made. That's football.

That's why, I think if every footballer(or coach) is thinking of hanging up their boot, they should do it after a great season! Take my advise Klinsman! I'm not belittling your ability. As you have proven in this world cup, you are capable of being a great coach. But as you know, anything can happen in football. A great journey in the world cup does not mean a great journey in the euro 2008 or even in the next world cup. Just look at Czech Republic. What a run they have in the Euro 2004., but look what they achieve in this World Cup-- knock out in the first stage! If I were you, Klinsman, I will continue to live my life peacefully in California! Bringing the German team to where they were doubted even before the tournament started was a great contribution to the country , not forgetting the days you bring glory for GErman as a player. Enough is enough! Too much of things may not be too good. WEll, it's your decision after all. Me just like anyone else and offer nothing but advice (which you won't even have the chance to read).

France didn't prove me wrong (as expected). Well, they nearly did with the Zidane penalty! But Italy (as expected again) equalized!

This world cup has been so "sucky" for me. All, almost all, my predictions were wrong. And hurray to my sis and Ren! They (randomly) picked Italy to win and the Italians did! =(

The final match was an entertaining match marred by some serious physical contacts by both teams. The hunger for the ultimate glory! The desperation from the unjustified ends from string of chances of scoring goals led to some unthinkable actions, best represented by Zidane. A player of such calibre head-butted another player in the moment of desperation! Desperate time calls for desperate measures!

I don't know what exactly made Zidane do that. He should have remained cool! It's sad really, for anyone to end their career the way Zidane did. (Well, not every story have a happy ending, right?)And he wasn't even allowed to attend the prize giving ceremony! What was that? Even if he did the country wrong, he should not be sorely blamed for it! The whole team should be blamed! Zidane did enough to bring France this far. Give the guy credit he deserved!!!

Back to the match. I'm not in the mood to comment much!
I just want to say that the final was not as good as I expected! And yeah, thanks to France, we see some refreshment in not seeing Brazil in the final. I really welcome that. Don't you just get tired of havign the same team in the final for many years? Give someone else a chance!

Anyway, when the game went to penalty, I knew right away that Italy will win. Please, Buffon guarding the goal vs the eccentric Fabian Barthez? No brainer, Buffon is definitely better. He's not as good a penalty stopper as Ricardo, but still, the chances of him saving a penalty is much higher than Barthez's!!! Besides, Italy had more illustrious records in winning the penalties. Defying the odds? France had done it in beating Brazil and reaching the final. You can't beat too many odds, not in one tournament. Miracles have its limit! Trust me! Well, I trust myself and no surprise, Italy won the World Cup!

I can't stand it when the Italians' mouths were all over the trophy! They couldn't stop smooching the trophy! Eewww!!! And they were crowding the whole place till the person-in-charge could not present Cannavaro with the trophy. And what an antic Cannavaro did when he stand at the table supposedly for the World Cup trophy! Feeling top of the world, I bet! Well, I guess he will win the Golden Boot Award now that Zidane was sent off! I really feel bad for him. I know he doesn't need my sympathy but still, i'm free to express my emotion and my heart goes to him. That's life!

A consolation for the mess surrounding the Italian clubs back home, I guess!

3rd place match

Germany won! For the first 45min, the game was quite dull. No goals and the attempted attacks were mild, not threatening at all. Portugal attacked more in the first half. The Germans were quite subdued, surprisingly.

But playing in front of millions of Germans, the German team have to think of ways to attack and get the goal! Indeed, the goals came. 2 from Bastian Schweinsteiger and an own goal from Petit from Schweinsteiger's freekick. Portugal scored a consolation goal thanks to Nuno Gomez. It saved them some dignity at least! The second-half was much much better played. I'm glad it didn't go to extra time or worse penalty shoot-out. When you get too many of such things, you'll get bored of it naturally. Thank goodness, it didn't go that way. Well, you couldn't blame me for thinking that the game would go into extra time or penalty shoot-out if you watched the boring first-half! Great job by the Germans! Now the question remains whether Klinsmann will remain as a coach or not. Personally, I think he will give it a pass. I don't think his wife would approve it. I mean the main reason he "escaped" to OC, California is to avoid the media from pestering his family, right? I don't know. If I were him, I would leave. I would rather leave on a high note rather than continue coaching and there's a possibility on failing on my next assessment!

Anyway, a few more yellow cards for Portugal. Portugal is leading in that category 23 or 24, I think! haha... I found it funny when the commentator commented on it. It just tickled me to think of such comments! At least the Portuguese go home top of the group for something! Haha...

Yes, there's Asian representative after all in the game! The Japanese referee Toru Kimikawa!
Congratulation Germany!!!!





I hope tomorrow's final would be an entertaining and exciting game!!!
I'm rooting for France but I guess Italy have a better chance in bringing the trophy! Prove me wrong France (or should I say Zidane?). Good luck! May the better team win!

Podolski is FIFA Best Young Player of the World Cup!!!


Former German soccer star Lothar Matthaeus, left, hands over to German player Lukas Podolski, right, the FIFA best young player trophy in Berlin, Friday, July 7, 2006. Podolski received the award as best young player of the Soccer World Cup tournament 2006 in Germany.

Argh!!! It sucks to the core that I can't watch the second semifinal match today! I have an afternoon lesson!!! (But i got A for my previous class! That's enought to cheer me up :-D)

Yeah! France won! Zidane really wants to retire on a high note!
Zidane showed the English how to beat Ricardo from 12 yards! But Ricardo nearly got a hand for the ball. Well, if he's taller, or if his arms are longer, then he would have blocked Zinade's penalty. But it was destined to be France's (or rather Zidane's) night.

"Carvalho slipped as he tried to win the ball and Henry took advantage of his flailing leg, by going over after contact. Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda pointed to the spot.
Scolari erupted again, this time turning his fury on fourth official Mark Shield and pointing to a TV camera to suggest a close look at the replay. "

Please, Scolari should be ashamed of his team more. His team has more cheater, namely C. Ronaldo, R.Carvalho... When I watched them against England, the Portuguese,especially Ronaldo, have a strong liking for diving! He should act instead of playing soccer. Yeah, and the cry baby cried for his mummy again!!! (Couldn't he at least cover his face???)

Can't comment much on the match because i didn't watch it. Will catch on the 2nd telecast later(if there is one).

I know what I'm going to write is unrelated to soccer and I intended this blog to pour out my feeling and thought about soccer only. But... (there's always a but, isn't it?)

I have to write this down somewhere!!!



Today, I bought my first plant here from the Lowe's. A cactus! It cost $2.57. I thought it would brighten my room and my boring day. This is the cutes I can find! Before that, I went to have a Mexican lunch! I had Fatija(not sure of the spelling) mix consisted of beef,chicken and shrimp. It tasted quite good actually. THe only mexican food I had were tostitos and taco bell food, which i don't like very much.



I managed to complete my puzzle of the Vatican City while watching France beat Brazil! My first puzzle here! And I'm proud to say that I have been there last year :-)

Then on Friday, me and my cousin went to exploring ourselves. We went to a shop selling birthday party necessities and clothes stores.

And I drank starbuck bottled coffee. It tasted good but too sweet!

On Sunday, I cooked my very own cheese macaroni! But I cooked too much!

Germany vs Italy

The match remained goalless till fulltime. And overall, I feel that it was a boring game. Yeah, there's some efforts on goal but not much. What can I expect when Italians played? Even when they thrashed Ukraine, the game was not very exciting! I guess the only game that's extremely exciting and entertaining when an italian played was at Champions League Finals 2005 between Liverpool and AC Milan! That match, I will never forgot!

Talking about AC Milan and Italy, there are a high possiblities that Juventus, AC Milan and two other italian teams will be relegated because of match fixing! If this happens, I wonder where would the players go? See, fair play and honesty will prevail!

I don't know who I'm supporting today. I'm more to the Germans side (because there's Podolski and I don't really like the Italians (corrupt, will talk about it later,...)) But I don't really want the home team to win!!! Imagine the arrogance... Argh, I can't even stand thinking of such possibility.

OHHH! Italy made two very good efforts!!! That's exciting!!!

Podolski missed a very good chance. He was all alone at the penalty box and he headed the ball to no where. I think he should take the ball slowly and he should have scored! Anyway, his reaction for his miss is darn cute!!! *blush*

Oh ya, i admired Lahm! He can still play whith his left arm all wrap up like that!!! And I just know from the commentator that Chelsea is after Lahm. I don't know who he is before the World Cup, but yeah, he plays well!

Podolski missed again. It was a nice try but Buffon made a great save!

WooooW! Italy won! What a great pass from Pirlo and what a great goal from Grosso! Lehmann stood no chance in saving that!
Italy scored again! haha... I thought German had really given up to let the second goal in so easily!

And did you know that Italy has kept the cleanest sheet in this tournament? Buffon has neven let in any goal from an opponent. The one and only goal that he's let in was an own goal against USA! That's unbelievable!

Wow!!!

I know Brazil won't win this World Cup, but who would expect France to beat them!!! THis is so 'cool'!!!



Zidane played really well. He's the playmaker for France!!! No wonder he was forced to come out of retirement. France really need him. Every team needs to have a playmaker!!! Ronaldinho did shine! In fact the entire Brazil team did not!!! France was the better team and they deserve to win!!!

No Brazil!!! I wonder who will win this World cup??? Could it be Portugal??? Who knows? They got last world cup coach with them!!! Germany have the whole nation behind them. France have Zidane who played like a 24 year-old instead of a 34 year-old!!! Italy have... luck??? I don't know what to say about Italy. Don't know much about them, except that they have many off-field problems. Hmmm, may be the off-field problems are the motivation. Basically, the option is wide open. And I don't know who I will be supporting.

It will be an all European semi-final!!! Is it a world cup or a european cup all over again???

I'm having a sore throat now. I strained my voice too much during England vs Portugal match. But that's the fun thing about watching soccer, right? Shouting and cheering. I don't know if my neighbor heard me and my cousin's shouts. If they do, they must be wondering what the heck were we doing!!! They, Americans, don't watch soccer! So i'm sure they won't know what's going on!!! So our shouts really created an atmosphere for ourselves!!!

I was so nervous every time England attacked, which was a lot of times. Portugal didn't really have so many chances.

Lampard missed chances again. This world cup didn't go well for him. But, for me, glad he missed, especially the penalty. I'm supporting Portugal!!! sorry, Gerrard! I know as your loyal supported, I should have supported you all the way. But the thing is I can't tolerate the happiness Beckham and Eriksson will feel if england go to the semi!!! Besides, I have been predicting for England to go to quarter final at best. And since all my prediction have not hit the target yet, I really want this one to be correct!!! My face and pride are more important you know!!!

Anyway, the game was really really tense, but a little boring!!! THere weren't many attacks and I think Portugal was missing Deco. After all, he's the playmaker for Portugal!!!

The extra time was played so much better.

When it went to penalty-shoot out, I knew Portugal will win. England have a bad record at penalty and the last time England played Portugal, the game also ended with penalty-shoot out and Portugal won!!!

But as had happened many times before, my gut feeling and prediction may be wrong. So, I was extremely nervous when the penaly started. I was a little relieved when simao converted the penalty!!! Lampard next. He got a rough time at the world cup and this may be his chance to silence his critics, but honestly, I wasn't worried at all that Lampard will score!!! I was pretty sure he would missed, and he did. I think that caused England to lose confidence and hence the game.

- Viana missed! (viana is good-looking!!! Adding him to the list!)
- Hargreaves scored!
- Petit missed!
- Gerrard also missed! ( You would think that I might have a hard time decided if I want gerrard to score or miss, wouldn't you? To tell you the truth, I was quite sure he would miss! I know i'm being a bad supporter here. But the thing is Gerrard is not a penalty taker. Very seldom does gerrard scored from penalty! I'm his supporter for 6 years and I know better!!! So he missed! I felt sorry for him, especially when I saw the disappointment on his face! But again, i was on Portugal side today!!!)
- Postiga scored!
- Carragher missed! I really wanted Carragher to scored. I was pretty confident that even if Carra scored, Portugal would still win. Carra deserved more than what Eriksson had given him!(Eriksson was really lousy!!! England don't deserve to go even to the quarter final with such a "stupid" coach!!! If someone should be blamed for England's failure, it gotta be Eriksson. Yeah, I'm bias towards him, so what? He hasn't done anything impressive to earn my support! I dont' care if Gerrard disgarees with my view!!!) So I thought scoring the penalty would do Carra some justice. But he missed it! He's obviously very nervous! It's his first time shouldering such a heavy responsibility anyway!!!
- Ronaldo scored. No surprise! I think if he didn't score he would cry like a baby again. Well, no tears for him today!!! ( Huga Viana is the one on the left)