Thursday, May 31, 2007

Soccer News : Fergie's triple swoop

Sir Alex Ferguson apparently does not want to repeat last season’s slow reinforcement for his squad, by buying three players in just a matter of days, in order to prepare their title defense for the next Premiership season.



Portugal based Nani (Sporting Lisbon) and Anderson (Porto) are two of the most promising and highly sought after young talents around and they were both snapped up in a £30 million deal by David Gills, Man United’s chief executive and Ferguson’s portugese assistant, Carlo Quieroz in a recent visit to portugal.

After months of open speculation, Owen Hargreaves will also make his move from Bayern Munich to Manchester United on July 1 in a £17 million deal.



Young starlets
19 years old Anderson was voted player of the tournament at the 2005 Under-17 World cup, playing for Brazil, with his attacking prowess and sumptuous skills compared to the likes of his compatriot, Ronaldinho. This promptly placed him on the shortlists of European giants such as Inter and AC Milan and Real Mardrid as well.

20 years old Nani, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma came through the ranks at Sporting Lisbon renowned youth system. His dribbling skills and fleeted footed displays, akin to Ronaldo’s will certainly make Manchester United’s supporters salivate in anticipation. Nani, although right footed, can play comfortably on the left flank and is deemed a long term successor to Ryan Giggs.

26 years old Owen Hargreaves, a totally different type of player from the two above, will bring much needed bite and drive into the midfield with his hardworking and tireless runs. Hargreaves had been targeted by Sir Alex since the last world cup ended and Hargreaves himself wanted to leave, but injuries and Bayern’s own desire to keep him till at least the end of the season meant that he could only be captured now.


The fact that Ferguson is willing to spend over £40 million for three young promising players showed his desire to ensure Manchester United maintain their position as one of the best clubs in the world not just a season or two, but for years to come.


His man management skills will certainly come in handy, with real life instances such as the golden era of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Gary Neville, who were all nurtured under his care and becoming world class players as a result. Recent cases point to Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, both of whom have excel in the last two seasons, in the international and club scene, the former grabbing both the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year Award for last season’s premiership campaign.


Ferguson has wasted no time in throwing down the gauntlet at his title challengers. Chelsea, or should I say, Jose Mourinho, are u watching this?


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Soccer News : Retirement of two greats


Ali Daei has announced his retirement after leading Saipa to the Iranian league title. He had previously played for german sides Armenia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich, and Hertha Berlin. With Hertha, he scored against the likes of AC Milan and Chelsea in the 2000/01 Champions League season.


This also ends an illustrious career in which he scored a remarkable 109 goals in 149 international matches from 1993 through 2006, making him the most prolific scorer in FIFA history. He shall always be remembered for proving asian soccer players can make it at the big stage as well.




Ryan Giggs also will play his last game for Wales in their Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic this Saturday. The decision was mainly influenced by the increasing difficulty of juggling between international and club duties with Manchester United, at his current age of 33.


This factor coupled with Wales seemingly dismal campaign to qualify for the Euro 2008 can be considered a wise decision. As Wales captain, Giggs will earn his 64th cap in that match, but will regret not having played in a single major international tournament since he was first capped 16 years ago.

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Soccer - Seria A 2006/07 Finale : Relegation Battle

It was another cruel day for another top flight football league season – Seria A, as with Inter having won the title a long time ago, there was only the ‘small’ matter of relegation to worry about for fans.


Can Ranieri rescue Parma?


Catania, Reggina, Parma and Siena were the main culprits this time round, but one club relatively safe in 14th place before the final week was unexpectedly relegated instead…



End of a fairytale

Chievo even with a defeat against Catania, could still avoid relegation if Siena failed to win against Lazio. Anxious faces on Chievo’s supporters appeared when Fausto Rossini headed past Lorenzo Squizzi emphatically into the left corner of the goal in the 65th minute. Fortunately then, Siena were only drawing with Lazio, with Massimo Maccarone (23rd min) and Tommasso Rochi (73rd min) each scoring a penalty for their side.


However, the nightmare came through when former Lazio defender Paulo Negro put one over his old side with a close range finish in the 85th minute. Chievo’s fate was sealed by Mauro Minelli’s goal 10 minutes from time. Siena remained in Seria A, Chievo went down.


At the start of the season, Chievo were even in the qualifying stages of the champions league after they were moved up to fourth place due to the match-fixing scandal punishments handed out to other clubs. Even when Luigi Del Neri was brought back, the man who steered Chievo to stand alongside the likes of AC Milan and Juventus a few seasons ago, he could not reverse Chievos’ fortunes.


Elsewhere..

Reginna retained their Seria A status with a 2-0 win against Champions League winner Ac Milan, who still looked indulged in their success over the week. Nicola Amoruso’s far post finish in the 8th minute and Daniele Amerini’s fierce strike in the 67th minute made sure of the points.


The well-travelled Claudio Ranieri ensured his experience helped Parma complete an amazing comeback after just taking over in February from Gialloblu, when they were destined to be relegated. They beat Empoli 3-1 with goals from Zlatan Muslimovic (8th min), Igor Budan (16th min) and Andrea Gasbarroni (88th min). Luca Saudati 28th min strike proved to be a consolation goal for empoli in the end.


Inter ended their remarkable season with a record-breaking 30th 3-0 victory against Torino, with penalties from Marco Materazzi and Luis Figo and a Maicon strike. It also meant that they maintained their huge lead of 22 points over second place Roma and surpassing Chelsea’s record of 95 points in a season with 97 points.


Roma themselves ended their season on a high note with a thrilling 4-3 win over Messina. Their influential captain, Francesco Totti secured his status as Capocannoniere with two goals, bring his season tally to 26 goals.


Italian Serie A 2006/07 Champions : Inter Milan !!!


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Soccer - Coca-Cola Championship Playoffs Final : Derby Vs West Brom


After a grueling round of matches, it all boiled down to the playoffs final at the new wembley stadium. Derby and West Brom dished out a hard fought battle to determine who would play at the English Premiership next season.

Which manager will smile at the final whistle?



Koumas constant threat

Jason Koumas with his pace and skills troubled derby’s defence for most of the first half. And the rams had Tyrone Mears’s well timed tackle on Koumas to thank for, after another mazy run by the latter into the danger area.


But the only real chance only came when established Albion striker Kevin Phillips hit the crossbar after his teammate Gera put the ball onto his path two minutes before the half time whistle.


West brom had the better chances in the first half but they failed to capitalized on any of them.

Half Time : Derby County 0 - 0 West Brom



Derby fightback

The second half was a different story as Derby fought back and Barnes was brought on for Peschisolido after 58 minutes.


This proved to be a pivotal decision as Barnes set up the opener for Stephen Pearson after 61 minutes. It was Pearson’s first goal for Derby County. Barnes after beating the offside trap, made a superb low cross and Pearson shaked off McShane to poke the ball past Kiely.


The resulting onslaught by West Brom as Derby looked to conserve their lead was dealt with almost single-handedly by Bywater , denying Jonathan Greening and Robinson in the process.


The rams held on till the final whistle and it signified a wonderful change of destiny as only a year ago, they finished 20th in the Championship and were flirting with relegation.





Final Score : Derby County 1 – 0 West Brom

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Soccer - UEFA Champions League 2007 Final : AC Milan VS Liverpool FC

When the footballing season just started, no one expected AC Milan (engulfed in the match fixing scandal in their Domestic league) to reach this year’s final. In fact, they even had to appeal to be allowed back to play in the Champions League.



Milan and Liverpool's players posing for pictures

So will the dramatic episodes faced by Milan this season spur them on to win the coveted trophy? They also have the small matter of revenge in their minds, as they look to avenge the cruel defeat under the hands of their opponents today, two years ago in Istanbul in the same competition.




Pool Spirit

With all the talk about Milan pre match, it was Liverpool who took the initiative and looked more like scoring. They pressed well, with five man in midfield, stifling any creativity from Milan’s key players (Pirlo, Kaka and Seedorf in particularly).


Pennant had a lot of the ball and troubled the aging, yet influential Maldini several times. However, most of his crosses were either wayward and when it did arrived at one of his teammate’s feet, Dirk Kuyt, the result was a volley high over the bar.


Pennant himself forced a nice save from Dida who had to parry the ball into the danger zone, but there was no Liverpool players following up and Nesta managed to clear.


Pennant’s freedom to roam on the right was aided by Milan’s tactics of pushing their fullbacks - Massimo Oddo and Marek Jankulovski forward whenever they can. But every cross they put in was either headed out by the irrepressible Jamie Carragher or caught comfortably by Pepe Reina.


Xabi Alonso and John Arne Riise flashed their shots wide of Dida’s goalpost and that summed up Liverpool’s first half – Chances, but most of them off target and most importantly, no goals to prove their dominance. And in football, goals count, not the number of chances. The cliché “All you need is a second to score a goal” comes right into mind.


So when the ultimate goal poacher Filippo Inzaghi inadvertedly deflected Andrea Pirlo’s freekick into the net right on the stroke of halftime, it was against the run of play. But similarly, somehow you can sense this coming.

Halftime Score: AC Milan 1 : 0 Liverpool FC



Milan experience

As the second half progress, Liverpool similarly had more possession Milan banked on counterattacks because Liverpool had to push men forward in search of a equalizer. Inzaghi was left alone upfront, solely supported by Kaka, with Seedorf slightly behind.


The ever energetic Steven Gerrard tried to lead by example, and in the 61st min nearly did so but after getting pass Nesta, let out a poor shot , albeit at his weaker side, saved comfortably by Dida.


With Liverpool unable to find a goal, after trying all the strength they could muster, Inzaghi dealt a final blow to their title hopes. Kaka ,quiet by his standards throughout the match, made a brilliant through pass to Inzaghi. He broke the offside trap (He doesn’t bother anyway), touched the ball past the onrushing Reina and slide the ball past his body into the net.

The deafening silence around the Liverpool contingent said it all. But could their side make a fantastic comeback once again to break Milan’s heart? Dirk Kuyt’s close range header certainly made Milan’s fans fear the worst again. But it was not to be this time as Milan lifted the trophy for a Seventh time in Athens.


There was a moment of controversy in the final whistle, as Rafael Benitez (Liverpool’s manager) argued furiously at the officials for not giving the full 3 minutes of added time as indicated. The timer read 2:43 at my telly…

Final Score: AC Milan 2 : 1 Liverpool FC

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Monday, May 21, 2007

Movie Review : The Fountain

"What if you could live forever” was the catchy phrase printed on The Fountain’s movie posters. But as the movie unfolds, you may think maybe it should be “What if you could LOVE forever” instead.




Watch as Hugh Jackman tries to save his beloved (Rachel Weisz) through a timeline spanning a millenium, as a spanish conquistador, a modern-day scientist and a 26th century astronaut…
(watch the trailer here)



Neverending Struggle...

The first scene shows one of Hugh Jackman’s role as a conquistador(Tomas), breaking through a horde of tribesman and eventually getting killed by their leader, a priest-looking person... What was his purpose for getting there in the first place?


Right after that, we see his other role as an astronaut wandering in space, around a mystifying, yet seemingly withering grand tree. Rachel Weisz appears vividly in clothing that belongs to another timeline, smiling to Hugh, yet making him sad…Why was this so?


Hugh’s final role in the modern time, is a scientist(Tommy) using all his strength and willpower to try and find a cure for his wife(Weisz), already losing hair due to cancer…Will he be able to succeed?




Thoughts

The story as you may already see, weaves through the different timeline and characters, connecting them together in 'Memento' style. This makes for a very intriguing movie, gluing you to the screen, wondering how it all falls into place.


Hugh Jackman’s touching and passionate acting will make you feel for his characters and almost urge for the ending to be a happy one. Rachel Weisz was also convincing in her roles as a optimistic and mature partner.


The music scorecomplemented with the scenes very well. Soft melancholy notes express the characters’ feeling of sorrow and yearning beautifully. It immerses you into Hugh’s struggle to save Weisz and certainly brings in the correct kind of mood. Of course, this is expected from Clint Mansell, responsible for the famous theme for Requiem for a Dream


The visual effects can be considered stunning for a trimmed down budget movie. Especially during the scenes showing Hugh standing alongside the tree, around stars and the never ending space. Most of the lightings in the show are dimmed, reflecting the feeling of the movie very well too.


The Fountain is an amazing fairytale to watch, and I certainly recommend it to those who like a romantic story, especially for lovebirds, making you cherish each other more.



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Sunday, May 20, 2007

Soccer - FA Cup Final : Chelsea Vs Man United

This year's FA Cup final, played in the newly re-built Wembley Stadium, featured the top 2 teams in the latest English Premiership Season which just concluded last week. Will Chelsea get some pride back for losing their crown? Or will Man United get an unprecedented fourth FA Cup and League double?




The new Wembley stadium



Chess game…

The first half was a largely drab affair, with neither side willing to push players forward and look for an early goal, opting instead to counterattack. Unfortunately, with so many players behind for each side, there was little space to maneuver once any player got the ball.



Half chances came for Drogba, who released a fierce shot that went narrowly wide, after being allowed to advance forward without much attention from the Man United defence. Lampard also had a chance after being let in by Ferreira’s square ball, but he failed to beat Edwin van der Sar at an acute angle.



Christiano Ronaldo who has had such an outstanding season, clearly looked fatigued as evidenced by the lack of his trademark mazy runs and snapshots on goals. This was also not helped by Chelsea’s tactics of man marking him with Ferreira and Shaun Wright Philips coming back to help out his teammate whenever Ronaldo is on the ball. With Man United dangerman out of the game, few (if any) chances came their way.

Opening up…


At the start of the second half, Arjen Robben came on for Joe Cole to add more pace and trickery to Chelsea’s attacking force. Indeed, Darren Fletcher had to retreat several times to help out Wes Brown in preventing Robben from creating any assist to Drogba, Chelsea’s sole target man.


The game also started to open up more. First, Wayne Rooney sidestepped Chelsea’s defenders and unleashed a powerful shot which Cech palmed away to Ryan Giggs. But his shot was again blocked by Cech, though Giggs was already offside anyway.


Paul Scholes, Man United best player of the match, delivered another pinpoint floated ball onto Giggs’s path but his fierce shot agonizingly arrowed over Cech’s head and went out of play.
Sensing that his team were on the ascendance, Rooney went on one of his trademark runs, bulldozing past several Chelsea’s players, but was unable to get past the indomitable Cech who saved at his feet at the last hurdle.

Essien, another key Chelsea player, had to produce two well timed crunching tackles on both Giggs and Rooney, just when they were about to pull the trigger.
Chelsea’s main chance in the second half, came from Drogba, whose curling free kick from the right hit Van Der Sar’s near post, which would have left him embarrassed if it had went in.




Right at the death.

Extra time started with both sets of players still trying their best to push their bodies forward with every ounce of strength they still had left.

Again, Man United had the better chances. A controversial moment came when Giggs failed to make clean contact with rooney’s low cross, under pressure from Essien. Gigg’s shot was saved by Cech but his momentum made him push Cech past the goal line together with the ball. Man United players protested furiously for the goal to be given, but the referee strictly refused to do so.




Another Scholes’s eagle cross send Rooney free, but his disappointing lack of control enabled Cech to save at his feet again.


Then, the concluding moment arrived when Drogba played a fantastic one-two with Lampard and finished with a delicate chip over the onrushing Van Der Sar, to send the Chelsea fans into ruptures and left Sir Alex Ferguson ruing the chances his side should had taken.




FINAL SCORE: MANCHESTER UNITED 0 – 1 CHELSEA


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Saturday, May 19, 2007

Soccer : English Premiership 2006/07 Finale

The day which most soccer fanatics dread the most has finally arrived ~ the last match day of the English Premiership Season 2006/07. Lets see how this particularly exciting season wrapped up.




Will Carlos Tevez save West Ham again?




Now or never..

It’s always nerve wrecking for fans supporting clubs who are still fighting for their lives at the top flight, till the very last minute of the match. Sheffield United, with 38 points had the best chance of surviving.


West ham with the same number of points but with an inferior goal difference, needed a win at the daunting Old Trafford, to make sure of their top flight status. Wigan Athletic was the dark horse, having to win at all costs to stay in the premier league.




The drama unfolds…

Man United VS West Ham United omitted Ronaldo, Scholes and Giggs from the starting lineup, increasing the suspicion that Ferguson was not prepare to see any of his stars getting injured in this mostly irrelevant match for the champion.

However, even then, United were the team creating the most chances, peppering the West ham’s goal with shots. Yossi Benayoun made two successive clearances, first from Alan Smith and then from Kieran Richardson’s fierce strike.

Robert Green’s save from John O’Shea’s goalbound header, made West ham’s supporters begin to be more optimistic of their chances.


Indeed, when their controversial yet gifted, star striker Carlos Tevez scrambled home a shot deep into first half Injury time, the west ham contingent erupted and anxiety turned into ecstasy immediately.



Over at Bramall Lane…

Sheffield United VS Wigan Athletic
Sheffield United with home advantage and only needing a draw, were the favorites to stay up against a Wigan Athletic needing at least a win to ensure their own safety in the top flight.



The drama started when Wigan took a deserved lead in the 14th minute through Paul Scharner’s well taken left foot strike, meeting Kevin Kilbane’s cross from the left with crisp precision.






However, Neil Warnock’s side, highly known for their spirited displays this season, equalized through John Stead’s brave header which left Wigan’s goalkeeper, Stead and Taylor all injured. The latter had to be substituted by David Unsworth, a former United player.




This moment provided the catalyst for what was to unfold later. Late into injury time (+6mins), Unsworth stepped up to convert a penalty, after Jagielka had clumsily handed a cross from the left by his former teammate.





When the referee blew the half time whistle, the united supporters had a sinking feeling, compounded with the news that West Ham were also leading 1-0 at Old Trafford.



Back to Old Trafford…

After seeing his weakened side unable to break down West ham’s stubborn defence, Ferguson to Curbishley’s horror, unleashed Giggs, Scholes and Ronaldo all at once, in a bid to end the season with a bang.

Ronaldo had a great chance to equalize with a giant leap and powerful header, but it was directed straight at Green and he managed to hold on to the ball gratefully at the second time.

John O’Shea had a serious penalty claim turned down, after being brought down by Luis Boa Morte and the West Ham contingent grew more optimistic by the minute. In fact, they could have breathe more easily had Boa Morte and Tevez took the chances that went their way.





Still, West ham continued to repel all attacks on their goal with endless determination and coupled with United’s own unusually lack of edge around the penalty boss, the score remained 1-0 till the end.

At the final whistle, the joy on the faces’ of all the people concerned with West Ham showed how much the result meant to them.

Final Score: Manchester United 0: 1 West Ham


Time is running out at the lane...

Straight from the restart, Warnock brought on Danny Webber for the injured Nade. It nearly ended in immediate dividends 10 minutes later when Webber poked the ball past Pollitt, only to see it come back, agonizingly for United fans, off the post.

United were given more hope when McCulloch was sent off in the 73 minute for a second bookable offence. This provided encourage for both players and supporters, as they looked for the goal which now looked more likely to get.


Soon afterwards, Tonge chose to stay on his feet and miss the chance to get a penalty. And even with 5 mins of injury time to play with, United failed to create any more clear cut chances and the club with the highest chance to stay up, will have to play championship football next season instead.

Final Score: Sheffield United 1:2 Wigan Athletic


European spots

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspurs grabbed a UEFA cup stop with goals from Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov ensuring a narrow 2-1 win. Bolton and Everton will play in the same competition next season with a 2-2 draw at home and 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge respectively.

The latter result meant Chelsea equaled Liverpool’s 63 match unbeaten home record. Blackburn grabbed a place in the Intertoto Cup in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Reading.



And of course, Its time to salute the worthy champions of the 2006/07 premier league champions: MANCHESTER UNITED!!!





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Saturday, May 12, 2007

Diary : A day at the zoo

It was time to re-visit mother nature, to remember that in this modern world, humans live side by side with animals. So my wife and I woke up early Saturday morning (rare indeed), to travel to a place where man’s cruelty do not exist. ~ THE SINGAPORE ZOO.


My Wife's greatest fear...ENLARGED




Mammals, Critters and Orang Utans








We grabbed the map and tried to plan our route, but gave up as there was just too much to do in such a big area. But we did remember to go for the various shows available.



There were quite a few new areas that have appeared since we both came here (donkey years ago). One of the most enjoyable ones was the fragile forest. Once we were past the entrance to an enclosed area, we immediately felt like we were in a small forest.


Time...abundance for animals


Mousedeers, lemurs, flying monkeys(?) and even the laziest animal in the world, the sloth, were spotted running and climbing around which made the experience really up close and personal.



Cash prizes for those who can guess the animal count correctly






He's watching me....


We enjoyed the critters area too, with the small sized monkeys and weasels like animals running around actively and nibbling at their food.

And of course, who can forget about the Orang Utans. They swing effortlessly using the ropes at the free range area, making you feel at ease that they are not just constrained to just an enclosed area of space.

Nope, none of them is my wife...Phew..


All things happy come to an end. Despite us being tired, we still make sure we saw most of the animals available for viewing before we reluctantly left the zoo. I’m glad I decided to make this far trip as it reminded us that humans are not alone in this world, and we should do all we can to make it stay that way.



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Friday, May 11, 2007

PC Game Review : Runaway - The Dream of the Turtle

After another busy week at work, i finally have time to play a game! Searched through some of the games I asked my friend to buy while he was at Europe. (only available there then) and found Runaway 2, a long awaited sequel to the enjoyable, yet sometimes frustrating episode.








Same old pixel hunting.

After the refreshing introduction and you are allowed to start clicking, those who played the earlier episode will find the environment very similar. The good things that come with this include the plush and vibrant colors found at ever scene you encounter.



It is challenging alone just to spot the items you have to take from this room



Bad thing is the sometimes very frustrating pixel hunting task is back again. It compels you to strain your eyes to try and click at every item in every scene in order to not backtrack too many times after you tried almost everything else to solve a puzzle. Then you realize you just didn’t spot the very well camouflaged hair clip/duck tape at an earlier scene.



Mind Boggling…

Another weird and frustrating thing to say about the puzzle solving is that sometimes a bucket with 2 items has to searched twice to get both items. Again demanding the player to click on a container of items at least twice in order to be ‘safe’.



Brian has to complete a number of outrageous tasks to get past this big guy




However, after getting the items required, players just need to think out of their hat, mostly tasks not expected to be performed normally and most of the puzzles will be completed smoothly, with hilarious results at time. Therefore difficulty wise, once you get the hang of the way puzzles are solved in this game, it can be very satisfying indeed.





A roller coaster ride!


Besides some annoying points mentioned above, the rest of the game is quite enjoyable. The characters all have their own unique personality and physical attributes (Gina and her b**bs) which enable you to relate to them more closely and you really feel that you are on a real adventure. The animation certainly helps to put in the mood too, with excellent facial expressions, which make it feels like you playing in a cartoon.




You will get to meet lots of interesting characters along the way


Storyline wise, lets just say it carries on from the Runaway’s tradition of bringing you to lots of places where u can admire the scenery and meet lots of weird yet interesting characters along the way.

With adventure games coming in few and far between for the past few years, Runaway 2 is worth any “adventurous” person’s attention and the ride will be definitely be an enjoyable one.

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