germany versus ecuador

ah ze germans. they have things going for them. just that bit of luck. ecuador were one quick foot away from an early goal and then they went down to the other end and scored after they were given a gift corner. well taken goal, but still down to some gift corners. stadium erupted, thousand of germans were probably singing in unison all over ze deutschland and the germans must have said thank you very much, now we can do what we are good at, sit back and defend. and that they did. ecuador had all of the ball, and did nothing constuctive with it once they got past the halfway line.

the germans are just too good at destructive play. they might not have the flair or the skill of the spanish or the argies, but they seem to have the stars just rightly aligned. not that they have it all due to luck, but more that they just have the small amount of good fortune necessary to coimpliment their indsutry. klose in the 4th and 44th after a thru ball (cue the commentator's multiple attempts at repetitive pun juggling) and the germans are through as group winners. i dont see the ecuadorians coming back from this, not with their current lack of inventiveness up front. how much do they have an incentive to anyway?

ah, this writing to warm up thing is nonsense. dancing girls are always nice to watch.


ze second half is going to start. bye!

cheating at the world cup

cheating is part of every game of sports. you have the rules, the building blocks of a fair game, but then you have the margins of the rules, left open to intepretation. additionally, you just have the rule benders (bending bending but not breaking). that is probably a subset of the interpretation clause. and there are just plain cheats. it is part of every game, you play to win, you take chances breaking some of the rules if you think it gets you ahead. everybody does it, and the cameras catch all the time during the games. teams even train for it.

there is a video of the dutch team learning (i think mainly from arjen robben) to take dives. i am sure that all the teams do it, but in arjen the turd, the dutch have a highly effective diver. playactor. the little runt may be one of the stars of the world cup, but his tendency for theatrics is a blemish on his football ability.

the trinidadian (or is it tobagan) defender who was outjumped when peter crouch scored the first goal for england claimed that peter grabbed his dreadlocks and pulled them as he jumped. ouch. watching the TV replays didnt prove conclusive, but this picture from soccernet.com looks like proof to me.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=371301&cc=3888

tatti.

cheating at the

the world cup in midstream

ah...how nice it is to be back home. my mind cleared up as soon as i purchased the ticket to come back to singapore. and i am so happy to be back to, just in time for the world cup. the world is watching the world cup collectively, but over the years the surging popularity of the english premier league has created an excellent football viewing infrastructure in this lovely city. bars are stocked with plasma tvs, there are numerous world cup deals to be had and if you take a taxi in between games to get from nightspot to nightspot, the taxi driver will probably know a thing or two about the games. and the odds, from bookies and from singapore pools.

i have to admit that when i am out, say at walas or zouk, i dont really watch the games as intensely and thus get less enjoyment out of it...but it is still great to have the games on just as a background. or set to techno music. it is ridiculous. i dont see any place making money if they are not showing the world cup in some capacity. i mean, it is the world cup right.

england are shite. everybody knows that. i still dont know why they seem to be rated so highly when they are clearly rubbish. there is the whole rooney factor, but it is more like the rooney excuse. people seem to think that his mere presence on the field, half fit, would transform an otherwise underperforming team. lampard and gerrard dont play well together, mostly because gerrard is wasted as a holding midfielder. beckham should be dropped in favor of lennon, the young teenager from spurs is a gem. even though it was beckham's cross that led to the first goal, lennon changed the game. rooney did nothing, but the whole nation got off collectively just seeing him come on to the pitch. i doubt they will make it past the second round, i hope they get knocked out by ecuador, who look like they could do it. why does england complain about the heat? i mean, it is summer...in europe...they must be used to it. it could be a bit hotter, but come on now, it is a minor minor problem, nothing that a bit of the good ole hydration couldnt take care of.

still we are disappointed by the african teams. spirited and talented as they are, they are yet to register a win. here is to ghana today against the czech republic. ivory coast played so well yesterday, and they deserved at least the point that would have made the last game meaningful for them. they look like the best team from the continent, it is sad to see them go. fifa rankings suck. had england been thrown in that group, the paparazzi following the footballer's wives would be headed back to get snapshots in heathrow.

i wonder where tonights game watching should be...hmmm. more tasty treats. should i attempt to quit smoking today? i do have almost one full pack left though...

oh man. i already dread july 9th. world cup hangover starts as soon as the final whistle blows. mark my words.