He thinks with his fingers,
He plays with his mind,
He reads with his ears,
And leads while behind.
His art never lingers,
In silence he sings,
To err is but human,
But God to him clings.
He always remembers
As light follows thought,
And fright does not foster,
Despite of this lot.
While I spite the facade
Behind which I be,
Sinful to say that
I too can be he.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Dealer On High
Death He casts across the green,
Or three are flopped, by His great hand;
He may turn or roll a twin,
Or float a river upon the man.
With these ways does He decide,
Sans yellow eyes, who'll rule the world,
And who'll look up to mortal men,
And who their silver spoons will twirl.
Those of us, behind the cream,
Who must fight back with hands made weak,
Fear not for we can still act,
Hearts of talent with faces bleak.
Those of us, sans courtiers,
Who must fight back with numbers base,
Should check or fold when He does tell,
Then raise to twirl our better days.
Or three are flopped, by His great hand;
He may turn or roll a twin,
Or float a river upon the man.
With these ways does He decide,
Sans yellow eyes, who'll rule the world,
And who'll look up to mortal men,
And who their silver spoons will twirl.
Those of us, behind the cream,
Who must fight back with hands made weak,
Fear not for we can still act,
Hearts of talent with faces bleak.
Those of us, sans courtiers,
Who must fight back with numbers base,
Should check or fold when He does tell,
Then raise to twirl our better days.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Of Pressed Rats And Warthogs
I've been extremely busy quizzing and writing college essays. I'd written this before the last couple of posts and had forgotten to put it up. It's actually a song written in a heavy 12-bar blues in A. That's probably why it sounds a bit awkward when read as a poem. Have been meaning to write this for nearly a year now.
Hey Mister Suit & Tie,
How must I pay?
When you took away my land
And killed me yesterday.
Hey Erudition Man,
How must I read?
When you took away my mind
And did but let it bleed
Hey Minister of God
How must I pray?
When my prayer took my brother
To a world far away
Why follow the sharp dressed man when he just looks to please?
Selling tales of Jesus Christ and broken memories.
Why hear the unwise owl when it hoots but fallacies?
Pressing rats with fiddlesticks and ministry decrees.
Why worship the Judas kin when they can't cure disease?
Buying immortality while we die wanting peace
Hey Mister Green & Gold,
How must I live?
Your robin hoods take from me
And to the rich men give
Hey Mister Destiny
How must I go?
The path you paved for me
Now crumbles just for show
And,
Hey third-rate circus clown,
Can I come with you?
We'll fake it through the cream
And die inwardly too
Why work for southern men when the war's already through?
My valley was green before the sun shined black & blue
Why receive gifts that mime apocraphy when I lose?
Empty lyrics I take not, but music I do choose
And why must warthogs dig so hard to find that funny brew?
Black comedy can't be seen and man has killed us too.
Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop.
They didn't want to; twas all they had got.
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat,
And pressed rats collection of dog legs and feet.
P.S. - Yes, that last verse is taken from 'Pressed Rat And Warthog' by Cream. It's meant to be spoken (like in the original) over the instrumental outro...
Hey Mister Suit & Tie,
How must I pay?
When you took away my land
And killed me yesterday.
Hey Erudition Man,
How must I read?
When you took away my mind
And did but let it bleed
Hey Minister of God
How must I pray?
When my prayer took my brother
To a world far away
Why follow the sharp dressed man when he just looks to please?
Selling tales of Jesus Christ and broken memories.
Why hear the unwise owl when it hoots but fallacies?
Pressing rats with fiddlesticks and ministry decrees.
Why worship the Judas kin when they can't cure disease?
Buying immortality while we die wanting peace
Hey Mister Green & Gold,
How must I live?
Your robin hoods take from me
And to the rich men give
Hey Mister Destiny
How must I go?
The path you paved for me
Now crumbles just for show
And,
Hey third-rate circus clown,
Can I come with you?
We'll fake it through the cream
And die inwardly too
Why work for southern men when the war's already through?
My valley was green before the sun shined black & blue
Why receive gifts that mime apocraphy when I lose?
Empty lyrics I take not, but music I do choose
And why must warthogs dig so hard to find that funny brew?
Black comedy can't be seen and man has killed us too.
Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop.
They didn't want to; twas all they had got.
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat,
And pressed rats collection of dog legs and feet.
P.S. - Yes, that last verse is taken from 'Pressed Rat And Warthog' by Cream. It's meant to be spoken (like in the original) over the instrumental outro...
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The God That Failed?
A much edited and much enhanced version of a poem I'd written for a school creative writing contest last year.
As nature brought the day to end,
I laid me down to sleep,
But my repose was stolen as
Black thoughts my mind did creep.
My life, I thought, has yet to see,
The sun rise in the dawn,
My life has been the darkest night,
To yet rise to it's morn.
Providence has it in for me,
He's dealt me a bad hand,
While he upon a thought does free
His will upon the land.
I prayed "Oh God! Take back your gift
Take my life and let it be
I have suffered beneath your yoke
You'd know if you were me."
And lo! as these thoughts did escape
From mind into the night,
An apparition did descend
A halo of bright light.
"I've come", said He, "to grant your wish,
To make you, me, today,
I'll take your place upon this earth,
And live in worldly ways."
And presently I did ascend
Up from my night's abode
And He did come down to my size,
Upon my bed he strode.
I felt great power run through me,
The world was mine to take,
Eager was I to find the truth of,
The claim that he did stake.
But soft, I heard a quiet voice,
Mumbling words in my ear,
And I saw that my great new self,
Was whispering a prayer!
He thanked me for my blessings and,
He thanked that I did care,
He thanked and thanked and thanked some more,
And thanked that I was there.
This open show of gratitude,
Was truly lost on me,
Couldn't he feel what I had felt,
Now that this God was me?
And all day long, he did but feel,
The sorrow that maimed me,
He had as friends, not one except,
His friend of misery.
And came home he to that old man,
I was his only one,
Yet a father I'd never known,
Nor did his now new son.
And yet at night he thanked me still,
He thanked me for his life,
He thanked me that he was so blessed,
He thanked me for his life!
Now time had come for us to change,
To our old selves return,
So he did rise, and I did fall,
To gain knowledge I'd earned
"Why do you thank me?" I did ask
"My life is all but black!"
"I thanked for all you granted me,
For all I did not lack."
"I do give you all that you need,
All that of which you ask,
But only when the time is ripe,
When it's the present task.
"So thank me for what you do have
What others still do crave,
When it is time for me to give,
You'll get what I have saved."
Another day did start to end,
More thoughts my mind did creep,
These too kept me from repose as
I laid me down to sleep.
"Sweet Lord, why must I only dwell
On that which I do own?
And not ask why all my neighbors
Do live in larger homes?
"And why must I be grateful for
The less I do possess?
But think that you do love them more
And me you have not blessed?"
The new day shone upon me as
I dwelt in musings deep
But He did not come this time, as
I laid me down to sleep.
As nature brought the day to end,
I laid me down to sleep,
But my repose was stolen as
Black thoughts my mind did creep.
My life, I thought, has yet to see,
The sun rise in the dawn,
My life has been the darkest night,
To yet rise to it's morn.
Providence has it in for me,
He's dealt me a bad hand,
While he upon a thought does free
His will upon the land.
I prayed "Oh God! Take back your gift
Take my life and let it be
I have suffered beneath your yoke
You'd know if you were me."
And lo! as these thoughts did escape
From mind into the night,
An apparition did descend
A halo of bright light.
"I've come", said He, "to grant your wish,
To make you, me, today,
I'll take your place upon this earth,
And live in worldly ways."
And presently I did ascend
Up from my night's abode
And He did come down to my size,
Upon my bed he strode.
I felt great power run through me,
The world was mine to take,
Eager was I to find the truth of,
The claim that he did stake.
But soft, I heard a quiet voice,
Mumbling words in my ear,
And I saw that my great new self,
Was whispering a prayer!
He thanked me for my blessings and,
He thanked that I did care,
He thanked and thanked and thanked some more,
And thanked that I was there.
This open show of gratitude,
Was truly lost on me,
Couldn't he feel what I had felt,
Now that this God was me?
And all day long, he did but feel,
The sorrow that maimed me,
He had as friends, not one except,
His friend of misery.
And came home he to that old man,
I was his only one,
Yet a father I'd never known,
Nor did his now new son.
And yet at night he thanked me still,
He thanked me for his life,
He thanked me that he was so blessed,
He thanked me for his life!
Now time had come for us to change,
To our old selves return,
So he did rise, and I did fall,
To gain knowledge I'd earned
"Why do you thank me?" I did ask
"My life is all but black!"
"I thanked for all you granted me,
For all I did not lack."
"I do give you all that you need,
All that of which you ask,
But only when the time is ripe,
When it's the present task.
"So thank me for what you do have
What others still do crave,
When it is time for me to give,
You'll get what I have saved."
Another day did start to end,
More thoughts my mind did creep,
These too kept me from repose as
I laid me down to sleep.
"Sweet Lord, why must I only dwell
On that which I do own?
And not ask why all my neighbors
Do live in larger homes?
"And why must I be grateful for
The less I do possess?
But think that you do love them more
And me you have not blessed?"
The new day shone upon me as
I dwelt in musings deep
But He did not come this time, as
I laid me down to sleep.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Hey Joe
To be sung to the tune of the verses in "Hey Jude". Lyrics are kinda childish but whatever...
Hey Joe, where will you go?
Take a minute to look around you,
The world is spinning under your feet,
And you must begin to turn its way now.
Hey Joe, don't be a fool,
You were made to think like a stranger,
Remember, to exercise your mind,
And you will find, something better.
Hey Joe, please let her go,
If only just for a minute,
You have, the rest of time to love,
And when you wake up, it won't be pretty.
Hey Joe, please put it down,
You must live to, pen your conclusion,
And maybe, it seems to fun to let go,
You better stop, right there and then now,
Hey Joe, what will you do?
You can't live like your fancied pictures,
And after you've wronged what you think is right,
Then we can find, wisdom together.
Hey Joe, where will you go?
Take a minute to look around you,
The world is spinning under your feet,
And you must begin to turn its way now.
Hey Joe, don't be a fool,
You were made to think like a stranger,
Remember, to exercise your mind,
And you will find, something better.
Hey Joe, please let her go,
If only just for a minute,
You have, the rest of time to love,
And when you wake up, it won't be pretty.
Hey Joe, please put it down,
You must live to, pen your conclusion,
And maybe, it seems to fun to let go,
You better stop, right there and then now,
Hey Joe, what will you do?
You can't live like your fancied pictures,
And after you've wronged what you think is right,
Then we can find, wisdom together.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Lamentations
My first blank verse since "Mother". I don't much like blank verse but I think this is my best blank verse poem. That doesn't prevent it from being shit though, because I suck at writing blank verse. And likewise, the fact that it is shit doesn't preclude it from being posted on a public platform.
The grass is greener on the other side,
Or so the wizened men of yore did say,
And often times I'm left to wonder which,
Side I'd choose had it been my call to make.
Would I remain on this barren field where
The seedlings of joy can never bear fruit?
Consoled by reaping of talent, of thought,
Of rationale, of question? Or would I,
In a trice, be rid of these faculties,
And choose to walk through the valley of green?
There may be justice in this for my line,
Who seem to start at this quirk they've set forth
But there's balance in that disappointment;
I feel it stronger than they ever could.
To smile, to have, to not want, or to fly,
Alas! Couldn't He have chosen some other beings?
Couldn't I enter mortality elsewhere?
Or couldn't I have been blessed with that envied
Contentment which others seem to receive
With such ease? My Lord, He has tainted me.
But He didn't stop there; my exclusion
From the ways of dice hurts me everyday.
Yes, one makes one's own, but to what degree?
Who ever triumphed sans that one favored roll?
In creation, in sustenance, in form,
In time, in setting, in but everything
I defy the laws that the learned men
Framed, improbable to be doubted; yet
Here I stand. Born without a chance to throw
My pair nor earn that chance with passing time.
And why must I carry that extra part
Which I believe I can find no use for?;
I've ne'er been where those that peer around
Me have. Never been weakened by her sight,
Nor her taste, nor that other God's arrows
E'er landed in this tainted soil of black.
I can't feel his lack or that other's want
But only those which are my own do I
Dwell upon, and only that which garners
My unhid gain, my laid-bare profit, do
I consume my mind with. No, there's no use.
In the end, I arrive where I started
Another imperfect circle drawn to
Perfection. Was I cast with the same hands
That did make these singsong faces and these
Human hearts? Did the self-same mind that did
Construe the beauty of winter and the
Wisdom of life create this tainted being
To play a role among roles on this stage?
Never can I feel, nor e'er can I choose,
Like ne'er can I e'er, solve His cruel ruse.
The grass is greener on the other side,
Or so the wizened men of yore did say,
And often times I'm left to wonder which,
Side I'd choose had it been my call to make.
Would I remain on this barren field where
The seedlings of joy can never bear fruit?
Consoled by reaping of talent, of thought,
Of rationale, of question? Or would I,
In a trice, be rid of these faculties,
And choose to walk through the valley of green?
There may be justice in this for my line,
Who seem to start at this quirk they've set forth
But there's balance in that disappointment;
I feel it stronger than they ever could.
To smile, to have, to not want, or to fly,
Alas! Couldn't He have chosen some other beings?
Couldn't I enter mortality elsewhere?
Or couldn't I have been blessed with that envied
Contentment which others seem to receive
With such ease? My Lord, He has tainted me.
But He didn't stop there; my exclusion
From the ways of dice hurts me everyday.
Yes, one makes one's own, but to what degree?
Who ever triumphed sans that one favored roll?
In creation, in sustenance, in form,
In time, in setting, in but everything
I defy the laws that the learned men
Framed, improbable to be doubted; yet
Here I stand. Born without a chance to throw
My pair nor earn that chance with passing time.
And why must I carry that extra part
Which I believe I can find no use for?;
I've ne'er been where those that peer around
Me have. Never been weakened by her sight,
Nor her taste, nor that other God's arrows
E'er landed in this tainted soil of black.
I can't feel his lack or that other's want
But only those which are my own do I
Dwell upon, and only that which garners
My unhid gain, my laid-bare profit, do
I consume my mind with. No, there's no use.
In the end, I arrive where I started
Another imperfect circle drawn to
Perfection. Was I cast with the same hands
That did make these singsong faces and these
Human hearts? Did the self-same mind that did
Construe the beauty of winter and the
Wisdom of life create this tainted being
To play a role among roles on this stage?
Never can I feel, nor e'er can I choose,
Like ne'er can I e'er, solve His cruel ruse.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Infant
It's amazing how awful this poem is and yet I stubbornly refuse to remove it from the blog.
"Those rosy cheeks! That toothless smile!"
"Its vision churns within me bile!"
"Don't you like her infectious laugh?"
"I'd like to saw its throat in half."
"She looks so wonderful tonight,
So cute while dressed in pink and white."
"There are things far beauteous, fool!
Fawn on those, not this thing's drool!"
"Goo-goo ga-ga, oh my, so sweet!"
"Yes, teach it words it'll ne'er meet!"
"She will not understand fair words."
"It'll learn when you stop that speech absurd!"
"I tickle here and tickle there,
Oh my, she reacts to my care!"
"Of course it does you stupid sod,
It's alive for the love of God!"
"So, would you like to play with her?"
"Not till another eighteen years."
"Would you rather sing her to bed?"
"I'd rather smash its balding head."
"Those rosy cheeks! That toothless smile!"
"Its vision churns within me bile!"
"Don't you like her infectious laugh?"
"I'd like to saw its throat in half."
"She looks so wonderful tonight,
So cute while dressed in pink and white."
"There are things far beauteous, fool!
Fawn on those, not this thing's drool!"
"Goo-goo ga-ga, oh my, so sweet!"
"Yes, teach it words it'll ne'er meet!"
"She will not understand fair words."
"It'll learn when you stop that speech absurd!"
"I tickle here and tickle there,
Oh my, she reacts to my care!"
"Of course it does you stupid sod,
It's alive for the love of God!"
"So, would you like to play with her?"
"Not till another eighteen years."
"Would you rather sing her to bed?"
"I'd rather smash its balding head."
Friday, October 15, 2010
I Thank'd An Ibis
To those that know me, yes, I actually wrote something like this. Go figure.
The day was old when I awoke,
And did spring out of my repose;
I did risk health and safety too,
To enroll among a sacred few.
And there amidst the sea of man,
I glimpsed a Fair where beauty ran,
And 'fore my eyes could steal a glance,
I gained an entry, stroke of chance!
But was too brief, my virgin time,
A few fragments of nature's crime;
Yet while I rode the way back home,
My mind was cast a pleasure dome.
And when I did come back for more,
New Fair did ride on Old Fair's shore;
Then Old helped New across the gate,
And thus was born our second fate.
And there upon the shaking rail,
We did exchange a couple tales,
In mid of which a favor done-
By me for Fair, some smoke and fun.
And then I did learn of a love,
Called same as me by those above,
Three years Old Fair had come that way,
Yet I cared not, I had my day!
And when I chanced some further sights,
The New Fair did conspire delights;
And both did grow to flood my mind,
To leave London's loves far behind.
The nights that 'fore would end with they,
Now did end with these newfound ways,
As south would shake with ecstasy,
The north did turn them into we.
But sudden changes did take place,
And made fairer the New one's face;
The Old Fair had another me,
And thus I thought to let it be.
So now there was a part of ways,
Like Gods above made nights and days,
The Fair of Old was a fair friend,
But with New, I did love contend.
And thus the source of my night jaunts,
Within my mind, which she did haunt;
We would make love and feel it right,
And then I’d wake and love hindsight.
Many a role the Fairs did take,
To fulfill sights of my mind's make;
I needn't visits of repose,
For I would wake and feel them close.
But now no longer can I choose,
And futile lies my former ruse;
The Old no more seems a fair friend,
With her too I do love contend.
And I pray that one day we three,
Shall see things no one else can see,
Against that magic wall will we,
Make moments which I now envy.
And now I question what I feel,
I cannot love, is this for real?
What is the thing that makes me so?
Want them near, not to see them go?
And thanks good God for gifting me,
Black heart with inability-
To speak, to out, to start fair words,
And yet able to feel it hurt.
Thus I'm consigned to view from far,
And contend with my heart bizarre;
O Lord you've cursed me with this fate,
Take it back; love I cannot sate.
Fairs are the Ibis I thank well,
And names profess through that misspell;
But I know not if I’ll love you,
I know I’ll want to, that I do.
The day was old when I awoke,
And did spring out of my repose;
I did risk health and safety too,
To enroll among a sacred few.
And there amidst the sea of man,
I glimpsed a Fair where beauty ran,
And 'fore my eyes could steal a glance,
I gained an entry, stroke of chance!
But was too brief, my virgin time,
A few fragments of nature's crime;
Yet while I rode the way back home,
My mind was cast a pleasure dome.
And when I did come back for more,
New Fair did ride on Old Fair's shore;
Then Old helped New across the gate,
And thus was born our second fate.
And there upon the shaking rail,
We did exchange a couple tales,
In mid of which a favor done-
By me for Fair, some smoke and fun.
And then I did learn of a love,
Called same as me by those above,
Three years Old Fair had come that way,
Yet I cared not, I had my day!
And when I chanced some further sights,
The New Fair did conspire delights;
And both did grow to flood my mind,
To leave London's loves far behind.
The nights that 'fore would end with they,
Now did end with these newfound ways,
As south would shake with ecstasy,
The north did turn them into we.
But sudden changes did take place,
And made fairer the New one's face;
The Old Fair had another me,
And thus I thought to let it be.
So now there was a part of ways,
Like Gods above made nights and days,
The Fair of Old was a fair friend,
But with New, I did love contend.
And thus the source of my night jaunts,
Within my mind, which she did haunt;
We would make love and feel it right,
And then I’d wake and love hindsight.
Many a role the Fairs did take,
To fulfill sights of my mind's make;
I needn't visits of repose,
For I would wake and feel them close.
But now no longer can I choose,
And futile lies my former ruse;
The Old no more seems a fair friend,
With her too I do love contend.
And I pray that one day we three,
Shall see things no one else can see,
Against that magic wall will we,
Make moments which I now envy.
And now I question what I feel,
I cannot love, is this for real?
What is the thing that makes me so?
Want them near, not to see them go?
And thanks good God for gifting me,
Black heart with inability-
To speak, to out, to start fair words,
And yet able to feel it hurt.
Thus I'm consigned to view from far,
And contend with my heart bizarre;
O Lord you've cursed me with this fate,
Take it back; love I cannot sate.
Fairs are the Ibis I thank well,
And names profess through that misspell;
But I know not if I’ll love you,
I know I’ll want to, that I do.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Heaven Won't Have Me
I've been very busy writing application essays so I haven't had any time to update this. The idea for this one came while I was listening to "Santeria" by Sublime, however this is not based on it. This is actually a song I wrote in the key of B (I think). Stanzas 1, 2, 4 & 5 are the verses and 3 and 6 are the pre-choruses. The chorus is an instrumental section. The last 3 stanzas are the bridge section. There's an outro bit too but it's just one line repeated over and over and would look somewhat stupid if I put it in here.
Hey little angel, will you help me out today?
I need to find a bus for I have lost my way.
Guide me little angel and I will pay you well,
While you take me there girl, about me I will tell.
Hey little darling, when I did share your years,
My mother didn't love me but I did have no fears.
For many did love me, they showed that they did care,
I repaid them in kind, and gave them heaven there.
And now we're under the bridge, I must tell you true
I knew my way all this while but lost it for you
I will show you heaven like the hundred 'fore thee
I would have joined you there but heaven won't have me
My little doll, I will save you here tonight,
And you won't have to suffer this world's endless plight.
It's time you went to heaven and I showed you love,
It's time you joined the other hundred stars above.
I have taught you well babe and here I pay you back,
Don't worry, your innocence none can now attack;
The night is still but young and I've loved you a lot,
But when morning comes, I will end your worldly plot.
I'll ignite your bones here and send you far away,
But I will remember ... your folks shall know this way.
Hush, no one can hear us, we're alone as can be,
I can't join you up there, for heaven won't have me.
And I remember, where I did teach her well;
I trust that myself, only I saved her from hell;
I was both an animal and a God that day,
I gave her blessed life and took it all away.
And I did no wrong, I did what I felt was right,
I used love and caring to lead her to the light;
Goodbye cruel world, I heard her parting whispers,
I remembered all of their final parting whimpers.
They won't have to see their mothers full of love,
They won't have to cry if their fathers live above,
They won't be telling lies cos they can't be alone,
They'll never live on the streets, they have found their home.
Hey little angel, will you help me out today?
I need to find a bus for I have lost my way.
Guide me little angel and I will pay you well,
While you take me there girl, about me I will tell.
Hey little darling, when I did share your years,
My mother didn't love me but I did have no fears.
For many did love me, they showed that they did care,
I repaid them in kind, and gave them heaven there.
And now we're under the bridge, I must tell you true
I knew my way all this while but lost it for you
I will show you heaven like the hundred 'fore thee
I would have joined you there but heaven won't have me
My little doll, I will save you here tonight,
And you won't have to suffer this world's endless plight.
It's time you went to heaven and I showed you love,
It's time you joined the other hundred stars above.
I have taught you well babe and here I pay you back,
Don't worry, your innocence none can now attack;
The night is still but young and I've loved you a lot,
But when morning comes, I will end your worldly plot.
I'll ignite your bones here and send you far away,
But I will remember ... your folks shall know this way.
Hush, no one can hear us, we're alone as can be,
I can't join you up there, for heaven won't have me.
And I remember, where I did teach her well;
I trust that myself, only I saved her from hell;
I was both an animal and a God that day,
I gave her blessed life and took it all away.
And I did no wrong, I did what I felt was right,
I used love and caring to lead her to the light;
Goodbye cruel world, I heard her parting whispers,
I remembered all of their final parting whimpers.
They won't have to see their mothers full of love,
They won't have to cry if their fathers live above,
They won't be telling lies cos they can't be alone,
They'll never live on the streets, they have found their home.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Fornication Song
Extreme boredom. Which led to me constantly asking a friend, "What the fuck are we going to do now?". Which led to this.
Whiling our lives away in old London town,
Wasting for want of fun which life won't allow.
Who we are and how on earth we come to be,
Questions left unanswered by them and by we.
Now we're stuck in moments of which we can't get out,
You escape in fiction while I just roam about;
London skies are falling but not quite fast enough,
It's a shame that God did call my stone cold bluff...
So,where the fornication do we go now?
And what the fornication do we do now?
The silhouettes of our pirouettes,
Keep turning round and round;
So, who the fornication are we both now?
And, where the fornication do we do now?
Wasting our lives away for we have nought to do,
The sun shines brightly yet it rains on me and you.
I shun nutrition while you dance with wisps of smoke,
We run away together to keep friendships we broke.
Though you are not dying, this place is killing me,
I don't really care for goo goo ga joob hee hee;
Though I want to fornicate, her thought just brings me pain,
Before I burn in hell I ask you once again...
Where the fornication do we go now?
And what the fornication do we do now?
The world will have burned to death,
When we come around;
So, who the fornication are we both now?
And, where the fornication do we do now?
Let's go have some anal fornication.
Let's go have some oral fornication.
Let's go have some regular fornication.
Now.
I said,
Let's go have some anal fornication.
Let's go have some oral fornication.
Let's go have some regular fornication.
So, where the fornication did we go now?
And what the fornication did we do now?
Maybe we will meet again,
When heaven comes around;
So, who the fornication were we both now?
And, where the fornication did we do now?
Whiling our lives away in old London town,
Wasting for want of fun which life won't allow.
Who we are and how on earth we come to be,
Questions left unanswered by them and by we.
Now we're stuck in moments of which we can't get out,
You escape in fiction while I just roam about;
London skies are falling but not quite fast enough,
It's a shame that God did call my stone cold bluff...
So,where the fornication do we go now?
And what the fornication do we do now?
The silhouettes of our pirouettes,
Keep turning round and round;
So, who the fornication are we both now?
And, where the fornication do we do now?
Wasting our lives away for we have nought to do,
The sun shines brightly yet it rains on me and you.
I shun nutrition while you dance with wisps of smoke,
We run away together to keep friendships we broke.
Though you are not dying, this place is killing me,
I don't really care for goo goo ga joob hee hee;
Though I want to fornicate, her thought just brings me pain,
Before I burn in hell I ask you once again...
Where the fornication do we go now?
And what the fornication do we do now?
The world will have burned to death,
When we come around;
So, who the fornication are we both now?
And, where the fornication do we do now?
Let's go have some anal fornication.
Let's go have some oral fornication.
Let's go have some regular fornication.
Now.
I said,
Let's go have some anal fornication.
Let's go have some oral fornication.
Let's go have some regular fornication.
So, where the fornication did we go now?
And what the fornication did we do now?
Maybe we will meet again,
When heaven comes around;
So, who the fornication were we both now?
And, where the fornication did we do now?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Pseudo Junkie Me.
I
Smoke fills and struggles about in the eternal black holes of my reasoning but fails to get sucked into the space beyond the void. Where reason and desire make love in a harmony of fulfillment and questions need not be asked and motives need not be jaded by rationalizations.
It settles and drifts, seducing my wants, convincing them of their need for it, but ultimately failing to do so. For reasons, which my own mind cannot contend or put a finger on.
The mores of society? The ethical code? Those cannot be for not only does my mind fail to identify the reasons but it also fails to give a damn about those whose lives it can't control, nor who are in a position to control my mind.
A natural disdain perhaps? An allergy maybe? Then why do my digits mimic the source of that smoke, acting it out with means which cause no harm to man but to paper? And why then would my senses have a certain affinity for that smell, that perfume? Not turning the cheek when an opportunity for a whiff would pass by,
A trade of dependence seems most likely. Fear to sacrifice the sense of control which I pride myself for having. That no man may shape my destiny but me and my God. But why do I then still withdraw from ever giving it a chance? I do not fear it in so far as another state of matter succeeds in penetrating that black hole and giving me joy and taking me to new heights. Why then must this subconscious filter, this super-ego of mine, suddenly sound all alarms, present a show of arms, at the mere sight of vapor?
As is evident, it is not a lackadaisical sense or an air of lethargy that conceals the solution to me, but simply, a lack of knowledge or ability to correctly identify and rationalize.
II
Vapors make love to my olfactory nerves. They entice them, seduce them, serenade them into getting the green light from my brain. Ah, but where my senses fail, my sense is strong, and instead of taking an active part in proceedings, it directs me to question do I stay or do I dare while in passive resistance
For as long as I can remember, I've had the opportunity to indulge myself, quite heavily, into cigarettes, weed, hash, dendrite, the works. Most of my friends smoke regularly, a majority of the people I'm surrounded by these days are into it too and yet for some reason I abstain from even trying these out. Personally, I feel one should garner as many different experiences as possible (except of course murdering someone, though that depends more on the person needing to be killed...) and yet I don't even entertain the notion of taking a puff. Most of the time, I know why I'm doing something, but when it comes to the decision of not giving in, I have no idea why I refrain.
The gas fades away with a strong gust of wind. But just as my mind comes to a still from having to not choose, fresh herbs join the mix. The smell is more vibrant than ever. And a certain section of my desire wants to know what it feels like to climb the proverbial stairway to heaven. But my mind still can't make itself up...
It's not for a lethargic lack of trying. I've questioned several times why I abstain. Each time, I systematically eliminate every possibility, get back to square one in little time, start over and am caught in this cycle of question & analysis, yielding no ultimate result. I have no problem guzzing down beer (or any drink for that matter), I don't care much for my health (certainly not enough to try something new once), cigarette smoke/smell doesn't annoy me and so many times I pretend I'm smoking a pen or pencil and there's something about the act of smoking that I find somewhat attractive, and yet, I don't smoke. And there are times that I've really, really wanted to give in, for just one puff. But I didn't. And I don't think I ever will.
My mind is indecisive as ever. With every new flick of the flame, the choice to activate seems tougher to make
I've singled out fear of addiction as the main problem, though why it should be so isn't clear. I obviously have no problem chugging bottles of beer whenever I get the chance. I'm obviously not an alcoholic but I do drink whenever I'm offered and I drink as little as I do more due to lack of money than due to abstinence. So, fear of addiction is a half-baked theory, though at present the one that tastes the most like cake. (Ok fine, that was a terrible metaphor) Until realization dawns, or enlightenment happens, I'm thus consigned to muse this quirk about myself (it's funny how not having a reason for not smoking is now a quirk) for some time to come. Ah well, I guess I'll passive-smoke and pseudo-dope the while away.
Ok enough beating about the bush. Choose. Now! Cigarette or marijuana? Or both? Nothing's not an option.
III
I've made my decision.
I want Bud.
Smoke fills and struggles about in the eternal black holes of my reasoning but fails to get sucked into the space beyond the void. Where reason and desire make love in a harmony of fulfillment and questions need not be asked and motives need not be jaded by rationalizations.
It settles and drifts, seducing my wants, convincing them of their need for it, but ultimately failing to do so. For reasons, which my own mind cannot contend or put a finger on.
The mores of society? The ethical code? Those cannot be for not only does my mind fail to identify the reasons but it also fails to give a damn about those whose lives it can't control, nor who are in a position to control my mind.
A natural disdain perhaps? An allergy maybe? Then why do my digits mimic the source of that smoke, acting it out with means which cause no harm to man but to paper? And why then would my senses have a certain affinity for that smell, that perfume? Not turning the cheek when an opportunity for a whiff would pass by,
A trade of dependence seems most likely. Fear to sacrifice the sense of control which I pride myself for having. That no man may shape my destiny but me and my God. But why do I then still withdraw from ever giving it a chance? I do not fear it in so far as another state of matter succeeds in penetrating that black hole and giving me joy and taking me to new heights. Why then must this subconscious filter, this super-ego of mine, suddenly sound all alarms, present a show of arms, at the mere sight of vapor?
As is evident, it is not a lackadaisical sense or an air of lethargy that conceals the solution to me, but simply, a lack of knowledge or ability to correctly identify and rationalize.
II
Vapors make love to my olfactory nerves. They entice them, seduce them, serenade them into getting the green light from my brain. Ah, but where my senses fail, my sense is strong, and instead of taking an active part in proceedings, it directs me to question do I stay or do I dare while in passive resistance
For as long as I can remember, I've had the opportunity to indulge myself, quite heavily, into cigarettes, weed, hash, dendrite, the works. Most of my friends smoke regularly, a majority of the people I'm surrounded by these days are into it too and yet for some reason I abstain from even trying these out. Personally, I feel one should garner as many different experiences as possible (except of course murdering someone, though that depends more on the person needing to be killed...) and yet I don't even entertain the notion of taking a puff. Most of the time, I know why I'm doing something, but when it comes to the decision of not giving in, I have no idea why I refrain.
The gas fades away with a strong gust of wind. But just as my mind comes to a still from having to not choose, fresh herbs join the mix. The smell is more vibrant than ever. And a certain section of my desire wants to know what it feels like to climb the proverbial stairway to heaven. But my mind still can't make itself up...
It's not for a lethargic lack of trying. I've questioned several times why I abstain. Each time, I systematically eliminate every possibility, get back to square one in little time, start over and am caught in this cycle of question & analysis, yielding no ultimate result. I have no problem guzzing down beer (or any drink for that matter), I don't care much for my health (certainly not enough to try something new once), cigarette smoke/smell doesn't annoy me and so many times I pretend I'm smoking a pen or pencil and there's something about the act of smoking that I find somewhat attractive, and yet, I don't smoke. And there are times that I've really, really wanted to give in, for just one puff. But I didn't. And I don't think I ever will.
My mind is indecisive as ever. With every new flick of the flame, the choice to activate seems tougher to make
I've singled out fear of addiction as the main problem, though why it should be so isn't clear. I obviously have no problem chugging bottles of beer whenever I get the chance. I'm obviously not an alcoholic but I do drink whenever I'm offered and I drink as little as I do more due to lack of money than due to abstinence. So, fear of addiction is a half-baked theory, though at present the one that tastes the most like cake. (Ok fine, that was a terrible metaphor) Until realization dawns, or enlightenment happens, I'm thus consigned to muse this quirk about myself (it's funny how not having a reason for not smoking is now a quirk) for some time to come. Ah well, I guess I'll passive-smoke and pseudo-dope the while away.
Ok enough beating about the bush. Choose. Now! Cigarette or marijuana? Or both? Nothing's not an option.
III
I've made my decision.
I want Bud.
Hey Jude.
Hey Jude,
You are indeed making it bad. At first, I thought we would get along, I really did. So when I saw my name in lights, why, I was actually quite pleased with myself. For once, I had not been screwed over by fate. Now, don't flatter yourself, I never for a second wanted us to meet. But hey, what was I to do? It was either that or waste my inheritance on an even more annoying saintly bloke. And God knows, I didn't want another fellow like old Jimbo. So you it was, Jude. Nowhere outside I could go. I couldn't run away from it all so I made do. With you.
And I gave it a shot, I really really did. Heck, I'm still giving it a shot. But Jesus, I really can't take it anymore, Jude. You and I were never ever meant to be. It's just this cruel twist of fate, that's all. I mean, yeah, you're really chilled about everything, don't give much of a crap if I'm not punctual, or I come late, or just not show up at all, and plus you've protected me from any assault or embarrassment of any sort, but it's not enough, Jude, it just isn't. Fact is, all your merits considered, you have nothing to offer me. And the obstinate, hard-to-satisfy arsehole that I am, I never will try hard enough to get used to all your shortcomings. Perhaps the only
thing I can thank you for is that you've saved me from that bloke I was talking about and I have to listen to less drivel from those people that conceived me. But at what cost? You take up all my time, you leave me with a splitting migraine most of the days, you burden me with work that'll help only for a year (hopefully) and you leave me in no shape to create games, to write, to play music, to get work done that will help in the long run. No. I've lost control. I'm desperately struggling to grab onto something to pull myself back up. But damn it, Jude, you're making it so bad.
The least you could have done is to have amongst yourself some people I could get with. The people I didn't know from beginning, most, I don't really want to know either. And that's where the ennui comes in and boy, does it rip my brains out and have a right-old trample about with it. Fine, I will concede that there are decent people, and some I wouldn't mind having a chat about with, but that
number is certainly in the minority. About 5 in a group of 50 I'd say.
Blimey, then there's the food. Or rather the place where you make it edible. Could you have found a place dirtier? Wasn't there any other nook and cranny more revolting than the drains you fry your foods by? And finally, the things I enjoy doing you take it and place it at a time, in which I can't enjoy them. For by then, the ennui has already left me dead and longing for home. Damn you, Jude, damn you straight to hell.
In the end, I suppose you could say I'm being a right dick. I complain too much, I need too much to satisfy myself, and I'm probably not deserving of the demands I crave. But shag me twice, I needed to vent out and I have. Let's face it, the problem is mine. Most people who know you, love you to bits and would be very sad to depart from you. But for me personally, hopefully the last time we meet isn't far. Hopefully, 4 months hence, I'll be certified of our last dance. Till then I hope and pray that that day is not far when I'll be able to say,
Ma na na na na na
Hey Hey Hey (Jude)
Good-fucking-bye.
You are indeed making it bad. At first, I thought we would get along, I really did. So when I saw my name in lights, why, I was actually quite pleased with myself. For once, I had not been screwed over by fate. Now, don't flatter yourself, I never for a second wanted us to meet. But hey, what was I to do? It was either that or waste my inheritance on an even more annoying saintly bloke. And God knows, I didn't want another fellow like old Jimbo. So you it was, Jude. Nowhere outside I could go. I couldn't run away from it all so I made do. With you.
And I gave it a shot, I really really did. Heck, I'm still giving it a shot. But Jesus, I really can't take it anymore, Jude. You and I were never ever meant to be. It's just this cruel twist of fate, that's all. I mean, yeah, you're really chilled about everything, don't give much of a crap if I'm not punctual, or I come late, or just not show up at all, and plus you've protected me from any assault or embarrassment of any sort, but it's not enough, Jude, it just isn't. Fact is, all your merits considered, you have nothing to offer me. And the obstinate, hard-to-satisfy arsehole that I am, I never will try hard enough to get used to all your shortcomings. Perhaps the only
thing I can thank you for is that you've saved me from that bloke I was talking about and I have to listen to less drivel from those people that conceived me. But at what cost? You take up all my time, you leave me with a splitting migraine most of the days, you burden me with work that'll help only for a year (hopefully) and you leave me in no shape to create games, to write, to play music, to get work done that will help in the long run. No. I've lost control. I'm desperately struggling to grab onto something to pull myself back up. But damn it, Jude, you're making it so bad.
The least you could have done is to have amongst yourself some people I could get with. The people I didn't know from beginning, most, I don't really want to know either. And that's where the ennui comes in and boy, does it rip my brains out and have a right-old trample about with it. Fine, I will concede that there are decent people, and some I wouldn't mind having a chat about with, but that
number is certainly in the minority. About 5 in a group of 50 I'd say.
Blimey, then there's the food. Or rather the place where you make it edible. Could you have found a place dirtier? Wasn't there any other nook and cranny more revolting than the drains you fry your foods by? And finally, the things I enjoy doing you take it and place it at a time, in which I can't enjoy them. For by then, the ennui has already left me dead and longing for home. Damn you, Jude, damn you straight to hell.
In the end, I suppose you could say I'm being a right dick. I complain too much, I need too much to satisfy myself, and I'm probably not deserving of the demands I crave. But shag me twice, I needed to vent out and I have. Let's face it, the problem is mine. Most people who know you, love you to bits and would be very sad to depart from you. But for me personally, hopefully the last time we meet isn't far. Hopefully, 4 months hence, I'll be certified of our last dance. Till then I hope and pray that that day is not far when I'll be able to say,
Ma na na na na na
Hey Hey Hey (Jude)
Good-fucking-bye.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Clouds Without Linings
Depression. And falling in love with "Passing Afternoon" by Iron & Wine.
These clouds without linings keep passing me by,
They darken the heavens of my brimstone sky.
They promise me rain but today's all the same,
They only bring pain and let me take the blame.
These names without faces they all tell a lie,
Deceiving the angels whose demons must die;
Their words break my bones with the pall of them all,
They set forth the hope and then plot its downfall.
These ships without heaven keep floating along,
They leave me at bay since my ticket is wrong,
Yet I see some boarders without one at all,
They chase their dreams while my nightmares snowball.
And day after day the desert still grows,
Rain falls all around me but wets just my toes;
Enticing my functions as I do march on,
Too naive to witness the absence of dawn.
These nights without armor keep making me weak,
They darken my heavens, my prospects look bleak;
The messiahs of my mind don't give me a care,
Send clouds without linings to fake that they're there.
The wheels keep on turning, the cycle goes on,
The summer's forever, the monsoon's long gone;
The strings of life whisper the beat of death's drum,
But hope still lies that a change gonna come.
P.S. - Screw the World Cup write-up. Argentina didn't win anyway. Bleh.
These clouds without linings keep passing me by,
They darken the heavens of my brimstone sky.
They promise me rain but today's all the same,
They only bring pain and let me take the blame.
These names without faces they all tell a lie,
Deceiving the angels whose demons must die;
Their words break my bones with the pall of them all,
They set forth the hope and then plot its downfall.
These ships without heaven keep floating along,
They leave me at bay since my ticket is wrong,
Yet I see some boarders without one at all,
They chase their dreams while my nightmares snowball.
And day after day the desert still grows,
Rain falls all around me but wets just my toes;
Enticing my functions as I do march on,
Too naive to witness the absence of dawn.
These nights without armor keep making me weak,
They darken my heavens, my prospects look bleak;
The messiahs of my mind don't give me a care,
Send clouds without linings to fake that they're there.
The wheels keep on turning, the cycle goes on,
The summer's forever, the monsoon's long gone;
The strings of life whisper the beat of death's drum,
But hope still lies that a change gonna come.
P.S. - Screw the World Cup write-up. Argentina didn't win anyway. Bleh.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
By The Numbers: A Statistical, Factual & Trivial Look At South Africa 2010
Firstly, apologies for the delay, but I've been swamped with work lately and the little free time I have been enjoying lately have gone into playing guitar, listening to music or watching House. Plus, interest in World Cup tends to wane very quickly after the thing is over. But whatever, I'm back. I'm too lazy right now to write that formal review thingy, so I'm posting a statistical look at the tournament. Records and such.
- Brazil made a record 19th appearance. They will be breaking the record again in 2014 when they participate for a 20th time as hosts.
- Germany made a record 12th appearance in the top four. They are now the only country to appear in the semifinals of all 3 previous tournaments - 2002, 2006 and 2010.
- Germany and Serbia met for a record equaling 7th time in a World Cup finals match, matching the record held by Brazil vs Sweden.
- Germany and Brazil both made record 16th appearances in the final eight stage.
- Switzerland set a record for most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal, spanning an amazing 16 years. From USA 1994, through Germany 2006, and their first match of 2010.
- Switzerland also equaled Italy's record of most consecutive clean sheets with 5.
- Germany have now played more World Cup finals matches than any other country, with 99.
- Brazil's win over Chile in the Round of 16 was their 67th in tournament history. More than any other country.
- Mexico's loss to Argentina in the Round of 16 was their 24th in tournament history. A record.
- Italy set the drawing record, with their 1-1 result against New Zealand being their 21st draw.
- New Zealand equaled Bolivia, El Salvador & Honduras' record of most World Cup games without a win - 6.
- Robinho scored Brazil's 210th World Cup goal against Holland in the quarters; most number of goals scored by any country.
- Diego Forlan's goal against Germany was the 117th that the Nazis had conceded. Another record.
- The Dutch became the first country to lose a 3rd World Cup Final without having won a tournament. They also became the first country to make a 4th appearance in the top 4 without winning.
- Netherlands also became the first country to win as many as 6 games in a single tournament without winning the cup.
- This was only the 4th instance of the Champion having lost a game. Spain follows the Germany teams of 1954 and 1974 and the Argentina team of 1978. All of them lost 1 match.
- Spain equaled the record for champions with lowest goal difference (+6). Italy had previously achieved this in 1982.
- Spain also set the record for champions having scored fewest goals - 8. They are also the first champions with just 3 goal scorers - David Villa, Andres Iniesta & Carles Puyol.
- Spain equaled the record of champions having conceded the least number of goals. They, Italy '06 & France '98 all conceded just 2.
- Uruguay equaled its own record of having played the most no. of qualifying matches - 20. They had previously done that for the 2002 tournament.
- Germany made a record 15th straight appearance in the top 8 of the tournament, having never failed to do so since 1954.
- Champions Spain qualified for a record 7th consecutive World Cup. From 1986-2010.
- Luxembourg, on the other hand, failed to qualify for a record 18th consecutive tournament, having failed every time since 1934.
- Algeria equaled Bolivia's record of most consecutive matches without scoring with 5. Their record stretches back to Mexico '86.
- David James became the oldest player to debut in a World Cup finals tournament in England's game against Algeria. He was 39 years and 321 days old.
- Miroslav Klose became the first person to score at least 4 goals in 3 different World Cup finals (2002, 2006, 2010)
- Klose also became the 4th person to score twice in 4 matches, after Sandor Kocsis, Just Fontaine & Pele.
- Cuauhtemoc Blanco of Mexico equalled the record for the longest period between a player's 1st and last goals, the record being 12 years. The record is shared wih Pele, Uwe Seeler, Diego Maradona, Michael Laudrup, Henrik Larsson & Sami Al-Jaber
- Asamoah Gyan became the 1st person to miss 2 penalties in his World Cup career with his penalty miss against Uruguay in the quarterfinal
- Iker Casillas became the 1st goalkeeper to save penalties in 2 World Cup finals. He saved Ian Harte's effort in the round of 16 against Ireland in 2002 and stopped Oscar Cardozo of Paraguay from scoring in the quarterfinal this year.
- Carlos Alberto Parreira became the 1st person to appear in 6 tournaments and equalled Bora Milutinovic's record of having coached 5 nations at the finals.
- Otto Rehhagel became the oldest coach to appear in a World Cup finals at 71 years and 317 days
- Referee Oscar Ruiz of Colombia equalled the record for most tournaments, this being his 3rd.
- South Africa became the first host nation to be eliminated at the group stages.
- This was also the first time since 1950 that either Argentina or Brazil failed to win a World Cup hosted outside Europe. Since 1950, Brazil has won Chile '62, Mexico '70, USA '94 and KoreaJapan '02, while Argentina has won Argentina '78 and Mexico '86'.
- Germany became the first country since Brazil in 1970 to score 4 goals in 3 different matches in the same tournament.
- The Final set the record for most bookings with 14.
- With 145 goals, 2010 saw the least number of goals scored for a 64-match World Cup. The 2.27 goals per game is also the 2nd lowest in history after Italy '90's 2.21.
- Thomas Mueller became the first recipient of the Best Young Player Award to win another individual award.
- Japan's win over Cameroon was their first World Cup win on foreign soil.
- This was the first time that both the previous finalists failed to make it past the group stage.
- For the first time since quarterfinals were introduced in 1954, only 3 Europeans made it to the final eight. Ghana became the 3rd African team to appear in the quarterfinals after Cameroon in 1990 & Senegal in 2002. Paraguay made its quarterfinal debut.
- Uruguay reached the semifinals for the first time in 40 years, while Spain reached the semifinals for the first time.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Week (Five) That Was... Whatever.
The World Cup is finally over. There is finally a new World Cup champion and since it isn't United States, I don't give much of a crap. The last 2 matches went down exactly like most people thought they would. The loser's final was a very exciting match and the usual goal-intensive affair that it always is. It really was a great match and it's a shame that teams can no longer play like that when under pressure to win at all costs. Refereeing was also good in this game for once. No wrong offside calls and no unnecessary bookings/sending-offs. Mueller clinched the Golden Boot with a 5th goal and his 3 previous assists put him ahead of both Villa and Sneijder, both of whom failed to score in the borefest the following day. Forlan capped off a great World Cup with a 5th goal as well. Again, a great game of football compared to what was to follow.
What did follow is a prime example of why I dislike European football. When 2 good European nations play it's almost always a boring,drab game of football. The only good thing about the match was the team that did deserve to win, Spain, did win. Netherlands were just disgraceful. Sneijder couldn't find the form of his earlier games, Robben messed up 2 brilliant chances and the rest of the Dutch had forgotten that football isn't a full-contact sport like Rugby, particularly, Nigel de Jong, who turned in his trial for the Dutch karate team for the next Olympic games, slamming his boot into the rib cage of Xabi Alonso, and surprisingly got off with just a yellow card. Speaking of which, there were 14 in this one. A Final record. I literally had to prevent myself from falling asleep throughout the match, but luckily was awake when Iniesta scored the winner after 116 agonizing minutes of fucked up football.
So that's that, the World Cup is over, Spain are the champions, and we can all get on with our lives. I don't know whether to be sad that a World Cup is over, or happy that such a sad one is over. Anyway, a look at the awards...
Champions: Spain (Their best match was against Germany, the only Europeans who played better than them through the rest of the Cup, but among the others, I guess they deserved the trophy, even though most of the time they were too caught up in passing the ball around to remember to score goals)
Runners-Up: Netherlands (Definitely the worst of the 3 Dutch teams to reach the Final; they got lucky with the draw, were surprisingly good in grinding out the win against a low-key Brazil and played well against Uruguay, but when it mattered they couldn't match up)
Third Place: Germany (best team in the cup, saving their worst for their most crucial match cost them dear; Mueller's suspension didn't help)
Fourth Place: Uruguay (the surprise of the tournament, though in all fairness, the only time they played a superior team, they lost, if only by just. Forlan was an inspiration.)
Golden Ball: Diego Forlan (Simply brilliant. I'm happy that he got the award over Sneijder because the latter was very lucky in some of his goals)
Golden Boot: Thomas Mueller (youngest to ever win the honor, has been the revelation of the tournament)
Best Young Player: Thomas Mueller
Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (didn't dominate games like Enyeama for Nigeria nor was he involved in any shootouts, but when it mattered, Casillas showed why currently, he's the best goalkeeper in the world, pulling off some spectacular saves in the final, and conceding a record equalling 2 goals in the entire tournament)
Fair Play Award: Spain
Most Entertaining Team: I don't think FIFA are giving the award this year, but if they did, it has to go to Germany.
Goal Of The Tournament: This one's tough. Toss up between Maicon's goal vs DPR Korea & van Bronckhorst's goal against Uruguay
This isn't the last World Cup related post. I've a couple more planned, including one where I'll do a formal report of the World Cup, devoid of profanities and bias. Till then, later.
What did follow is a prime example of why I dislike European football. When 2 good European nations play it's almost always a boring,drab game of football. The only good thing about the match was the team that did deserve to win, Spain, did win. Netherlands were just disgraceful. Sneijder couldn't find the form of his earlier games, Robben messed up 2 brilliant chances and the rest of the Dutch had forgotten that football isn't a full-contact sport like Rugby, particularly, Nigel de Jong, who turned in his trial for the Dutch karate team for the next Olympic games, slamming his boot into the rib cage of Xabi Alonso, and surprisingly got off with just a yellow card. Speaking of which, there were 14 in this one. A Final record. I literally had to prevent myself from falling asleep throughout the match, but luckily was awake when Iniesta scored the winner after 116 agonizing minutes of fucked up football.
So that's that, the World Cup is over, Spain are the champions, and we can all get on with our lives. I don't know whether to be sad that a World Cup is over, or happy that such a sad one is over. Anyway, a look at the awards...
Champions: Spain (Their best match was against Germany, the only Europeans who played better than them through the rest of the Cup, but among the others, I guess they deserved the trophy, even though most of the time they were too caught up in passing the ball around to remember to score goals)
Runners-Up: Netherlands (Definitely the worst of the 3 Dutch teams to reach the Final; they got lucky with the draw, were surprisingly good in grinding out the win against a low-key Brazil and played well against Uruguay, but when it mattered they couldn't match up)
Third Place: Germany (best team in the cup, saving their worst for their most crucial match cost them dear; Mueller's suspension didn't help)
Fourth Place: Uruguay (the surprise of the tournament, though in all fairness, the only time they played a superior team, they lost, if only by just. Forlan was an inspiration.)
Golden Ball: Diego Forlan (Simply brilliant. I'm happy that he got the award over Sneijder because the latter was very lucky in some of his goals)
Golden Boot: Thomas Mueller (youngest to ever win the honor, has been the revelation of the tournament)
Best Young Player: Thomas Mueller
Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (didn't dominate games like Enyeama for Nigeria nor was he involved in any shootouts, but when it mattered, Casillas showed why currently, he's the best goalkeeper in the world, pulling off some spectacular saves in the final, and conceding a record equalling 2 goals in the entire tournament)
Fair Play Award: Spain
Most Entertaining Team: I don't think FIFA are giving the award this year, but if they did, it has to go to Germany.
Goal Of The Tournament: This one's tough. Toss up between Maicon's goal vs DPR Korea & van Bronckhorst's goal against Uruguay
This isn't the last World Cup related post. I've a couple more planned, including one where I'll do a formal report of the World Cup, devoid of profanities and bias. Till then, later.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Week (Four) That Was ... $%@##$^&@#%^!!!
Ok firstly, WHAT THE FUCK?! This was SOUTH AMERICA's year! How the hell do we now have to witness an effin' all-European borefest for the final?! I guess this was the World Cup where traditions and patterns didn't just matter... South Africa became the first hosts to be knocked out in the groups, and now Europe will win the World Cup outside Europe for the first time. It's just sad. This has been a sad world cup, fewer goals, fewer moments of magic, Messi being the only superstar that turned up and now an all-European final. The only good thing was that Italy and France both finished bottom of their groups. The quarters and semis were really really painful to watch, save 2 matches...
QUARTERFINALS
NED 2-1 BRA
A surprise to say the least, and not just because Brazil were tournament favorites. The first half saw complete Brazil domination, and we even saw glimpses of the genius that used to be Kaka but everything fell apart in the 2nd half. Sneijder's cross was headed in to his own goal by Felipe Melo (though FIFA awarded the goal to Sneijder) and then 15 mins later, Brazil conceded again from a corner, Sneijder the goalscorer again. Whatever chance Brazil had of getting back was jeopardized when Melo (the antagonist again) decided to stomp down on Robben and get sent off. Brazil pushed and pushed for an equalizer but the lead held and shockingly Brazil were out at the World Cup quarters for a second successive time.
URU 1-1 GHA (Uruguay won 4-2 on pens.)
Match of the round. A close game as expected with two of the most spectacular moments of magic in the entire tournament. First, in first half injury-time when Sulley Muntari, star of 2006, scored from a few yards in front of the center circle (!), with a late spin on the ball catching Muslera completely off guard. But just 10 mins into the second half, and Diego Forlan, the best South American player in the tournament, unleashed arguably the best free kick of the tournament (and God have we had an embarrassingly less number of those) to draw Uruguay level. Extra time ensued, and the biggest moment of drama in probably the entire tournament was reserved for the last minute of 2nd half extra time injury time! Ghana were awarded a free kick and from the goal-mouth melee that followed, Luis Suarez pulled off one of the best saves of the tournament. However, he used his hands and thus was sent off, thereby giving Asamoah Gyan the chance to send Ghana through with a penalty. As fate would have it, Gyan, who had already converted 2 penalties in previous matches, blasted his penalty and Ghana's chances of advancing into the post and into the crowds and penalties ensued, in which Ghanian captain John Mensah and young star Odiyiah missed to give old warhorse Loco Abreu the chance to win it for La Celeste and win he did, a la Antonin Panenka. Cue the wildest Uruguayan celebrations since the Maracanazo and pictures of a sobbing, inconsolable Asamoah Gyan.
ARG 0-4 GER
The biggest what the fuck moment I've seen in the 3 World Cups I've witnessed. Argentina, quite contrary to their past performances, were absolutely dreadful in this match. Romero might as well have been a mannequin in a boutique when Mueller headed in Schweinsteiger's free kick in the 3rd minute while the Argentinian midfield completely failed to break through the fortress that was the Nazi defence. Messi put together some of his usual solo runs but couldn't find the finish in any of those. Higuain was like a ghost in the forward line, failing to take the few chances that he did have and also failing to receive any proper service from the midfield. Maxi Rodriguez and Tevez both disappointed while Di Maria proved to be the only glimmer in a drab midfield display. The defence was even worse as the scoreline suggests, completely falling apart in the second half. The match would best be summarized by saying that Germans didn't deserve to win 4-0 but Argentina did deserve to lose 4-0. And yes, that does make sense. On a historical note, Miroslav Klose has now scored more World Cup goals than Pele and as many as Gerd Muller.
PAR 0-1 ESP
Fucked up refereeing was in full show again as this match, in which Paraguay were definitely at par with, if not better than, Spain, was marred by 2 very poor decisions which would have influenced the game in a very substantial way. First, a legit goal from Nelson Valdez was ruled offside because the dumbfuck linesman failed to notice that the Paraguayan who was offside didn't actually touch the ball. Second, Oscar Cardozo's saved penalty wasn't allowed to be retaken even though Spanish defenders clearly encroached the penalty area before Cardozo released the shot. This is particularly glaring since Xabi Alonso was made to retake a penalty because of the same reason. That he didn't score was somewhat of a serving of justice but that Villa did get the winner again and again with a scrappy goal wasn't. Spain didn't deserve to win this match. Perhaps the fairest result would have been one of the teams exiting on the penalties.
With Argentina out, I really didn't give much of a crap about who won anymore, but I wanted Uruguay to win, being the only South Americans left...
SEMIFINALS
URU 2-3 NED
That didn't happen ofcourse. If you're an Argentinean fan, you'll know how weird it is to support Uruguay but I really did want them to beat the Dutch, but it wasn't to be. This was actually a solid match. Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored what along with Maicon's effort, is one of the goals of the tournament, following which Forlan scored another cracker, this time with his left foot. In the second half, the Dutch got lucky again. Sneijder's weak shot was deflected just about enough to beat the outstretched hands of Muslera and only 3 minutes later, the Uruguayan defence was caught out again, this time via a classy header from Robben. The match seemed to be over but deep into stoppage time, Maxi Pereira got one back for the Uruguayans to throw caution to the wind for the final minute of the game, but the Dutch held on and returned to the World Cup final after 32 years. Europe was now sure to win the tournament. :(
GER 0-1 ESP
After the thrashing of Argentina and the injustice over Paraguay, you'd have expected a different result. But a Mueller-less Germany looked hapless and out of shape. Spain were clearly the better team and played well for the first time in the tournament and got their 3rd consecutive 1-0 win of the tournament. Puyol scored the winner with a great header and thankfully we didn't have to see David Villa scramble the ball into the net for the winner.
There you have it. The most fucked up World Cup I've seen has now reached its climax. I'm pretty sure the 3rd place game (URU-GER) will be better than the final. I'll just see them out of habit and compulsion. I don't give a crap who becomes the 8th team to win the tournament. I'm not making any predictions this time.
The obligatory...
Final call for the week whatever the dates were...
Match Of The Week: Uruguay beating Ghana in the quarters. Drama of epic proportions.
Team Of The Week: Netherlands (for eliminating Brazil and scoring 3 goals in a match for once)
Player Of The Week: Wesley Sneijder (best player in both of Netherlands' games, will probably win Golden Ball)
Goalie Of The Week: Fernando Muslera (pulled off 2 saves in the shootout to push Uruguay into the semis)
Medio Of The Week: Wesley Sneijder
Striker Of The Week: Miroslav Klose (for his date with history) and Diego Forlan
Goal Of The Week: Gio van Bronckhorst vs Uruguay in the semi
Shock Of The Week: Them Nazi sons of bitches beating Argentina 4-0
Moment Of The Week: The last-minute drama in the Uruguay-Ghana quarterfinal! Best of the tournament.
QUARTERFINALS
NED 2-1 BRA
A surprise to say the least, and not just because Brazil were tournament favorites. The first half saw complete Brazil domination, and we even saw glimpses of the genius that used to be Kaka but everything fell apart in the 2nd half. Sneijder's cross was headed in to his own goal by Felipe Melo (though FIFA awarded the goal to Sneijder) and then 15 mins later, Brazil conceded again from a corner, Sneijder the goalscorer again. Whatever chance Brazil had of getting back was jeopardized when Melo (the antagonist again) decided to stomp down on Robben and get sent off. Brazil pushed and pushed for an equalizer but the lead held and shockingly Brazil were out at the World Cup quarters for a second successive time.
URU 1-1 GHA (Uruguay won 4-2 on pens.)
Match of the round. A close game as expected with two of the most spectacular moments of magic in the entire tournament. First, in first half injury-time when Sulley Muntari, star of 2006, scored from a few yards in front of the center circle (!), with a late spin on the ball catching Muslera completely off guard. But just 10 mins into the second half, and Diego Forlan, the best South American player in the tournament, unleashed arguably the best free kick of the tournament (and God have we had an embarrassingly less number of those) to draw Uruguay level. Extra time ensued, and the biggest moment of drama in probably the entire tournament was reserved for the last minute of 2nd half extra time injury time! Ghana were awarded a free kick and from the goal-mouth melee that followed, Luis Suarez pulled off one of the best saves of the tournament. However, he used his hands and thus was sent off, thereby giving Asamoah Gyan the chance to send Ghana through with a penalty. As fate would have it, Gyan, who had already converted 2 penalties in previous matches, blasted his penalty and Ghana's chances of advancing into the post and into the crowds and penalties ensued, in which Ghanian captain John Mensah and young star Odiyiah missed to give old warhorse Loco Abreu the chance to win it for La Celeste and win he did, a la Antonin Panenka. Cue the wildest Uruguayan celebrations since the Maracanazo and pictures of a sobbing, inconsolable Asamoah Gyan.
ARG 0-4 GER
The biggest what the fuck moment I've seen in the 3 World Cups I've witnessed. Argentina, quite contrary to their past performances, were absolutely dreadful in this match. Romero might as well have been a mannequin in a boutique when Mueller headed in Schweinsteiger's free kick in the 3rd minute while the Argentinian midfield completely failed to break through the fortress that was the Nazi defence. Messi put together some of his usual solo runs but couldn't find the finish in any of those. Higuain was like a ghost in the forward line, failing to take the few chances that he did have and also failing to receive any proper service from the midfield. Maxi Rodriguez and Tevez both disappointed while Di Maria proved to be the only glimmer in a drab midfield display. The defence was even worse as the scoreline suggests, completely falling apart in the second half. The match would best be summarized by saying that Germans didn't deserve to win 4-0 but Argentina did deserve to lose 4-0. And yes, that does make sense. On a historical note, Miroslav Klose has now scored more World Cup goals than Pele and as many as Gerd Muller.
PAR 0-1 ESP
Fucked up refereeing was in full show again as this match, in which Paraguay were definitely at par with, if not better than, Spain, was marred by 2 very poor decisions which would have influenced the game in a very substantial way. First, a legit goal from Nelson Valdez was ruled offside because the dumbfuck linesman failed to notice that the Paraguayan who was offside didn't actually touch the ball. Second, Oscar Cardozo's saved penalty wasn't allowed to be retaken even though Spanish defenders clearly encroached the penalty area before Cardozo released the shot. This is particularly glaring since Xabi Alonso was made to retake a penalty because of the same reason. That he didn't score was somewhat of a serving of justice but that Villa did get the winner again and again with a scrappy goal wasn't. Spain didn't deserve to win this match. Perhaps the fairest result would have been one of the teams exiting on the penalties.
With Argentina out, I really didn't give much of a crap about who won anymore, but I wanted Uruguay to win, being the only South Americans left...
SEMIFINALS
URU 2-3 NED
That didn't happen ofcourse. If you're an Argentinean fan, you'll know how weird it is to support Uruguay but I really did want them to beat the Dutch, but it wasn't to be. This was actually a solid match. Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored what along with Maicon's effort, is one of the goals of the tournament, following which Forlan scored another cracker, this time with his left foot. In the second half, the Dutch got lucky again. Sneijder's weak shot was deflected just about enough to beat the outstretched hands of Muslera and only 3 minutes later, the Uruguayan defence was caught out again, this time via a classy header from Robben. The match seemed to be over but deep into stoppage time, Maxi Pereira got one back for the Uruguayans to throw caution to the wind for the final minute of the game, but the Dutch held on and returned to the World Cup final after 32 years. Europe was now sure to win the tournament. :(
GER 0-1 ESP
After the thrashing of Argentina and the injustice over Paraguay, you'd have expected a different result. But a Mueller-less Germany looked hapless and out of shape. Spain were clearly the better team and played well for the first time in the tournament and got their 3rd consecutive 1-0 win of the tournament. Puyol scored the winner with a great header and thankfully we didn't have to see David Villa scramble the ball into the net for the winner.
There you have it. The most fucked up World Cup I've seen has now reached its climax. I'm pretty sure the 3rd place game (URU-GER) will be better than the final. I'll just see them out of habit and compulsion. I don't give a crap who becomes the 8th team to win the tournament. I'm not making any predictions this time.
The obligatory...
Final call for the week whatever the dates were...
Match Of The Week: Uruguay beating Ghana in the quarters. Drama of epic proportions.
Team Of The Week: Netherlands (for eliminating Brazil and scoring 3 goals in a match for once)
Player Of The Week: Wesley Sneijder (best player in both of Netherlands' games, will probably win Golden Ball)
Goalie Of The Week: Fernando Muslera (pulled off 2 saves in the shootout to push Uruguay into the semis)
Medio Of The Week: Wesley Sneijder
Striker Of The Week: Miroslav Klose (for his date with history) and Diego Forlan
Goal Of The Week: Gio van Bronckhorst vs Uruguay in the semi
Shock Of The Week: Them Nazi sons of bitches beating Argentina 4-0
Moment Of The Week: The last-minute drama in the Uruguay-Ghana quarterfinal! Best of the tournament.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Quarter-Freakin'-Finals.
The quarter-finals start today and I'm pretty excited. There are two decent matches and two absolute crackers (hopefully). And thankfully, the crackers are on at 7.30 while the other two are the late-night fixtures. :)
Anyway, a great thing about this year's quarters is that there are FOUR South American teams! And just three European! Which should provide for some attacking football, considering that the 3 Europeans are Germany, Spain and Netherlands. And let's not forget Ghana, still waving the African flag high in the sky. The matches themselves are interesting. Firstly we have a rematch of the 1998 semifinal, i.e., NED-BRA. That match went to penalties and there's every chance this match goes the distance too. We have last World Cup's quarter-final rematch, i.e., ARG-GER, and guess what, that also went to penalties. Then we have URU-GHA, which means that either we have ourselves a first African semi-finalist or we have Uruguay's return to former ways, with their first semifinal appearance in forty years. And finally, we have PAR-ESP, neither of whom has reached a semifinal before. (Spain finished 4th in 1950 but for that edition the final four played a round robin instead of semifinals/final)
So without further ado, predictions...
NED 1-2 BRA
Both are attacking teams that have played defensively in the tournament, but whereas the Dutch continued that in their win over Slovakia, Brazil turned up the style for a fair few minutes against Chile, so I'm tipping Brazil for this one.
URU 2-1 GHA
Luis Suarez has peaked just in time and even though Gyan has been scoring important goals throughout, Uruguay have certainly looked better than the Black Stars and should edge them out in this match.
ARG 2-1 GER
Argentina haven't been properly tested yet and they haven't been as good as Germany was against Australia and England but the Albiceleste have been more consistent than them Nazi fucks, and c'mon, the Gods have to let Argentina get revenge for 2006. They can't possibly lose to Germany on penalties again, can they? 1990, 2006... surely, third time's a charm right? Please?? And Messi'll get his first goal. Hopefully.
PAR 0-2 ESP
Simplest quarterfinal to call, though that doesn't mean Paraguay have no chance. Spain dominated Portugal and Paraguay had a tough time against Japan so they should lose to La Furia Roja. Though it's Spain, where in football, they live to choke.
So, should that happen, semi line-up...
URU vs BRA
ARG vs ESP
Good times!
Ok solidarity time... AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA!
Anyway, a great thing about this year's quarters is that there are FOUR South American teams! And just three European! Which should provide for some attacking football, considering that the 3 Europeans are Germany, Spain and Netherlands. And let's not forget Ghana, still waving the African flag high in the sky. The matches themselves are interesting. Firstly we have a rematch of the 1998 semifinal, i.e., NED-BRA. That match went to penalties and there's every chance this match goes the distance too. We have last World Cup's quarter-final rematch, i.e., ARG-GER, and guess what, that also went to penalties. Then we have URU-GHA, which means that either we have ourselves a first African semi-finalist or we have Uruguay's return to former ways, with their first semifinal appearance in forty years. And finally, we have PAR-ESP, neither of whom has reached a semifinal before. (Spain finished 4th in 1950 but for that edition the final four played a round robin instead of semifinals/final)
So without further ado, predictions...
NED 1-2 BRA
Both are attacking teams that have played defensively in the tournament, but whereas the Dutch continued that in their win over Slovakia, Brazil turned up the style for a fair few minutes against Chile, so I'm tipping Brazil for this one.
URU 2-1 GHA
Luis Suarez has peaked just in time and even though Gyan has been scoring important goals throughout, Uruguay have certainly looked better than the Black Stars and should edge them out in this match.
ARG 2-1 GER
Argentina haven't been properly tested yet and they haven't been as good as Germany was against Australia and England but the Albiceleste have been more consistent than them Nazi fucks, and c'mon, the Gods have to let Argentina get revenge for 2006. They can't possibly lose to Germany on penalties again, can they? 1990, 2006... surely, third time's a charm right? Please?? And Messi'll get his first goal. Hopefully.
PAR 0-2 ESP
Simplest quarterfinal to call, though that doesn't mean Paraguay have no chance. Spain dominated Portugal and Paraguay had a tough time against Japan so they should lose to La Furia Roja. Though it's Spain, where in football, they live to choke.
So, should that happen, semi line-up...
URU vs BRA
ARG vs ESP
Good times!
Ok solidarity time... AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Week (Three) That Was... Bittersweet Symphony.
The pre-quarters turned out to be brutally bittersweet... on the very first day, USA let go of its best chance to reach the semis since 1930 by losing to Ghana in extra time and the very next day, Argentina turned in another good performance to progress through to the quarterfinals. The American defeat was a very saddening affair and I was very gutted when Gyan scored the winner, but the tournament went on, and the following day, Carlos Tevez played the game of his life to knockout the Mexicans. There were glaring problems with both teams which I'm going to give my humble opinions about in a later post, but for the most part, the expected teams went through and there were no major upsets. USA-Ghana was always 50-50 and the only other 50-50 match (PAR-JPN) did go to penalties.
URU 2-1 KOR
This was a decent game to start off the round of 16. Luis Suarez scored both of Uruguay's goal (the second one being a sublime effort from the edge of the penalty area) to ensure that the better team did go through. Korea scored only when Uruguay decided to defend their 1-0 lead instead of attacking. Shows that South American teams just shouldn't play like Italy...
GHA 2-1 USA (a.e.t.) :( :(
USA were always on the backfoot in this match. Boateng (don't know why, but I hate the douchebag) scored as early as the 5th minute and it took a Donovan penalty for USA to equalize but then Gyan scored a decent goal in the 93rd minute which was enough. This was a tight affair and I suppose a win in extra-time is somewhat fair but USA had some glorious opportunities which they wasted with shameless abandon.
GER 4-1 ENG
Probably the game of the round. Germany started explosively, like in their game against Australia, and got 2 early goals courtesy strikers extraordinaire, Klose and Podolski. But England for once, responded positively, and Upson scored in the 32nd minute. And then Lampard scored again in the 37th... wait, no he didn't, because the douche of a linesman failed to notice that the ball had indeed bounced way over the line and he and the douche of a ref disallowed the goal. Which sucked bad, because that would have made it 2-2 and would have completely changed the game, and would have probably provided a much better 2nd half, instead of a one-sided German domination a la Thomas Mueller.
Ok, rant time. Now, I'm no English fan (not in the slightest, I like it whenever they lose) but what happened in this match is just disgraceful. English fans and players will always rue what might have been and the neutrals will always regret what a great match this might have been. Some Germans have gone on to say that this is the comeuppance that England deserved for the Geoff Hurst goal from 1966, but that's kinda bullshit. Firstly, that call was much closer than this one, and it's not that obvious a goal as Lampard's was. Secondly, that was 19-fucking-66! This is 2010! There was no other way to decide whether Hurst's goal was legit or not apart from an on-the-spot decision. Since then, man has landed on the moon, the cellphone has been invented, and a third-grader in Thailand can view satellite images of fucking Staples Center sitting at home, and FIFA won't pause a match for 5 minutes to take a look at a video to determine whether the right decision has been taken or not? A little bit of human error is required? At what cost? At what fucking cost, Sepp Blatter? It's not like football's the first game that's gonna try this. Cricket has had it since the early 90s and it's being used in tennis for the past couple of years. Sure, those aren't free-flowing games like football, but come on, it's not like a match is started instantaneously after a goal. Spending a few minutes watching a video to make the right call is gonna morally fuck up the beautiful game? The only good that will come out of this game is that now, FIFA has to fucking implement video technology for atleast the 2014 tournament if not all the major tournaments in between. And Sepp Blatter's been at the helm too long. He needs to go...
Ok back to the football...
ARG 3-1 MEX :D
This match had another controversial goal as Tevez was in an offside position when he received Messi's ball and eventually scored. But since I've already ranted, and well, Argentina benefited, I'm not that pissed about it. :P
But anyway, Argentina were dominating the match till that point and they deserved the goal and the win. Messi was a little subdued but Tevez was in top form and scored both goals, the second being one of the goals of the tournament. A weird decision of Maradona's was to substitute Tevez for Veron and the game immediately changed pace and allowed Mexico back in the game with a goal, but Argentina hung on for the easy win in the end.
NED 2-1 SVK
Netherlands dominated but not enough to be considered a serious contender. Vittek got a consolation penalty goal with the last touch of the game. Arjen Robben was impressive on his return.
BRA 3-0 CHL
Brazil dominated Chile and turned in a performance to finally show why they are the favorites. Damn.
PAR 0-0 JPN (Paraguay won 5-3 on pens.)
A tight game with neither team having enough to finish the job in the final third. Paraguay probably deserved the win on penalties but Keisuke Honda capped off a perfect World Cup with another Man Of The Match performance.
ESP 1-0 POR
Another potential 'game of the tournament' turned out to be a letdown. Admittedly, this wasn't as pathetic as the Brazil-Portugal match but it was nowhere near what it should have been. Spain dominated possession (61%) and attacked with way more finesse than Portugal. Villa scored the winner while Ronaldo and co. were stone cold in front of goal. Spain deserved it completely.
So there you have it. The World Cup is down to just 8 teams. And well, it is pretty much the cream of the crop. Except Uruguay, Ghana and Paraguay, all the other teams were pretty much expected to make it this far and in all honesty, I think most people thought that some African team would reach the quarters in this edition.
Ok, final call for the week 26th June - 1st July
Match Of The Week: Germany 4-1 England (One of the biggest referee fuck ups in WC history notwithstanding, this game had a tight first half and Germans playing sexy in the second)
Team Of The Week: Germany (returned to 4 goal form against England after their shock defeat to Serbia and unimpressive win over Ghana)
Player Of The Week: Thomas Mueller and Carlos Tevez (Neither was clearly better than the other and both scored 2 goals to spearhead their respective nations into the quarters)
Goalie Of The Week: Another tie. Richard Kingson (for withstanding wave after wave of American attacks) and Eduardo (for limiting Spain to just 1 goal). Actually no goalie really stood out, so shout outs for Sergio Romero and Manuel Neuer.
Medio Of The Week: Thomas Mueller/Mesut Ozil (both have been brilliant for Germany throughout)
Striker Of The Week: Luis Suarez (brace against Korea included a sublime strike)
Goal Of The Week: Luis Suarez's 2nd goal vs Korea/Carlos Tevez's 2nd goal vs Mexico
Shock Of The Week: England losing as badly as they did
Moment Of The Week: Refs ruling out Lampard's legit goal and setting England up for a German shellacking!
URU 2-1 KOR
This was a decent game to start off the round of 16. Luis Suarez scored both of Uruguay's goal (the second one being a sublime effort from the edge of the penalty area) to ensure that the better team did go through. Korea scored only when Uruguay decided to defend their 1-0 lead instead of attacking. Shows that South American teams just shouldn't play like Italy...
GHA 2-1 USA (a.e.t.) :( :(
USA were always on the backfoot in this match. Boateng (don't know why, but I hate the douchebag) scored as early as the 5th minute and it took a Donovan penalty for USA to equalize but then Gyan scored a decent goal in the 93rd minute which was enough. This was a tight affair and I suppose a win in extra-time is somewhat fair but USA had some glorious opportunities which they wasted with shameless abandon.
GER 4-1 ENG
Probably the game of the round. Germany started explosively, like in their game against Australia, and got 2 early goals courtesy strikers extraordinaire, Klose and Podolski. But England for once, responded positively, and Upson scored in the 32nd minute. And then Lampard scored again in the 37th... wait, no he didn't, because the douche of a linesman failed to notice that the ball had indeed bounced way over the line and he and the douche of a ref disallowed the goal. Which sucked bad, because that would have made it 2-2 and would have completely changed the game, and would have probably provided a much better 2nd half, instead of a one-sided German domination a la Thomas Mueller.
Ok, rant time. Now, I'm no English fan (not in the slightest, I like it whenever they lose) but what happened in this match is just disgraceful. English fans and players will always rue what might have been and the neutrals will always regret what a great match this might have been. Some Germans have gone on to say that this is the comeuppance that England deserved for the Geoff Hurst goal from 1966, but that's kinda bullshit. Firstly, that call was much closer than this one, and it's not that obvious a goal as Lampard's was. Secondly, that was 19-fucking-66! This is 2010! There was no other way to decide whether Hurst's goal was legit or not apart from an on-the-spot decision. Since then, man has landed on the moon, the cellphone has been invented, and a third-grader in Thailand can view satellite images of fucking Staples Center sitting at home, and FIFA won't pause a match for 5 minutes to take a look at a video to determine whether the right decision has been taken or not? A little bit of human error is required? At what cost? At what fucking cost, Sepp Blatter? It's not like football's the first game that's gonna try this. Cricket has had it since the early 90s and it's being used in tennis for the past couple of years. Sure, those aren't free-flowing games like football, but come on, it's not like a match is started instantaneously after a goal. Spending a few minutes watching a video to make the right call is gonna morally fuck up the beautiful game? The only good that will come out of this game is that now, FIFA has to fucking implement video technology for atleast the 2014 tournament if not all the major tournaments in between. And Sepp Blatter's been at the helm too long. He needs to go...
Ok back to the football...
ARG 3-1 MEX :D
This match had another controversial goal as Tevez was in an offside position when he received Messi's ball and eventually scored. But since I've already ranted, and well, Argentina benefited, I'm not that pissed about it. :P
But anyway, Argentina were dominating the match till that point and they deserved the goal and the win. Messi was a little subdued but Tevez was in top form and scored both goals, the second being one of the goals of the tournament. A weird decision of Maradona's was to substitute Tevez for Veron and the game immediately changed pace and allowed Mexico back in the game with a goal, but Argentina hung on for the easy win in the end.
NED 2-1 SVK
Netherlands dominated but not enough to be considered a serious contender. Vittek got a consolation penalty goal with the last touch of the game. Arjen Robben was impressive on his return.
BRA 3-0 CHL
Brazil dominated Chile and turned in a performance to finally show why they are the favorites. Damn.
PAR 0-0 JPN (Paraguay won 5-3 on pens.)
A tight game with neither team having enough to finish the job in the final third. Paraguay probably deserved the win on penalties but Keisuke Honda capped off a perfect World Cup with another Man Of The Match performance.
ESP 1-0 POR
Another potential 'game of the tournament' turned out to be a letdown. Admittedly, this wasn't as pathetic as the Brazil-Portugal match but it was nowhere near what it should have been. Spain dominated possession (61%) and attacked with way more finesse than Portugal. Villa scored the winner while Ronaldo and co. were stone cold in front of goal. Spain deserved it completely.
So there you have it. The World Cup is down to just 8 teams. And well, it is pretty much the cream of the crop. Except Uruguay, Ghana and Paraguay, all the other teams were pretty much expected to make it this far and in all honesty, I think most people thought that some African team would reach the quarters in this edition.
Ok, final call for the week 26th June - 1st July
Match Of The Week: Germany 4-1 England (One of the biggest referee fuck ups in WC history notwithstanding, this game had a tight first half and Germans playing sexy in the second)
Team Of The Week: Germany (returned to 4 goal form against England after their shock defeat to Serbia and unimpressive win over Ghana)
Player Of The Week: Thomas Mueller and Carlos Tevez (Neither was clearly better than the other and both scored 2 goals to spearhead their respective nations into the quarters)
Goalie Of The Week: Another tie. Richard Kingson (for withstanding wave after wave of American attacks) and Eduardo (for limiting Spain to just 1 goal). Actually no goalie really stood out, so shout outs for Sergio Romero and Manuel Neuer.
Medio Of The Week: Thomas Mueller/Mesut Ozil (both have been brilliant for Germany throughout)
Striker Of The Week: Luis Suarez (brace against Korea included a sublime strike)
Goal Of The Week: Luis Suarez's 2nd goal vs Korea/Carlos Tevez's 2nd goal vs Mexico
Shock Of The Week: England losing as badly as they did
Moment Of The Week: Refs ruling out Lampard's legit goal and setting England up for a German shellacking!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Predicting The Pre-Quarters.
After 2 weeks of football, South Africa is finally set for the knockout stages. 32 teams are down to 16 and things should get very exciting here on in. As far as my original prediction went, 11 out of the 16 teams made it through. The five that didn't make it are... Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Italy and Switzerland. Yeah, I was really betting on Africa but those teams failed to turn up and I thought Italy being eliminated was too good to be true, but guess not! Some of the fixtures for this round are really eye-catching, not least, Spain vs Portugal, which unlike the Brazil-Portugal match, should be exciting, since only one of these teams can progress. Germany-England is another match with a great deal of history behind it and either team has been fairly equally inconsistent in this tournament, though England haven't played anywhere close to how Germany played against Australia. Argentina-Mexico is a repeat of the last World Cup when Maxi Rodriguez scored that wondergoal winner in extra-time. Here are my predictions...
URU 1-0 KOR
Uruguay have been solid defensively, not conceding a single goal in the group stages. Diego Forlan is in great form and Luis Suarez came good against Mexico so attacking-wise, La Celeste definitely have the edge. Korea on the other hand haven't really been solid at the back, leaking goals against Argentina and Nigeria. Uruguay to go through...
USA 2-1 GHA
Should be a good game. USA have been very positive through the group games and they never give up. Both Slovenia and Algeria were subject to wave upon wave of American attacks. Ghana have been lacklustre and are lucky to have qualified, having yet to score a goal from open play. Without Essien, Muntari and Appiah, they're definitely not the side that beat USA in 2006. Hopefully Donovan & co. will come through.
GER 1-0 ENG
Honestly, I don't expect much from this game. I'm hoping it'll be great but I can't see England playing like Argentina/Spain/Portugal and I can't see Germany turning in a performance similar to the one in their opening match. England have been solid defensively, conceding only due to the Green fuck-up but going forward, they've looked dreadful. Germany on the other hand have been fairly decent at both ends.
ARG 2-1 MEX
A re-run of 2006. Though I don't expect this to go to extra-time. This Mexico side is I think slightly weaker than the previous one and Argentina are much better in the midfield. I just hope Messi gets on the scoresheet. He so deserves it...
NED 2-0 SVK
Shouldn't be much of an exciting game. All of Oranje's games have been pretty boring and they look like a shell of the side that rampaged the Group of Death in Euro '08. Arjen Robben's back though so that should provide the impetus to score 2 goals against a Slovak side that aren't as desperate to reach the next round as the Dutch.
BRA 3-1 CHL
A repeat of the 1998 Round of 16 match when Brazil won 4-1. This match should be closer since this is a weaker Brazilian team and a stronger Chilean team.
PAR 2-1 JPN
Could go either way, but Paraguay have been slightly better than Japan.
ESP 3-2 POR
Should be the match of the round, if not the tournament. I'm hoping that unlike the hyped Group G match, this one between the 2 most attacking teams in Europe, lives up to the billing. Spain have finally come good (a dull 2nd half vs Chile notwithstanding) and Portugal won't be as cautious as they were against Brazil. Hopefully.
So there, if things go according to kilter, the quarterfinal line-up should look thus...
URU-USA (w00t!!)
NED-BRA
ARG-GER (2006 rematch!)
PAR-ESP
This should be fun!
URU 1-0 KOR
Uruguay have been solid defensively, not conceding a single goal in the group stages. Diego Forlan is in great form and Luis Suarez came good against Mexico so attacking-wise, La Celeste definitely have the edge. Korea on the other hand haven't really been solid at the back, leaking goals against Argentina and Nigeria. Uruguay to go through...
USA 2-1 GHA
Should be a good game. USA have been very positive through the group games and they never give up. Both Slovenia and Algeria were subject to wave upon wave of American attacks. Ghana have been lacklustre and are lucky to have qualified, having yet to score a goal from open play. Without Essien, Muntari and Appiah, they're definitely not the side that beat USA in 2006. Hopefully Donovan & co. will come through.
GER 1-0 ENG
Honestly, I don't expect much from this game. I'm hoping it'll be great but I can't see England playing like Argentina/Spain/Portugal and I can't see Germany turning in a performance similar to the one in their opening match. England have been solid defensively, conceding only due to the Green fuck-up but going forward, they've looked dreadful. Germany on the other hand have been fairly decent at both ends.
ARG 2-1 MEX
A re-run of 2006. Though I don't expect this to go to extra-time. This Mexico side is I think slightly weaker than the previous one and Argentina are much better in the midfield. I just hope Messi gets on the scoresheet. He so deserves it...
NED 2-0 SVK
Shouldn't be much of an exciting game. All of Oranje's games have been pretty boring and they look like a shell of the side that rampaged the Group of Death in Euro '08. Arjen Robben's back though so that should provide the impetus to score 2 goals against a Slovak side that aren't as desperate to reach the next round as the Dutch.
BRA 3-1 CHL
A repeat of the 1998 Round of 16 match when Brazil won 4-1. This match should be closer since this is a weaker Brazilian team and a stronger Chilean team.
PAR 2-1 JPN
Could go either way, but Paraguay have been slightly better than Japan.
ESP 3-2 POR
Should be the match of the round, if not the tournament. I'm hoping that unlike the hyped Group G match, this one between the 2 most attacking teams in Europe, lives up to the billing. Spain have finally come good (a dull 2nd half vs Chile notwithstanding) and Portugal won't be as cautious as they were against Brazil. Hopefully.
So there, if things go according to kilter, the quarterfinal line-up should look thus...
URU-USA (w00t!!)
NED-BRA
ARG-GER (2006 rematch!)
PAR-ESP
This should be fun!
The Week (Two) That Was... Oh Yes!!
The World Cup finally turned up and teams apart from Argentina finally got going. Where as week 1 saw a paltry 38 goals in 22 matches for a pathetic goal rate of 1.73 per game, the past week saw 63 goals in 26 games for a much more respectable 2.4 goals per game. The groups were finally decided and after starting off cagily to avoid defeat, the teams went for goals to secure their spot in the knockout stages. Argentina finished off their impressive run with a perfect 9 points and Messi turned in another great performance, while Landon Donovan proved to be the American hero yet again, not only helping the US qualify, but top the group and consign England to a very tough draw. The week capped off a near-perfect start to the World Cup for Sudamerica, as all but Chile topped their groups, with the latter finishing 2nd to Spain in Group H. For Africa, the week capped off a very disappointing campaign, with only Ghana making the next round. As for Europe, some big teams that screwed up in the previous round (England, Germany, Spain) made it through, Netherlands won all their games, and Portugal dazzled the North Koreans. On a personal note, it was the perfect week. My two favorite teams topped their respective groups in style, and my two most hated got fucked to the core!!
Group A
URU 1-0 MEX
A very entertaining first half saw Uruguay take the lead and a more sedate second half saw them successfully defend wave after wave of Mexican attacks. Both these teams qualify.
RSA 2-1 FRA
Oh yes! Karma completes its fucking up of Les Bleargh for the latter's screwing Ireland out of the World Cup! That's what you get you rooster-sucking, blue-blistering sons of bitches! On a sadder note, South Africa becomes 1st host nation to be eliminated at the first hurdle. :(
Group B
ARG 2-0 GRE
If it hadn't been for Greek goalie Tzorvas, Argentina could have easily beaten Hungary's 10-1 record of 1982. Greeks were very solid defensively, but Argentina completely dominated the midfield and their passing was very good considering it was a second string side. Messi dazzled again and had a part in both goals. Story of the game? Martin Palermo capping off his return from obscurity by scoring in the 89th minute!
NGA 2-2 KOR
A decently entertaining match, though Nigeria have only themselves to blame. Yakubu wasted a sitter and in the end, failure to score one goal sealed Nigeria's fate. Korea Republic become 2nd Asians to qualify from Group Stages on non-Asian soil (after North Korea in 1966)
Group C
SVN 2-2 USA
The ultimate game of 2 halves. I had to try hard not to vomit all over my bed after seeing the Americans at their sloppiest. Passing waywardly, shooting into the stands, losing possession... Slovenia deserved the 2 goals, but then... what a comeback! Donovan as always stirred the Americans to a great showing in the 2nd half and if it wasn't for that black Malian son of a bitch Coulibaly's canceling of Maurice Edu's legit winner, USA would have got all 3 points. Ah well...
ENG 0-0 ALG
A very dour, defensive game. I didn't even watch the highlights of this one after reading about it...
ENG 1-0 SVN
A slightly better performance from England. They dominated the game but only 1 goal to show for it means they really have to step up the attack. Defoe proved much more efficient than Heskey but Rooney's poor form continued. Thankfully, Slovenia got eliminated and I hopefully never have to see their uber-spastic goal celebrations again.
USA 1-0 ALG
One of the most exciting 1-0 games I've ever seen. The referees were again intent on screwing the Americans out of the Cup after the linesman ruled out another legit goal, this time from Dempsey. The Algerians played well in the first half (Djebbour hit the bar) but the 2nd half was completely dominated by USA. With only injury time left, it looked like USA would be out, but then, cometh the hour, cometh the man, Landon Donovan turned up to slot home the loose ball in front of goal after Dempsey's shot had been saved, to ensure that Old Glory would be gallantly streaming for another night!
That goal by the way, not only ensured US qualification, it helped them top the group! Meaning that with 1 goal, Landon Donovan gave the Americans a very decent draw and consigned England to Germany & Argentina! :D :D
Group D
GER 0-1 SRB
Serbia followed in Switzerland's footsteps by shocking another 'world power', though unlike the Swiss, the Serbs did actually play well. German strikeforce disappointed. Klose was unjustly sent off and Podolski missed a penalty.
GHA 1-1 AUS
Australia were the better side in this game but a controversial red-card for Kewell and the ensuing penalty helped Ghana take one step into the round of 16.
GER 1-0 GHA
Germany flattered to deceive again, turning in another sub-standard performance, except for one moment of magic from wunderkind Mesut Ozil, who's brilliant goal ensured Germany topped the group.
AUS 2-1 SRB
A game dominated by the Serbs but won by the Ozzies, thus ensuring Ghana go through.
Group E
NED 1-0 JPN
Netherlands haven't been up to par in this cup. Against Japan, they turned in another shaky performance and scored only through a goalkeeping error. Japan played very well and were unlucky not to get a point.
CMR 1-2 DEN
A surprisingly entertaining game. Paul Le Guen finally reverted to what should have been the starting 11 for Cameroon's 1st game, but lady luck would go to screw the Indomitable Lions from the cup. Cameroon had the lion's share of the chances, but Denmark were better at converting the few that they had. Cameroon thus became the 1st team to be eliminated from the tournament. :(
NED 2-1 CMR
Nothing special about this one except for the 2 Dutch goals which were very well worked. First glimpse of Arjen Robben at South Africa.
DEN 1-3 JPN
To everyone's surprise, Japan completely dominated the Danes, and Keisuke Honda and Endo both curled in free-kicks, doing to the Jabulani what the likes of Messi and Ronaldo have so far failed to do. Japan emulate the Koreans and become the 3rd Asians to do what they did.
Group F
PAR 2-0 SVK
The draw against the Kiwis seemed to have crushed the Slovak spirit as Paraguay completely dominated this game. Slovaks were happy to sit back and defend, even when they were a goal down.
ITA 1-1 NZL
A major shock. Italy were very unimpressive again and failed to score from open play, Iaquinta's penalty being their saving grace. Historic result for the All Whites.
PAR 0-0 NZL
Paraguay dominated the match again but having been pretty much assured qualification, lacked the killer instinct. New Zealand couldn't do much either but exited the World Cup unbeaten.
SVK 3-2 ITA
Who'd a thunk it?! Who'd have thought that Slovakia and Italy would produce one of the games of the tournament?! A completely changed team, Slovakia took the game to the Italians, knowing that only a win would get them through, and boy, did they succeed. Italy were caught napping again and after Robert Vittek scored a brace, the match got very exciting. Italy came back to make it 2-1 but then Kopunek with his first touch of the game, lobbed Marchetti from a throw-in and ensured a Slovak win. Quagliarella made it interesting again with an intelligent goal in injury time, but it was too little too late, and the Fighting Jondas had eliminated the world champions!! Yes! :D
Group G
BRA 3-1 CIV
The match wasn't as exciting as the result suggests. The goals from Brazil were pretty scrappy (save the third one) and Cote D'Ivoire were reminiscent of the Cameroonians of 1990 when they were hell bent on injuring Claudio Caniggia. Some histrionics from Abdel Kader Kaita towards the end of the game got Kaka unjustly sent off and ensured he miss the Portugal game.
POR 7-0 PRK
What a game! Another game of the week contender with Svk-Ita. A pseudo-interesting first half which saw Portugal take a 1-0 lead turned into an all-out goal fest which saw Ronaldo score his first international goal in 16 months! The Portuguese passing and movement off the ball were just joys to watch! :)
BRA 0-0 POR
Much ado about nothing. Ensured qualification, Brazil decided to rest their main team and the fans were witness to probably, the most boring match of the cup. Pathetic stuff.
CIV 3-0 PRK
Cote D'Ivoire were never gonna get the 9 goals they needed, but atleast they tried, dominating a North Korean team clearly just content after holding Brazil to only 2-1 in the first round.
GROUP H
ESP 2-0 HON
Spain bounced back after their shock defeat with another dominating performance only this time with goals to show for it. David Villa scored one of the best solo goals of the tournament but missed a hat-trick when he blazed his penalty wide. Honduras all but eliminated.
CHL 1-0 SUI
Didn't really see this match... Chile were the better team so I guess the win's deserved.
ESP 2-1 CHL
Villa scored a great goal again and Spain dominated the first half. Chile got a freak goal in a very dull second half and both teams were through.
SUI 0-0 HON
Another dull performance. Swiss failed to convert opportunities and were made to pay for it.
Final call for the week 18th - 25th June...
Match Of The Week: Tied - Slovakia 3-2 Italy and Portugal 7-0 North Korea
Team Of The Week: Portugal (for a 7-goal masterclass and for finishing the group stages with a perfect defensive record)
Player Of The Week: Cristiano Ronaldo (ended his goal drought and was the lynchpin of the Portuguese side)
Goalie Of The Week: A. Tzorvas (one man army in front of a blazing Argentine attack)
Medio Of The Week: Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Of The Week: David Villa (3 goals in his last 2 games... and 2 of them were scorchers)
Goal Of The Week: David Villa's 1st goal against Honduras
Shock Of The Week: Italy eliminated at the group stages after drawing New Zealand and losing to Slovakia!
Moment Of The Week: Landon Donovan's last gasp goal that sent USA top of the group and now gives them a golden chance of making the semis!
Group A
URU 1-0 MEX
A very entertaining first half saw Uruguay take the lead and a more sedate second half saw them successfully defend wave after wave of Mexican attacks. Both these teams qualify.
RSA 2-1 FRA
Oh yes! Karma completes its fucking up of Les Bleargh for the latter's screwing Ireland out of the World Cup! That's what you get you rooster-sucking, blue-blistering sons of bitches! On a sadder note, South Africa becomes 1st host nation to be eliminated at the first hurdle. :(
Group B
ARG 2-0 GRE
If it hadn't been for Greek goalie Tzorvas, Argentina could have easily beaten Hungary's 10-1 record of 1982. Greeks were very solid defensively, but Argentina completely dominated the midfield and their passing was very good considering it was a second string side. Messi dazzled again and had a part in both goals. Story of the game? Martin Palermo capping off his return from obscurity by scoring in the 89th minute!
NGA 2-2 KOR
A decently entertaining match, though Nigeria have only themselves to blame. Yakubu wasted a sitter and in the end, failure to score one goal sealed Nigeria's fate. Korea Republic become 2nd Asians to qualify from Group Stages on non-Asian soil (after North Korea in 1966)
Group C
SVN 2-2 USA
The ultimate game of 2 halves. I had to try hard not to vomit all over my bed after seeing the Americans at their sloppiest. Passing waywardly, shooting into the stands, losing possession... Slovenia deserved the 2 goals, but then... what a comeback! Donovan as always stirred the Americans to a great showing in the 2nd half and if it wasn't for that black Malian son of a bitch Coulibaly's canceling of Maurice Edu's legit winner, USA would have got all 3 points. Ah well...
ENG 0-0 ALG
A very dour, defensive game. I didn't even watch the highlights of this one after reading about it...
ENG 1-0 SVN
A slightly better performance from England. They dominated the game but only 1 goal to show for it means they really have to step up the attack. Defoe proved much more efficient than Heskey but Rooney's poor form continued. Thankfully, Slovenia got eliminated and I hopefully never have to see their uber-spastic goal celebrations again.
USA 1-0 ALG
One of the most exciting 1-0 games I've ever seen. The referees were again intent on screwing the Americans out of the Cup after the linesman ruled out another legit goal, this time from Dempsey. The Algerians played well in the first half (Djebbour hit the bar) but the 2nd half was completely dominated by USA. With only injury time left, it looked like USA would be out, but then, cometh the hour, cometh the man, Landon Donovan turned up to slot home the loose ball in front of goal after Dempsey's shot had been saved, to ensure that Old Glory would be gallantly streaming for another night!
That goal by the way, not only ensured US qualification, it helped them top the group! Meaning that with 1 goal, Landon Donovan gave the Americans a very decent draw and consigned England to Germany & Argentina! :D :D
Group D
GER 0-1 SRB
Serbia followed in Switzerland's footsteps by shocking another 'world power', though unlike the Swiss, the Serbs did actually play well. German strikeforce disappointed. Klose was unjustly sent off and Podolski missed a penalty.
GHA 1-1 AUS
Australia were the better side in this game but a controversial red-card for Kewell and the ensuing penalty helped Ghana take one step into the round of 16.
GER 1-0 GHA
Germany flattered to deceive again, turning in another sub-standard performance, except for one moment of magic from wunderkind Mesut Ozil, who's brilliant goal ensured Germany topped the group.
AUS 2-1 SRB
A game dominated by the Serbs but won by the Ozzies, thus ensuring Ghana go through.
Group E
NED 1-0 JPN
Netherlands haven't been up to par in this cup. Against Japan, they turned in another shaky performance and scored only through a goalkeeping error. Japan played very well and were unlucky not to get a point.
CMR 1-2 DEN
A surprisingly entertaining game. Paul Le Guen finally reverted to what should have been the starting 11 for Cameroon's 1st game, but lady luck would go to screw the Indomitable Lions from the cup. Cameroon had the lion's share of the chances, but Denmark were better at converting the few that they had. Cameroon thus became the 1st team to be eliminated from the tournament. :(
NED 2-1 CMR
Nothing special about this one except for the 2 Dutch goals which were very well worked. First glimpse of Arjen Robben at South Africa.
DEN 1-3 JPN
To everyone's surprise, Japan completely dominated the Danes, and Keisuke Honda and Endo both curled in free-kicks, doing to the Jabulani what the likes of Messi and Ronaldo have so far failed to do. Japan emulate the Koreans and become the 3rd Asians to do what they did.
Group F
PAR 2-0 SVK
The draw against the Kiwis seemed to have crushed the Slovak spirit as Paraguay completely dominated this game. Slovaks were happy to sit back and defend, even when they were a goal down.
ITA 1-1 NZL
A major shock. Italy were very unimpressive again and failed to score from open play, Iaquinta's penalty being their saving grace. Historic result for the All Whites.
PAR 0-0 NZL
Paraguay dominated the match again but having been pretty much assured qualification, lacked the killer instinct. New Zealand couldn't do much either but exited the World Cup unbeaten.
SVK 3-2 ITA
Who'd a thunk it?! Who'd have thought that Slovakia and Italy would produce one of the games of the tournament?! A completely changed team, Slovakia took the game to the Italians, knowing that only a win would get them through, and boy, did they succeed. Italy were caught napping again and after Robert Vittek scored a brace, the match got very exciting. Italy came back to make it 2-1 but then Kopunek with his first touch of the game, lobbed Marchetti from a throw-in and ensured a Slovak win. Quagliarella made it interesting again with an intelligent goal in injury time, but it was too little too late, and the Fighting Jondas had eliminated the world champions!! Yes! :D
Group G
BRA 3-1 CIV
The match wasn't as exciting as the result suggests. The goals from Brazil were pretty scrappy (save the third one) and Cote D'Ivoire were reminiscent of the Cameroonians of 1990 when they were hell bent on injuring Claudio Caniggia. Some histrionics from Abdel Kader Kaita towards the end of the game got Kaka unjustly sent off and ensured he miss the Portugal game.
POR 7-0 PRK
What a game! Another game of the week contender with Svk-Ita. A pseudo-interesting first half which saw Portugal take a 1-0 lead turned into an all-out goal fest which saw Ronaldo score his first international goal in 16 months! The Portuguese passing and movement off the ball were just joys to watch! :)
BRA 0-0 POR
Much ado about nothing. Ensured qualification, Brazil decided to rest their main team and the fans were witness to probably, the most boring match of the cup. Pathetic stuff.
CIV 3-0 PRK
Cote D'Ivoire were never gonna get the 9 goals they needed, but atleast they tried, dominating a North Korean team clearly just content after holding Brazil to only 2-1 in the first round.
GROUP H
ESP 2-0 HON
Spain bounced back after their shock defeat with another dominating performance only this time with goals to show for it. David Villa scored one of the best solo goals of the tournament but missed a hat-trick when he blazed his penalty wide. Honduras all but eliminated.
CHL 1-0 SUI
Didn't really see this match... Chile were the better team so I guess the win's deserved.
ESP 2-1 CHL
Villa scored a great goal again and Spain dominated the first half. Chile got a freak goal in a very dull second half and both teams were through.
SUI 0-0 HON
Another dull performance. Swiss failed to convert opportunities and were made to pay for it.
Final call for the week 18th - 25th June...
Match Of The Week: Tied - Slovakia 3-2 Italy and Portugal 7-0 North Korea
Team Of The Week: Portugal (for a 7-goal masterclass and for finishing the group stages with a perfect defensive record)
Player Of The Week: Cristiano Ronaldo (ended his goal drought and was the lynchpin of the Portuguese side)
Goalie Of The Week: A. Tzorvas (one man army in front of a blazing Argentine attack)
Medio Of The Week: Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Of The Week: David Villa (3 goals in his last 2 games... and 2 of them were scorchers)
Goal Of The Week: David Villa's 1st goal against Honduras
Shock Of The Week: Italy eliminated at the group stages after drawing New Zealand and losing to Slovakia!
Moment Of The Week: Landon Donovan's last gasp goal that sent USA top of the group and now gives them a golden chance of making the semis!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The Week That Will Be... Hopefully.
Hopefully, the second week of the World Cup will be an improvement over the dreadful first. At first sight, it seemed to be. The USA-SVN game was quite entertaining but the ENG-ALG match following was another boring goal-less affair. I didn't expect much from the Groups D, E and F to begin with but even they have disappointed and they're continuing to. The GER-SRB match was ok, the NED-JPN and AUS-GHA matches were again nothing worth talking about. I'm hoping for a better second week but I'm not holding out for any greatness...
June 19
CMR 1-1 DEN
Both teams played poorly in the first game. I'm guessing a dull draw.
June 20
PAR 2-1 SVK
Paraguay were far better than Slovakia in the first round and if Slovakia couldn't find 2 goals against New Zealand, they probably won't against the Albirrojas
ITA 2-0 NZL
Italy look lacklustre but they should have enough firepower to do away with a very unimpressive Kiwi side
BRA 2-1 CIV
Brazil tend to get better as the tournament progresses so they shouldn't succumb to a draw like the Portuguese did. Though I wouldn't be totally shocked if CIV pull out a win.
June 21
POR 2-1 PRK
I expect a similar game to Brazil's.
CHL 1-1 SUI
Sitting on the fence for this. Chile were brilliant against a mediocre team, Switzerland were just about ok against a favorite so...
ESP 3-0 HON
I expect Spain to come out strong after their shock defeat. Honduras were unimpressive too. Plus, if Spain lose to Honduras (or even draw for that matter), there's a high probability that a Spaniard will join the ranks of Andres Escobar.
Double games!
June 22
MEX 2-2 URU / RSA 2-0 FRA
Something will happen that will make RSA go through. The host tradition will live on. And Karma will bite France in the behind for fucking the Irish up the ass. Well, if my predictions come true, RSA won't in fact go through but I don't know, something's gotta give, right?
NGA 1-1 KOR / ARG 3-0 GRE
Had a similar feeling about Nigeria too but then they're not hosts and they have been too poor and Korea too strong. Don't see Nigeria winning, don't see Greece not getting hammered by Argentina.
June 23
SVN 0-2 ENG / USA 2-0 ALG
The ENG-ALG draw was good for the group because this means that both ENG and SVN can't go through via a dull draw and that they must attack. Great news for the Americans ofcourse. They'll win against Algeria, the hiccup against Slovenia notwithstanding.
GHA 0-1 GER / AUS 1-1 SRB
GER were brilliant in the 1st game, lacklustre in the 2nd. Should have enough to beat a GHA team duller than 2006. AUS and SRB should be an average stalemate. Thus, GER and GHA to go through.
June 24
DEN 1-1 JPN / NED 1-0 CAM
Boring group. Very. Netherlands and some team, I don't give a fuck about will go through.
ITA 2-0 SVK / PAR 2-0 NZL
Another straightforward and boring group. Goal difference will probably come in to decide who wins the group.
June 25
BRA 3-2 POR / CIV 2-1 PRK
PLEASE let BRA-POR be the game of the group stages?? I don't support either, but PLEASE. Oh, and the other game should be good too.
CHL 0-1 ESP / SUI 1-0 HON
These are the likely results but, holy fuck, if this happens then it's Brazil-Spain in the round of 16! :D
Well that's what I'm hoping will happen this week. See you before the round of 16 kicks off!
June 19
CMR 1-1 DEN
Both teams played poorly in the first game. I'm guessing a dull draw.
June 20
PAR 2-1 SVK
Paraguay were far better than Slovakia in the first round and if Slovakia couldn't find 2 goals against New Zealand, they probably won't against the Albirrojas
ITA 2-0 NZL
Italy look lacklustre but they should have enough firepower to do away with a very unimpressive Kiwi side
BRA 2-1 CIV
Brazil tend to get better as the tournament progresses so they shouldn't succumb to a draw like the Portuguese did. Though I wouldn't be totally shocked if CIV pull out a win.
June 21
POR 2-1 PRK
I expect a similar game to Brazil's.
CHL 1-1 SUI
Sitting on the fence for this. Chile were brilliant against a mediocre team, Switzerland were just about ok against a favorite so...
ESP 3-0 HON
I expect Spain to come out strong after their shock defeat. Honduras were unimpressive too. Plus, if Spain lose to Honduras (or even draw for that matter), there's a high probability that a Spaniard will join the ranks of Andres Escobar.
Double games!
June 22
MEX 2-2 URU / RSA 2-0 FRA
Something will happen that will make RSA go through. The host tradition will live on. And Karma will bite France in the behind for fucking the Irish up the ass. Well, if my predictions come true, RSA won't in fact go through but I don't know, something's gotta give, right?
NGA 1-1 KOR / ARG 3-0 GRE
Had a similar feeling about Nigeria too but then they're not hosts and they have been too poor and Korea too strong. Don't see Nigeria winning, don't see Greece not getting hammered by Argentina.
June 23
SVN 0-2 ENG / USA 2-0 ALG
The ENG-ALG draw was good for the group because this means that both ENG and SVN can't go through via a dull draw and that they must attack. Great news for the Americans ofcourse. They'll win against Algeria, the hiccup against Slovenia notwithstanding.
GHA 0-1 GER / AUS 1-1 SRB
GER were brilliant in the 1st game, lacklustre in the 2nd. Should have enough to beat a GHA team duller than 2006. AUS and SRB should be an average stalemate. Thus, GER and GHA to go through.
June 24
DEN 1-1 JPN / NED 1-0 CAM
Boring group. Very. Netherlands and some team, I don't give a fuck about will go through.
ITA 2-0 SVK / PAR 2-0 NZL
Another straightforward and boring group. Goal difference will probably come in to decide who wins the group.
June 25
BRA 3-2 POR / CIV 2-1 PRK
PLEASE let BRA-POR be the game of the group stages?? I don't support either, but PLEASE. Oh, and the other game should be good too.
CHL 0-1 ESP / SUI 1-0 HON
These are the likely results but, holy fuck, if this happens then it's Brazil-Spain in the round of 16! :D
Well that's what I'm hoping will happen this week. See you before the round of 16 kicks off!
The Week (One) That Was... Damn.
The first week of the World Cup is over and boy was it such a letdown. There was a serious lack of goals, a lot of sloppy midfield play and many so-called favorites not really turning up. On the plus side, Argentina look to be the best team in the tournament right now, but to put matters in perspective of how fucked up this cup has been, the current goal count is 43 in 22 matches, the 1990 World Cup in Italy which ended up with the worst goals per game average of all time (2.21 per game), had 51 goals after 22 matches. So unless things take a drastic turn for the better, we may have ourselves the most dull, defensive world cup ever.
Group A
RSA 1-1 MEX
Went down almost exactly like I expected it would. First half was very sloppy, but second half was oodles of fun especially when Tshabalala scored a great goal. I was pulling for the Africans but Marquez banged out the equalizer in the end. Fair result I suppose.
URU 0-0 FRA
I was half expecting this. Sucky hasbeen European team playing a sub-standard South American team. I regret staying up for this match.
RSA 0-3 URU
Must say I wasnt expecting this. Hosts generally dont fuck up this bad. I didnt see the match but highlights showed URU deserved the win. Khune shouldn't have been sent off I think.
FRA 0-2 MEX
That's what you get you lousy good for nothing boring blue bastards. I'm so glad Mexico won and couldn't be bothered my prediction was wrong.
Group B
ARG 1-0 NGA
Bit disappointed with ARG, specially Messi's finishing, but ARG did dominate NGA and it was fun to watch. Enyeama was brilliant in goal.
KOR 2-0 GRE
I was surprised that Korea were so good and Greece so bad. Was expecting a dull draw but Korea dominated throughout
ARG 4-1 KOR
Hell yes! The Albiceleste finally arrived in style! Apart from a Demichelis fuck up which led to the Korean goal and some nervy moments in the 2nd half, Argentina dominated throughout and Higuain scored the 1st World Cup hat-trick since Pauleta's one against Poland way back in 2002. Great game.
GRE 2-1 NGA
It was shocking how different Greece was. From being dominated by Korea, to dominating the Nigerians. Enyeama was great again and if Nigeria advance, he might just get the Yashin Award. Sad for the Nigerians.
Group C
ENG 1-1 USA
A lame match considering the fact it could have been so much better. A lot of wasted opportunities from both teams. I'm just glad USA didn't lose.
SVN 1-0 ALG
A VERY dull game. It was just really really boring.
Group D
GER 4-0 AUS
This was the first great good game of the cup even though it was overly one-sided. I want the Germans to fuck up but must admit they were very good in this game.
SRB 1-1 GHA
A dull match which I didn't bother watching. Bleh.
Group E
NED 2-0 DEN
Gosh, the boring matches didn't stop. Even Holland who entertained in Euro '08 were so dull and dreary. The goals, an own goal, and a very scrappy one, bear testament.
JPN 1-0 CMR
Didn't watch this either. Couldn't take another boring dull game after the previous one. Though Cameroon were unlucky in the end not to get a point. (Saw highlights. :))
Group F
SVK 1-1 NZL
ANOTHER boring game. Made exciting because NZL stole a point with the last touch of the game.
ITA 1-1 PAR
Didn't watch after what happened in the previous game. Got pissed when I learnt that De Rossi equalized...but Italy continue like this they'll get fucked before they can say Arrivaderci
Group G
POR 0-0 CIV
Damn what have the football fans done to deserve this? I predicted a 5-goal thriller (justified!) but a goalless draw from these two?? I mean, what the FUCK?!
BRA 2-1 PRK
Decent match. High point being Maicon's mercurial goal. Without doubt one of the 50 greatest goals EVER. Fun to see North Korea get their first WC goal in 44 years. Funner to see that Brazil are not playing as good as Argentina. :)
Group H
ESP 0-1 SUI
Shock of the first week. Switzerland certainly didn't deserve the win but Benaglio was brilliant and the Spain front line was disappointing. Again, I'm glad because another favorite fucked up.
CHL 1-0 HON
Surprisingly one-sided. Expected Honduras to put up a much better fight. Chile got lucky with the goal, but deserved the win.
So there you have it. The first week of the World Cup saw some of the most boring, dull matches I've ever seen in the contest. I really hope things take a turn for the better and we get atleast a respectable goal-rate. Like above 2? Is that asking for a lot? Sheesh...
Final call for the week 11th - 17th June...
Match Of The Week : Argentina 4-1 Korea Republic (slightly better than the Germany-Australia game)
Team Of The Week : Argentina (for 2 great wins and for becoming the 1st team to qualify for the RO16)
Player Of The Week : Lionel Messi (finishing could be better, but christ, is his dribbling class...)
Goalie Of The Week : Vincent Enyeama (brilliant displays against both Argentina & Greece, shame the rest of his team couldn't get the job done)
Defender Of The Week : Antolin Alcaraz (i'm not a great judge of defenders plus this World Cup has seen an embarrassment of overly-defensive displays... so this guy gets the nod for scoring against those blue Italian mofos)
Medio Of The Week : Lionel Messi
Striker Of The Week : Gonzalo Higuain (for scoring the 1st WC hat-trick in 8 years)
Goal Of The Week : Maicon vs DPR Korea
Shock Of The Week : Switzerland upsetting favorites Spain 1-0
Group A
RSA 1-1 MEX
Went down almost exactly like I expected it would. First half was very sloppy, but second half was oodles of fun especially when Tshabalala scored a great goal. I was pulling for the Africans but Marquez banged out the equalizer in the end. Fair result I suppose.
URU 0-0 FRA
I was half expecting this. Sucky hasbeen European team playing a sub-standard South American team. I regret staying up for this match.
RSA 0-3 URU
Must say I wasnt expecting this. Hosts generally dont fuck up this bad. I didnt see the match but highlights showed URU deserved the win. Khune shouldn't have been sent off I think.
FRA 0-2 MEX
That's what you get you lousy good for nothing boring blue bastards. I'm so glad Mexico won and couldn't be bothered my prediction was wrong.
Group B
ARG 1-0 NGA
Bit disappointed with ARG, specially Messi's finishing, but ARG did dominate NGA and it was fun to watch. Enyeama was brilliant in goal.
KOR 2-0 GRE
I was surprised that Korea were so good and Greece so bad. Was expecting a dull draw but Korea dominated throughout
ARG 4-1 KOR
Hell yes! The Albiceleste finally arrived in style! Apart from a Demichelis fuck up which led to the Korean goal and some nervy moments in the 2nd half, Argentina dominated throughout and Higuain scored the 1st World Cup hat-trick since Pauleta's one against Poland way back in 2002. Great game.
GRE 2-1 NGA
It was shocking how different Greece was. From being dominated by Korea, to dominating the Nigerians. Enyeama was great again and if Nigeria advance, he might just get the Yashin Award. Sad for the Nigerians.
Group C
ENG 1-1 USA
A lame match considering the fact it could have been so much better. A lot of wasted opportunities from both teams. I'm just glad USA didn't lose.
SVN 1-0 ALG
A VERY dull game. It was just really really boring.
Group D
GER 4-0 AUS
This was the first great good game of the cup even though it was overly one-sided. I want the Germans to fuck up but must admit they were very good in this game.
SRB 1-1 GHA
A dull match which I didn't bother watching. Bleh.
Group E
NED 2-0 DEN
Gosh, the boring matches didn't stop. Even Holland who entertained in Euro '08 were so dull and dreary. The goals, an own goal, and a very scrappy one, bear testament.
JPN 1-0 CMR
Didn't watch this either. Couldn't take another boring dull game after the previous one. Though Cameroon were unlucky in the end not to get a point. (Saw highlights. :))
Group F
SVK 1-1 NZL
ANOTHER boring game. Made exciting because NZL stole a point with the last touch of the game.
ITA 1-1 PAR
Didn't watch after what happened in the previous game. Got pissed when I learnt that De Rossi equalized...but Italy continue like this they'll get fucked before they can say Arrivaderci
Group G
POR 0-0 CIV
Damn what have the football fans done to deserve this? I predicted a 5-goal thriller (justified!) but a goalless draw from these two?? I mean, what the FUCK?!
BRA 2-1 PRK
Decent match. High point being Maicon's mercurial goal. Without doubt one of the 50 greatest goals EVER. Fun to see North Korea get their first WC goal in 44 years. Funner to see that Brazil are not playing as good as Argentina. :)
Group H
ESP 0-1 SUI
Shock of the first week. Switzerland certainly didn't deserve the win but Benaglio was brilliant and the Spain front line was disappointing. Again, I'm glad because another favorite fucked up.
CHL 1-0 HON
Surprisingly one-sided. Expected Honduras to put up a much better fight. Chile got lucky with the goal, but deserved the win.
So there you have it. The first week of the World Cup saw some of the most boring, dull matches I've ever seen in the contest. I really hope things take a turn for the better and we get atleast a respectable goal-rate. Like above 2? Is that asking for a lot? Sheesh...
Final call for the week 11th - 17th June...
Match Of The Week : Argentina 4-1 Korea Republic (slightly better than the Germany-Australia game)
Team Of The Week : Argentina (for 2 great wins and for becoming the 1st team to qualify for the RO16)
Player Of The Week : Lionel Messi (finishing could be better, but christ, is his dribbling class...)
Goalie Of The Week : Vincent Enyeama (brilliant displays against both Argentina & Greece, shame the rest of his team couldn't get the job done)
Defender Of The Week : Antolin Alcaraz (i'm not a great judge of defenders plus this World Cup has seen an embarrassment of overly-defensive displays... so this guy gets the nod for scoring against those blue Italian mofos)
Medio Of The Week : Lionel Messi
Striker Of The Week : Gonzalo Higuain (for scoring the 1st WC hat-trick in 8 years)
Goal Of The Week : Maicon vs DPR Korea
Shock Of The Week : Switzerland upsetting favorites Spain 1-0
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Historically Hazarding A Guess...
When most people are asked, "Who do you think will win this year's World Cup?", the general response is whichever team they support and that is understandable obviously. Why support a team unless you think it can win? However, history has shown us that there's a certain pattern involved in who eventually goes on to win the World Cup. See if you can spot it...
1962 - Brazil
1966 - England
1970 - Brazil
1974 - West Germany
1978 - Argentina
1982 - Spain
1986 - Argentina
1990 - West Germany
1994 - Brazil
1998 - France
2002 - Brazil
2006 - Italy
Notice a pattern? You should. Ever since the 1962 World Cup in Chile, the winner has alternated between Europe and South America without fail. So, judging by that, this year is South America's year and so the winner should be either Argentina or Brazil.
But this is not the sole pattern. I pattern I've noticed every year I've seen the World Cup is that the favorites or the teams with the best odds of winning never do. In 1998, Brazil was expected to win the cup at a canter and they certainly looked the part before the fiasco over Ronaldo happened just before the final and France thrashed the Brazilians 3-0. In 2002, Argentina and France were clear favorites. Argentina had dominated CONMEBOL qualification while France were World and European champions. Neither managed to get past the group stage. Then in 2006, Brazil again emerged favorites, with Kaka almost at his peak and Ronaldinho just about crossing his. And yet they fell against their first tough opponent, France, in the quarters, to a solitary Thierry Henry goal. Thus, this year's favorites, Brazil again, and Spain, shouldn't do well. Spain have already gone back to choking, with a 1-0 defeat against Switzerland, while Brazil had to labor very hard to win against a team ranked 104 places below them (DPR Korea).
Thus, if one of Argentina or Brazil is to win the Cup, and Brazil being the favorites, shouldn't win, then this should be Argentina's year. But, another factor is that Brazil have won the trophy on every continent that the tournament has been hosted in - Europe (Sweden '58), South America (Chile '62), North America (Mexico '70 and USA '94) and Asia (Korea/Japan '02). So in that vein, they should win the first African world cup. In which case, I really hope the favorite eff-up tradition overrides the Brazil-win-on-every-continent tradition.
Thus, my prediction that Argentina will win is for once, not just biased, but also, well, kinda logical, both historically and the fact that they have the world's best player. At any rate, one of two traditions will break at the next World Cup. 2014 is Europe's year so Argentina/Brazil shouldn't win but it's going to be held in South America and a European team has never won outside Europe. And Brazil are the only country to have not won the World Cup as a host. So... Argentina?? I can only hope.
Well, all this speculation, as pseudo-logical as it seems, could prove to be bullshit, and who knows maybe Switzerland will end up winning the cup. Only time will tell whether the patterns hold on for another tournament. Me? I'm looking forward to the Albiceleste kick some Korean ass later today.
Oh, and Week-1 Review and Week-2 Preview to be up tomorrow!
1962 - Brazil
1966 - England
1970 - Brazil
1974 - West Germany
1978 - Argentina
1982 - Spain
1986 - Argentina
1990 - West Germany
1994 - Brazil
1998 - France
2002 - Brazil
2006 - Italy
Notice a pattern? You should. Ever since the 1962 World Cup in Chile, the winner has alternated between Europe and South America without fail. So, judging by that, this year is South America's year and so the winner should be either Argentina or Brazil.
But this is not the sole pattern. I pattern I've noticed every year I've seen the World Cup is that the favorites or the teams with the best odds of winning never do. In 1998, Brazil was expected to win the cup at a canter and they certainly looked the part before the fiasco over Ronaldo happened just before the final and France thrashed the Brazilians 3-0. In 2002, Argentina and France were clear favorites. Argentina had dominated CONMEBOL qualification while France were World and European champions. Neither managed to get past the group stage. Then in 2006, Brazil again emerged favorites, with Kaka almost at his peak and Ronaldinho just about crossing his. And yet they fell against their first tough opponent, France, in the quarters, to a solitary Thierry Henry goal. Thus, this year's favorites, Brazil again, and Spain, shouldn't do well. Spain have already gone back to choking, with a 1-0 defeat against Switzerland, while Brazil had to labor very hard to win against a team ranked 104 places below them (DPR Korea).
Thus, if one of Argentina or Brazil is to win the Cup, and Brazil being the favorites, shouldn't win, then this should be Argentina's year. But, another factor is that Brazil have won the trophy on every continent that the tournament has been hosted in - Europe (Sweden '58), South America (Chile '62), North America (Mexico '70 and USA '94) and Asia (Korea/Japan '02). So in that vein, they should win the first African world cup. In which case, I really hope the favorite eff-up tradition overrides the Brazil-win-on-every-continent tradition.
Thus, my prediction that Argentina will win is for once, not just biased, but also, well, kinda logical, both historically and the fact that they have the world's best player. At any rate, one of two traditions will break at the next World Cup. 2014 is Europe's year so Argentina/Brazil shouldn't win but it's going to be held in South America and a European team has never won outside Europe. And Brazil are the only country to have not won the World Cup as a host. So... Argentina?? I can only hope.
Well, all this speculation, as pseudo-logical as it seems, could prove to be bullshit, and who knows maybe Switzerland will end up winning the cup. Only time will tell whether the patterns hold on for another tournament. Me? I'm looking forward to the Albiceleste kick some Korean ass later today.
Oh, and Week-1 Review and Week-2 Preview to be up tomorrow!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Week I : Get Out Your Vuvuzelas...
The four year wait is now almost officially over and in a few hours, the 19th FIFA World Cup will begin. As promised, this is the first of my weekly posts that will span the duration of the World Cup and will contain my musings and rants about the tournament.
Without scrutinizing every single match this week, let's just look into the ones that are of interest. To start, both today's games are quite noteworthy and both should be entertaining games. Africans and Latinos are both known for playing colorful football so I expect the RSA-MEX opener to be a good match. FRA-URU I have certain reservations about because the last time they met, it resulted in a very dour 0-0 result. As I mentioned before, this group's very hard to predict. Logic tells me Mexico and France but then football is rarely decided on logic alone. And it's good for the tournament if South Africa progresses, though without star striker Benni McCarthy (who was dropped surprisingly) it will be difficult. I'm gonna have to sit on the fence for both these matches.
Group B holds interest for me for obvious reasons. Argentina have a history of choking in openers against African teams but they should have no problem winning against Nigeria. The other group B match will probably be a boring draw. Group C starts with what has the potential to be a cracker but may end up in a dull, defensive affair between England and USA. As always, I'll be rooting for the Americans but my head says that England should win. Whatever happens in the other match (SVN-ALG), shouldn't matter. Group D starts with Germany vs Australia which may prove to be tricky for those Nazi s.o.b's (I still remember 2006) but if they don't win this group, then they don't deserve to do well. Serbia vs Ghana will be crucial at the end of the stage in terms of both points and goal difference. Groups E and F are very similar. One dominant team (Netherlands, Italy) and 3 teams with near equal chances of making it. Expect a couple of one-sided games and a host of draws in these groups.
Tuesday is when things should start to get really fun because that's when Group G opens. Brazil vs North Korea should be one-sided but still provide a lot of goals for entertainment and Cote D'Ivoire vs Portugal should be a very exciting match. The best team in Africa against one of the few attacking teams in Europe. Tough to call this one, but Portugal should edge it. Group H is always somewhat boring and dull. In 2002, it had 4 defense oriented teams (Japan, Russia, Belgium, Tunisia) and last time it had Spain, an average European (Ukraine) and 2 below average teams (Saudi & Tunisia). That formula seemed to have been continued this year. Spain, Switzerland, Chile and Honduras. The Chile-Honduras game has the potential to be good but I don't expect too many sparks to fly. Spain should win. The other two should draw.
This leads us back to the first 2 groups before the week ends. Mexico vs France should be particularly interesting because it'll probably decide who wins the group or who goes through along with the hosts (if the latter are doing well). RSA-URU should give the hosts their most practical chance of a win so that match will be great to watch too. The Group B matches shouldn't be that exciting. Argentina should beat Korea and Greece-Nigeria is too close to call.
Predictions
June 11
RSA 1-1 MEX
Both teams are known for playing colorful football so I expect this one to be an attacking game. Crowd helps RSA pull out a draw.
FRA 1-1 URU
Last time they met it was a dull goalless draw, so I'm not expecting much. This year's FRA team is the weakest in a long time and URU aren't half bad so...
June 12
ARG 3-1 NGA
ARG should win this group easily and NGA shouldn't pose a threat. An attacking yet one-sided game.
KOR 1-1 GRE
Should be a dull game because well, it's Greece. The Hellenic sons of bitches who stole Euro 2004 with cagey, defensive football that would put Italy to shame
ENG 2-1 USA
Should be one of the highlights of the week. Could be either attacking or defensive. Heart says America, head says England.
June 13
SVN 1-1 ALG
Boring, below average European team against very average African team should mean a dull draw.
GER 2-0 AUS
Albeit wracked with injuries, Germany should have enough to dispense with Australia without too much trouble.
SRB 1-1 GHA
Ghana's attack versus Serbia's defense and midfield. Won't provide too many goals but shouldn't be too cagey either.
June 14
NED 2-0 DEN
Netherlands should plow through this group. Denmark, no exception.
JPN 1-1 CMR
Will probably be similar to the Serbia-Ghana game.
ITA 2-0 PAR
Paraguay did well in the qualifiers but Italy have a very talented midfield and attacking line, absence of Toni notwithstanding.
June 15
SVK 2-0 NZL
A must-win game for Slovakia and they should win against an inferior New Zealand team.
BRA 4-0 NKR
Should be goals galore for the Brazilians. Reminds me of the Brazil-China game from 2002.
POR 3-2 CIV
Potentially one of the games of the week, one of the few attack oriented European teams, Portugal, should edge out the best African team.
June 16
HON 1-1 CHL
Could be more explosive, but I'm not holding out for anything special. Chile has a better chance of winning.
ESP 3-0 SUI
Spain are playing better than they ever have and Euro proved that they need not choke every single time. Plus, Switzerland are nowhere near their level.
RSA 1-0 URU
Hey, what's a World Cup without the underdog hosts shocking the world?! Could go either way but home advantage might prove decisive.
June 17
FRA 1-1 MEX
Potentially a great match. Could be sullied by both teams willing to play it safe rather than lose on the counter-attack and throw away chances of advancing. Winner of the match will probably decide group winner.
ARG 2-0 KOR
Should be a straightforward win for the Argentines.
NGA 2-1 GRE
I want Greece to lose every match by a huge margin. That probably won't happen, but I'm pretty sure Nigeria will go through, so they'll have to win a couple of matches...bleh...
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
So This Is How It's Gonna Go Down... Probably.
Ok, we're just 2 days away from kick-off and it's about time some insufferable football know-it-all (me!) made a wise-ass prediction about how the World Cup will pan out. Like I mentioned in the previous post, whenever I make predictions about World Cup tournaments I ensure that in the end Argentina wins. So too here, but the rest of it is pretty un-biased and practical. Especially since the 2 of the other 3 teams I support didn't qualify (Turkey and Ireland. :'( ) and the United States are never gonna make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup for atleast another twenty years. Or whenever the USA next hosts it. So without further ado...
GROUP A
Teams: South Africa, Mexico, France, Uruguay
Qualifiers: South Africa, Mexico/France
Why? - This is a tough group to call. For me the only cert is that South Africa should go through. Why on earth? Because the host team has NEVER failed to make it past the group stage. Even in years when the world was sure the trend would be bucked, it didn't happen. USA qualified for the 1994 Round 2 with a crappy team and Japan and Korea both did it in 2002 (How Korea reached the effin' semis I'll never understand) So I'm pretty sure South Africa will qualify somehow. Rest of the group is tough to call. France would be the safer bet but they don't have a very good team for the tournament. Mexico are always a threat. Uruguay aren't half bad either but given that someone has to fuck up against the hosts I'd say it'd be them. So RSA for sure, and either MEX or FRA. In the long run it won't matter given they WILL lose in the quarters.
GROUP B
Teams: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
Qualifiers: Argentina, Nigeria
Why? - I don't think any one's stupid enough to ask me why Argentina. Even without a bias, you'd expect Argentina to trample their opponents. Argentina have been pitted in the group of death and have been given a pretty bad draw in the past 2 World Cups so this seems fair. There's absolutely NO WAY Argentina won't win this group. The rest is tricky. I have a feeling Nigeria will go through just because of the whole Africa jig. Africa havent had a good year since 1990 and I think it's their time to finally shine. I hate watching Greece play football and I really hope they lose all 3 matches. Admittedly its hard to pick between Nigeria & Korea but I'll go for the Super Eagles.
GROUP C
Teams: England, United States, Slovenia, Algeria
Qualifiers: England, USA
Why? - Pretty straightforard. England should win. US should finish 2nd. I dont think the other 2 are anywhere close to matching the former in talent and quality. Admittedly, both England and USA have reputations for screwing up but Slovenia and Algeria seem too weak on paper to cause an upset.
GROUP D
Teams: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Qualifiers: Germany, Ghana
Why? - Similar to Group B, Germany should win all 3 matches. I pick Ghana over the others again because of Africa, but I think both Australia and Serbia have an equally good chance. It's pretty tough to call this group actually.
GROUP E
Teams: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Qualifiers: Netherlands, Cameroon
Why? - I know I'm picking way too many African teams but I think Cameroon can beat Japan without any home advantage and home advantage can give them the extra boost to top Denmark. This group is similar to B and D again, Netherlands should have no troubles, and it'll be a dogfight between the others.
GROUP F
Teams: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Qualifiers: Italy, Paraguay/Slovakia
Why? - Gosh, this year's draw sucks. A whole bunch of crappy groups. Italy should top. Paraguay or Sloakia to follow. New Zealand to make up the numbers.
GROUP G
Teams: Brazil, Portugal, Cote D'Ivoire, North Korea
Qualifiers: Brazil, Portugal
Why? - Ah, the Group of Death! Cote D'Ivoire have landed in the toughest group for a 2nd consecutive world cup and it's harsh the best African side probably wont go through. Brazil should win the group and Portugal should follow, but by no means can you write off the others. Cote D'Ivoire as mentioned is the best team in Africa right now and you can never write off a team like that inside Africa. North Korea? No chance surely? Well, last time they played in a World Cup they beat Italy and squandered a 3-0 lead in the quarters against guess who... Portugal.
GROUP H
Teams: Spain, Switzerland, Chile, Honduras
Qualifiers: Spain, Switzerland
Why? - The 2 Europeans should have enough for Chile and Honduras Spain should win all 3 matches, Switzerland shouldnt have too much trouble either.
ROUND OF 16
Mexico/France def. Nigeria
Nigerian luck should run out. Either one among France and Mexico outclasses the Africans.
England def. Ghana
Another African dream should end. England are playing very good football lately and Ghana are well... Ghana.
Argentina def. South Africa
Home advantage can get you so far. This is where the journey of the mediocre host teams end and so it should for South Africa.
Germany def. USA
As much as I hate to admit it, USA beating Germany sounds farfetched and shouldnt happen. On the flipside, I'd love to see Germany get its comeuppance for beating the Albiceleste back in 2006.
Netherlands def. Paraguay/Slovakia
Simple prediction. No chance for Paraguay or Slovakia. The Dutch know not to be overconfident after the Russian defeat at Euro '08 so an upset is unlikely.
Brazil def. Switzerland
...
Italy def. Cameroon
An upset is possible but unlikely.
Spain def. Portugal
Set to be the match of the tournament atleast till that point. More evenly poised than Brazil v Portugal, this one is too tough to predict. I'd pick Spain just on current form and higher ranking and Euro momentum, but if it goes to the shootout and Ronaldo can find his last season's magic, Portugal could make it just as easily
QUARTERFINALS
Ah the fun starts!
England def. France/Mexico
Let's face it. France suck. They always have. They were lucky in 1998, and luckier in 2000 because Abel Xavier's a prick and the referee added extra time. I'm no England fan but I'd really like to see them kick France's ass just for screwing Ireland out of the World Cup. Even without a complete prejudice, England is definitely a much better team than France these days.
Oh and Mexico should lose to England too.
Brazil def. Netherlands
Should be a cracker. Both teams have great attacking flair, matched only by Argentina and to an extent, Spain and Portugal. I'd say Brazil goes through but only just.
Argentina def. Germany
Revenge is sweet. Argentina WILL win. Messi WILL fuck up those Nazi bastards.
Spain def. Italy
Like France, I think Italy were quite lucky in 2006. They had 1 good match (against the hosts) and faced mediocre opposition throughout the tournament, and got lucky in the shootout in the final. I don't see them beating Spain who are much better these days.
SEMIFINALS
Brazil def. England
Again, very close call. But Brazil have played a final on every continent so who's England to stop them? Personally I want England to win because they'd make easier opponents for you know who in the final but I guess that shows that Brazil will probably win.
Argentina def. Spain
Hey, Spain choke when most important matches come up, so this is valid.
FINAL
Argentina def. Brazil
VICTORY FOR THE ALBICELESTE!! IRONICALLY, ARGENTINA'S FIRST WORLD CUP WIN AFTER THE 1986 TRIUMPH SEES THE CAPTAIN OF THAT CAMPAIGN, THE INCOMPORABLE DIEGO MARADONA AS THE COACH OF THIS ONE!
And yes, that had to be all in caps!
Ok, so final call...
Favorites - Argentina and Brazil. This is South America's turn for winning the tournament and well, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay will not win a World Cup again in this century. Between the two, Argentina have more of a chance because they're my favorite team and because the team topping the South American qualifying tends to choke up in the finals.
Dark Horse - Nigeria could theoretically reach the semis if they beat France/Mexico and then England. Cote D'Ivoire and Cameroon are better teams and South Africa's the host but they have horrible draws. Cameroon could reach the quarters if they shock Italy but they won't be able to beat Spain/Portugal. I'm not naming a European team since a European team will NOT win the World Cup this time.
Teams I Want To Win/Do Well - Argentina(to win), United States(to do really well). It's actually possible that the two meet in the final. Argentina will be in the final. For USA, they have to top their group (i.e. beat England) and then upset Brazil in the semis but hey, you can always hope...
Matches To Look Forward To In The Group Stage - Mexico vs France (Grp A), Portugal vs Brazil (Grp G), England vs USA (Grp D). Yeah, talk about a fucked up draw.
Ok that's a really big post! Dismiss me, enough!
GROUP A
Teams: South Africa, Mexico, France, Uruguay
Qualifiers: South Africa, Mexico/France
Why? - This is a tough group to call. For me the only cert is that South Africa should go through. Why on earth? Because the host team has NEVER failed to make it past the group stage. Even in years when the world was sure the trend would be bucked, it didn't happen. USA qualified for the 1994 Round 2 with a crappy team and Japan and Korea both did it in 2002 (How Korea reached the effin' semis I'll never understand) So I'm pretty sure South Africa will qualify somehow. Rest of the group is tough to call. France would be the safer bet but they don't have a very good team for the tournament. Mexico are always a threat. Uruguay aren't half bad either but given that someone has to fuck up against the hosts I'd say it'd be them. So RSA for sure, and either MEX or FRA. In the long run it won't matter given they WILL lose in the quarters.
GROUP B
Teams: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
Qualifiers: Argentina, Nigeria
Why? - I don't think any one's stupid enough to ask me why Argentina. Even without a bias, you'd expect Argentina to trample their opponents. Argentina have been pitted in the group of death and have been given a pretty bad draw in the past 2 World Cups so this seems fair. There's absolutely NO WAY Argentina won't win this group. The rest is tricky. I have a feeling Nigeria will go through just because of the whole Africa jig. Africa havent had a good year since 1990 and I think it's their time to finally shine. I hate watching Greece play football and I really hope they lose all 3 matches. Admittedly its hard to pick between Nigeria & Korea but I'll go for the Super Eagles.
GROUP C
Teams: England, United States, Slovenia, Algeria
Qualifiers: England, USA
Why? - Pretty straightforard. England should win. US should finish 2nd. I dont think the other 2 are anywhere close to matching the former in talent and quality. Admittedly, both England and USA have reputations for screwing up but Slovenia and Algeria seem too weak on paper to cause an upset.
GROUP D
Teams: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Qualifiers: Germany, Ghana
Why? - Similar to Group B, Germany should win all 3 matches. I pick Ghana over the others again because of Africa, but I think both Australia and Serbia have an equally good chance. It's pretty tough to call this group actually.
GROUP E
Teams: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Qualifiers: Netherlands, Cameroon
Why? - I know I'm picking way too many African teams but I think Cameroon can beat Japan without any home advantage and home advantage can give them the extra boost to top Denmark. This group is similar to B and D again, Netherlands should have no troubles, and it'll be a dogfight between the others.
GROUP F
Teams: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Qualifiers: Italy, Paraguay/Slovakia
Why? - Gosh, this year's draw sucks. A whole bunch of crappy groups. Italy should top. Paraguay or Sloakia to follow. New Zealand to make up the numbers.
GROUP G
Teams: Brazil, Portugal, Cote D'Ivoire, North Korea
Qualifiers: Brazil, Portugal
Why? - Ah, the Group of Death! Cote D'Ivoire have landed in the toughest group for a 2nd consecutive world cup and it's harsh the best African side probably wont go through. Brazil should win the group and Portugal should follow, but by no means can you write off the others. Cote D'Ivoire as mentioned is the best team in Africa right now and you can never write off a team like that inside Africa. North Korea? No chance surely? Well, last time they played in a World Cup they beat Italy and squandered a 3-0 lead in the quarters against guess who... Portugal.
GROUP H
Teams: Spain, Switzerland, Chile, Honduras
Qualifiers: Spain, Switzerland
Why? - The 2 Europeans should have enough for Chile and Honduras Spain should win all 3 matches, Switzerland shouldnt have too much trouble either.
ROUND OF 16
Mexico/France def. Nigeria
Nigerian luck should run out. Either one among France and Mexico outclasses the Africans.
England def. Ghana
Another African dream should end. England are playing very good football lately and Ghana are well... Ghana.
Argentina def. South Africa
Home advantage can get you so far. This is where the journey of the mediocre host teams end and so it should for South Africa.
Germany def. USA
As much as I hate to admit it, USA beating Germany sounds farfetched and shouldnt happen. On the flipside, I'd love to see Germany get its comeuppance for beating the Albiceleste back in 2006.
Netherlands def. Paraguay/Slovakia
Simple prediction. No chance for Paraguay or Slovakia. The Dutch know not to be overconfident after the Russian defeat at Euro '08 so an upset is unlikely.
Brazil def. Switzerland
...
Italy def. Cameroon
An upset is possible but unlikely.
Spain def. Portugal
Set to be the match of the tournament atleast till that point. More evenly poised than Brazil v Portugal, this one is too tough to predict. I'd pick Spain just on current form and higher ranking and Euro momentum, but if it goes to the shootout and Ronaldo can find his last season's magic, Portugal could make it just as easily
QUARTERFINALS
Ah the fun starts!
England def. France/Mexico
Let's face it. France suck. They always have. They were lucky in 1998, and luckier in 2000 because Abel Xavier's a prick and the referee added extra time. I'm no England fan but I'd really like to see them kick France's ass just for screwing Ireland out of the World Cup. Even without a complete prejudice, England is definitely a much better team than France these days.
Oh and Mexico should lose to England too.
Brazil def. Netherlands
Should be a cracker. Both teams have great attacking flair, matched only by Argentina and to an extent, Spain and Portugal. I'd say Brazil goes through but only just.
Argentina def. Germany
Revenge is sweet. Argentina WILL win. Messi WILL fuck up those Nazi bastards.
Spain def. Italy
Like France, I think Italy were quite lucky in 2006. They had 1 good match (against the hosts) and faced mediocre opposition throughout the tournament, and got lucky in the shootout in the final. I don't see them beating Spain who are much better these days.
SEMIFINALS
Brazil def. England
Again, very close call. But Brazil have played a final on every continent so who's England to stop them? Personally I want England to win because they'd make easier opponents for you know who in the final but I guess that shows that Brazil will probably win.
Argentina def. Spain
Hey, Spain choke when most important matches come up, so this is valid.
FINAL
Argentina def. Brazil
VICTORY FOR THE ALBICELESTE!! IRONICALLY, ARGENTINA'S FIRST WORLD CUP WIN AFTER THE 1986 TRIUMPH SEES THE CAPTAIN OF THAT CAMPAIGN, THE INCOMPORABLE DIEGO MARADONA AS THE COACH OF THIS ONE!
And yes, that had to be all in caps!
Ok, so final call...
Favorites - Argentina and Brazil. This is South America's turn for winning the tournament and well, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay will not win a World Cup again in this century. Between the two, Argentina have more of a chance because they're my favorite team and because the team topping the South American qualifying tends to choke up in the finals.
Dark Horse - Nigeria could theoretically reach the semis if they beat France/Mexico and then England. Cote D'Ivoire and Cameroon are better teams and South Africa's the host but they have horrible draws. Cameroon could reach the quarters if they shock Italy but they won't be able to beat Spain/Portugal. I'm not naming a European team since a European team will NOT win the World Cup this time.
Teams I Want To Win/Do Well - Argentina(to win), United States(to do really well). It's actually possible that the two meet in the final. Argentina will be in the final. For USA, they have to top their group (i.e. beat England) and then upset Brazil in the semis but hey, you can always hope...
Matches To Look Forward To In The Group Stage - Mexico vs France (Grp A), Portugal vs Brazil (Grp G), England vs USA (Grp D). Yeah, talk about a fucked up draw.
Ok that's a really big post! Dismiss me, enough!
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