On Spain, Torres and Barry

Spain won the Euro2008 by beating Germany 1-0. Guess who scored the goal? It is none other than Fernando Torres.

The absence of David Villa did not prevent Spain from scoring. Torres delievered when it matter most like what he did with Liverpool.

It is certainly a very good new for Rafa and Liverpool that Torres is carrying the momentum to the Euro Championship. I expect Torres to continue terrorize defenders when th BPL starts in less than 2 months time.

On the other hand, Liverpool received a boast when Villa's boss Martin O Neil declare that Gareth Barry is free to leave for Liverpool - only at the right price. Personally I feel that Barry is not worth 15 million pounds. However, he is a better and physically strong player than Alonso.

If I am Rafa, I would spend 15 million pound plus a few millions pound on a striker and winger - Roman Pavluchenko and Richardo Quaresma.

Hopefully, Rafa can get the right players for the club.

Euro 2008 - Favourites Go Home

Oh my, oh my. First it was Portgual, follow by Croatia and now Holland.

Portugal was favourite to beat Germany, while Croatia was thought to be having a easy time against the injury-plagued Turks and the Dutch was expected to dispose the Russians after impressive display in the Group of Death.

However all comes to nought. Of all the three teams, Holland must be feeling extremely disappointed especially the mastermind of their defeat comes in the hand of their former coach and home bred master - Guus Hindink. He has brought South Korea to 3rd place in the 2002 World Cup and brought Australia to their only second round appearance in the 2006 World Cup. Now he has brought Russia to the semi-final of the 2008 Euro Championship.



Tonight will see Spain entetaining Italy. Winner of this match will take on the Russians.

Riise, Farewell

John Arne Riise signed for AS Roma last week ending his 7 years association with Liverpool Football Club.

Riise last contribution for the club for known for his own goal in the semi-final Champion League against Chelsea that knocked Liverpool out. However, there were positive memories from Riise.

His thunderbolt free-kick against Man Utd, his cross that lead to Liverpool's comeback against AC Milan in the Champion League Final in Istanbul and his goal at Bernebau that silenced the Barcelona's crowd.

I wish you all the best in your new career with AS Roma.

My Ideal Birthday Gift

My birthday is 3 weeks away. To me, there is not much cause to celebrate. However, I hope to have a gift for my birthday this year.

Wifey has bought the Liverpool headrest as a Father Day and my birthday gift. I like it a lot as long as it is associated with my beloved football
club.

Ok. My ideal brithday gift is a soccer ball. Why this gift? It has been almost 3 years since I last kicked a ball eversince I tore my knee ligament. Everytime I passed the soccer field at my place, I see people playing soccer. I felt painful but there is nothing much I can do.

I am thinking if I can have a soccer ball, I would practice my football again in the field. What I meant is that, I can have a kickabout myself in a corner of the field. I can start juggling with the ball. From there, I can also see if my left knee hurt when I kick the ball.

I really miss playing football....I feel terrible when I see people playing.....

Euro 2008 - Delightful Dutch , Fragile France

The Dutch produced another masterclass to dump 2006 World Cup Finalist France 3-0. This was a week after the Dutch thrashed the defending World Cup Champion Italy 4-1.

The win ensure Holland qualify to the quarter-final. However, for the French, they will have to fight with the Italians for the second spot provided Romania do not win against the team in Orange.

Italians will have to thank Buffon for the penalty save from Mutu to earn his team a 1-1 draw against the Romanians. Like the French, they will have to win their last group game or face elimination.

It will be cruel that one of the heavyweights will have to take the early flight home. It will be a repeat of the 2006 World Cup Final in the last group game.

Euro2008

Germany got to a winning start after they beat the Poles 2-0. Lukas Podolski scored a brace against the country he was born to put the Germans top of the group.

Dark horse Croatia won the match 1-0 against host Austria. It was a disappointment for the host as they are the dominant team. Austria tried their best but the ball just refuse to go into the net.

The match was settled as early as the 4th minute through a penalty by Spurs's new signing Luka Modric.

Euro 2008 Opening Match

After 4 years, the European Championship is back again. This time, the tourament is co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.

In the opening match, the Swiss took on the Czech Republic. It was a match the Swiss would like to start well. Both side started cautiously. It was the Swiss who created more chances. However, superb goalkeeping by Cech denied the Swiss. It was 0-0 at half time but the Swiss lost their top striker Frei after he damaged his knee ligament. Frei was in tears after he was hobbled out and is ruled out of the tourament.

The Swiss started the second half was well as the 1st. However, Czech got in front after Koller's substitue Sverkos scored in the 70th minute after the Swiss defence failed to clear the ball.

The Swiss nearly salvaged a draw in the 80 minute when Johan Vonlanthen crashed his shot onto the post. The agony on Johan's face was enough to tell the story.

In a later match, pre- tournament hot favourite disposed Turkey 2-0 after goals from Pepe and Meireles inspired the Portuguese to a winning start to the tournament.

Lion's upset dream dashed

It is very rare for the Singapore Lions to score 3 goals in a match and lose the game. The Lions were dealt with a reality check when Uzbeskistan thrashed Singapore 7-3 in a must win World Cup 2010 3rd round qualifier.



The Lions went a goal down just after 10 minutes but manage to pull the score to 1-1 after 15 minutes but they allowed the Central Asian team to take the lead again. The Lions manage to equalizer again from the penalty spot. Just when the fans thought Singapore can at least hold on for a draw, they let themselves down again within seconds after the equalizer. It was downwards for the Lions after Uzbeskistan scored the third. Half time score :2-5 to Uzbeskistan.

Goals continued to rain in the second half with the opposition scoring another 2 goals and the Lions scored their third.

Having seen the game, I simply could not fault the Lions for their performance. They did not sit back to defend trying to limit the damage. Instead they went on the offensive. The end result showed that the gulf in standard between Singapore and the Asian powerhouse. To be fair, the Uzbeks are much superior in terms of the physical. Man for man, the Lions were no match considering the Uzbeks are considered a European team. They are big and strong.

Given the result, one can see where the Lions stand if they are to fulfill the dream of going into the World Cup. It is through this kind of footballing lesson that the Lions will learnt.

Though the defeat strongly put the qualification out of the equation, it is indeed a valuable experience for the Singapore Lions. They should not hold their heads down but feel proud that they have achieve so far and scored 3 goals against the powerful Uzbeks.