2014 World Cup

Congratulations Germany! A Mario Götze winner with 7 minutes to go in extra time caps the wonderful tournament. It really had been much better than I had expected. I was never really into international football –– my usual stance of these tournaments is that I want United players to do well and come back uninjured –– but this one was special. It felt different. It was highly entertaining, even for neutrals.

From the shocking 5-1 Netherlands victory over reigning champions Spain, to the nation's heartbreak over Neymar's tournament-ending injury that lead to Brazil's collapse, the World Cup was full of shocking dramas and great football. European nations Spain, England, Italy, and Portugal had to go home early after a disappointing tournament, unable to go through the group stages. Chile and Costa Rica, on the other hand, performed above people's expectations. The home nation Brazil, in my opinion, were incredibly lucky to be able to get to the semi final (a few decisions went their way, definitely). By that stage, all three remaining teams were better than them. The 7-1 trouncing by Germany showed the difference in quality. It was without Neymar and Thiago Silva (whose absence was more significant), but Brazil's defense was in shambles and they were unable to cope with Germany's passing game. What's more surprising was the fact that Germany didn't have an unexpectedly outstanding game; they were clinical but otherwise regular by their standards. Brazil was just terrible.

The World Cup also provided us with a few records broken. Germany's win makes this the third World Cup in a row won by a European country (Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010), which is the most times a continent has won consecutive World Cups (both the Americas and Europe had previously won 2 in a row). Germany's Miroslav Klose surpassed the goalscoring record previously held by Ronaldo, with his 16th World Cup goal (in Brazil, no less!).

It was a magnificent sporting event, but with it being over, I can't help but be excited because this means United's preseason tour is about to start!

GEITF 2013 - In Conversation with Gary Neville

Very interesting insights from the man, both of his time as a player, and his time as a pundit. For those interested, his autobiography "Red" is also well worth the read.

Football retirements

Gah -- this post has been in my "drafts" list for months!

May was such a roller coaster of emotions for me, and I assume United fans alike. After the exhilaration of winning the league, we were hit by Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement announcement, which was followed by Paul Scholes'. It's devastating enough to have these two legends leave the game -- even though it's probably the right time for them -- but it was a turmoil that most United fans have never been in before. And it didn't end there.

David Beckham

This is a huge deal for me, because he was pretty much the reason I became a football fan and a Manchester United fan. My brother used to watch the Italian Serie A, so I was sort of supporting Inter Milan when I was younger. That was until I was reading the sports section of the newspaper one day, and saw a picture of David Beckham. I honestly don't remember what year it was, but I'm pretty sure it was around 2001 or 2002; I was 11 years old and that's when I was reading the newspaper regularly.

I saw a picture of him, and I thought, "let's see what this guy does!" I watched the next Manchester United match shown on TV, and that was it for me. Beckham, along with Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and Roy Keane were the bosses of midfield. Beckham was the guy who introduced me to United. He was the guy who made me love football.

There's always a part of me that hopes and believes that Beckham would spend a few months, or a season, back at United before he retires. But that's just for nostalgia's sake. I'm happy that he's had a great career after United. I honestly thought that PSG bought him just for shirt sales and publicity ploy, but he was given more games than I expected. He left United a legend, won the La Liga with Real Madrid, left LA Galaxy as MLS champions, and ended his career with yet another league win with PSG in the Ligue 1.

Thank you, Beckham, for introducing me to this wonderful sport!

This is just me, working

What happens when WWDC and a football match are on at the same time.

Soccer Aid 2012

I'm at work, and probably should be working, but I downloaded the Soccer Aid 2012 match to my iPhone last night and I've spent the last hour watching the first half.

It's always nice to watch a game of football, especially at Old Trafford. I absolutely love seeing Edwin van der Sar back between the goal posts, which I believe is in front of Stretford End. Made a couple of good saves, too. Roy Keane and Jaap Stam right in front of him probably scared most of their opponents away. It was also nice to see Keane there; though it's a shame he had to limp off after only about 20 minutes. The pair would also feature on this Sunday's Corazon Classic Match 2012 between Real Madrid veterans and Manchester United veterans. Man, I love these two games. They help, a tiny bit, for the lack of United games on weekends.

The half-time analysis featured Wayne Rooney, Robbie Williams, and Robbie Savage. Even though Rooney, when asked about how it feels watching a game at his home turf, said that it was nice to be at Old Trafford to relax and enjoy a game, I imagine there were times when he was just itching to run into the pitch to score, especially when England was losing. Sergio Pizzorno's goal, which was absolutely brilliant, according to Rooney was "probably the best goal [he]'s seen at Old Trafford in the past 5-10 years." ;)

I'm very excited for Sunday's Corazon Classic Match, and quite excited for Soccer Aid 2014. I was surprised by how many big name celebrities participated in this year's event; especially the Hollywood actors for the Rest of the World team. So, hopefully, the next event will draw even bigger celebrities (and legends), and more donations. Of course, ideally, I would love more ex- or current-United players to feature, and maybe even Sir Alex Ferguson managing the ROW team.

I've also watched the 2010 event and I kept thinking that some of these people are taking this way to seriously! I thought, since it's for charity, that it would be just for fun and games. But I guess for some of these former pros, it's hard to go out, play for 90 minutes, and not take it seriously. Edwin van der Sar, Freddie Ljunberg, and Clarence Seedorf are the only ones who seemed to be enjoying this for the fun of it throughout the first half.

"Football, bloody hell!"

Had a day to let it sink in, and I can only barely believe that what happened yesterday actually happened. I somehow managed to hold it together the whole day, not a tear shed, until I found this posted on Facebook this morning:

Just the look on their faces did it for me. Learning that City conceded through the crowd's reaction was an amazing feeling; learning that we lost the title at the last minute the same way: not recommended. A whole season, 38 matches, and all the hard work undone in that last minute of City's game. I feel for the new guys, the younger players that had just joined the team this season. But the fact that they're young and good enough to almost winning the league means that they'd have years (hopefully at United) to gain experience and develop into better players and to win many league titles (again, hopefully with United).

"They’ve experienced what has happened today and they’ll be around in five, six, seven or ten years time for Manchester United. The experience is good for them, even if it is a bad one."

source

As always, Sir Alex Ferguson conceded the defeat gracefully, congratulating City on the amazing feat - something that I still have yet to be able to do.

Yesterday was tense. The matches were unbearable to watch. I decided against switching to City's match because I was scared that I would jinx it (I'm somehow very superstitious when it comes to United); I probably should have, seeing how it turned out to be. It really was a reminder, to me, of how much I love football, but loathe it at the same time. It honestly did hurt.

Let's all laugh at City!

They're knocked out of the Europa League, making them closer to that 35 years! And then I came across this:

Dude...Seriously...

WTF?! LOL

Whatever this is, whatever it was for, LOL!

why u21 is awesome

so.stupid!

So there's this article on Robinho saying why he left Manchester City (because he can't adapt to the life in Manchester). But then, there's this:

Robinho also said that he found the climate in the English city unbearable and was disappointed that City failed to become real title contenders during his stay.

"When I arrived, the directors at City told me that, in a couple of years, we would overtake United, but the time has passed and nothing has changed," he said.

The whole article just shows Robinho's stupidity and immaturity. Good thing he flopped at City, he's overrated, unbelievable arrogant and immature. He knew going in that he's gonna be living in Manchester, England, and obviously the weather of the place isn't a big secret to people outside. He was just blinded but the amount of money thrown at his face.

Soccer Aid 2010

The third Soccer Aid was held yesterday at Old Trafford. England has won the previous two matches. I just got excited because one it's Old Trafford, and second Ryan Giggs was supposed to start alongside Zinedine Zidane. I didn't get to watch the match, obviously, but I'm still hoping to be able to watch some highlights.

Report from ManUtd.com:

Rutgers: Drafted!

[Davis celebrating with family and friends after being picked]

Congratulations to Rutgers All-America offensive lineman Anthony Davis (a local guy from Piscataway) who was drafted in the first round, 11th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers. This made him the highest draft pick in Rutgers history.

[21 - Devin McCourty]

Also drafted in the first round, Rutgers All-America cornerback Devin McCourty, selected 27th pick by the New England Patriots.


Congratulations to both guys! Best of luck for both your futures!

2010 World Cup Draw

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

England seems to have an easy group. I really hope this is their year!

Should I stay or should I go?

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre is hosting a fundraising event right here in New Jersey and United players Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Ryan Giggs are among the attendees. The charity is All Stars for Hope and the team will definitely be full of stars.

It's awesome that some of United's biggest stars will be right here in Jersey! The event will be held at the Giants Stadium on June 14th 2009. Problem is, I was supposed to go home early that month. So I really don't know if I should stay or just go home, hoping for another chance like this. I mean it's Ryan, Ronnie, and Roo!!! But it's about a month after my semester end and I don't really want to stay here at T.Philia's place for a month. WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO?! The tickets aren't that expensive, too! For around $100 I can get lower level seating.

They have a couple things up for auction too and I don't know what I would do to get the first two on the list...

Ronaldo tops FourFourTwo list

FourFourTwo football magazine listed their picks for 100 best players in the world, with Cristiano Ronaldo named the best. This year can't be any better for him, winning so many awards to his name.

The Portuguese winger tops the magazine's annual countdown of the top 100 footballers in the planet, beating last year's winner Lionel Messi, and another strong contender, Kaka.

Ron's teammate Rio Ferdinand is also in the top 10, making him the highest rank defender on the list. 6 other United players are in the full list.

The full top 10 list can be found here.

The Bridge falls...

Chelsea finally lose at Stamford Bridge! After how many years?! Well I'm glad that they lost but I'm not really enjoying the fact that it's Liverpool who beat them. But... points dropped from one of the rival teams is always a good thing.

Hull City is still holding strong in the top 3, which is amazing! The fact that they won their last 4 matches is just unbelievable.

Beckham to Milan?

According to BBC Sport, AC Milan has confirmed that David Beckham is joining the Italian club for a six month loan in January. Becks is currently playing with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS, which season ends by the end of the week.

Reports said that the deal has been agreed, and Beckham would join Milan from the January transfer window until the end of the Serie A season

Some would say that this is a marketing ploy for Milan, recruiting the most famous football player in the world. But whatever their reason is, I do hope Beckham gets some games. It's a good deal for him because he would be able to play European football again, which will help his last few games of international career. I highly doubt that he would be in the England team for 2010 World Cup but at least he has a few more qualifying games he could participate in.

I was hoping that he would join Manchester United on loan between MLS seasons. Looks like it won't happen any time soon. Good luck Becks! He's a legend and forever loved by the fans at Old Trafford :)

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In other news, Becks was also named vice-president for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

F*ck it!!

That's it, this is seriously no fun at all! I just don't get it... Choking up at such an important time is definitely not acceptable!

Come on Ron, my only hope for some good news at the moment..

[P.S - Get Smart is awesome!]

End of the road for Portugal :'(

Terrible, terrible defending has ended Portugal's hope for their first ever major trophy in international competitions. They played fairly well. But a couple of slip-ups in their markings of set-piece situations has led Germany to win 3-2 in the first quarter-final game of Euro 2008. With a team like them, I expected way much more than what they showed. Germany's 2nd and 3rd goals were pure bad defending. Free headers from similar set pieces.

With Portugal out, that means there's only 1 United man left in the competition, Edwin van der Sar. The Holland captain should be able to lead his team to glory. They're top of Group C with 9 points and 9 goals out of 3 games.

Anyways, Portugal's out that means Cristiano Ronaldo is now free to talk about his future. Please just don't do anything stupid!

some sports news...

Nadal defeated Federer in 3 straight sets, with the last set won 6-0 by Nadal... Pretty embarassing for the world #1 I suppose..

LA Lakers lost Game 2 of NBA Finals which means Boston leads 2-0 on the series. Next we're going to the Staples Center and hopefully the Lakers can turn things around. I only watched about half of the 4th quarter and it was really good! Lakers were down 24 points with about 7 minutes to go. They refused to give up and with 30+ seconds to go the gap was down to 2. Unlucky they couldn't keep their momentum going and the game ended up 108-102 to the Celtics... Come on Lakers!

Lewis Hamilton crashed into Kimi Raikkonen WHO WAS DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WAITING FOR THE LIGHT!! WTF?! Kimi could have won it cos he beat Hamilton from the pit stop, but he just crashed into the Ferrari. Man even I could do better than that!

Finally, it's halftime and Romania and France are tied at 0-0. According to the commentators France haven't really been playing well cos their attacks are too obvious. Don't really care cos I'm gonna be watching the way more important match, Netherlands vs Italy later tonight.