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I think basically I can call this a soccer blog already lah. Keep talking about nothing but soccer. But anyway, here’s the full time report for today’s game.

Like James said, it was almost a "perfect game". We won 4-2 in a convincing fashion, but we really should have kept a clean sheet.

During the first half we smothered all their attacks. Our attacking play wasn’t that fantastic, but we got progressively better as the game wore on. Ryan scored a goal for us to really settle the team down. Defensively, Javin was surprisingly good playing in an unfamiliar right back position. He didn’t let anyone dribble past him.

Detong was the biggest revelation of the game. He controlled the ball well, spread the play well and even showed lots of tenacity for the tackle. He was the perfect foil for James. They were like Carrick and Scholes, going against the trend to have a more defensive minded midfielder protecting a more attacking minded midfielder.

In the second half their defence broke down and the goals started flooding in. Ryan got his hat-trick after following in on my long range effort which the keeper couldn’t hold on to.

We were 4-0 up by that time, and firing from all cylinders, so I started to get too carried away. That was seriously a lack of tactical discipline which I regret. Otherwise we would have kept a clean sheet. Hm… Seeing the midfielders stroking the ball around was just great! Finally we were playing like a decent team. We were passing around so well and I wanted too much to be a part of the play. So I kept going up and left quite a big hole in the defence. Haha. In the end they managed to claw back 2 goals. One from a defensive mix-up and one from a free kick. The free kick was really good because everyone was expecting a cross. It was exactly like what Ronadinho did to David Seaman. Haha.

I realised it was quite a bastard thing to do… To neglect my defensive duties. Not fair to Eugene and the defenders. Hm… I will learn this lesson.

Anyway, I just love to play in a team that can pass the ball around. The feeling is orgasmic. Haha. I wish the feeling could last forever…

Once again, while washing my boots, I couldn’t help but keep thinking:
THIS IS TRUE LOVE

These past two days have been like heaven. I was quite looking forward to this weekend because I had two field matches lined up.

The first match was on Sat with Marvin’s friends who needed an extra pair of legs. I relished the opportunity to play striker for them. Although it was not exactly a very efficient display from me, there were some occasional flashes of brilliance. Such as the one where I stopped a high ball dead with my control and made enough room to send my strike partner through for a one-on-one with the keeper. Too bad he was too kanchiong and missed it. It was just fun to be striker for one day. In the end I chalked up 1 goal and 1 assist. It should have been more but I was too selfless when I should have been more selfish. I think I play too much Winning Eleven. In the game I always like to score the perfect goal ie Arsenal style pass into the net. Kept trying to create a tap in for my teammates when I should have just taken the shot.

Anyway during the second half it started raining. It was yet another new experience for me! Playing in the rain really sucks. I didn’t expect the water to get into my eyes so easily. It was like diving underwater in the swimming pool and opening your eyes. It’s lucky I didn’t get any eye infection. It was a thunderstorm. I was a bit concerned that someone would get struck by lightning but the referee waved for play to continue, which was curiously bizarre. The pitch was totally flooded. You’d kick the ball and it would get stuck in the water. It really was an unique experience but one that totally SUCKED! I was quite disgusted and subbed myself off. Haha. My team later managed to score in the confusion to make it a 5-4 win. How the guy scored remains a subject of bewilderment to me.

Today’s match. Well well. What can I say? So many points to talk about! It was such an eventful match that definitely lived up to expectation. Just before the match I observed that Ser Hwee’s team was at full strength. Their defence was quite scary because they had some players whom I admired greatly, such as Tia and Mervyn the legendary SAJC leftback. Haha.

After our warm up, James gathered us into a circle and delivered the game plan. Then he started naming the starters. There was such an air of excitement and expectancy! As promised, I would get to play striker for one half.

The first half didn’t really go well for us in terms of tactical advantage. We were pushed back deep inside our own half and had to soak ups loads of pressure. I totally regretted playing as striker because I hardly got a whiff of the ball. Even when I had the ball they closed me down so fast I hardly had time to react. Haha. Oh well. You can say I was a spectator for most of the half and faded into obscurity. Detong later commented that I “looked lost”.

The defence was bravely repelling all the attacks but in the end it was too much for them I guess. Too many corners were conceded and they lost their nerves. We let in two gay goals that just trickled behind the line. It makes me wonder now what difference I would have made if I had started at centre back to guide the inexperienced duo of Wenxuan and Detong. I guess it’s a moot point now.

During half time all the guys looked so downcast. Everyone was so downcast. You can just feel the aura and the body language. Most of them looked like they were in shock. I tried to cheer everyone up but I guess I don’t have that many jokes up my sleeve. Haha.

As promised to James, I switched back to centre back during the second half. But not without complaints first lah! Haha. What can I say? Immediately, I felt so at home. This was MY TERRITORY! It gave me so much confidence and I immediately settled in doing the normal stuff I do - organising my defence, shouting encouragement and, well, generally making a lot of noise. Suffice to say I made my presence felt! Lol.

To my great satisfaction, I won every header I went for. It was a very rewarding feeling for me because while playing in China I constantly mis-timed the header. It really is about confidence. The backline looked solid and more confident. The whole atmosphere of the match just changed for the better I guess. It became us who were applying the pressure and keeping them in their own half. We James and co split their defence on a number of occassions and we had some decent chances but failed to make them pay. That would later cost us dearly.

The floodgates suddenly opened for them. They scored two or three goals in quick succession. We were stunned. I thought I had been doing a good job of motivating everyone but on that occasion I couldn’t even begin to find any words of encouragement.

But all in all I think it was a good experience for everyone to play with such good opponents. I’m proud that even though we were trailing a few goals, no one ever gave up. Everyone was still chasing for every ball. It shows that even though we were tired or don’t have the technique, we have the attitude. That’s what made it enjoyable even though we lost. Can you imagine if no one wanted to contest for the ball because they were tired?

I’m sure there was a lot we learnt as individuals and as a team. I, for example, should just stick to playing centre back where my influence is the greatest. Haha.

Ground temperature: 31°C
Weather: Clear, sunny
Wind: S at 11 km/h
Humidity: 70%

The field match which was supposed to be my birthday testimonial match was postponed to next week because the ref couldn’t book a pitch in time. Lazy ref. WTF! So we ended up with normal sunday soccer, which was still quite fun.

Today was even more special because I brought my dad along to show the rest how it’s done! Everyone was oohing and ahhing at his control.

“Wha! Raul eh!”

But the jaw dropping move was when he glided past a defender and sent a rocket with his left foot to the far top right corner. Even Eugene, who was phenomenal the whole day, couldn’t do anything about it. Everyone was like “WTF was that man!” Haha. I ran over to taunt Eugene but he said “not you score what”. Haha.

The weather was damn hot and I was feeling damn tired from all the medication I’ve been taking. But I still saved the best for the last! I’m not sure what happened also, but it was a WONDERGOAL that started with Felix’s cross. I somehow flicked it in with my heel on the volley. Song bo! Well now I know how Cantona must have felt when he scored a wondergoal. Genius and inspiration just happens. Haha. That was the icing on the cake man. I guess nothing makes me happier than playing soccer with my friends so celebrating my birthday by playing soccer feels simply fantastic!

Man of the Match: Dad - displayed amazing control and skill on the ball

Player to watch: Felix - has added speed to his game

Injuries: Marvin - bruised shin. Waiting for physio report.

Woke up to the sound of rain in the morning but thanks to some sms from Marvin I was convinced to go wait it out. As it turned out, the rain stopped right after I left the door. That was great. Brought Jeffrey with me to BK for breakfast. Breakfast King is still good! And filling too.

Went up to Marvin’s house to get my letters because I’ve been forwarding my mail there while I’ve been in China. We did all the normal wet weather stuff - lay newspapers on the floor to soak up the water.

My team consisted of Ryan, Ivan and Jeffrey. We kept borrowing Eugene to play as our keeper. Haha. His demand is too high already. Must start charging for his services. Well… We kept losing but I was quite happy with the way we played. We kept the tempo quite fast and we just kept passing and moving. Wha lau. We had them in their own half. But like Arsenal we couldn’t make our chances count and lost by the odd goal. Felt quite lively and played quite a few (tyco) nice passes. Yeah. That was before I began my series of falls. That’s damn suay lah seriously. The court has this part where it’s quite wet. And the ironic thing was that I was pointing to the spot and telling Jeffrey I fell there many times in the past. Guess what. I slid and fell full frontal. My whole shirt and pants were wet. Yay. Then later on while dribbling I somehow ended up there again. This time I slid sideways, glided across the floor and finally rammed the wall. Hard. That was like the ultimate man. Slip not enough must bang the wall also. Woohoo. Next time should put white tape there or something.

Which reminds me. ORD loh! Haha. I still can’t get enough of life outside SAF. Damn shiok. Everytime I see someone in green or with a botak head I have to suppress the urge to say that phrase. It makes me feel powerful.

Anyway, after a while I started playing striker to train for Sunday’s game. Blew quite a number of chances before a loose ball presented itself in front of me. I volleyed it home for an emphatic finish! That felt so satisfying I took off my shirt and ran off to shout at a random person. I think it was Erry. Haha.

I was quite impressed with Marvin’s aerial ability. I hardly got a sniff of the ball from the air. Sometimes he’d just appear out of nowhere to head the ball away. Like use Blink or what. John also surprised me with the ease with which he glided past defenders. Looks like everyone is really bringing up their game another notch.

The biggest surprise of the day was Jeffrey’s performance in his first real soccer session. Maintained quite a clear head to pass to Ryan a few times. Defending also quite good. It’s in the genes man. Haha.

Played soccer with the old fogeys team yesterday. Wha lau. It’s like the thing I look forward to all week. Damn loser right. Haha. They’re a working class pub team consisting of mostly guys in their 40s. They are damn strong physically I tell you. The previous week I play midfield kept losing 1v1s. When I challenged them they just shrugged me off. Fucking tanks. Haha. And they just keep passing and passing. It’s so hard to even have a sniff of the ball.

This week I played centre back though and it was quite comfortable for me. Cos it’s 8 a side with 3 defenders, usually the 2 full backs will deal with the strikers. So as they tussle for the ball I just come in and clean up anything that gets beyond the full back. Got a loose ball? Just whack it up the pitch! Got someone running at me from the centre? Just keep backing off until he makes a mistake. Pretty easy stuff. Don’t even have to run much. Haha. Sweeper is the position for me man! For lazy shits like me =p

Oh, some more right, I can go and collect the ball from the keeper and start the play. Cool. Can play direct balls and watch your forward scramble for the lousy ball you just gave him. Muahaha. Oh that is EVIL. But I just hate it when I get the ball and look up, and the midfielders are just staring at me dumbly. Haha. Fuck man. ASK FOR THE BALL LAH FUCK. I wonder how to say that in chinese… 来跟我要球啊！妈的 Luckily I didn’t say that during that match, for obvious reasons. =D

The only thing I have a problem with is with headers. Can’t really judge the flight of the ball properly. Got one defensive clearance from the other side that I went in to head, I head too early so it hit the top of my head. Damn fucking pain. No wonder my ex-PJC principal say soccer make you stupid. Haha. I’ve read all the training materials and understood all the theory, but in the end it’s all about exposure to the real thing. Ah well. Been playing more field soccer these past 2 months than the past 4 years combined, so hopefully I will be able to get more practice soon.

Weilin organised this match between my camp mates and Ser Hwee’s team. I was looking quite forward to the match because I’d be on opposing teams with James, Felix and Marvin.

The day didnt’ start off very well because our left back Ian was late and the keeper went MIA. The groundskeeper didn’t let us in without seeing the receipt, which was with the ref who came in late. Fucking hell. Anyway in the end we had no choice but to borrow Marvin as our keeper and Felix as our left back. When Ian arrived Felix complained he wasn’t feeling well so the substitution was made. Haha. Then the joker went on to score against us in the second half. Chao geng!

When the match started I was feeling all weird. Like there were too many people and my brain couldn’t process it. It just felt so confusing. I was caught napping a few times in defence so I thought, fuck, there’s no way I can do this. Switched Jeremy to CB in my place and Mushun to right back. That seemed to settle the defence down and they became more stable. Ian was especially impressive, doing his best impression of Gabriel Heinze. His tenacity was something I should have possessed for the game but unfortunately I couldn’t raise myself up to scratch. I’ve been kinda sick for the past 2 weeks and I went into the game with a cough. So after a while I created a new position for myself. I call it the Loudhailer. Haha. Yeah, so throughout the game I just kept shouting encouragement to my teammates lor. Nothing more I could do I guess because I couldn’t jolly well sub myself off because we only had 10 men. Haha. There were a few people in dire need of substitution but there was no choice.

In the end we succumbed 1-3 to the opposition but not without an attempted fightback. I caught Dave’s throw in on the fight flank and crossed it. The defender opted to slap the ball away with his hands, which was pure stupidity. The ref caught sight of the violation and rightly awarded a penalty. Terrence stepped up to take it. At first no one wanted to take the penalty like that so I asked him whether he was sure. He said “anything”. Like so nonchalantly. But I looked at his face and could tell he really wanted to take it! Haha. Then the opposing team did some thrash-talking, saying stuff like “don’t worry got NJ best keeper” and “sure got rebound one”, which really irked me so when Terrence calmly whack the ball down the middle I couldn’t help it but taunt them by mocking “wha! NJ best keeper ah!” Haha. It felt shiok lah. Haha. Like I was the one who scored. On hindsight I must have seemed like an idiot. Lol. But like I said, that day I was the Loudhailer so that was my best contribution of the game. Haha.

We also had a goal ruled out from a Dave shot which cannoned off the crossbar and bounced inside the goal. Even the opposing players later admitted it was a goal. Ah well. Screw the ref.

Really quite disgusted at myself for the recent string of bad performances for the past few weeks. Even thought twice about the school team thing. But oh well. Then again you’re only young once right? Don’t give up because you’ve given in to your fears. I don’t want it to become like it was for me in basketball. It’s only after I quit so long that I think back and realise actually I was quite a decent player. But sadly now it’s too late to pick it up once again. So I should just concentrate on getting rid of this fucking tekong cough and go for it again.

Gambatte. Keep your chin up.

Found this pic while browsing through my old albums. It’s from the street soccer competition when we were in JC. He’s our very own CAPTAIN MARVEL!

soccer

Look at how he gek seh! Haha

The floor was wet from the rain so we spread newspapers around the court. Nothing can stop die hard soccer nuts like us I guess. Haha. It was quite disgusting to pick up the soggy newspaper from the ground but I guess I must be too used to sai kang already. Thanks to 2 years in army, I’m no longer the pussy who doesn’t dare to get his hands dirty (cos I’m a clean freak and can be quite anal about it). Of course, although it’s only 3 weeks away, I still wish I could ORD sooner. But I don’t think that army was a waste of time. Not if you look at the bigger picture. I learned a lot about myself in army. But I digress.

Nearly did a Paul Scholes. James flicked on a pass which I volleyed with my left foot. It was about 30cm higher than it should have been but I’m pretty happy with the technique. It was perfect form. Haha. Reminds me of my dad when he started playing golf. Always obsessing over his swing even though the balls were flying in all sorts of directions =) Scored only two goals today. The first one was sort of like a fluke. Found myself in a bit of space and did a toe poke. Actually I thought it wouldn’t go in cos I was a bit kanchiong already. Haha. But it settled into the right corner so… *shrug* They all count in the end. But it was damn ugly lah. The second goal was better. Played a one-two with Ryan, who layed the ball for me to shoot with my left foot. The form was good. Lol. It went in low into the near post.

I noticed that today I keep asking for the ball. That’s surprising because I thought I’d lose my hunger sooner or later. Anyway, passing rocks lah. I just enjoy stroking the ball around to others so much. Haha. It makes me high or something. Woohoo. There are so many permutations, so many ways, so many challenges every time you get the ball. I guess it’s because I’m someone who thrives on change. I get a bit uncomfortable when there’s a bit of montony.

One word to describe my game today: impetus.