Wednesday, June 25, 2008

EURO 2008 Semi Final : The End of Journey for Turkey

Another dramatic match... Another late drama... Another late goal...Sounds familiar right???? Except that late goal is not for Turkey. Philip Lahm sent Germany to the final when he scored the winning goal on 90th minute of the match. That goal left all Turkey fans around the world heartbroken...including me. :( To me, Turkey were better side for the most of the match. They play attacking football and have more chances but just unlucky not to score more goals. And its pity that Turkey was eliminated by the same way they beat Switzerland, Czech and Croatia. Like the commentator Paul Masefield said, football is a cruel game.

Lahm creeps through the Turkish defence to slot home the winner.
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Dalam perlawanan ni dari awal lagi Turki main memang bagus. Diorang lagi mengancam bila menyerang berbanding dengan German. Colin Kazim Richards hampir-hampir nak gol tapi rembatannya terkena palang. Lepas beberapa kali menyerang akhirnya Turki mendapat gol pertama apabila rembatan Ugur Boral masuk celah kangkang Lehman. Tapi hanya 5 minit lepas tu German menyamakan kedudukan setelah hantaran lintang Podolski dikuis masuk Bastian Schweinsteiger. Sebijik macam gol dia masa lawan Portugal.

Pada separuh masa kedua, aku tak ingat sangat pasal siaran tv tu tertanggu. Ingatkan Astro buat hal tapi tengok tv3 dengan ntv7 pun sama gak. Yang lawaknya ada ke pengacara satu stesen tv ni(bukan astro) cakap diorang akan cuba 'membaiki' siaran. Setahu aku siaran tu bukannya stesen tv tu yang buat. Aku bace kat espn pun diorang cakap x de siaran. So kira satu dunia arr x de siaran. Tak abis-abis kelentong penonton je stesen tv ni.(saje je kutuk sebab tengah bengang tak dapat siaran, tambah-tambah Turki kalah)

Bila siaran dah tak de tu aku tengok arr internet. Sekali score dia dah dua sama. Mula-mula Miroslav Klose gol masa minit ke 79 tapi Semih Senturk sekali lagi menunjukkan magicnya dengan gol penyamaan pada minit ke 86. Ketika siaran kembali ada, German tengah menyerang pada minit terakhir dan Philip Lahm....................and bye bye to Turkey.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Tennis: How to improved the backhand shot???

























To anyone who plays tennis, how to improved the backhand shot?? My forehand is quite ok. I usually prefered the heavy topspin forehand although occasionally I also hit a flatter one. My service is also quite decent albeit inconsistent but it is my backhand that really cause the troubles. I often missed the ball completely when I try to hit the backhand shot. Even when I hit the ball, it usually flew out of the court. So to tennis experts out there, PLEASE HELP ME???

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Btw, on the 1st day of the Wimbledon, Roger Federer won his 59th straight match on grass by easily beat Dominik Hbarty and move a step closer to achieves the historic six consecutive titles. Novak Djokovic, the 3rd seed, also advanced to the 2nd round by beating Michael Berrer of Germany in four sets. Among the other favourites who advanced are Marat Safin, Marcos Baghdatis and former champion Lyeton Hewitt. But even on the 1st round, there are already a few suprises. David Nalbandian, the person who often gave Federer many troubles was totally unconvincing during straight sets defeat to Dancevic(Who??).18th seed Ivo Karlovic, the giant Croat with booming serve follows his national football team in going out of the tournament when an unknown American beat him in four sets. And for the women, I didn't follow as much as men event but I hope that lovely Ana Ivanovic(world no 1) win(which she did!!!) :D

Ana Ivanovic on her way to 2nd round on Wimbledon

Cermin Harian: Benitez mahu $50 juta untuk Villa, Silva, Barry & Dani Alves

Tadi The Daily Mirror melaporkan bahawa si senor Benitez mintak 50juta pounds untuk beli pemain2 yg disebutkan di atas. Lepas tu bila tengok Eurosport, Benitez menafikan semua berita tu sebagai sampah semata-mata.

"The stories are ridiculous. Total rubbish."

Mana satu yg betul ni??? Tapi kalau nak diikutkan logik, pemilik Liverpool yg dua orang tu mana ada $$. Diorang dah cakap kalo nak beli kena jual dulu. Tapi rasanya kalo Benitez jual players sekarang pun belum tentu dpt 50 juta tu.
Katakan dia jual:

Crouch- 10m(His 15m tag is ridiculous)
Alonso-16m
Benayoun-7m
Voronin-less than 2mil :D

Tambah semua sekali baru 35juta. Mana nak cari lagi 15juta. Lagi pun, rasanya kalau tambah harga Villa, Silva, Barry, Alves semua sekali mesti lebih 50juta punya. Setakat nak beli Barry pun, Martin O' Neill nak 20juta, apa lagi players yg lain. BTW, tadi aku tengok Wikipedia, dia tulis Alves dah setuju nak pergi Barcelona. So apasal Benitez nak curi dia pulak??Pelik, pelik...

So secara kesimpulannya, surat khabar Harian Cermin tu memang SAMPAH!!LOL

My comment- I think Benitez shouldn't sell Alonso for Barry. Alonso showed to us that he is world class player during MOTM perfomance againts Greece. Its true Barry injects us more pace but we also need Alonso for his incredible passing accuracy. Remember he already scored two goals from his own half...and he almost did it again during the match againts Greece. So my advice to Benitez, think wisely.....

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Euro 2008:Germany vs Portugal(LIVE!!)

00: Germany kick off .
07: Free kick for Germany as Ballack is fouled by Deco, and really poor effort by Hitzspelger.
14: Good try by Simao as his shot from the right is saved by Lehmann.
18: Nuno Gomes almost finds Ronaldo but his pass is intercepted by Arnie Friedrich. Good movement by Portugal.
21: Goal!!!! Lucas Podolski bursting run down the left catchs Portugese defenders and his cross is easily tapped in by Schweinsteiger.1-0 Germany!!!
25: Yellow card for Petit as he brings down Metzelder. Free kick for Germany.
26: Goal!!!! Schweinsteiger's free kick finds Klose who heads past Ricardo. Poor marking from Portugal and 2 goals lead for the Deutschland.
31: Portugal are forced into an early change, with the injured Joao Moutinho being replacing by Raul Meireles.
40: Goal!!!! Ronaldo gets away from Metzelder on the left and drawing a save from Lehmann but Nuno Gomes lashes the rebound into the goal.
45: Ballack shot from the left is saved by Ricardo.

Half time: Germany 2 Portugal 1

46: Second half starts
47: Friedrich gets yellow card for foul on Ronaldo.
48: Another booking. This time for Phillip Lahm who brings down Simao.
50: Almost third goal for Germany as Hitzspelger controls the ball neatly but shoots wildly into the stand.
56: Pepe miss the great chance in front of goal.
59: Pepe is booked for wild tackle on Klose.
61: Goal!!!! Another deadly ball from Schweinsteiger's free kick finds Ballack who heads home the third for Germany. Another poor marking from the Portugese defence.
66: Second substitution for Portugal as captain Nuno Gomes come off for Nani.
67: Ronaldo's free kick sails above the goal.
70: Armando Petit tries his luck with 30 yards screamer but Lehmann is well prepared to take it.
72: Double changes: Germany: Tim Borowski for Hitzspelger.Portugal: Helder Postiga for Petit.
78: Podolski lashess a screamer which sails wide of the right post.
80: Simao curls the ball above the goal.
82: Schweinsteiger, my man of the match is replaced by Clement Fritz.
87: Goal!!!! Portugal finds their 2nd goal as Helder Postiga heads home from Nani's cross on the left.
89: Postiga is booked for bad challenge on Mertesacker.
91: Jose Bosingwa really wastes Portugal possesion with his wild and ambitious shot. Their players look very frustrated now.

Full time: Its over. Portugal are eliminated and Germany go through to semi final and will faces Turkey or Croatia.

Final score: Germany 3 Portugal 2

Euro 2008:1/4 Finals Preview:Germany vs Portugal

After 12 days since opening match, finally 8 strongest teams from this year Euro were identified. The biggest casuality is France who failed to emerge from 'Group of Death'. Both the hosts also eliminated from their own group respectively. Tonight, the first quater final is between two 2006 World Cup semi finalist, Germany and Portugal.

Portugal finished their group in 1st place with two win and a loss with second string team againts Switzerland while Germany was second in their group behind suprise package Croatia. On the paper, Portugal has very strong squad especially in attacking area. Christiano Ronaldo(please go to Real Madrid!!) will try to emulates his club form for his country and lead Portugal frontline. He will be backed by very strong midfield with the names like Deco and Quaresma who are very skillful individually. Add tough defence lead by Chelsea trio of Ricardo Carvalho, Jose Bosingwa and Paolo Fereira, Portugal will be very difficult to beat. But we already know that Germany performs very well at major tournaments. They have experience as advantage and will try to use it as a weapon to holds Portugal. I think the key for Germany is their midfield. If Ballack and co manage to stop Portugal from controls the game, I can see Germany in semi final.

What about penalty shootout?
I think Portugal will win if the game is decided by penalty. I don't know why but my instinct say Portugal has the advantage in penalty shootout. After all, they beat England twice with penalty shootout in last two major tournaments. So I think Portugal will go through if the tie go to penalty shootout.

Statistics from Eurosport
Suspended: None

Misses next match if booked: Jose Bosingwa (Portugal), Miguel (Portugal), Jorge Ribeiro (Portugal), Paulo Ferreira (Portugal), Fernando Meira (Portugal), Michael Ballack (Germany), Jens Lehmann (Germany)

Injured: None

Changes: Germany coach Joachim Loew is expected to replace striker Mario Gomez with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger who returns after suspension. That should allow Lukas Podolski, who has been playing on the left side of midfield, to partner Miroslav Klose in attack.

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who made eight changes to the team that faced Switzerland, is expected to revert back to the lineup that started the first two matches.

Key stats: Portugal's 2-0 defeat by Switzerland on Sunday was only the second time in 22 matches they have failed to score - they also drew a blank in a 0-0 draw at home to Finland in November last year in qualifying for Euro 2008.

Portugal have not lost in their two previous European Championship finals matches with Germany - a 0-0 draw in 1984 and a 3-0 win in 2000 with a hat-trick by Sergio Conceicao.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Artois Championship:Final












Nampaknya Rafael Nadal menunjukkan yang beliau bukan sahaja merupakan king of clay court, tetapi boleh juga bermain dengan baik di atas rumput setelah berjaya menewaskan juara terbuka Australia, Novak Djokovic di dalam final kejohanan Stella Artois Championship. Pada set pertama, Nole(Djokovic's nick name) bermain dgn baik dan mendahului Rafa 4-0. Namun begitu, Nadal berjaya mengejar kembali dan terus menyamai permainan Nole sehingga 1st set terpaksa ditentukan dgn tie break. Nole hampir menang 1st set apabila mendpt set point tetapi pukulan heavy topspin Nadal berjaya mengatasi Nole dan akhirnya Nadal menang 1st set tie break 8-6.

Pada 2nd set, Nadal kelihatan akan menguasai permainan apabila beliau mendahukui 2-0 tetapi Djokovic berjaya melawan kembali dengan bersemangat. Nole hampir menang set kedua apabila memecah servis Nadal utk mendahului 5-4 tetapi Nadal dgn pukulan trademark heavy topspinnya berjaya memecah kembali servis Djokovic pd game berikutnya. Selepas itu, Nole yg kelihatan kecewa kerana gagal menghabiskan set kedua akhirnya tewas dua game berikutnya utk memberikan Nadal kejuaran pertama di atas gelanggang rumput.

With his 1st title on grass, Nadal finally showed that he has the game to beat grass court specialists like Andy Roddick and Ivo 'giant' Karlovic (who sent whopping 35 aces past him in 1/4 final) . But can Rafa deny Federer domination on grass and win the Wimbledon with his heavy topspin stroke which suits more on clay? Or will Fedex continues to dominate Wimbledon and breaks the great Bjorn Borg's record for 6th consecutive titles? And what about Djokovic? He certainly has the game but can he get better of two best players in the world? And also don't forget the guys who have a good game on grass like Hewitt, Roddick, Gasquet and Nalbandian. Can they challenge for the title? Don't miss The Wimbledon Championship starting this 23rd June on Astro Starsport.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

EURO 2008: Spain vs Sweden

Satu perlawanan yg pada awalnya Spain dijangka akan menang mudah, tetapi di atas padang berlangsung agak sengit terutamanya mase 1st half.
Spain menguasai awal permainan dan Fernando Torres menjaringkan gol pertama pd min ke 15 setelah menyudahkan hantaran lintang David Silva. (Ok dah gol ni jangan x nak salam dengan coach)
Selepas gol pertama, defender Spain mula goyah dan setelah Johan Elmander membuang peluang utk Sweden, Ibrahimovic berjaya merobek benteng Spain dgn menewaskan Casillas drpd bola hantaran Stoor.

Pada 2nd half, Sweden telah menggantikan Ibrahimovic yg cedera dan ketiadaannya telah menyebbkan Sweden lebih bnyk bertahan. Walaupun begitu, Spain kelihatan kurang kreatif walaupun banyak menguasai bola. Malah kemasukan Cesc Fabregas dan Santi Cazorla juga gagal menambah peluang Spain. Beberapa peluang yg datang kpd Torres pula gagal disempurnakan dengan tepat. Namun begitu, terbukti bahawa bola sepak adalah kejam. Ketika game hampir tamat(min 92) dan kelihatan berakhir dengan seri, left back Joan Capdevila telah membuat hantaran jauh ke dpn gol yg gagal dikawal oleh defender Sweden dan bola smpai ke kaki Villa yg menggelecek seorang lg defender sebelom meledakkan rembatan padu, GOOOOLLLLLL. In the end, joy 4 Spanish, heartbreak 4 Swedish. Dgn kemenangan ini, Spain hampir pasti ke 1/4 final manakala Sweden perlu menang ke atas Russia utk layak. Aku puas hati gak sebab masa 2nd half, Sweden macam x nak main je. So memang patut arr kalah.


Result:Spain 2 Sweden 1
Goals:Spain-Torres(15), Villa(90+2)
Sweden-Ibrahimovic (31)
My man of the Match:David Villa

Bonjour

Ok salam kpd sume yg menjenguk kt sini.
Blog ni aku tulis utk nak review sume jenis sukan yg aku minat.
Lebih kurang nk jd mcm pengulas2 sukan kt ESPN tu (mcm Paul Masefield, Steve Mc Mahon)

So kalo ada pandangan/ nak berdebat jngn malu2 drop comments.
Sume pendapat akan dihargai...
Au revoir/Ciao!