Football- Luis Suarez

Lama dah tak tulis pasal bola. Asyik2 benda yang serius dan merapu, kali ni terasa nak tulis pasal sorang brader gigi arnab ni. Luis Suarez.

Key words- Luis Suarez. Tricky dribbler. Racist. Dive. Witch-hunt.

Who the hell is Luis Suarez?

Luis Suarez. Rabbit Guy.

Ok siapa tak kenal Luis Suarez? Pergi terjun loji Indah Water sekarang juga. Mana2 football fans yang tak kenal Suarez, memang mau kena ketuk kepala 16 kali sambil menari gangnam style. Ok, sedikit introduksi. Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz, berasal dari Uruguay. Lahir pada 24 Januari 1987 dan mula main bola cara pro kat kelab Nacional, kelab dalam Uruguay. Then, he get recruited to join Groningen (Netherland). Bertambah power, Ajax Asterdam pulak beli dia. Bila power maximum gila2, Liverpool datang dengan machonya membeli dia.

Untuk kareer international, boleh dirumuskan yang dia boleh tahan power gak. Ada 3 international competition yang dia main- World Cup 2010, Copa America 2011 dan Olympic 2012. Untuk World Cup, dia berjaya tolong besar team dia untuk menang 3rd place. Untuk Copa, dia dapat award MVP and yes Uruguay jadi champion, pukul habis Argentina dan Brazil. Untuk Olympic, kalah awal. Tak cukup power di situ.

The Controversies

Sebagai 1 of trillions of football fans in the world, tipu la kalau kata tak pernah dengar label 'Suarez Diver' ni. So, the biggest problem/label yang melekat kat dahi Suarez ni adalah tak lain dan tak bukan- he's a cheat.

I as one of millions of Liverpool fans, had to confessed that he is a diver. Sometimes he dived, sometimes he didn't. Oh one more thing I don't like about him- his over theatherical sakit nak mampus bila kena contact sikit saja. Yes contact ada, tapi dia punya guling guling guling tu....ehrmarrgerd. Macam kena combo juggle dalam Tekken.

Seriously, lawak jugak sebenarnya dia ni.

Benda yang hitam, kita sebut hitam. Putih, kita sebut putih. Yes, he dived. But people often to close their eyes when dia kena hentam siku/tackle belakang/push dari belakang/maki kaw2 padahal dia tak kata apa pun oleh opponent players (especially defenders). Banyak insiden2 atas tu terjadi, yang paling latest adalah kes time lawan Norwich yang mana dalam kotak penalty, dia kena siku kepala then kena stone-cold stunner dengan sorang defender tu. Muay-thai and wrestling combo! And satu lagi, time lawan Stoke (which is his latest dive art happened) dia juga kena pijak kat dada secara kool dan composed oleh opponent defender. Referee? Dia Suarez, dia tipu!

And so he was vilified and made as football's no.1 enemy. Pakcik FIFA nr 2 kata Suarez is a cancer to football. Konscielny pun join sekaki mengutuk suarez padahal kalau korang baca statement dia tu, it's very normal la bila striker lawan bola dengan defender. Tony Pulis branded him a cheat (dalam kes ni, agak valid), dan paling best sekali, Otai Mafia ManU branded Suarez as a football public enemy (padahal waktu tu Suarez ni baru setahun sampai England).

The Latest Dive Collection. The worst.

Maka bermula lah legasi #BlameSuarez. Bermula lah satu pemburuan ahli sihir...

The Infamous Suarez's Hand-of-God 

Satu dunia mula melabel Suarez sebagai penipu/jahat/keji masa match quarter final World Cup 2010- Ghana vs Uruguay. That match, i didn't watched it. Tapi secara amnya Ghana adalah satu2nya team Afrika yang masih bertanding pada peringkat tu. So, main pun kat Afrika, of kos satu stadium (dan dunia amnya) akan support Ghana.

Pada minit extra time dah, score terikat 1-1. Ghana tengah attack gila2 punya. Satu rembatan keeper block, keeper dah jauh dari tiang gol. Suarez dan sorang teammate dia jaga gol. Dalam split second tu, bola ditanduk ke arah gol oleh sorang player Ghana. Suarez block bola tu keluar dari gol. Dengan kedua2 tangan. Macam main bola tampar. Ghana mengamuk. Stadium mengamuk. Audience semua mengamuk. Reff kasi red card kat Suarez. Ghana dapat penalty. Assamoah Gyan amik penalti, kena palang. Ghana frust menonggeng, Uruguay lega. Suarez kat tepi padang, celebrate sebab team dia selamat.

So, majority people bashed Suarez as unprofessional. Cheater. Selfish. Bad footballer. But for me, it's the different story. He is a sacrificing hero. Yes he block the ball with his hands. It's a foul, a blatant foul that demand a red card and a penalty to the opponent. And yes indeed he was red-carded and Ghanna did get a penalty. So, it's a situation that follow the rules correctly. He knew he would be sent-off. Instead, he was crying as he walked off the pitch. He knew that he had just given a little lifeline to his team and his country. And amazingly, the penalty was not in. It's a big misfortune to Ghana and vice versa, it's a big big relief to Suarez and his countrymen. That's why he celebrated like hell. As a punishment to his red card, he rightfully was not allowed to play in the semifinal, in which they lost to Netherlands by 3-2. Pundits said that Uruguay lacked the tricky skills and gameplay from Suarez during that lost. End of story.

So, what's the big deal with that handball?

Kawan2, cuba letak diri anda pada situasi tu. Ok la, Malaysia lawan Ghana time tu. Skor 1-1. Bola atas kepala anda, sikit lagi nak masuk gol. Korang rasa korang akan tunduk bawah, pasrah sambil bermonolog "OMG bola nak masuk! Kepala tak sampai! Block dengan tangan! eh tak boleh! foul, nanti orang kutuk aku! Nanti aku kena brand cheater selamanya!" ? Saya pasti, waktu tu cuma ada "win at all cost".

So, i feel disgusted at these commentators/viewers in these videos which slated him heavily because of his handball action. Yes it's a bad thing and poor Ghana but guys, put yourself in both situation then only you can see it in bigger picture.

Racism

So, dengan kes World Cup dan serial diver label yang dia dapat melekat kat dahi dia, hidupnya di Liverpool sentiasa panas dengan media. Media really loves this guy. He is the lubuk emas. Want to sell more copies? Print stories about Suarez! Want to get more views online? Put Suarez as the headline!

And the worst off all the labels, is racist. All thanks to Patrice Evra of ManU. Lots of debates had been done..but for me, he just say the Negrito words in a different cultural meaning. Senang cerita, it's no big deal for him yang membesar kat tempat lain, but it was blown to proportion by Evra. And thus Ferguson slated him, the media started bashing him... I don't believe in Evra. Dia sendiri ada rekod buat cerita kononnya Chelsea staff serang/kutuk dia waktu satu match kat Stamford Bridge dulu, then baru tahu itu semua tuduhan rekaan dia saja. Lagi satu, dia juga kepala kepada player France yang mogok time World Cup 2010. Finally, tengok la video ni. Kalau dia betul2 innocent and mangsa, tak perlu untuk dia provok teruk.

Oh satu comment yang best. "Evra is a fucking cunt. First off he accuses Suarez of racism for using a non racist word, and lies about the amount of times he used it. If he wasn't a spineless coward he would have a quiet word with Luis after the game, or a word with Gerrard. Then, after he got Suarez banned for 8 games he has the audacity to lower his hand as Suarez walks past, Suarez may or may not have shook it, but it was lowered anyway, then he grabs Suarez' arm to accuse him!!! Scum, Manc cunt."

Lepas bicara dengan FA, dia kena denda 40k dan 8 matches. 8 matches tu. Gila babi punya banyak. Kes yang tak ada bukti, just dengar keterangan dari Evra saja. Fuh dahsyat. But it didn't end there..

Who's Racist Now?

Timbul lagi satu kes...Terry kutuk Anton Ferdinand dengan perkataan 'black cunt'. Natijahnya, black cunt adalah lagi teruk maknanya dari negrito. Setelah kes dipanjangkan selama setahun lebih...dengan membuatkan team england tak harmoni dalamannya...baru dijatuhkan hukuman. 80k dan 4 game. 4 game sahaja! Walaupun evidence video ada. Oh yeah he's English, he's captain of England...

Media? Tak label dia seteruk Suarez. Bukti? Gambar ini pun dah cukup. See the bias there.

Spot the bias.

Dalam EPL sekarang, selain dari Suarez ada ramai lagi diver. Bale, Young, Wellbeck, but why always Suarez? Yeah he's not english...he's a foreigner...

Sekadar renungan. David Gill, a member of FA board, juga adalah chief executive bagi ManU. So, can figure out sendiri kot why all the witch hunt against Suarez, why Fergie always get special treatment, why some referees are mysteriously being excluded from refereeing ManU matches, why ManU players always seem to get off from any disciplinary actions-media bashing.


Just Walk On!

Apapun, konklusi yang boleh dibuat adalah...

1. Suarez memang sometimes dive dan exagerated foul. Tapi where the equal treatment gone, i don't know.
2. Suarez is one bendul/jujur player. He did whatever needed to do for his country and club.
3. Media di England adalah sangat bias, dan rasis sebenarnya. Termasuk dengan FA sekali.
4. ManU ada orang dalam kat FA. So, any scheming is not impossible.

David Gill. The mole inside FA.

Untuk Liverpool, Suarez is the best and enigmatic striker. Sometimes he's just lacklustre, but most of the times he is the magician. Kadang2 bodoh, peluang senang tak nak gol tapi peluang imposibru pulak yang gol. Kami fans Liverpool sangat2 bersyukur ada dia dalam team. Team yang sedia terkebelakang, hanya berharap pada Suarez dan Gerrard untuk do anything extraordinary.

Long Live Liverpool! Yenuwa!

Lets Talk Football- Liverpool

End of season is coming near. Banyak liga2 utama eropah dah makin jelas siapa champion, siapa top four, siapa relegated dan sebagainya. Tapi bagi aku selaku fan Liverpool, tak terasa excited apa pun. Sebab? Mudah saja, Liverpool sekarang sudah teruk. Simple as that.

Let's talk about Liverpool.

It was (almost) all rosy under Rafa, sampailah satu season tu (2009-2010) tiba2 Liverpool macam kena virus. Draw, lose, draw memanjang, finally dapat nr. 7. Rafa kena pecat, ganti dengan Roy Hodgson. Ini bala. Super bala. halfway the season, Roy pula dipecat dan diganti dengan Dalglish. 'The King' as they call him. Jadi, dari pertengahan 2010-2011 hingga la sekarang, manager adalah Dalglish.

Honestly, i don't live zaman Dalglish adalah greatest player of Liverpool, so saya tak tau sangat apa specialnya dia ni. Just tahu, dia memang sangat tinggi kedudukannya dalam hati2 fan Liverpool. Apapun, back to business. 

Sepanjang Dalglish jadi manager ni, ada satu benda yang saya risau. It is..British Favourtism. Why? Sebab almost all players yang dia beli waktu summer dulu, adalah Brits. Almost all. Tak lupa juga, rumours yang nak dibeli juga adalah player British. Ini sangat merisaukan aku. Sebabnya mudah. English/ British players are mostly deadwood. Diorang tak kreatif, tak skillful, tak lincah. Tak ada yang seperti Xavi, Iniesta, Aimar, Messi, Torres, Robben, Modric,  Kaka, Suarez.  Dalam team England sekarang ni, yang betul2 boleh kasi gerun player opponent, hanya Rooney- Gerrard(ini pun dah makin karat)-...ha tu saja. And look at England and how they play. Boring, play super safe, not creative, and long ball. 

Sampaikan ada rumours, Liverpool targer Cattermole from Wigan. And entah berapa ramai lagi British yang melekat nama. Celaka apa?

All smiles in the beginning. All smiles.

Now, yang betul2 masuk Liverpool- Downing, Henderson, Adam, Carrol. Dari 4 orang ni, hanya Carrol yang bagi aku betul2 ada impak. Downing tu crap. Nak beat first defender pun tak lepas. Dribble tak boleh. Shoot pun off. Apa yang dia boleh buat? Pecut dan pecut dan pecut dan cross...

Henderson. See the potential, but too young to be the first eleven. Still only 21, and he's the England Under 21 captain. So, its a future purchase. TETAPI, clearly not a regular starter. Apa yang dia buat dalam most games? Sideways, backpass. Tu je.

Adam. Ini enigma. First 10-12 games, dia sangat bagus. Macam Xabi Alonso dulu2. Tapi lepas tu, total crap. Selalu foul2 bodoh, selalu mis pass, selalu robbed off the ball, tak creatif. Apa yang jadi kat dia, i don't know.

Carrol. Satu lagi enigma. Tapi, graf performance dia makin naik. I don't use the statistically method of evaluating performance, but from my own observations, he is getting better and better. From total deadwood kepada the Carrol that was in Newcastle. Keep it up man.

About this season. 

Abysmal. Should be better. Because finishing 8th or 9th is not acceptable. Plus, spending nearly 100milion should give you a better league position than this. At least, much better purchases than Downing-Henderson-Adam. You know, Liverpool main sangat bagus pada awal 10-12 games camtu. Tapi semua mula betul2 rosak bila Lucas injured. Start dari situ, Adam main macam bangang. Creativity in attacking mula hilang. Defend mula senang bolos. Pelik sungguh. Is there no backup plan for loss of Lucas? I don't know.

Striker pula rasanya tak cukup. Cuma ada dua striker yang betul2 striker dalam team ini. Suarez and Carrol. Dan saya rasa Suarez tu bukan striker. Dia lebih pada supporting striker. Dengan kata lain, orang belakang striker yang selalu bukak space-create clear chances- assist pada main striker.

Midfield talent. Sangat sedikit. Downing is not a good winger. Henderson, macam saya kata tadi- too early and raw. Spearing? Overrated. Cuma ada Maxi sebagai backup. Itupun jarang diberi peluang untuk main. Bellamy? Hanya efektif bila sebagai super sub pad later part of the game. Gerrard? He's past his best. Got to admit that.

Defence department, for me is okay. Skrtel and Agger start to form a very good partnership at the back. Enrique is what a left back should be, cuma kadang2 dia off form bahagian defend. Johnson, sama cerita dengan Enrique. So, no problem at defence.

Jadi, apa yang perlu Liverpool buat pada season depan? 

Get one out-and-out striker. Like Torres, like Villa...or Aguero, or Nistelroy. The one who knows how to bang in goals endlessly. Get one creative midfielder like Iniesta, or Modric, or Silva, or Aimar. Yang mana tahu nak dictate gameplay, tahu operate tengah space yang kecik.  Dan kalau possible, one really quality defensive midfielder yang boleh ganti Lucas bila dia injured. No more Spearing please.

 Admittedly, Liverpool missed Torres's clinical finishing.

And about Dalglish... saya sudah hilang kepercayaan dan kesabaran padanya. He is rebuilding the squad, the team. But with the purchases of the likes of Henderson, Adam, Downing? Cuba fikir, ada Arsenal, ManU, Chelsea atau City nak guna tak player2 ni kalau diberi peluang? Saya tahu, ada peraturan Homegrown and Nationality nanti dalam beberapa tahun akan datang, tapi...ini sudah sangat teruk. Tambah pula, keyakinan melampau pada Spearing dan Shelvey. Aih...both of them just average, sometimes below average.

My hope- Dalglish got sacked/ he resign. Then ganti oleh Rafa, atau Pep. Seriously, saya rasa Rafa sangat berkebolehan dalam bawa Liverpool ke depan. He never get the chance of 50-100 million money to spend on players. It had always been sell before buy. So, why not give him a genuine chance?

Tapi, kalau Dalglish masih kekal, pun ok juga. Cuma, please make sure season depan main betul2. Sedih rasanya bila tengok Liverpool hanya gah pada nama. Realitinya cumalah sebuah kelab pertengahan.

YNWA.

-End of story-

Football- The Damn United

Yesterday I had just finished watching The Damn United. Review? SUPERB. Now I know (a bit la) who Brian Clough is. Truly legend. A man capable of taking any midget team to become a champion. Derby County from the bottom of 2nd division rise to the top, get promoted and the next season handsomely became champion. In a flow. Just awesome. Ok itu tak cerita lagi pasal Nottingham Forest yang menang European Cup (Champions League) 2 seasons berturut- turut.

Movie wajib tonton untuk semua football fans

Pengajaran yang saya dapat dari movie ni?

Ego. Ego itu penting untuk leader. Penting untuk ketua. Penting untuk manager. Brian Clough is one hell of a confident and ego man. He doesn't care what people say, he doesn't care if his methods are complete alien compare to the others. He believed in himself and his methods. Not to say charismatic too.

Ego juga. Players ego. Some players are superstars, and superstars have their own level of ego. This 'player power' is actually what cause Brian his job at Leeds, and the same can be said to Andre Villas Boas. Cole, Lampard, Drogba, Terry, Malouda, all are the old horses at Chelsea that believe they know what it takes to be champions. Yes they know it, but surely the manager has another level of knowledge and means that the players had no idea of it right?

Professionalism. Highlight of the movie (for me) is the high profile tv interview between Brian Clough and Don Revie. Imagine la, dua orang musuh secara tak sengaja dipanggil untuk interview tv (live rasanya) dengan soalan2 semua berkait antara satu sama lain. Like...imagine Ferguson dengan Wenger duduk dalam satu studio, pastu soalan bertubi2 untuk both sides saling tembak menembak. Crazy right? But what amazed me, is the professionalism shown by both men. They answer, they debate but never with cruel or harsh/vulgar words. Respect to both of them.

Personally (based on this movie), I like Brian Clough. He is a man with words, barrages of words. He just can't stop talking, and yes he talk with pride and wittiness too. What make him special? Well, he walk the talk. Apa yang dia kata dia boleh buat, memang dia berjaya. Hartlepool, Derby County, Nottingham, semua dia pegang dan jadikan champion. He really is the oldies type of Mourinho. No, dia lagi hebat. Semua 3 kelab yang dia pegang tu, kelab2 dari 2nd division and bottom of table pulak tu (hartlepool aku tak pasti). So, he's the boss yeah.

One of the highlight match of the movie

And, semalam saya dan abang2 dan adik saya tengok movie ni kat umah Awi. Again, impressed dan abang2 dan adik saya of kos puji dan kagum gila dengan Brian ni. Tambah lagi dengan isi cerita yang sangat boleh relate dengan Chelsea, dan ManU, haha.

Which makes me think, is there a possibility of a movie about Shankly? If there is one, i'll be in ecstasy yow.

Review Match Bola

Lama dah tak tulis review pasal bola sepak. Kesian, mungkin sebab musim bola tak mula lagi kot. Atau sebab PES2012 tak keluar lagi kot. Atau sebab tak lepak sembang bola ngan member2 macam dulu kot.

Abaikan.

Tapi tadi baru tengok satu match international friendly. My favourite team Spain lawan Itali kat Italia. Sebenarnya agak berbelah bagi gak nak tengok yang satu lagi- German lawan Brazil. Tapi darah Sepanyol yang mungkin tersesat dalam arteri dan vena ku ini membuatkan aku memilih untuk Vamos Espana~!

Setakat yang masih ingat la setelah kenyang pekena nasi putih sepinggan berlaukkan daging kunyit cecah sambal. Oh banyak pasal Spain saja sebab aku perhati Spain saja, dan kenal Spanish players saja.

1. Spain main dengan defend yang super unfamiliar dan 2nd team. Midfield pun sama gak. Mostly 2nd team. Striker adalah abang Torres kacak bergaya. Italy aku tak kenal sangat, tapi most probably sama ja kot. Diorang dah mula pencenkan kuda2 tua rasanya.

2. Spain adalah team yang kool dan kacak tak mengira situasi. Selagi bola di atas tanah, selagi tu dia nak main kool short pass walaupun dalam kotak penalti sendiri dan dikelilingi oleh 4,5 Italian yang gersang untuk memiliki bola itu. Ada 4,5 kali jugak kantoi dan hampir gol. Bangang. Vicente Del Bosque, amik pehatian. Jangan duk diam tangan silang ja.

3. Striker termahal Chelsea dan bekas kekasih Liverpool, tak lain dan tak bukan Fernando Torres telah buat perangai lagi. Main sampai 19 minit saja. Tiba2 sub. Reason? Unknown. Tapi apa lagi kan..mesti injured punya. Takkan Abramovich dah ugut Del Bosque suruh dia sub Torres? Eh mungkin gak. Haha. Chelsea fans, sila sedia untuk sakit hati sepanjang musim.

4. Striker gantian Torres- Fernando Llorente ni memang satu konklusi saja. TAK BOLEH PAKAI. Lembab, finishing teruk dan statik. Lagi teruk dari Torres bebai syial. Atau mungkin hari ni dia kena sumpahan Fernando? Ada sapa lagi nama Fernando?

5. Terbukti Spain adalah 50% kurang mengancam bila Xavi tak main. Ball control amat lambat untuk dimiliki Spain. Creativity and stability kurang terus. Tapi still boleh mengancam. Cuma, Spain punya ability will be same as the other teams, not above everyone else. Faham kan? Ala macam Barca dowgraded jadi Mengyu, Chelsea, Arsenal, Juve la. Liverpool tak. Liverpool paling power.

6. Untuk 2nd half, The Davids membuktikan keakraban persahabatan mereka melalui kesefahaman yang tinggi antara mereka di belah kiri padang. Serius senang. Silva main one two banyak2 ngan Villa, clever run ja dah lepas. Pastu bola sampai kat Llorente. Pastu tak jadi apa.

7. Match tadi dari awal aku dah agak Itali akan menang. Sama jugak dengan friendlies sebelum ni lawan Argentina (4-1 kalah) dan lawan Portugal (4-0 kalah). Aku rasa sebab dia adalah motivation. Yes dua2 set team players mesti malas gila nak main sebab season nak start dah weekend ni. Tetapi harus diingat, ada satu side akan termotivated extra dosses ngan prospect "Bro kita ada peluang nak kalahkan World Champion!! Dan European Champion!!" That's why aku perasan player Spain tadi ada yang malas kejar bola, Italian pulak macam main final world cup.

8. Extra point lah. Mario Ballotelli tu awat bebai sangat tadi? Muka ketat macam merajuk budak kecik tak mau pi tadika. Sampai atas padang pun tarik muka lagi. Power tu agak power la, banyak kali jugak dia lepas Busquet (Pique injured, takdak CB lain). Tapi tu lah, bebai.

9. Extra point lah lagi- komentator kata Fabregas akan complete his dream sign to Barcelona this weekend, sooner or later. That's why he's not in the squad. Fan Arsenal, bolehla buat video farewell kat Kapten Main Tarik Tali korang tu.

Dah, cukup. Nak main game. Atau tidur kot. Goodbye.

Vamos Espana!