Football is a very special game, maybe not to you guys but to me. Last weekend, I was devastated as I thought I would miss the Champions League Final between Man United and Chelsea. I went around surveying other United fans who were bound to miss the game cause of in-camp duties and all they replied were a meek "nothing we can do about it". Sometimes I really wonder if they really called themselves true fans, when they were so lacklustre in supporting their club. Manchester United may be just a football club, but definitely it has sentimental strings attached to me. There's always something magical about this team, if football fans remember, the 1999 European final miracle, I was only 9 years old then and I was captivated ever since. There's also the famous night against Arsenal, the comebacks in the FA cup, and of course the win over Chelsea last night to be crowned European Champions yet again! Cristiano Ronaldo, soon to be crowned world player of the year, scored an excellent header before Lampard equalized after taking 2 lucky deflections from Essien's shot. Then down it went to penalties, somehow Chelsea were fated to lose this game as their captain JT stepped up to take it, there was this feeling he was gonna miss it, and he hit the post! Then it went to sudden death and Anelka's shot was saved by Van Der Sar. From that moment, the crowd erupted and so did I! I was jumping up and down on my seat and whacking the person next to me, for fate has played its part again. 50 years after the Munich disaster taken the lives of so many Manchester United players, it's only fitting United win the title this year. You may finally rest in peace now, Busby Babes, for this victory is for you guys. Let the ghosts of 1958 Flight 609 and the pain of losing to Milan the past 2 years be vanquished. May we go on to beat Liverpool's record in the years to come. As it is, i'm passionate about my club and every time some bugger comes and says I don't even know certain stuff about my club I'm certain to give him a piece of my mind. Oh yes before I forget, I was given a week leave on Monday by my new unit and I was elated to be able to catch the match last night. :)
For those who wanna see clips of the final, heres the URLs: http://www.vimeo.com/1052427 (penalties and celebrations)
http://www.vimeo.com/1052956 (trophy presentation and celebrations)
http://www.vimeo.com/1053542 (Match highlights)
Also, there was the Meridian vs Victoria final at Jalan Besar stadium early in the day. Certainly brings back old memories of A div last year. Meridian won 2-1 and I'm certain most Meridians would say they deserved to win it. No doubt the defence played well with their trusty old captain #8 Khairil but most of their attacks were merely hopeful long balls to Joseph #16 except for some good dribbles by Mahdi #23 my old teammate, and #9 (if i remember properly) towards the end. My heart certainly goes to the VJC striker who missed that open goal in the second half. As a striker myself, I know those chances are hard to take especially when you're running at full speed towards it while the keeper is recovering at the same time. Maybe I haven't mentioned this before but my goal last yr against Meridian was something special for me. It was more of a "in your face" to Fabio and Max Cheong who didn't accept my Soccer appeal into MJC. The goal wasn't very significant but it certainly meant alot to me. Scoring against the guy who didn't take me in. I felt bad for Wei wen (Meridian's keeper last yr) because it was partially his fault that the goal went in and he told me he got scolded quite badly after that. But he also thanked me as it woke him up and throughout the tournament after this match he became a hero, especially in the Semis when he saved 3 penalties against SAJC. Congrats dude. Backtrack to the match, the crowd was magnificent, for a moment after my team scored the goal they were silenced but they couldn't be kept quiet for long and the "MJ Boleh"s starting ringing out again.
Seriously on the pitch, you can hardly hear the fans cheering because you're concentrating so deeply and all you're thinking is "when will i get the ball" , "what should i do when i get it", things like that. However when you're shagged out and need a boost, hearing the fans cheer your name certainly perks u up and gives you the adrenaline to go on.
Football is a game that's so beautiful yet cruel at the same time. I'm sure many fans who are passionate enough could feel the special aura that they get whenever their team wins. In terms of playing, it's not just the "kicking of the ball" that most newbies think it is. I love to caress the ball gently and play with it, feeling it as if it's part of me. My specialty of course is finishing and seeing it at the back of the net. In short, football is my first love, it's always truthful to you, sticks with you, and is your friend. That's what sets the difference between football and other sports.
Ok, other than sports, life has been pretty much hectic. I've been to many places in my military life and it has been quite a good experience. I'm not supposed to go into details about it, but so far been pretty good. Only thing that's fucked up is they keep posting us to different places, with different bunkmates and platoon mates all over again. Honestly, we feel like pieces of meat being shifted around. We were already so bonded with each other until they seperated us again. Was speaking to Yuan Xin and personally I would rather be in his shoes as a Commando as he gets to stick with his bunkmates for 2 years in the unit. It pretty much sucks to keep moving around in different camps. Anyway I'm now posted to Signals Unit, will start my specialist course on monday when my block leave is over. Speaking about block leave, it's only now that you appreciate the time that you're out in civilisation, even if it means doing nothing at home. Can't wait for my ORD.
Besides this, my relationship with others have been more or less the same. Hanging out with my good old clique for soccer or outings together. And there's the special friend of mine, I hope you're doing fine. Though we may not be talkin to each other as much as we did in the past but the comforting thing is you're alright with jc and stuff happening around you, although I believe you're having quite a stressful time. I always enjoy asking you about updates on your life and hearing your troubles out when you have them. It's kinda hard though cause the most we get to talk is once a week! God blessed me with a friend like you and though things have moved on i'm glad you're ok :)
As for my love life, nothing these few months. Gone are the days in school when you used to have crushes and scandals blah blah.
Army life has deprived me of that (hahah) and it's kinda boring to see only guys around me (aww =X) the only females we see in camp are.... not exactly feminine looking, (if you get what i mean) LOL.
Till next time.
I need you so much closer.