the final

there are only two reasons why an inferior team can beat a superior team

1) the inferior team had lots of luck
2) the superior team didnt show up to play.

for the first ten minutes of the final, i thought maybe this was happening, maybe germany could pull it off, because for those 10 minutes, spain resembled a certain team that flopped so miserably.

but big games are decided by single, crucial moments. lahm made the wrong decision, and torres scored.

to be honest, germany played really well, tactically especially. they closed down all the spaces, and spain never really got going. spain played only up to 70 percent of their level. that they still created such dangerous, beautifully-crafted chances was really simply down to their superiority. there was nothing tactics could have done about it.

i must say that i was wrong about thinking that villas injury could be a blessing in disguise for spain. he was missed. he brought a lot of dynamism into their play, took the pressure off torres, and basically facilitated their passing game. fabregas was simply dropping too deep, leaving torres a sorry figure at the top. and at one point, i saw ramos, iniesta and senna standing in one line. whats the use of that? thats why they couldnt play their passing game. there was no depth, there was no movement.

and yet, they were still the better team, winning without needing to be brilliant.

lehmann was the best player for a very inconsistent germany. he singlehandedly kept germany in the game. i tried very hard to think of a german player who had an outstanding tournament, but i couldnt. there was no single player who really stood out. i don't mean to say that all of them played well as a team or what, because you know that is not true. germany had stumbled into the final. podolski faded off after the croatia game, schweinsteiger was brilliant only against portugal. ballack and klose never got going. lahm was a disaster against turkey. there was no one individual who stood out.

unlike the spanish team. but to me, xavi is without a doubt my player of the tournament. there hasnt been anyone else who has so dictated the game, the tempo like him. he is the brain of the brilliant spanish midfield, pulling the strings, orchestrating the play. with this outstanding display, i dare say he can put the disappointment of barcas season behind him now.

here is my team of the tournament

GK: Casillas
i would have loved to put van der sar here, he was instrumental in making the scorelines against france and italy that, but casillas has done very well to make up for the weaknesses in his team's defence.

Left-back: Zhirkov
i forgot all about him right at the start of the tournament, forgot how he terrorised the English, and he made me pay. a brilliant, cultured attacker.

center-back: Marchena
seriously, i thought very very hard, and realised that i couldnt find a central defender who has impressed. marchena is the closest, although definitely not the most popular. he is a downright dirty player who keeps trying to get to you, with his dirty nudges, kicks and all. yet at times, he has shown his class to turn his way past tiring forwards.

right-back: sergio ramos
why the spanish game functioned so well was because of ramos, how comfortable he was on the ball. he proved himself defensively against zhirkov. but what really impressed me was his attackin play.

left-mid: sneijder
the only player who fought and would have continued fighting in that russia game. when you look back on that game, you can only shake your head and feel that the whole dutch team has let him down. because he could have been the player of the tournament. or at least given xavi a fight for it.

center-mid: Xavi
need i say more?

center-mid: hamit altintop
he epitomised the turkish spirit. his versatility underlines his class. you can really put him anywhere on the pitch.

right-mid: iniesta
xavi's partner in crime. another joy to watch, seriously.

left-forward: villa
tournament top scorer, always a thorn in the opposition defence.

center-forward: torres
might have only gotten two goals, might have looked very awkward in the fluent spanish game, but added another dimension to their play and rose to the occasion in the final.

right-forward: arshavin
pathetically anonymous against spain, but one should not be judged by one single game. his off the ball running, intelligence drove russia forward. but spain were just too good.

and with this, the EM comes to a close. the best team of the tournament has won. and rightly so.

strength can never beat intelligence.

bittersweet

watching Russia get totally outclassed by Spain is both happy and sad.

happy because Spain were a joy to watch. Villa's misfortune at getting himself hurt taking a freekick turned into Spain's fortune, as the introduction of Fabregas meant the Fantastic Four were reunited for perhaps the first time in the tournament- Silva, Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas. and fantastic they were.

happy because the dwarves of the Spanish midfield made the Spanish clockwork tick to perfection. intelligence will prevail.

happy because Spain had put Russia in their proper place, showed them who's the real thing, who's the pretenders.

happy because Spain had taken revenge for us in such an overwhelming manner.

but sad because it should have been us playing, thereby sparing Russia the trauma of going through a hammering again.

sad because this pathetic Russia was the team that destroyed the even more pathetic us.

sad because no matter how many times you ask : Arshavin who? as you watch how total Russia's defeat was, you can't change the fact that last Saturday, our defeat was total.

sad because Spain showed how easy it was. Spain did everything we didn't do. control the game, kill the space, apply the pressure, win the challenges, attack, attack, attack. that was all that was needed to beat the Russians. as simple as that.

come sunday, if Spain plays like this, Germany has no chance at all.

two games

from the bottom of the abyss of German history,
under the burden of the millions of victims of murder,
i did what human beings do when speech fails them
- Willy Brandt

when he did this years ago, it stirred up a lot of debate- was it exaggerated?

for every emotional person in this world, there is another who is rational, who is able to think clearly, so clearly such that sometimes it becomes sceptism rather than rationality.


it is just like how some people will look on amused, as some people jump in joy when their team scores a goal, or cry when their team loses.

if there were one photo i regretted not taking, it would be the one of the Croatian girl with the Croatia flag draped over her shoulders in Hamburg, at the Heiligengeistfeld, where they were showing the Euros on the big screen.

Croatia was defending for much of the extra time, and then that one minute of madness happened. First Croatia scored against the run of play. Then, just as suddenly, the Turks equalised.

from euphoria to shock. the look of disbelief. the shaking of her head. as they replayed the goal. the understanding of what had happened that dawned.

and when luka modric, the best penalty taker for Croatia missed, i knew she knew it- it was over.

and when turkey finally won it, the turkish majority simply erupted.

at that point in time, i suddenly realised how terrible it must have been for her and the other Croatians, who were outnumbered maybe 1 to 100.

it was a feeling i myself would experience just a day later in Lübeck. but what she experienced for that half an hour, where everything started going wrong for Croatia, i had to endure for 120 minutes.

maybe i should have left.

but i couldnt.

Prayer

"Who in the world is Florian Giovinco?"

Her brother looked up from his bag of chips in surprise. "You don't know? Sis, you have been living in your own world all this while right?"

She grabbed the packet from him, "Well, you know I don't know anything about football. It's just 22 men-"

"Enough," he held up a hand to stop her. "It is more than that."

"Ok, ok. So who is this Florian Gio-vin-co?"

"The Prince of Venprek."

"Wait. Wasn't that term used on somebody else already? The guy who moved to Germany right?"

"Giovinco is Royale. The rightful heir."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever. So what's so fantastic about him?"

"Why are you so interested anyway?"

"Because, I have to interview him."

He looked at her in awe. "Oh my God."

"Snap out of it."

"Oh my God."

She shook her head and headed for her room.

"Can I go with you?"

She slammed the door shut. "Ok, let me go and do a quick search on the Internet about him, then I will watch some of these CDS that I was given to watch."

**

"This is it?"

"Yeah, Number 14," her assistant and videographer affirmed.

"Nice neighbourhood…with a church down the street."

"Well, he is a rotego. They are well-off," he sniffed.

"Oh you are on the other side?"

"Grooneweiz."

"Ok, ok."

"Seriously I can't believe you are neutral."

"I am not neutral. I am apathetic," she corrected him.

He shrugged and unloaded his equipment.

"Oh well, here goes," she rang the doorbell.

The door opened, but it wasn't a young man who had opened it, but a woman of about fifty. "Oh hello, you must be Miss Lennekeur. Pleased to meet you, I am Florian's mother. Florian! Your guest is here."

"Oh hi Mrs Giovinco."

Florian Giovinco appeared. "Hi, I am Florian."

"Lena."

"Marco."

They shook hands as his mother excused herself.

"Take a seat," he said.

She scrutinized him properly. He looked like your average university student. Looking at him dressed in a simple white T-shirt and Jeans, you wouldn't have known that he was Florian Giovinco, attracting interest from all the big clubs of Europe.

After they were properly seated, she told him about the purpose of the interview again. It was part of a series on young Venprekers who have made their mark in their respective fields, their inspirations and their aspirations.

**

"Florian, you are a free-thinker."

He nodded.

"But before every game, you make a cross with your left hand, ending it with a kiss on your left ring finger. Can you tell us more about this practice?"

He looked away for a while. "Come with me."

**

"So before the game, you close your eyes, make the sign of a cross like this, then clasp your hands tightly together and pray to God."

"You know, if everyone does that and it works, won't every single game end in a draw?"

-

"Hey I didn't say that, Cryuff said that. Just quoting him."

"Just do as I say, ok?"

**

"It didn't work."

"I am sorry."

"I am not saying it's your fault or what."

**

"I never did it again until one day, I saw her come here, and she knelt by herself there, in prayer."

"Uh huh."

"We won the game on the following day."

"So…"

"It was also the last time she prayed for us. For me. She passed away after that."

"I am sorry to hear that…"

"So I am doing it for her."

truth

there are a few truths.

1) i am back in Köln, after a 3.5 hours delay.

2) the quantity of quality is directly related to the quantity

3) this is my last week in Köln

4) i left Norway broke, and i left Lübeck broken.

5) i won't hear the line i thought maybe i could finally hear, come 29th June

6) the truth hurts

spain 4 russia 1

spain and holland have both employed a particularly interesting system for a period of their respective games, namely an attack without a true out-and-out striker.

which is particularly devastating for spain, partly because of the lack of quality in the russian defence, and partly because with the score at 2-0, russia were going to have to push up and in doing so leave gaps behind. anyway this is very interesting because it is so fluid. villa is often on the left flank, and then silva, xavi, iniesta and fabregas can all go in. the concept is a little like what roma does, except that villa is not the playmaker(unlike maybe totti), and villa is much faster than totti, and villa doesn't have to hold the ball but play it for the other attackers.

Senna is not the best defensive midfielder there is. but xavi and iniesta are superb in filling the gaps in midfield. in fact, Spain's problem in defence is not about the focus on attack, but on the poor positioning of the central defence.

and i feel that whoever plays upfront, torres or villa, doesn't really matter. both forwards have quality, although torres is abit more a striker. what matters is that xavi and iniesta can run the show. the way they hold the ball and dictate play. absolutely wonderful. so the key to stopping spain is actually to stop these 2 from playing. which is not very easy.

anyway villa has gotten the first hattrick of the tournament. and well-deserved too.

spain are proving me right, although this is only the first game. in 2006, they turned on the style against ukraine in the opener, but went out early. Spain's defence has to be much better against stronger opponents. russia were without their two best attackers and yet still could create some panic.

but then again, the three teams which i highly rate so far all have shaky defences. in fact, of the 14 teams so far, nobody has a defence that i can say is truly solid.

but in terms of passing quality and attacking, holland and spain have been most impressive.

alas, even if these two teams, which have the idiosyncracy of self-destructing, keep their cool and grow into the tournament, and the footballing gods willing, only one of them can go to the final.

that semi-final then would surely be considered as the dream final by the purists.

The French

If you want to win a major tournament, you need to have a stable defence and mental toughness. But I thought what separates two teams is the attacking options available. What else right, coming from an attacker. To win, you need to score. What Greece did 4 years ago will not happen this time round. So any team that wants to win must be able to score.

Ideally, the first eleven that plays should have the quality to do the job. But sometimes, things happen and this doesn't happen. This is where the availability of attacking options comes in. Which team has the ability to pull a player off the bench, put him in and he makes the desired impact?

In this respect, especially after watching 12 teams, I must say only the Dutch have this quality in their team. The Spanish too, actually, but I hope they prove me right first tonight.

The Germans have a good attack, but seriously I don't feel threatened if Kuranyi comes on for Klose. Schweinsteiger might be their impact player, but to me, he is a starter, not Fritz.

This is why I think the French can be beaten. Their first 11, sans Henry, started against Romania and were neutralized. They brought on Gomis, who despite the potential, is still too raw to play on the biggest stage. Nasri is the only player who can come on and make a difference, and the problem is that he plays more as a playmaker, where it is hard to stamp your mark on the game when you come in late. Of course his introduction can introduce more form in the French attack, but I feel that his impact won't be that great. Anelka indeed has the quality, but his indifference and grouchiness take away some of his lethality.

So, if you want to stop the French, you just need to stop their Plan A, because they don't have a Plan B.

How to stop the French

The French would play 4-2-2-2. Henry will start, because they can't afford any slipup. But the key player will be Ribery. He will play on the right, but will have the licence to roam, even to the left. Ironically, if he goes to the left, Malouda will be rendered useless, not that Malouda is that effective in the first place. In fact, I see Malouda as the weak link in the French attack. I am happy to see Malouda start because I don't see him as a particularly dangerous player. And he doesn't seem to know what to do, where to go. And when Henry plays, he tends to go to the left, thereby crowding out the left flank. So a 4-man attack effectively becomes 3-man. Much easier to deal with.

I don't know why Bhoularouz was picked ahead of Heitinga. The only reason I could think of was to counter the physical presence of Luca Toni, because while Heitinga is very competitive, he is smaller than Bhoularouz. Nevertheless, he is faster and simply better. So I expect him to start on the right, because Henry will be there.

I don't see the central defence as key to stopping the French. They just need to read the game well enough to step in to sweep up the balls the French will try to slip into the box.

The real defensive battle is the areas around the box. Ribery will be there, Henry will be there, even Benzema will be there. And all 3 can shoot from distance. So the defensive midfield pairing must stop them from testing van der Sar.

It will be hard to catch the French on the counter, which is a pity, because we are so good at it, as seen against Italy. The reason is because the French are very organized, and very conservative. I thought about the possibility of Domenech doing a Löw, meaning putting Anelka on the left instead of Malouda. Highly unlikely.

Nevertheless, the French have some weaknesses in defence, which somewhat parallel the Italians. Thuram is no longer young and fast. Gallas is not fantastically fast either. Sagnol is also no longer that galloping fullback he was. It is a pity that Robben is ruled out, and van Basten will probably not risk him, otherwise he should have a field day against Sagnol. Abidal didn't impress me in the friendlies I watched. I feel that his positioning is off. So the French defence is not that solid. I think Afellay should come in with about 20 minutes left, with the old legs tired. His pace will really make an impact, I feel. But to finish the job in the first 70 minutes, I think the attack that started against Italy can do the job, because like I say, both defences are somewhat similar. I would have changed Kuyt, actually, but I think his work rate will again be important to neutralise the French threat on the flanks.

But if things don't go to plan, I think van Persie and Afellay should be the ones coming in to change the game.

Holland 3 Italy 0

not in 30 years have Holland defeated Italy. but before you boldly proclaim this team to be the successors of the 1970s team, i appeal for calmness. the second goal is straight out from the 1970s. Cruijff would have been proud. but the second half was terrible. that is typical holland, isn't it? taking the lead, then becoming complacent. luckily, we didn't get punished this time (think euro 2004.)

what is for sure is that this team has something that has been missing in previous teams- the ability to grind out a goal from nothing. in other words, a ruthlessness. the third goal is proof of that. against the run of play. a goal that some other teams when in a 2-0 lead may not go in search of.

anyway, in the first half, and a few moments in the second half, the attack was fantastic. consider the number of times we split the italian defence open. van niistelrooy was put through twice, van persie was actually put through, but very wrongly called offside, the third goal. kuyt was also put through at first. 4 times. against italy, the masters of defending. no mean feat.

but the number of times we let them get into the box, especially del piero, was atrocious. if you let ribery in like that, you are going to be punished. that is all i can tell you. the defending was full of heart and courage, but you can put that differently: desperation. i hate that word desperate. and desperation doesn't inspire confidence. it was unnecessary. we simply didn't play the second half. we took our feet off, and italy controlled the game. well done to get the third goal, and afellay and van persie could have added more, but we were playing a dangerous game, and van der sar made sure we left with a clean sheet. this excitement was totally unnecessary if we could continue from where we had left off.

van der sar 7
several good saves to keep the italians at bay, although his distribution in the first half could have been much better. how good a keeper passes is very important in keeping possession.

van bronckhorst 7
2nd goal and third goal, he burst all the way up after a failed italian setpiece. the 2nd goal especially, considering he was the one who cleared the ball off the line. end to end running.

bhoularouz, mathijsen and ooijer 6
seriously they weren't that impressive. i dun really noe who was playin on the right- bhoularouz or ooijer. but either way, del piero caused alot of problem on the right. not very impressive. not very assuring.

engelaar 7
some very good passes, very strong presence in the midfield, mainly in the first half. second half, like the whole team, was all over the place. desperate.

de jong 6
what he and engelaar did well was to keep the ball in the center. but winning back the ball wasn't done very well, i thought. the sight of pirlo twisting free all the time irks me. how can two, three players go in and come out with nothing?

van der vaart 6
some neat touches. the pass to van bronckhorst for the second goal was brilliant; i was screaming for it to be played.

kuyt 7
he ran like a dog. it is a well-known fact that i don't rate kuyt highly. especially as a dutchman. but i ahve to admit today that kuyt was exceptional today. against italy, you need to play like an english forward sometimes, and this was where kuyt came in. he made one very big mistake when he did well to win the ball back, but then dribbled into the center and passed it to an italian outside his own box.

sneijder 8
he ran the show in the first half. was back defending in the second. i thought he was holland's best player, with van bronckhorst second best.

van niistelrooy 7
for someone over 30, he ran alot, alot for 70 minutes. he worked very hard, scored one goal. but he should have gotten a hattrick. nevertheless, you can't take what he has achieved today from him.

van persie 6
still not at full match fitness. lazy. but some good touches.

heitinga 6
i thought the defence was more stable after he came in for bhoularouz. although maybe the italians were also tired by then

afellay 6
not alot of time for him to make an impact, but him tearing down the right flank fills you with a sense of anticipation, especially that shot that beat buffon, but not the crossbar. that would have been some impact, some euro debut.

and the second goal. the goal that cruijff would have been proud of, and rinus michels, in his grave would have approved.

what made the 1970s team that fantastic was that they were so fast in moving the ball, they could score with any part of the body, making it seem not awkward but elegant. this goal is so reminiscient of that team because it happened so quickly. ball cleared, vdv controls spreads to the left. van bronckhorst runs onto it, crosses far to kuyt, who heads back to sneijder who runs in and pokes it home.

the tournament has only just begun. beating italy means nothing if you don't finish the job against france and romania.

and goal.com and soccernet both keep stating that the first goal was offside. well on german tv, they were taking out the rule book, and saying it was onside. why? if u look carefully, panucci was lying on the ground beside the goal, albeit out of the playin surface. they really discussed it, and came to the conclusion that it was onside.

Croatia's game against austria saw a very interesting situation. off a corner, the keeper threw a quick ball down the center. the attacker skipped past the central defender who had come up to close down the space. but with acres of space, he chose to pass it between the defence. it wasn't a bad idea. it was also a good attempt. but the defender intercepted. and all the time, i was looking at the other attacker coming down the right flank.
the first goal from germany against poland was very well worked out. gomez threaded a superb ball with the outstep to the backtracking klose, who was maybe inches offside. anyway klose broke the offside trap, ran and squared the ball back to podolski. the gamble paid off, because all three forwards combined for this goal. when you put a striker on the flank, he has to come into the center, so the two up front must adjust accordingly to give him the space to come in. and i think all three forwards are quite mobile, so they are suitable for this system.

podolski

of the 8 teams i have watched so far, germany, despite their defensive frailties, have been the best team so far.

lukas podolski is the name tonight. celebrated his birthday 4 days ago, started on the left flank against his country of birth, and ended the night with two goals. and no excessive celebrations, calm and down-to-earth at the post-match interviews. as always. i think his time at bayern has taught him a bit about keeping his feet on the ground.

putting a forward on the flank is always a risky move, but when it works, it is a stroke of tactical genius. and lukas podolski has made it work simply with his work rate. he was not just a threat in attack, but worked very hard to break down the polish attacks. it was indeed a complete display from him.

20 years ago, marco van basten rose to the occasion and lit up the Euros, growing from strength to strength and ultimately capping it off with that wonderful volley against ussr in the final.

i think there are a few players who can follow in his footsteps, even if, if you remember the names i have put up in my dream team, they weren't mentioned there, because i wasn't sure if they would get the chance to show what they could.

the players are: lukas podolski, robin van persie, arjen robben, rafael van der vaart, david villa, franck ribery and karim benzema.

and on this list, one name is glaringly absent.

this tournament, in my humblest opinion will not belong to him.

EM kicks off

despite being the better team, the Swiss lost 0-1 to the Czechs,lost captain and team talisman Frei to injury in the first half. one mistake, one goal.

that is football.

i didn't really watch the game, but from whatever little i saw, the Swiss played with a lot of spirit, as would be expected, but just lacked the luck and the quality. not that the Czechs were any better. yet, given the way this evening has turned out, they may well go through to the next round.

Portugal saw off Turkey 2-0. in the first half, even though Portugal did hit the post once, Turkey largely kept them at bay. Turkey were organised, and even caused a few scares, whereas Portugal were largely sleeping.

there can only be one word to describe Turkey in the second half- naive. actually there were already hints of that in the first half. if you remember, tuncay was cutting through the defence, and just as he prepared to shoot, nihat came in and tried to shoot, but kicked tuncay's leg instead. that, to me, is the dumbest thing that can ever happen, and it speaks volumes of the player's awareness and decision-making, because wad nihat did was totally uncalled for.

anyway, wad did i mean by naive? first of all, the defending was naive. they were all over the place. it is like they decided they would stop doing whatever they were doing in the first half. and when you look at portugal's first goal, that it was scored by a defender running through the midfield, it tells you what kind of defending they were up to. naive defending. and the attackers were naive as well. what i can't stand is attackers fouling defenders 4 out of 5 times. what is that for? you chase after that defender, you put the pressure on him, you don't need to foul him, because once you foul him, free kick and your pressure is over. he can breathe again. the other thing was how they keep lookng for fouls on themselves. they were never going to get it. and they allowed themselves to get frustrated at it. they made themselves believe that the officiating was biased. they were sulking, whining.

when you let such thoughts creep in, you have lost.

i said that turkey would be the surprise package. they really surprised me with their ineptness. the wingers were really crap. nihat and tuncay got into each other's way. the midfield gave away too many silly balls. and of course this naivete.

i accept that i have made a wrong call. but i stick to my opinion that this is a weak group. portugal will go through. whoever goes through as runners-up won't go far, because they simply don't have the quality.

as the French Open draws to a close, and Euro approaches, i can't help but have mixed feelings. there will be many more tournaments, Grand Slams or otherwise, to come, but without henin.

it is something you have to get used to.

nobody stays there forever.

watching sharapova, safina, ivanovic and the rest just doesn't fill me with the same anticipation, the excitement, that heart pounding feeling that henin induces. it is not just because of henin's play, because players like sharapova and ivanovic are also quality players. i think it is more because you have always identified with henin, you appreciate what she tries to do, such that in a way, you are there with her, rooting for her. you can feel the joy, the pain, the disappointment. this is the missing dimension now. that emotional dimension.

it is like watching man u-chelsea. you are watching it detached.

and when you are detached, your heart doesn't pound. when your heart doesn't pound, it just isn't the same.

EM 2008

EM 2008 is almost here.

how could there be no preview from me? so here goes.

Group A
Czech, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey

i think Portugal and Turkey will go through, although Switzerland should push Turkey all the way. Czech's midfield deficiency should mean this could be the weakest czech side in years. anyway i think this group could be the most boring group because the czechs and swiss will probably be defensive-oriented. turkey will be the surprise package. portugal will go through because it is a weak group, and ronaldo won't be superman.

Group B
austria, croatia, germany, poland

Germany and Croatia will go through, with Germany probably topping the group, although Croatia will be tricky, even without Eduardo. i think Austria and Poland largely have no chance of springing surprises, so it is really the game between germany and croatia which will decide who go through as winners. i have this nagging feeling that croatia will pip germany to top spot. nevertheless, i shall stick to germany topping the group.

Group C
romania, holland, france, italy

this is really the hardest group to decide. romania are really dark horses. france have put together a good team, although they cant seem to score at the moment. holland's biggest enemy has always been themselves, and italy...they have that ability to grind out the required result. it is also the hardest group to decide because holland is in it. and this is actually the toughest group i have ever seen, even worse than the one in 2006.

but i think holland and france will go through. romania will be in 3rd place, and italy in 4th. i think france will score. and i think holland will get their act together somehow, while romania will turn it on. italy will somehow flop.

Group D
Spain, Russia, Greece, Sweden

Spain and Russia to go through. i think after so long, Spain won't self-destruct again, at least not under Aragones. Hiddink's tactical brilliance should see off Sweden's challenge, while Greece simply don't have the surprise element anymore. i think it should be a straight forward group. Spain's to lose.

Quarter-Finals
Portugal-Croatia
Germany-Turkey
Holland-Russia
Spain-France

Croatia will narrowly beat Portugal. Germany and Turkey might become a goal fest. Hiddink wouldnt beat his former team, while Spain will take revenge against France.

Semi-Finals( i am not really sure abt who plays who, because normally i would expect the teams from Group A and B to only meet in the Final if they were to go all the way, not in the semis, but this seems to be the case here)

Croatia-Germany
Holland-Spain

Germany will go to the final, while Holland-Spain would be too close to call, especially given the fact that both teams have always failed to deliver when it mattered most, and this would be an interesting encounter, because both teams would for the first time in a few years deliver, in that they come such a long way in a major tournament.

if you look at it, Germany, if they get their act together, has a really good chance, because they don't meet a real contender until the final. the possible teams on the road to the final: portugal and turkey, even czech, are all decent teams, but simply do not have that extra quality that france, italy, spain, holland possess. By virtue of this, Germany has to be the favourites.

Spain are actually my second favourites. who actually gets out of Group C will really change the whole equation for Spain. i think Spain's biggest match is that quarter-final. whoever they face will be a real quality team. if they can get past that, then that would be a real morale booster. of course it doesn't make the next game any easier, but it is a huge boost psychologically.

whoever gets out of Group C as winners should make it to the last 4, where Spain await. that team would be my third favourites.

and of course, i always cling on to the hope that Holland will somehow win the EM, even on penalties.

lastly, my Dream Team(also who i think will shine)
goalkeeper: van der sar
left-back: lahm*
center-back: mertesacker
center-back: heitinga
right-back: sergio ramos
midfielder: xavi
midfielder: ballack
midfielder: sneijder
forward: arjen robben
forward: benzema
forward: ribery

honourable mention: akinfeev, goian, janssen, kranjcar, iniesta, moutinho, nihat, arshavin, gomez, fernando torres

*lahm would probably play at rightback.

loyalty

the other day, i went to have döner teller for dinner. i paid with a 10 euro, expecting to get 4,50 back. but the man gave me 5. i looked at him and asked him, wasnt it supposed to be 5,50? and he said, for u 5.

he is not gay. but i always go to his shop to eat. maybe once every two weeks or so. so he knows me well.

meanwhile they say reports in italy say that adebayor has agreed to move to milan. if that was true, all i can say is that when everybody doubted his ability, arsene wenger believed in him.

the same goes for aliaksander hleb. when everyone labelled him as a flop, arsene wenger stuck to him.

and over in manchester, i think for the sake of man u fans, this ronaldo circus should stop. if i were ferguson, i would have cashed in on him. if i were real madrid, i wouldnt buy him.

for what?

he has a fantastic season. but i am coming out here and declaring boldly that his next season would be average. even a disappointment, to those who were expecting him to get 30 goals again. because he wouldnt. maybe 10 goals. but no 30 goals. 10 goals. that's all. he would still be a good player, but he won't be all-conquering.

come on, i watched ronaldo miss 2 penalties in big games.

for this reason, i wouldnt waste my money on him if i were real madrid.

he has gotten too arrogant. i am sure ferguson can come up with another trick after selling him. and don't you think it is a big joke? you talk about leaving when your team has given you such backing? isnt that arrogance? he thinks he is bigger than the team.

so maybe man u fans shuldnt be too sad if he goes. they will surely get a lot of money for him.

loyalty is something that doesn't exist anymore.

anyway winning the double in one season doesn't mean you have won everything, and you need a new challenge. i think the least you could do is try to defend that champions' league crown, no? only when you have won it twice in a row, then you can say you want a new challenge.

oh well, that's man u's problem.

That Song

The door opened before he even reached for the knob.

"Here he is at last, the one and only… GIOVANNI!"

"Don't fool around," he couldn't help, but allow the slightest of smile to show as he stretched out a hand to block the video camera I was wielding.

"Acting cool, as usual," I said, focusing my attention on the others in the room. "Back to the rest of us, who have been starving while waiting for the ungrateful Giovanni… our lovely hostess Maggie…"

"Do we need this sauce?" Magdalena held out a bottle, then turned and saw the camera. "Oh hi…"she waved, tucking the strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"There's Mikel playing the guitar…" Mikel smiled for my camera and proceeded to give his best soulful expression as he played that familiar tune. That song.

"And the ice princess Claire…"

Clarissa sat cross-legged on the couch, her right arm propping up her chin as her left hand typed on the keyboard of the laptop on the coffee table, a serious expression on her face.

Even after so long, that was one image which had never left my memory.

"And last but not least, me, Stefanie," I turned the video camera around at myself and grinned broadly.

Mikel stood up and took the camera from me, "Here is our world-famous-director-to-be, Stefanie!"

I laughed.

**

Then the screen went blank. I remembered it was because Mikel had accidentally pressed the 'Stop' button. We had laughed at it back then. Mikel, in my memory, was always the clown, the joker. He would lighten things up whenever things got serious.

**

"Mikel, how is the food?"

Mikel's mouth was full, but he made a thumbs-up sign as he grinned broadly. He quickly swallowed whatever was in his mouth and said, "Fantastic. Maggie should become a chef. A celebrity chef."

"Did you hear that Maggie?" I asked loudly.

"What?"

Mikel and I laughed. "She either needs to be more alert, or she needs a good manager."

"Don't be mean," my hand reached out to slap him on his wrist.

"Oh wait, careful," he just about managed to balance his overfilled plate. "Can you put that away?"

"Say please."

"Please."

**

At this moment, the image on the screen changed from that of a fumbling Mikel to the houses opposite Maggie's. This was when I placed the camera on the balcony ledge. But I didn't switch it off. It wasn't done intentionally, nor was it because I had forgotten. I just didn't.

**

"How have you been? We haven't talked in a while, have we?"

"You just have had no time for me. Always out with one of your many boyfriends."

"You know that's not true…besides, you were the one who rejected me first."

"Yeah, and now I am filled with regrets."

"As if. Anyway the one with no time for the other should be you. You are such a Casanova."

"You know that's not true."

"Don't mimic me."

He laughed. "I like it when you pout like that."

"But you don't like me."

"I like you."

"Not in the way I mean."

He laughed again.

"This necklace looks good on you. Complements you well."

"Thanks. I bought it myself though. Sad, isn't it?"

"I will get you something, ok?"

"Why don't you do something about the girl you like instead?"

He laughed. "It's so easy to talk to other girls. But when it comes to that one, you just don't know what to say…maybe because you know you have everything to lose."

"But if you don't try, you will never win."

"Even if you try, you might lose."

A pause.

"That's mean of you."

We both laughed.

"But you know, I have never regretted it. Even though I felt like disappearing from the world after that…but I didn't and I lived on. I feel that I have grown a lot from that."

"That's good. See? I was helping you to become stronger."

"You are so shameless, do you know that? Anyway, who is she?"

"Who?"

"Her. Tell me. Maybe I can help."

"I need another drink."

**

I liked Mikel, and I told him so. But he told me there was someone else that he liked. After hearing that, my world totally fell apart for the next few days. But I picked myself up. Much as I would have loved to erase that from my memory, to pretend as though it had never happened, I couldn't change that. But in a way, I was glad I did what I did. At least then I knew the answer. Anyway, Mikel and I remained close friends, in spite of what happened. The kind of friends who would go out together to have a drink at midnight, on impulse. I thought that even if we never find our respective other halves, being like this…wouldn't be that bad.

That was what I thought.

**

Claire was sitting on the sofa, the plate of food beside her barely touched. She was staring at the laptop screen, but her heart and mind weren't there.

I removed the plate and sat down beside her. She didn't notice anything at all but just stared blankly ahead. I tapped her on her shoulder, and she turned with a jolt.

"A penny for your thoughts."

"Nothing much. Just that it seems so surreal, isn't it? Maggie getting married. And to think back in school, I was always worrying about her, making sure everything was all right. She wasn't really the kind who could take care of herself, always lost in her own world, always making a mess out of whatever she does, other than cooking of course. And I used to secretly think, would there be a guy in this world who would be patient enough and willing to take care of this pure and innocent girl?"

She looked at me. "I worried too much, right? Maybe I should worry about myself first."

She suddenly noticed the camera and reached out a hand. "Don't film me."

"Ok ok…"

**

We had that gathering because Maggie was getting married. Since graduating from uni, we didn't meet up as frequently as we used to, so she wanted the five of us to get together for one last time before her wedding.

The five of us had always been together. From gymnasium all the way up to uni; even if we were in different faculties, we were still together. But as we moved on through the various stages of our lives, we slowly grew apart. The times we spent together became less frequent, and shorter.

Nothing can stand the test of time.

**

"So Maggie, what's for dessert?"

Maggie looked up and smiled in a dazed manner. "Crema catalana…this is the first time I am making it, so I hope it turns out ok…"

"Let me get a close-up of it…" the camera zoomed in on the desserts. "This is Maggie's crema catalana, I shall have the honour of being the first one to taste it…"

"How is it?"

I stuck out a 'good' sign in front of the lens. "Very very good…"

"I am glad to hear that…" Maggie's expression became dreamy. "You know, Stef, I am so happy that all five of us are here together. I don't know when the five of us would be together like this again…"

"At your wedding, Maggie," I interrupted.

She smiled that innocent smile of hers, "After that? Who knows right…Stef, will it end just like that?"

I lowered the camera. "It won't, Maggie. It won't."

**

How much had I actually believed that, when I said it back then? I was lying, wasn't I? I was lying because I wanted to reassure Maggie. Or was I only trying to reassure myself? It was always the case, wasn't it, using Maggie as the reason, as the excuse? Claire worrying for her, me wanting to protect her…deep down, we were the ones who were vulnerable, the ones who needed reassurance. In the end, we were just clinging on to Maggie, because her pure and innocent heart kept us afloat as we struggled, as we sank deeper into the harsh adult world.

After her wedding, the five of us never met like this again.

**

"Who do we have here, by the balcony, acting cool? Could it be the great Giovanni?"

"Cut it out, ok?" Giovanni turned away from my camera and stared far away into the night sky.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"It's about her, isn't it?"

He turned back and gazed beyond the camera. And then, he looked away again, down at the floor.

"You haven't told her?" at the same time, I placed the camera on the ledge.

"Aren't you going to?"

"Don't you think she should know? Even if it won't make a difference, I am sure it is only right that you tell her about it…and not suddenly disappear for 4, 5 years."

"Go."

**

The doorbell rang. I already knew who it was going to be. I pressed the 'Pause' button and went to the door, opening it.

As I expected, Giovanni was standing there.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," he replied. "Can I come in?"

I nodded and made way for him. He walked straight to the sofa. I followed behind. He sat himself down. "What's that you are watching?"

"Old videos of us."

"Uh huh."

I sat down beside him. "I thought you weren't coming. Claire said you weren't, that you couldn't get away from your job over in New York."

"How could I not be there? I have always been there, haven't I?" he stared straight at me.

I met his gaze. "But so what? You weren't there when she needed you most."

"I am always there."

I shrugged. "Can I watch on?"

He nodded, but looked away instead.

**

"Since Mikel has his guitar here, it would be a sin if we don't have him play for us, right?"

"Yeah!" Maggie answered enthusiastically.

"Can we have more enthusiastic support please?" I asked, shifting the focus to Giovanni, who was sitting on the sofa, arms folded, looking away. Beside him, with about half a meter gap between them sat Claire, whose eyes were shut tightly.

I zoomed in on Mikel again. "Come on Mikel, your best song."

Mikel made an 'OK' sign and started playing that song.

**

Giovanni was crying beside me. I had known him for more than 15 years. Never once had I seen him cry. Not even sob. But here he was, a grown man, crying. I couldn't bear to look at him. I took a few sheets of tissue and passed them wordlessly to him.

On the screen, Mikel continued to play and sing that song.

Claire's favourite song. The song her late grandfather used to sing to her when she was young. The song Mikel sang at his funeral.

And suddenly, I understood everything.

Giovanni was at the funeral. 2 years ago, a year after Maggie's wedding, Claire's grandfather had passed away. Giovanni had come back from New York to attend the funeral. But Claire never knew.

Claire never knew a lot of things about Giovanni. Because he never said a single thing from his heart. He never said the important things.

Giovanni was crying because he had realized that: the distance between them, the frowning faces…

"Gio…you were always there…but the person she needs isn't someone who stands in front or behind her…but someone who stands beside her."

I knew he knew that too. But tomorrow, he would probably be standing in the shadows again, as he always had done. Only I would know. But so what if I knew?

Tomorrow, Mikel would marry the girl who has always been in his heart.

Claire.

roland garros without justine henin is indeed weird. i don't really have a reason to watch tennis now.

and watching france vs paraguay, spain vs peru and just now, holland versus wales, i suddenly feel the urge to play again.

although the homecoming in july wouldnt be quite the same as the one i had been hoping for.

it is like eduardo missing the euros.

but football isn't everything.

on another note: i realise that i might be missing alot of EM action due to travelling plans. which makes me hesitate abit. after all, i have never missed more than a quarter of any tournament other than the world cup in 2006, thanks to you guess it.

but at least i will be watching holland's opener.

and sergio ramos is indeed a class act on the right side of defence. arjen robben, if he stays fit and cool, might just become a star at the euros, if holland can get out of their group first. orlando engelaar is also interesting. and benzema has got all the qualities i look for in a forward. very impressive indeed.

hola!

to all the people who have missed me, be it in singapore, japan, germany or mars, i am back.

and today is the first day of june.

the weather yesterday was terrible. resulted in trains being delayed. indefinite delay, even:

but the weather now is very sunny. welcome back to germany, land of crazy weather.

anyway, spain was wonderful, very different from germany. i looked back on where i have been so far, and realised that holland, belgium and switzerland are still very much like germany.

especially barcelona. barcelona is in one word: traumhaft. dreamlike.

madrid and toledo are very nice places, but i guess the moment you have been around abit in barcelona, you would have forgotten about them; if people were to ask you about spain, you would talk about barcelona.

anyway when i came back from hol/bel, i was quite relieved. partly cos of the weariness, partly cos of tt cabbing from liege. and between e three countries, i was most comfortable in germany.

but coming back from barcelona, i didnt feel this relief.

even though at first, not knowing spanish was difficult. but after a while, you get used to the system and know how to get by. and of course, what is most interesting is that the language i used most often in spain was german. met quite a few germans there and really enjoyed talking to them.

and i guess now i ahve reached the point where i feel like i come from germany. like people ask me where i am from, i will say originally from singapore, but live in germany.

anyway people who say that it is ok to travel alone because then you don't need to worry about others, you do what you want, you make all the decisions for you yourself probably haven't been in places like Tokyo, Barcelona or Amsterdam alone.

it is good to be alone sometimes. but i guess we as humans always need somebody.