My world of sports...

...can it get worse? ==================================================================================
by PAM


Tennis, football... what on earth is happening?  It feels like the planets have been re-aligning or something.  Yes, of course, I've been paying attention!  I just didn't have enough leisure time to supply the sports ingredient in my blog these days.  But today, I feel I need to make time for it... or the balance in my world would tip to the dangerous 'burnout' end.  I have to say though that all is satisfying in the work front as far as outcomes are concerned... but burnout is slowly creeping in, too... and it's not even one year yet.  I'm feeling the pressure on my body... and it doesn't feel good. 

Therefore, bring on football and tennis!

***
Alright, football first... let's break it down.

First, Sir Alex Ferguson retired, ending his 27-year tenure as Manchester United's big boss... but that happened ages ago already, it seems, at the rate things are going in the football world.  It's just that Foodball Captain chose to write about David Beckham's retirement - only - when the 'shake-up' was happening.  I needed to rely on FC that time just because I was too busy with my 'day job' to write about my sentiments.  Oh, well... what can I say, except you go for what's in front of you... and complain later? :)

Second, Pep Guardiola, my man, finally started his stint with FC Bayern Munich last month... and it felt odd to see the cule legendary coach mentoring the already 

Pep Guardiola (5th from left, 2nd row) is the Bundesliga

Champs' new boss.

(Photo credit:  grabbed from Daily Mail UK.)

'perfect' Bundesliga current champions... okay, not to mention the UEFA Champions League holders, too. Okay, in fact, they are treble winners last season.  So, there, big job to keep that up - perhaps, even for Pep!  Pep was greeted by a jab on the face by Bayern Munich's reserve goal keeper, Tom Starke.

On the other hand, Barça's future seems uncertain, even when they regained the Spanish La Liga Primera crown back to Camp Nou (yaay!)... an achievement that contributed to the shortened stint in Madrid of the, now confirmed, not-so-special-one, Jose Mourinho, who is now back at Chelsea FC's helm.  Yep, when a 'Pep news' comes up, somewhere, somehow, a 'Mou news' pops up, too.  But, who cares?  About the Mourinho out-of-Madrid, gone-to-Chelsea piece of news, I mean.  Well, it matters to Roman Abramovich, obviously... and, perhaps, John Terry, who was assured - not - by Mou of being in the first team.  Alright, here we go... more colorful drama at Stamford Bridge next season!  Bring on the popcorn!   In the meantime, we wait in giddy anticipation of the Bayern Munich-Chelsea match soon... and the Bayern Munich-Barça match even sooner!  Big matches, alright.  Hah, sorry work, you just gotta share time with football now - seriously! :)

Third, so many player movements across teams and Leagues... and even across continents!  Barça's very good home-grown young midfielder, Thiago Alcantara, for instance, is now Pep's new recruit - from Catalunya to Bavaria.  David Villa now plays for Atletico Madrid.  Brazil's current best player, Neymar, is Barça's newest 'boy wonder #2'... Lionel Messi being (and always will be) #1.  How would that figure in Leo's false 9 position in the Barça scheme... we shall see - soon enough.

Fourth, Tito Vilanova's cancer so sadly recurred... and he had to step down as FC Barcelona coach two days ago to resume treatments. :(  Oh, boy... talk about uncertain future!  That piece of news was

Snatched from the touchline by a horrible illness... anims, Tito!

(Photo credit:  Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

the turning point for me.  It made me decide to snatch back some of my personal time from my 'day job' to write something here!  Just when I'm beginning to really, really like Tito's calmness, and his thoughtful and serene-looking face in a handsome stance on the Barca touchline... he leaves!  What's more, it's all because of a life-threatening illness. :(  I feel guilty for not writing about his stint with Barça, which I appreciated and enjoyed, too.  The Barça players lead the football world in wishing Tito the very best... because, as Andres Iniesta points out, in the end, this more about a man's life rather than just football.  Anims, Tito! 

Now, the search is on for the next Barça coach. Who would it be? I hope it'd be Rubi. His ideas seem fresh, and his personality seems right for the Barca philosophy: work hard, observe discipline, be a teamplayer, keep ball possession and bring it to the goal, play well - to win... and play beautifully.  He seems to be passionate enough about leading and leading well a great football team, and he seems to have enough youthful energy to match that passion.  He could be in the same wavelength as most of the key Barça players.  He has Pep's aura... not to say that Barça needs to look for another Pep, because there is only one Pep Guardiola... and he is now in Allianz Arena in Bavaria.  Just look for one who respects the Barca philosophy, and will keep it alive and well.

Man, I lied low on my 'football thing' here for a few months, and I came back to a completely new world of football!   Whew!  But, life goes on... the ball rolls on the turf, and the men kick it to keep the beautiful game alive and well.  Therefore, we hope for the best... and we get ready for schedule adjustments to accommodate football in my sked.  I'm excited!  :)

***
Next, tennis...

Yes, yes, and yes, I have been paying attention to tennis, too! 

And yes, I did follow the French Open and the Championships at Wimbledon... alright, I admit, I did an unacceptable in-and-out (of consciousness) in the middle of matches.  I was just too tired to stay awake most days... but, hey, I exerted tremendous effort to stay awake.  That should keep my "licensed" tennis fan status! :)  

I have to admit that I almost fell from my seat when Roger Federer exited Roland Garros in the quarter-finals.  But, I was totally, totally awed by the greatness on clay by Rafael Nadal!  He was sooooo awesome - on clay - the greatest ever, in my book!  I'm so glad he was back to play strong, and regain his seat as one of the Top 4 players in the world.

Ooops, I know, I know, I spoke too soon... because Rafa exited Wimbledon, a few days later - in the (freak of a) first round - against an unseeded player!  Imagine?  A day later... there went the defending Champ, Roger Federer, out of Wimbledon, too - in the second round!  Ow!  Just a year ago, after bowing to Andy Murray in the London Games to claim the silver medal, the King of Grass was back, and made history by claiming his 17th Grand Slam in Wimbledon - the most GS ever by a male tennis player in the Open Era.  This year, he was not good enough to overcome the challenge of another unseeded player, 'causing him to slide down the ranking to #5 - for the first time since 2002!  Ow, ow, ow!  Too bad, there hasn't been enough time for the world to watch the cute antics of his adorable twin girls.  Oh, well....

There's a saving grace though... Juan Martin del Potro is towering tall again on court, giving Novak Djokovic a spirited run for his money in the Wimbledon semis, and the Andy Garcia look-alike, the beautiful Spaniard, David Ferrer, went up to #4 in the ranking, for the first time... and played in the semis in Wimbledon - for the first time, too.  Woot-woot!  And the biggest tennis drama of the year went off from the tough, tough racket of Andy Murray... he claimed his FIRST Wimbledon Cup - the first British man to win in more than 70 years!  Woohoo!  You can just imagine how happy Judy Murray was... immensely happy - maybe, happier than Andy himself! ;)  By the way, that was heartfelt, the woot-woot, I mean... CONGRATULATIONS, Andy!  :)

Alright, I have work to do *sigh* .... ciao!

***

Road to Munich hiccups...

...for Barça... and, okay, Los Blancos, too!
=========================================================
by PAM


Yeah, Tuesday and Wednesday (Wednesday and Thursday this side of the world) had been a 'stunning' two-day football affair.  I'm still speechless until now.  I'm still pinching myself just to make sure that what transpired during the past two days were real... and that I wasn't having a nightmare.


So, both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF took care of La Liga business last weekend, with the World's Best Player, Lionel Messi (who cares what you think, Mr. Pelé?), and the flashy Blanco diva, Cristiano Ronaldo, setting the record
Messi and Ronaldo, La Liga Megastars... 41 goals
each... and counting!for the most number of goals scored in the Liga history in one season - a staggering 41 goals each!  That also brought Messi's goal tally this season in all competitions to 63 goals.  Oh, boy! What a boy, this boy! Oy! 


After their respective Liga competitions over the weekened, four points still separated the Spanish giants as El Clásico loomed this coming weekend, with the Blancos enjoying the coveted lead over the defending Campeones from Barcelona.  With five matches still to be played, including the Clásico, the result of this weekend's "Clash of the Titans" could easily decide the Liga overall outcome... and therefore, the Culés and the Madridistas are holding on to their seats in high-tension anticipation.  "Bloodbath" alert!


But first, there's the first leg of their respective UEFA Champions League (UCL) Semi-final tie with Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge in London for Barça, and FC Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany for Real Madrid.  Both are not small matter by all means and standard, of course!  But with many people wishing (or dreading, depending on one's heart condition) a UCL Clásico final, the semis talks were not as big as the coming Clásico - a possible preview of what might be a "Munich Mutilation" via a UCL Final.  Of course, it was the 'most wrong' way to deal with football matters, as the past two days showed!  The results were astonishing!  Well, one is more astonishing than the other though. :)

Just being lazy...

...'cause on vacay! :)
================================================================
by PAM


I know, I 'whine' - not so often... but often enough - about vacation not coming soon enough... especially when the going gets impossibly and punishingly tough in the workplace for a 'normal' human being to take! :)  Three or four days of vacation is glorious, I think... beyond that, while I still cannot lay my eyes on backlog from work, the bed surprisingly seem to have ceased as inviting as it was five days ago!  And, it was Holy Week, too... the beach wasn't as enticing as it normally did, even when all the Week's obligations have already been fulfilled.  Therefore, today... time to go on a trip - to the bookstore! :)  Wait... how 'bout we check what's on-line and what's playing in the sports channel first?  Brilliant!  Hey, I never said I wasn't boring!

***
Oldie and wisey

So, I came across this interesting article about how wisdom is related to age, and how this relationship varies among Americans and among Japanese.  As Asian (reasonably familiar with Japanese culture) who lived a number of years in the US, I find the article truly "entertaining".  The link to the article arrived in my inbox (ages ago, apparently) from The Economist.  Hmm... so, we learned that the...

"...five crucial aspects of wise reasoning: willingness to seek opportunities to resolve conflict; willingness to search for compromise; recognition of the limits of personal knowledge; awareness that more than one perspective on a problem can exist; and appreciation of the fact that things may get worse before they get better."

and that...

"Americans do get wiser with age... Japanese (high) scores, by contrast, hardly varied with age."

Making the author conclude that...

"...Japanese learn wisdom faster than Americans."

Are you fascinated now?  Ah, just you wait 'til you read the "exchange of wisdom" between readers in the comments section!  Fun read, I think... but do proceed, with caution, open mind... and, uhm, wisdom!  :)


***
Footie beautie!

Yeah, I did watch football on Holy Week.... 

And so, from 10 points in early March, it became 4 this part of April!  Yes, yes, yes... and yes (!), I'm talking about the lead of Real Madrid CF over FC Barcelona at the Primera Division of the Spanish La Liga!  After their successful ventures in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final round last week, qualifying in the semis, the two Spanish football giants went into the weekend, separated by six points - with the Blancos on top - and then emerged with only 4 points separating them. 

Barça faced Real Zaragoza last Saturday with overgrown flowering grass at La Romareda.  What the... uhm, sad joke was that about?  Oh, well....  Pep Guardiola made some changes in his starting line-up compared to his first XI against AC Milan at the UCL QF in the middle of the week.  In the absence of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué (who was injured) in the starting line-up, the World Champions didn't seem as superior as they should be over the hosts, who were playing splendid football!  But then, Lionel Messi was on the pitch... so, what else could any side who has this genius could ask for?  None apparently.  Eventually, his genius shone through!

And so, after heart-breaking misses (I can just imagine) from the hosts, fine saves from Victor Valdes (about time, too!), a lucky follow-up goal from the hosts, a wonderful picking-up-remnants goal from the focused Catalan Captain, Carles Puyol, emotionally charged air where yellow cards were waved and the Zaragoza squad getting reduced to ten men,  lady luck showed which side she favored amidst the flowering grass!  Messi hit his 59th (via a vintage Messi, Alexis-assisted thing of beauty) and 60th goals (via spot kick) of the season (37th and 38th for La Liga) in all competitions.  Therefore, the "flowery day" at the La Romareda was the day when Messi became the first man to reach 60 goals in a single season since the 1972-73 season, getting closer to breaking Gerd Müller's record of 67 goals in
Hmmm... it's that bad, eh? But, come now, Crissy... hush!that season for Bayern Munich. Oh, my... and the 'little man' is only 24!  Wait, there's more... the magic man also assisted Pedro Rodriguez in the latter's rare goal after coming back from injury-induced hiatus, bringing the final tally to a 4-1 win for Barça.

Over at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the hosts were held by the visiting massive force that was Valencia CF, in a scoreless draw, 0-0, on Easter Sunday.  Hmmm... I wonder what kind of 'conspiracy theory' this time is being toyed with by José Mourinho's "special mind" to put the blame on for his side's unsuccessful run in their very own turf.  If Pepe's frustration, which he expressed like a wounded animal by kicking his own teammate, is anything to go by, the draw must be indeed very bad.  Therefore, maybe it would serve everyone well if they caged Mou and his beloved pet, Pepe, for a while... or until the "hurt" subsided.  Oh, and we're not even talking about Cristiano Ronaldo's "pain" yet...  on second thought, uh, nah, let's not go there... too "painful"!  ;) 


The current fourth place, Valencia, was gunning for points - any point at all - to keep their bid for a place in the UCL next season
Hmmm..., amigo, I believe that ball is mine.intact.  The draw proved costly for Real Madrid, who dropped 2 points, cutting their lead over Barça to only 4 points now, with seven more La Liga matches to be played, one of them is El Clásico coming up on April 21 (April 22 in this side of the world) at Camp Nou!  Oh, boy... I'm not sure if I could pack enough courage to watch that Clásico... it might just turn to a 'gory bloodbath', especially with Mou and Pepe's growling emotional state... that Dani Alves do not have a drop of appreciation for!   *sigh*  And, just imagine how Crissy Ronaldo would hurt if he missed a... uhm, spot kick??  Talk about (melo)drama!


But, yeah, the weekend did blow the La Liga Table wide open!  Whoa, hello adrenalin!  Vacation, you are so welcome!  Please stay!  :)


Over at the English Premier League, looks like Manchester City's bid to win the League title this season collapsed in slow motion right before Roberto Mancini's very eyes as the Gunners' Spanish playmaker, Mikel Arteta, kicked the winning goal for Arsenal home, to claim 1-0 victory in their weekend meeting.  Before this must-win match for both sides, Manchester United won against QPR, 2-0, at lunchtime, widening their lead over second place, Manchester City, to eight blistering points, with only six more matches to be played.  Of course, City failed miserably to respond, getting walloped by Arsenal instead at tea time.  Their win over City moved the Gunners to third place, keeping their hope for UCL qualification next season alive.  If you think about where Arsene Wenger and his men were at the beginning of the season, this achievement is quite a feat, I must say!  It's the reverse of the high-spending Manchester City's case, who ventured to capture the League title this season with hefty amount of money invested on buying football superstars whose antics on-and-off the pitch are proving to be too much to handle for Mancini.  Oh, well... I guess it's a matter of management, after all... and that Wenger is still a more bankable manager?


While there were many 'collapsed' dreams, unfruitful attempts, diva-ish hurtings and heartbreaking misses over the weekend... they were all delivered via beautifully played games.  Therefore, hurray, footie beautie!

***
Photo credits:  Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!

Visca, El Barça!!!

A classic win in an El Clásico.
==============================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo


And so, after all the nerve-wracking anticipation that almost induced a nervous breakdown in me, the first El Clásico of the current Spanish La Liga season finally unfolded at Estadio de Santiago Bernebéu. Real Madrid CF went into the Clásico with a 15-match winning streak and was the slight favorite over the seemingly out-of-form and winning-fatigued FC Barcelona... then again, most of those opinions came from Madridistas and those who are "bored" of the Catalans genius on the pitch. The two giants in the beautiful world of football marched to the center of the Madrid pitch... and, as the referee blew his whistle to get the highly-anticipated duel underway, millions of hearts went racing as adrenalin surged and rest at the summit of excitement! I'm still recovering from the heap of football awesomeness... so let me just post this as I savor the moment:

I join the cules all around the globe in rejoicing over this sweetest of victories, Real Madrid CF 1 - 3 FC Barcelona. Oy! Groovy, oy!

***
A fast goal and playing catch-up...

It was a classic "come-from-behind" away victory as the Blaugranes saw Karim Benzema slot the fastest goal in the history of Spanish La
Karim Benzema, slotting the fastest goal in
La Liga history.Liga on the 23rd second via a say-what??? mistake by Victor Valdes. VV kicked the ball to Angel Di Maria (huh??? I know, right?!), who attempted a cross to Karim Benzema, but it was foiled by Sergio Busquets with a kick. The ball was effectively deflected to Mesut Ozil's direction. MO took a shot that got deflected once again by the incredible Busquets - bless him - but, only for the ball to find Benzema, who was a few feet away from the Barça goal. The Frenchman quickly slotted the ball in while Gerard Piqué was still positioning himself in front of the goal and VV still processing what he just did in his head, putting Los Blancos in front. Stunning I must say! Needless to say, the fast moves and the resulting goal thrilled the Madridistas (and most football fans) to the ceiling of enjoyment. Barça's captain, Carles Puyol, called his team to settle down and signaled them to stay focused on the game amidst the Madrid excitement.

Lionel Messi, phenomenal as always no matter the situation, was the first to heed the Catalan captain... and he was not about to be silenced by a stunning goal, history-setting it was notwithstanding. The little genius, in his usual unstoppable form, stole the ball from Sergio Ramos and then flew past Ramos and Xabi Alonso, avoided a blocking Pepe, as he sped and rallied Barça into a response with a kick-on-a-run... only, the tip of Iker Casillas's fingers sent it spinning away to thread-thin safety from the Madrid goal. The wasted chance was matched by
Alexis Sanchez, a classic El Clásico
debut - with an equalizing goal.Cristiano Ronaldo with a lousy miss on the other end of the pitch. :) CR7 decided to finish the cross from Benzema instead of passing to Angel Di Maria who was wide open to make the shot - typical of Ronaldo though. Little did everyone realize that that would define the outcome of the match.

Relentless in his search for an equalizing goal, Messi negotiated a busy Madrid thoroughfare that was intimidatingly lined with four towering defenders. He got through with the ball at his feet, which was not a surprise for any football enthusiast... it's Lionel Messi, hello! The little genius then played Alexis Sanchez, who impressively remained unpurturbed by the mighty task of finishing a Messi assist - not such an easy thing to do, especially on his El Clásico debut. And, clean finish, the Chilean did despite the formidable Iker Casillas of a wall in front of the Madrid goal and two Los Blancos defenders building a fence around him closely as he moved towards the goal! EQUALIZER! Game on!

***
Tactical duel - an El Clásico, indeed!

Level in points now, the guests and the hosts, recalibrated their shot
El Maestro, Xavi, a classic 600th appearance in
Blaugrana shirt - punctuated by a goal.and defense artilleries as they get ready to get deeper into the duel... why not, afterall, it's an El Clásico! In the second half, the men returned on the pitch with renewed vigor. Xavi, who was on his 600th appearance in the Blaugrana shirt, with some sheer determination and a little bit of luck, blasted an off-balanced kick from 30 yards out. Marcelo's toes deflected the ball, an occurence that distracted Casillas into clearing the shot, diving in the wrong side, failing to clear the shot as it happened... therefore, 1-2, in favor of Barça! Ah, classic!

A few exchanges of chance por chance between the giants, great defensive plays by Puyol, some shows of dazzling brilliance in the second-half from Don Andres Iniesta... and some CR7 for-crying-out-loud misses later, Barça "volted in". They took tiki-taka to high gear... and then, in one of those vintage
Cesc Fàbregas, debuting in La Liga El Clásico
with a goal... and a nice haircut - finally. :)Barça moments, Dani Alves, Messi and, the now-well-groomed Cesc Fàbregas sped to the front in a wide triangle, with Alves carrying the ball on the right wing from a Messi pass while Messi and Fàbregas sped in front of the Madrid goal to position themselves for a finish - a perfect puzzle for Casillas to figure out! Both Messi and Fàbregas appeared ready to receive an Alves cross, and drive a cushion goal in to finish Madrid for good. In a decisive stroke, Alves flicked a pretty cross to the farther away Fàbregas who had lesser challenge from the Los Blancos defense, at Casillas's far post. Fàbregas then resurrected himself from silence in the first-half and surged purposely forward for a diving header that sent the ball home before Casillas could take his eyes completely off the speeding Messi in front of him and concentrate on the attacking Cesc! GOAL!!! What an absolutely brilliant play! 1-3 - Barça surged farther up, and Madrid could only stare upward defeatedly!

Los Blancos, the "Special One" and the Madridistas were effectively silenced by that piece of brilliance... just because the Bernabéu Club didn't have an answer to that - even in their best form... and in their own backyard, too. And so, the Catalans went home - classic victory in tow! :)

5 + 6 + 10 (+ 8)... Barça Stalwarts = classic awesomeness!

***
Victory comes to those who respect the power of teamwork...


Pep Guardiola, come on!Congratulations to you, Pep Guardiola and your valiant men, for giving the world yet another brilliant football - a remarkable testament to the beauty of teamwork, focus, hardwork, consistency, and unwavering faith in one's team principles! Once again, you and your men have proven that tactical and technical brilliance can only translate to victory when it is anchored on teamwork - a lesson, not just for footballers and football fans, but for everyone! Thank you for that wonderful victory and the classic display of football beauty - we loved it! All the very best in your next matches.

Visca, El Barça!!!

***
Video credit: Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!

***

Busy, but never busy enough...

...to ignore Barça's awesomeness! :)
==============================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo


You bet, I've been waiting for an excuse good enough to set aside work for a few minutes to drop by here - yes, work on a Sunday night. *sigh*

September has been unkind so far... and I'm praying that it stops harrassing me with work and many other concerns. But it doesn't look like work will let up until the middle of October... so, I'm preparing to coil flat until then. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about my "lab affairs" lately... but the work involved to keep the "excitement" going while making sure that I stand between the students and the white board - on a regular basis - is horrendous! Aargh, I wish teaching didn't involve too much gear shifting... it's too energy taxing, even when one summons the ideality of Brayton Cycle! Ugh! I know... what a nerdy thing to say - and on a Sunday night, too! Tsk!

But enough about work... at least, for the next few minutes!

***
A thorough and painful sanding of the blade...

Ya know, I'd be lying if I'd say that the FC Barcelona - AC Milan 2-2 draw in their first outing in the Group Stage of the
Strike a pose. Barça's frontline and midfield
figuring out the AC Milan "Pato-esque" surprise.Champions League - in Camp Nou, no less - didn't shake me a litte bit... especially that it happened after another draw - with Real Sociedad at the Spanish La Liga. Barça conceded a super-early goal on the 24th second after the opening whistle via a superb Alexandre Pato runaway shot that took Victor Valdes - and millions of fans for that matter - by surprise. It was only after the scoreboard confirmed the Pato goal that Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets realized what happened - the Brazilian ghosted by them while they were still telling themselves what their roles were at the back. While uncomfortably stunned, the Catalans regrouped immediately and went on their attacking football game, with the forwards and the midfielders
Pato, surprises Barça. concealing a makeshift defense with fast passing. But Milan wasn't fooled, they kept pushing to exploit the thin defense during the first 15 minutes or so in the first-half, and Barcelona seemed to realize the opponents' awareness of their weak points at the back, and it affected their focus on the attack.

While the Catalans moved forward with one eye at the back, one genius in their side wasn't straying from the goal though. Lionel Messi kept the visitors busy all night, especially Alessandro Nesta, who did well trying to prevent the little bag of football fireworks from exploding. La Pulga set up Pedro Rodriguez for an exciting equalizer, and then David Villa sent a curling shot to the Milanese goal, via free kick, in a fist-pump-evoking beauty! Woohoo! It
Lionel Messi, always superb.did look like the Catalans were closing Camp Nou last Tuesday with a 2-1 win against the visitors from Milan, keeping ball possession almost all throughout the second half to protect their precarious lead, and trying to penetrate the Milanese defense for a cushion of a goal. But, on stoppage time, Thiago Silva found an "anomalous opportunity" and took his chance against Sergio Busquets via a header winner. That gave the Italian side their second goal and earning them the bragging right of having survived Camp Nou with a 2-2 draw - in their opening match against the reigning European Champs. I have to admit, it was quite a feat! Then again, AC Milan is Italy's best - the 2010-2011 Serie A champions... something that the Catalans seemed to have missed in their "reminders list" before setting out to meet Massimiliano Allegri's side from San Siro.

***
And brilliance blinded the football universe again!

While the season has merely kicked off, for a Barça fan, two consecutive draws in big games was quite worrisome. The Catalans set themselves up in a spectacularly high standards that a draw has become
Fabregas and Messi: megabrilliance.synonymous to defeat. But, just when pundits started writing-off (would you believe it???) the best club in the business today, the Catalans went on a goal rampage against CA Osasuna over at La Liga. The 2010-2011 Campeones treated their fans at Camp Nou (and elsewhere in the universe) with an 8-0 win. While that, in my opinion, does not make up for that losst opportunity in the AC Milan draw at Camp Nou last week, it did assure fans that the last two draws were anomalies rather than the tone of the Barça symphony this season. Nevermind what unreasonable pundits shove in front of us... and what José Mourinho thinks!

Yep, after a "Pep talk" on complacency in view of the previous two draws, Pep Guardiola loaded his big guns... and the Catalans fired at will in the field - mostly, from Osasuna's half of the field - clearly taking out "complacency" in their game equation. Prompted by Busquets, Dani Alves, who was playing in the right wing (and moving "all-natural" in that position, too, I must add) set the scoring pace with the opening big assist. Lionel Messi picked it up and turned it into an early lead. Cesc Fábregas then completed a nice
David Villa... and his new hairdo are lethal.Messi assist with a truly lovely volley. Later, David Villa joined the scoring party with a little zigzag here and a kick there. Fábregas then returned the favor to Messi as he set up the Best Football Player in the World to pick up a brace as the first-half closes with Barça tallying five goals, including an own goal from Roversio.

Pep Guardiola's men opened the second-half with "murder" rather than "complacency" in mind. The midfield maestro, Xavi Hernandez, put his boots on scoring mode, and picked up one via a follow-through from a Messi rebound. Fábregas then kicked one to a well-positioned Villa for a seventh goal, and a Villa brace. The Catalans closed the scoring spree by letting
Dani Alves, a pleasant surprise on the right wing.Lionel Messi give an all-in-one display of footballing prowess with a little help from Cesc Fàbregas, picking up his first hat-trick of the season - to the fans' tingling delight! Barça, Barça, Barçaaaaaaaaa!

Barça will face the current occupant of the La Liga Table top spot, Valencia CF, next. Surely, Valencia will take off shooting to defend their sumptuous rank... but Guardiola's men seem to have been cured from their alleged complacency syndrome that allowed the draw with Real Sociedad and AC Milan. Valencia will push them - hard - and I'm hoping that the Blaugranas will stand their ground... and go on attack - like there's no tomorrow! Visca el Barça!

***
And then there's this and that...

So, after Barça picked up 3 points to better their La Liga Primera Division standing,
If only Mourinho
could cover his (foul)
mouth like that...
more often!Real Madrid CF fell in the hands of Levante UD via a 0-1 loss, keeping their Liga points nailed at 6 and kicked down to 5th place... for now. Los Blancos opened their match against Levante with the injured Cristiano Ronaldo sitting it out on the bench, and had to finish the match with 10 men as Sami Khedira was shown two yellow cards before half-time.

Always looking for an excuse/scapegoat in defeat, José Mourinho naturally, and most specially, pointed at Khedira as the culprit... before adding his part of the blame, that is - just to avoid Madridistas wrath? And then, as his usual obssession of Barcelona, he said, "All points are important and it's better to lose one game than to draw two. Losing is tougher psychologically than drawing a match, but drawing two is worse than losing one." Sure, sure, Mou... now, would you like vinegar to dip those grapes in... just in case they aren't sour enough? And, oh, oh, by the way, would you please comment on Marcelo's second yellow card (which got converted to red card) for diving during your UEFA meeting with Dinamo Zagreb? :)

The good news is, Mou didn't poke anybody's eye this time. Now, that's an improvement! Looks like the psychiatric division of Real Madrid had been absolutely busy the past how many days. Poor Real Madrid... 'cause they have to put up with a jerk (sorry, can't find a polite term to describe Mourinho) like Mourinho! *sigh* And pity for the Madridistas 'cause they have no choice but to side with a deranged person like Mou, and make all sorts of pathetic excuses in doing so. *sigh*

Over at EPL, the pretty Portuguese tactician, Andre Villas-Boas, suffered his first
Red Devil Nani, impressive!defeat as Chelsea manager when Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils slapped The Blues with a 3-1 win at Old Trafford. While Chelsea went on ferocious attack that was more than impressive, Manchester United's speed and mind-connection-on-the-pitch was on such high level that there was no way for The Blues to match it. While Wayne Rooney went from a brilliant goal to a "say-what??" unbelievable miss, Nani was pure brilliance on the pitch, it was impressive! On the Blues side, while Fernando Torres did play wonderfully, and in fact, clicked with a goal
Fernando Torres, his best wasn't good enough.in the first half - hurray! - he blew a big opportunity (in a "most unforgettable" fashion, too - not in a good way) a few minutes before the final whistle... which sent Chelsea's confidence (mostly in him) blown to pieces. While ManU's fantastic win was at the expense of Stamford Bridge's pride, the match was a classic in its peculiar ups-and-downs, highs-and-lows, brilliance-and-booboos - one for the books! :) But the way ManU are running these days, they look like a side that is looking to win it all this season! That's good news to all football fans - excitement is in the offing.

Alright, I think that's all the fun I could have today. I have to do something to this threatening flu, while I set out to yet another BIG WEEK of incredible WORKLOAD! *sigh*

***
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!

It's a man's world!

Sackur as anchor, hurrah for Guardiola, etc., etc.!
=====================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo


While I believe, with unshakable conviction, in the awesomeness of the "fairer gender" (yaay, sisters!), I have no qualms about admitting that there really is such thing as "awesome men", too. :)

***
An intellectual man, and a man of vision

Earlier this evening, BBC News surprised me once again. The network gave me another one of those "whoa!" moments. Stephen Sackur is achoring "GMT" on BBC... again! Really? Really! :) I caught him last week doing the same thing as I collapsed on my bed to decompress from a long day at work. Of course, right away, I got absorbed in the fantastic way he was manning the GMT helm, with most of their interviewees being subjected to tough questioning - in HARDtalk fashion - uncharacteristic of a "regular" news segment. :) The shaky stock market everywhere in the world was the center of discussion that time, and he tackled the issue with his usual "in command" intellectual stance. He then went on to lead a "short-selling for the dummies" dicussion/micro-lecture with the indomitable Aaron Heslehurst, using an apple. Happily, this dummy got it! =)

Here's an old clip... one of those instances when Sackur showed why he could be worthy of admiration:

"My job is to absolutely, rigorously challenge and test assumptions on all sides... to try to dig deep and get to, if there is such a thing, the truth of all these contentious issues."

If half of the journalists in the world (and especially here in the Philippines) were as intellectually endowed and as responsible as Sackur rather than as news sensationalism-driven and rating-conscious as most these days, then people in the world would be more well-informed and in a less-confused and confusing chaos. Yes, I certainly believe that Stephen Sackur is worthy of admiration! And I am definitely a big fan... and a very proud one, too. :)

Speaking of BBC, they will air their feature on the great Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, in Manila this weekend. Mr. Gorbachev's face was the inspiring image in my head everytime I sang along Sting's brilliant and valiant "Russians" - one of my favorite songs - on the radio in my teenage days in the '80s:

"We share the same biology regardless of ideology... there's no such thing as a winnable war, it's a lie we don't believe anymore."

The BBC's "Mikhail Gorbachev: The great dissident" promises to be an interesting feature... and quite nostalgic, too, for young people from the '80s who had witnessed the end of the "Cold War" and the fall of the Berlin Wall, thanks to Gorbachev's vision, wisdom and goodwill - embodied in "Perestroika". I can't wait!

***
Sportsmen

Tennis. I know I have been posting more on football lately... but, no, I haven't forgotten tennis - that's not possible! First of all, I have been having a very limited "hobby time"... my schedule in my "day job" these days is a complete monstrosity, and it eats tennis blogging time like a, uhm, terrible monster. :( But, while I'm still smarting from the
Roger Federer getting back to (winning) form.QF exit of Roger Federer in the 2011 Wimbledon, I have been paying attention to the goings on here and there. Actually, I was finding things a bit weird last week, with World #2, Rafael Nadal, getting ousted from the Rogers Cup in Montreal in the second round of the tournament! And then, the following day, Roger Federer crashed in the third round - a repeat of his 2011 Wimbledon QF exit in the hands of Frenchman, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, after cruising into the third round. And the Wimbledon hurt was renewed - for me! ;)

Tsonga went on to beat the Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, to reach the semi-final against Novak Djokovic, only to retire in the
Novak Djokovic, with his 5th ATP title for the season.second set. That set up a final between the World #1, Djokovic, and the American, Mardy Fish, who put aside the "other Swiss", Stanislas Wawrinka, in their three-set semi-final match. Of course, The Djoker went on to win the title... okay, I concede, nothing "weird" about that one! :) Seriously, the guy is simply unstoppable! As for Andy Murray... uhm, sorry, he vanished in the draw before I could pay him any attention. Nah, nothing weird about that either! ;)

The men are currently competing again over at Cincinnati for the last tournament before the last Grand Slam of the Season - the US Open - next week. Although work is threatening to crush me flat in the coming weeks (so, what's new, right? *sigh*), I'll try to make time to post some on US Open. Good luck to me! :)

Football. In the football front, Chelsea's hotshot new boss, Andre Villas-Boas, flopped in his debut as The Blues helmsman. The always surprising Stoke City sneaked a goal through Chelsea's defense, which The Blues didn't have an answer for in their season opening match... not that they had time to answer anyway. The pretty-boy Portuguese tactician
Sergio Agüero, Manchester City's new lethal weapon.will have a chance to right his slip-up as The Blues face West Brom tomorrow at Stamford Bridge.

Over in Manchester, many are awed by the newly acquired Machester City striker, the Argentine, Sergio "Kun" Agüero - formerly from Atletico Madrid - fresh from a fine showing at the Copa America last summer. Needless to say, after seeing his spectacular two-goal showing, debuting as a substitute in the second-half of Machester City's clash with the EPL "new boys", Swansea City, I share most pundits' opinion: Roberto Mancini is in serious business this season! However, I'm not sure if I could say the same thing about the embattled Arsenal FC boss, Arsene Wenger, these days. Oh, dear....

Speaking of Wenger and his sorrows, stories about how former Gunner captain and now Barça's new "precious one", Cesc Fàbregas (yes, he who launched Barça's bench to
Cesc Fàbregas (second from left),
a silverware in just three days.touchline "war" with Real Madrid), won his first silverware in six years - only three days after his unveiling at Barça - still proliferate in the internet. He played a part in the crucial Lionel Messi goal that secured the win for the Catalans in the Spanish Supercopa, too. The "brutal welcome" of Cesc to Spanish Liga of Real Madrid's Marcelo via a horrifically dangerous tackle, which sparked the latest El Clásico brawl, is still one of the most talked about incidents in the football world as well. The wonderful thing about Cesc is that he is not making a mountain out of it, regardless of it not being a molehill either... with José Mourinho and his destroyers' latest despicable antics going from ugly to really, really cheap!

Speaking of "wonderful conduct", Barça's boss, Pep Guardiola is doing a good job avoiding a "word war" with the deranged Madrid boss,
Guardiola and Mourinho, a contrast
in personality and winning style.Mourinho. He sticks to the issue of football on the pitch, and Barça's goal of retaining their hard-won glory in the previous season through commitment to honest playing of the beautiful game. He is not washing Barça's hands in the unfortunate brawl towards the end of the Supercopa final last Wednesday, however, and issued a warning that if both teams did not make real efforts to stick to football on and off the pitch, the bitterness and hot tempers on the pitch might boil over off the pitch, too... and not among the players either. That is actually a worth-heeding warning as Barça's and Madrid's most passionate fans exchange bitter words following the brawls that have become a usual spectacle in El Clásico.

Whether Pep's call for calm would be heeded by the two sides remains to be seen. In the mean time, many football fans are excited by how Real Madrid seemed to be getting closer to matching Barça's prowess on the pitch, as shown by the 5-4 score in the Supercopa. That was a BIG improvement from the 5-0 brutal thrashing they endured in the hands of Barça last November 2010. Whether Los Blancos would be able to sustain their momentum, despite their mentally and emotionallly out-of-control Portuguese boss, will be known when the new season opens. However, the Spanish La Liga's opening is postponed due to the players strike and the negotiation deadlock between the Professional Football League, LFP, and the players union. So, we wait.

Yep, it's been a "man's world" the past few days. Nope, not complaining! ;)

***
Photos: Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.
Videos: Thanks, YouTube for the videos.

2011 Spanish Super Cup: brilliance + brawl = a disappointment

And the winner is... FC Barcelona! And the loser is... very sore!
====================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo

And so... they did it again! The Spanish La Liga season
Xavi, Barça's vice-captain,
lifting their season opener
silverware acquisition.opener victory goes to... Barça! The mighty reigning European Champions, FC Barcelona, crushed the visitors, Real Madrid CF, in the second leg of their Spanish Super Cup tie via a 3-2 victory at Camp Nou, 5-4 on aggregate. The Spanish football Titans' first-leg clash in Estadio de Santiago Bernabéu finished with a 2-2 draw last Sunday. Barça's game was looking a bit "off" their usual no-hole, hunt-in-a-pack on-the-pitch script while Los Blancos looked "in the zone". Nevertheless, the 2011 La Liga Champs had enough fire power to draw their away match. While the intensity was almost tangible, with a prayer, the "brawl" in Bernabéu remained all about football - and not much else. The El Clásico intensity continued, and the heat went fever-pitch, with the mightier than ever Catalans hosting the second leg, and this time, while brilliance shone from both sides, the intensity was such that many "saw red" - on the pitch! *sigh*

***
An exchange of brilliant fire powers... one deadlier than the other

Football fans were treated to many pieces of delightful El Clásico brilliance... well, at least, as far as football was concerned.

The talented man who slotted the 2010 World Cup-winning goal for Spain,
Too good. Iniesta chipped the Blanco Numero Uno's ego. Andres Iniesta, was the first to come through with a sure-fire and, oh, so elegant touch - a great finish for a hard-fought through-ball from Barça's little genius, Lionel Messi. Iniesta sent the ball to the Madrid goal with a flick over Iker Casillas's head, burning some thread in the Blanco Numero Uno's net... and ego, 1-0. Refusing to be outshone, the visitors responded with gusto via a confused/confusing (literally) shot from Cristiano Ronaldo (or Sergio Ramos?) through a very nice Karim Benzema low cross from a Mesut Özil corner, sending the threads of Victor Valdes's gloves a-smokin' some, 1-1.

A few breaths before half-time, Messi caught Gerard Piqué's eyes... and Piqué's awesome back-heel pass, too. La Pulga took it
Two against one... and it was a Messi affair.through to the Los Blancos defense - full-throttle - with the desperately-trying-to-catch-up Ronaldo at his heel, followed by Sami Khedira and Sergio Ramos. A swerve, and he lost Ronaldo and everyone else... and then he kicked the ball over the sprawled Casillas with a fire-pointed shot that sent a burning sensation, I imagine, on Real's #1, 2-1! It was a fiery message. The Catalans are not surrendering Camp Nou - never! And Los Blancos didn't miss the heat radiated by the Messi kick in the air either. Muscles flexed, jaws tighthened... but they all went for half-time break.

The Spanish Titans returned on the pitch for the second-half action...
Benzema, RM's worthy Knight.eyes to victory. Real's Benzema broke the noisy silence with an exciting equalizer via deaf-focus in the midst of 20 men, all a-frenzy for the ball in the penalty area, following a corner kick from Kaká and a fiery header assist from Pepe. The effort resulted in a Benzema short-range shot that beat Valdes's reflexes - 2-2! Mercury went rising... the heat surged on!

The nervy score, and with only a few minutes left, would've been enough to send a weak man's knees wobbling. But those of the "debut boy"
Messi con Fàbregas, La Masia days all over again.Cesc Fàbregas's, who came on from the bench in the second half with about eight minutes remaining, and those of the hardened Brazilian defender Adriano's were as steady as rock. They set up the on-fire Messi for a beautiful, beautiful goal, where the little genius stretched to slip Adriano's cross through the outstretched Pepe, and then through the completely-beaten-by-a-quarter-second Casillas to find the back of the Los Blancos goal - BRILLIANT! 3-2... Camp Nou erupted - in frenzied appreciation... and so did Mourinho's ego - suffocating in the thick air of defeat!

***
Somebody overdid it - and it was ugly!

I understand - intensity, intensity... and the Real Madrid and FC Barcelona players are such high achievers, none of them would like to hear about defeat. But, that doesn't warrant giving in to the "dirty
Bad boy Pepe, doing his thing.tackle demon", which Pepe (of course!), and more so Marcelo, once again did. *sigh* Marcelo was exceptionally terrible this time. First, he sneaked a kick at Lionel Messi's side while pretending to reach the ball with a high jump. It sent Messi to the ground, feeling the pain... and Messi is one player who keeps going even when hurt and bleeding. But the terrible Marcelo got away with it, and so did Mourinho with his unsportsmanlike gesture at Lionel Messi, so unbecoming of the manager of one of the best sides on the planet, after Messi exchanged heated words with Marcelo. *sigh* Second, at 3-2 with Barcelona in the lead, smelling the strong scent of defeat, with just a couple more minutes to full-time, the Brazilian defender brought down Cesc Fàbregas with an unnecessarily forceful leg hack. I gotta admit, I darted to my feet - from shock - when I saw it! It was too reckless, irresponsible, terrible!! *fuming mad here* Marcelo was immediately shown a
Marcelo, in one of his rare moments
when he's kicking the ball instead of
Barça players. straight red card while Cesc went down writhing in pain. Like very good friends (and I gathered, they really are, too), the whole Barça squad came to Cesc... and a brawl erupted - of course! *sigh*

It was dizzying and confusing minutes, swimming through a flood of Blaugrana and Blancos shirts as stretched tempers snapped and exploding in a mass brawl! Soon Mesut Özil and David Villa, who have both been substituted and were sitting on their team's respective benches, were being pulled away from a puddle of Blaugrana and Blanco shirts - red cards being shown to both of them. Huh?? Aren't they two of the nicest guys in the football universe? What happened? *sigh*

Tsk, tsk... but both sides were playing good football out there! Ugh, Marcelo! Why do you have to ruin it all?? Why can't you abandon the Mourinho dirty football tactic?! What a disappointment.... and very, very frustrating, too! *sigh*

***
And he did "it" again... he who is "special"

In the middle of all that frustrating and disappointing pushing and
Mourinho, sore loser.pulling and yelling at the touchline, the camera caught a (seemingly deranged) man in black, sneaking to pull the ears/poke the eye of an unsuspecting Barça staff, who happened to be Barça's assistant coach, Tito Vilanova! And then the man walked away swiftly like a thief, and with an evil grin on his face, too (imagine???), when Vilanova turned to push him. The man in black was José Mourinho... yes, Real Madrid's "special coach" no less! sigh* The Real Madrid bench saw the pushing, and naturally, they thought Mourinho was being attacked without provocation... and a whole new trouble began! sigh* The Real Madrid Portuguese boss is crawling very low on cheap dirt now... extremely cheap - to the lowest pit of out-of-control insanity! *sigh, sigh, sigh*

And what did Mourinho have to say in his presscon after the match? Well,
Guardiola, cool victor.some deranged sour graping comments - complete rubbish not worthy of printing, of course! Good thing Pep Guardiola kept his cool - as most of the time - and had nothing but good things to say about his Blaugrana men, "They made an enormous effort. They showed what they are like: eternal, legendary, unrepeatable and honest, people who like to train and play football... Honestly, looking at how they responded, it is a privilege and an honour to be their manager." When asked about how things turned ugly towards the end of the tie, he said, "We came to a situation at the end that we have taken badly. The pictures speak for themselves. They think we are always diving, and we think the opposite. I have model players, both on the pitch and in press conferences. We shall just carry on playing football and we shall be as quiet as we can. We are a team that wants to play football as well as possible."

Congratulations, Pep! CONGRATULATIONS, Barça!

As for Real Madrid, well, I hope that the Real Madrid leadership would
So, uhm... hey, Mou, does this hurt? :)see what a disgrace Mourinho is to their Club. The Blancos have shown that they can have tremendous quality on the pitch, too - worthy opponents to the incredible Barça. The way most of them play, when they are playing honest football (say, in the Spanish National Team, for instance), make them great ambassadors of Spanish football as well... and of the beautiful game that is football, as a whole. Therefore, they deserve a better and more honorable manager - seriously!

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Photo and video credits: Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks! And thanks, YouTube, for the video links.