Remarkable week of football...

...Barça relentless, and so were Irene and Mina!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


Yes, it's been a week of good harvest for Barça. And why not? Now that the new Spanish La Liga season and the Group stage of the UEFA Champions League are kicking off, it might just be the best time to re-establish dominance. Whether or not that was what Pep Guardiola and his men had in mind last week of big days, they brought excitement to the Barça fans and many other followers of the beautiful game. However, work had been brutal for me, there was no time to capture the moment here. Even the extremely rainy Saturday demanded a full day's work... and more! Aaargh! But, hey, some people have to work for a living, and hobby always takes the backseat during brutal times. Reality, baby... and it bites, too! :( The good news is... it's looooong weekend! Yaay! :) And while I got away from work (very) late into the weekend... I'm back in my "happy place"! There will always be (plenty of) time to worry about work - as always. Yaaahoo! =)

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European Super Cup

So, the 2011 UEFA Champions League winners, FC Barcelona, and the Europa League winners, FC Porto, clashed in Stade Louis II
FC Barcelona and FC Porto vie for the 2011 UEFA
Super Cup at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.in Monaco last Friday. No, I didn't see it live... only managed to see the highlights after the match while uncoiling from a (very) long day at work so not possible to comment. I read that it was not the "typical" Barça game of exceptional brilliance. It was slow and peppered with mistakes - from both sides... the highlights confirmed that as well. I was on a "what-the..." mode after seeing Pedro Rodriguez waste a great opportunity, losing control of the ball, kicking too soon when the ball was still hanging too high in midair for what could've been a nice finish of an Andres Iniesta assist. But it was easy to forgive him, remembering how efficient he usually is in patrolling his side of the Barça wing. Most of the time, he seemed to be at the right place, at the right time, especially when a goal is crucial. He just needs more confidence in finishing big attacks.

Speaking of confidence, or the lack of it, David Villa was a quarter of a second too late to finish a Lionel Messi pass through five men. It's no secret that Villa has been having a painful "on-again-off-again affair" with his confidence in front of the goal. And the reason, I think, is these days, he usually takes a split second to position himself before firing when the ball arrives at his feet... and that gives defenders and goalkeepers plenty of time to position for a save. He should revive his risk-taking quick moves that baffled many defenders and goalkeepers in World Cup 2010. He shouldn't view himself as the next best thing to Lionel Messi in front
Guardiola's La Masia boys - Iniesta,
Fabregas and Messi: deadly trio. of the goal. He has an important role in the Barça line-up, and he should trust himself to be the best in that role... simply because, he is the best in that role!

But, yeah, there wasn't much in the match to launch a tired woman to her feet from her seat in the match. But even the most drab of matches will not supress the brilliance of Lionel Messi, that's for sure. Barça's phenomenal "resident genius" shot the first goal on the 39th minute. Picking up a pass from Pedro, who wisely put Andrés Iniesta's steal to safety by entrusting it to their #10, Messi avoided Porto's goalkeeper, Da Silva Helton, and then fired the first goal with no serious challenge. And then, as the match was nearing its close, set up by the stand-in Captain, Iniesta, the enclosed-in-a-circle-of-enemies Messi sent a brilliant pass to Cesc Fabregas, who came on from the bench with only 10 minutes left to play. Barça's new "precious one" caught the spinning ball with his chest for a quick control before volleying to a beautiful finish on the 87th - remarkable! That sealed the hold of the Catalans on the 2011 UEFA Super Cup title with a 2-0 victory over the Portuguese side.

Barça now earned their twelfth title under Pep Guardiola, making
FC Barcelona: 2011 UEFA Champions League
winners + 2011 UEFA Super Cup winners.the former Barça captain the most successful coach in the Club's history, in terms of titles won, surpassing the coaching achievement of the legendary advocate of total football, Johan Cruyff - Pep's mentor. The victory also made Barça's midfield "High Priest", Xavi Hernandez, the winningest player in Barça's history, with 18 trophies... and earned Fabregas his second trophy in just eleven days since his unveiling in Camp Nou. Awesomeness? Definitely... and the truly big days are yet to come... I hope! :)

In the meatime, congratulations to Barça!!!

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Little (in stature) yes... and, yet, the biggest (talent) in Europe

Speaking of historical achievements, Lionel Messi - Barça's phenomenal #10 - received the inaugural "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award" in a ceremony held in Monaco last Thursday. He finished way ahead of
Lionel Messi: 2011 UEFA Champions League
winner w/ Barça + 2011 UEFA Best Player in Europe.runners-up, his teammate, Xavi, and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF - the Spanish La Liga's 2010-2011 Pichichi awardee. Messi garnered 39 votes from the 53 sports journalists in Europe who chose the winner, while Xavi earned 11 votes. The three remaining votes went to Ronaldo. In his usual soft-spoken and thoroughly shy speech after receiving the unique trophy, Messi shared the award with his teammates (which, I suppose, included Guardiola?) and thanked them for their help in making his latest win possible. And, in response to host, CNN's Pedro Pinto's query, La Pulga assured everyone that while his personal trophies are quickly filling out his trophy shelves at home, there surely is enough room for more. Of course, I can imagine how that could be dismaying to many who aspire for the award in the future... at least, within the next six years or so.

The current winner of both FIFA Ballon d'Or Best Player in the World + UEFA Best Player in Europe... Lionel Messi is a "real genius" of football! Congratulations, Leo!

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"Whoa!" and "uh-oh..." moments at the EPL

Yep, 8-2... that's how awesome, or bad, depending on which team one is supporting, Manchester United and Arsenal's match was at Old
Whoa! Wayne Rooney
hat-trick.Trafford yesterday! :) One side was "trigger happy", firing at will on the pitch, while the other was completely trashed - obviously! And it was Arsene Wenger who felt "humiliated" after the final whistle sounded, and Wayne Rooney was the one celebrating his latest hat-trick that helped catalpult the Red Devils to the top of the EPL Table! So, yeah, the Gunners went out of the pitch with their man-bag of pride totally drained... they weren't just beaten by Manchested United, they were toyed with on the pitch like they were a bunch of disconcerted golf players who stepped on the wrong field of greens! :) But the truth is, I wasn't sure if Man U was really being absolutely brilliant out there, although there were strong evidences that they were... or if Arsenal was simply just in a "chaotic phase" after losing experienced midfielders in Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and Jack Wilshere and many others being sidelined due to injuries. Hmmm... I guess we'll find out when the Red Devils
Uh-oh... Arsene Wenger and his beautiful boys
faced thorough defeat in Old Trafford.face the current second place, the
reinforced Roberto Mancini squad, at some point, huh? In the meantine, let's leave Wenger alone with his thoughts - and pray that he could endure it - for now, shall we?

Speaking of Mancini, Machester City, in their own version of "weekend mission enemy demolition", routed Tottenham Hotspur, 5-1, in the latter's very own backyard at White Hart Lane! City's big guns, led by Edin Dzeko, unleashed big ones that choked Harry Redknapp's side, they could only manage to respond once.

And, over at Stamford Bridge, a surprisingly tight and dramatic contest against Norwich City sent Blues striker, Didier Drogba, airborne
Juan Mata, whoa!on a challege against John Ruddy, was knocked unconscious in midair, and then hit the ground flat in a horrifying thud. Oh, gosh! He was carried out of the pitch on a stretcher, still unconscious, with a breathing instrument strapped on his face. Meanwhile, on a happy note, the new Spanish conquistador on English pitch, former Valencia main man, Juan Mata, debuted in Blues jerseys with a third goal for his side - allowing the Blues to keep home supremacy with a 3-1 win. Ah, here we go, Andre Villas-Boas's response to Mancini's Sergio Aguero, who debuted with a brace of goals? Whatever it is, Mata looked perfectly fitted in the Blues line-up... and his good looks, which make him looked like AVB himself's brother or something, and enthusiasm on the pitch belie the lethal talent that will surely spark more excitement at EPL. I can't wait to see how the EPL Table will go this season.

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UEFA Champions League... on Group Stage

Hmmm... looks like most Clubs did some overhauling of their sides last summer (Ahem, sorry, Monsieur Wenger, didn't mean to sound insensitive. Please go back to your conversation with yourself now....). Perhaps, to stop FC Barcelona from winning the UEFA Champions League title again this season? I can imagine the sigh of relief from fans after finding out that their teams were not in the same group as Barça after the draw in Monaco. But, it looks like Silvio Berlusconi will have an opportunity to test his hypothesis. The AC Milan "godfather" acknowledges Barça to be the best squad in Europe today. However, in a subtle imitation of José Mourinho's complete lack of subtlety, he thinks that only 50% of Barça's success is due to class, skills and tactics.. and the rest is luck. Uh-hmm.... Well, awesome news for Mr. Berlusconi: AC Milan and Barça are in the same group! :) Please let us know your findings, Mr. Berlusconi (if you survived, that is)! BTW, how's Italy's economy these days? Cheers! :)

Oh, and Group A is a "nightmare" of a group! It has Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Villareal and Napoli! I'm sure these sides are hoping to wake up from the nightmare... and into the Round of Sixteen. Let's see who's better in surviving sleep apnea. Can't wait!

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Angry females

While New York prepared for the dangerous onslaught of hurricane Irenethis weekend, in Manila, people watched tropical storm, Mina, dampen a torrent of rain during the country's long weekend. Uhm, good thing, it's vacation time for me. The northern provinces of Luzon were badly hit by Mina, leaving many homeless and devastated. The government's initial estimates of agricultural damage alone were at a whopping PhP 880M! Tsk, tsk... y'see, that's why you shouldn't mess with a woman, 'cause she'd blow you away to devastation!

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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website.

Early "explosions" on the pitch

From Spain to England, football "explosions" reverberate throughout the planet.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


And the long wait is over... The beautiful world of European football is alive again! BRAWL of wills and wits - on the pitch! Bring it on!

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The clash of Spanish Titans ushers in the new La Liga season

And so, the 2011-2012 season of the Spanish La Liga is ushered in by a Clásico!

The 2010-2011 La Liga - Primera Division winners, FC Barcelona, clash with the Copa del Rey winners, Real Madrid CF, for the first leg of their Spanish Super Cup contest at Estadio de Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid today. Pundits rate the first Clásico as a must-win for Los Blancos, who were outclassed by Barça last season and, therefore, have a lot to prove this season. The Blaugranas, on the other hand, had an almost perfect 2010-2011 season, winning both the La Liga - for the third time in three straight years, and the UEFA Champions League - for the second time in three years, with only the Copa del Rey slipping out of their grasp through a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid on extra time. While many rate this season opener as a meaningless match and just a mere teaser for what is to come this season, hey, a Clásico is a Clásico! It's going to be as "explosive" as ever!

But, will it, really - be "explosive"? While admitting their desire to win the Super Cup, Barça's coach, Pep Guardiola downplays their chances,
Pep Guardiola, Barça's caballero boss.pointing out the late coming together of his squad for preparation with key players, including Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves and the new acquisition, Alexis Sanchez, not able to participate in the pre-season matches as they were called by their respective National Teams to take part in the Copa America last summer. That resulted in a defeat against Manchester United in their Stateside clash in Washington D.C. Six more men from his squad were called by the Spanish National Team coach, Vicente del Bosque, to play in a friendly with Italy last Wednesday in Bari, which the Spanish Team lost, 1-0. Add to that, Guardiola pointed out, the fact that Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol are still not 100% healthy for a 90-minute feature - in a Clasico no less - and you have a real problematic situation. But, Guardiola refuses to make excuses. His side travels to Madrid with an intention of winning, he insisted.

Real Madrid's coach, José Mourinho, on the other hand, didn't disappoint. He is being his "explosive" self again - off
José Mourinho... Real Madrid's oh,
so "special" manager. the pitch. Now, that is surely something to be expected. Mourinho does have something to be arrogant about though - in his twisted belief of "self-entitled" arrogrance. Real Madrid did fantastic in their pre-season friendlies. They were "trigger-happy" on the pitch, trashing all their opponents completely. They are definitely gelling nicely to a cohesive force... threatening to make good of Mourinho's boastful warning last season that his second season with a squad is usually his best year, not that he lasted more than three years in the three sides he managed before Real Madrid anyway.

But yes, after last season, it would be too optimistic to expect "friendly" competition between these giant Spanish sides. And with Mourinho running the show in Bernabéu, we pray that no incident would happen that might mar the reputation of Spanish football (if last season's tongue-clicker of Clasicos hadn't turned off some football fans yet) and football as a whole as that beautiful game. Amen. :)

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English heavy weights feature at the EPL opening

Over at the English Premier League, three of the "big four" from last season are in action this weekend, and one will see action on Monday.

Arsenal went ahead yesterday, Saturday, with a disappointing scorless match against Newcastle United. The Gunners played without their team captain, Cesc Fàbregas, who is in the process of finalizing his transfer to FC Barcelona - finally! Samir Nasri, who was also missed in the Gunners' opening match is also in the process of finalizing his likely move from the Emirates Stadium to the City of Manchester Stadium.

Today, Manchester United, fresh from their exciting win of the
Manchester United, the EPL 2010-2011 Champs.Community Shield contest against Manchester City last week, will see action against West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea, on the other hand, will be away to meet Stoke City, in what the Portuguese hotshot coach, Andre Villas-Boas's maiden match as The Blues manager. Many are speculating on the outcome of his first outing with The Blues. Well, we will find out soon enough, won't we?

Manchester City will see action against Swansea City tomorrow, Monday, with their new acquisition, Argentine striker, Sergio Aguero taking part in their opening match. Aguero transferred from Atletico Madrid this summer. Roberto Mancini decided to bench his captain, Carlos Tevez, who just returned from vacation this week, following his Copa America stint with the Argentina National Team. The Citizens are the heavy favorites to take their first match to a win, with the exception of José Mourinho, who believes Swansea's manager, Brendan Rodgers - Mourinho's former second man during his tenure as Chelsea manager - can pull an upset against The Citizens. We shall see if the Special One's crystal ball is telling the truth.

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

Footie! ManU prevailed over City to claim Community Shield

Ah, finally, footie days are here again... "emo days" are over! :)
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


And Wembley roared again!!

The battle for the FA Community Shield between The Red Devils and The Citizens didn't disappoint. It was an exciting match that thrilled more than 77,000 screaming fans in Wembley... and several millions more around the globe! Happy days are here again! Hurray for footie!

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Manchester United FC - the 2011 EPL champs, and Manchester City FC - the 2011 FA Cup winners, went up against each other on the pitch of Wembley to battle for the Community Shield - the season opener. Fresh from their 2-1 win over (the mostly second team of) FC Barcelona in their Stateside friendly match, the nicely revived ManU squad asserted their dominance of English football by lifting the silverware - for the 15th time - via a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Citizens. And what a win, too!

While ManU dominated ball possession and attack in the first-half, all their attempts for goal were unsuccessful. The strong Citizens squad tightened their defense line, patiently waited for their own opportunities and slowly mounted their own aggression, too... their patience paid off. All of a sudden, the Red Devils had a steep mountain
Manchester City taking the early first-half lead, 2-0.to climb when the second-half opened, having been buried with a 2-0 City lead at the end of the first-half - to the sheer delight of the Citizenry in Wembley. The first City goal came on the 38th minute, through a crack in the ManU defense that was taken advantage of by Joleon Lescott via a follow-through header of David Silva's free kick. The second goal was a lucky try from Edin Dzeko, testing the new 20-year-old ManU goalkeeper, David de Gea, with a nothing-to-lose kick from several yards away, which didn't look unstoppable. De Gea had plenty of time to position himself for a clean save, but opted to keep his footing and went for a stretch. He caught the ball with the tip of his fingers, but only managed to slow it down as it went into his goal. Yep, I have to admit, I missed Edwin van der Sar right there and then... a feeling I'm quite sure Sir Alex Ferguson shared at that moment. :) De Gea hang his head as he walked to their dressing room on half-time. Aw, the poor thing!

ManU returned on the pitch looking unperturbed by the huge task in front of them in the second-half. They resumed their inspired
ManU's attacking crew, Ashley Young,
Wayne Rooney and Nani. aggression, stepping on the gas more forcefully, while City seemed to have cooled and slowed down their campaign. With the youthful aggression of Tom Cleverley, who came on from the bench for Michael Carrick, taking the rythmn up a notch with fast and decisive reactions, the Red Devil attackers were relentless. And, at 52nd minute, Chris Smalling finished Ashley Young's free kick with a flick to the goal, taking the score to 2-1. Wembley roared mightily as a wave of red in the stands rose and bounced! That rejuvenated the Red Devils, and they displayed brilliant partnerships on the pitch to create more chances, scattering the City defense. Nani then finished a nice play with a lift of the ball over City's goal keeper, Joe Hart, for an exciting equalizer! Wembley went berserk, of course! Patches of Red and patches of blue bounced crazily in the stands... and quite understandably, too!

And then, on injury time, de Gea channeled his "inner van der Sar" to stop an Adam Johnson aggressive attempt with a decisive punch. A-ha, our kiddo amigo has got "it" in him, after all! :) Wembley went crazy... and loudly, too! There was a stampede in front of de Gea's goal as 20 men scampered for the ball he just punched. Wayne Rooney caught it, and gave it a strong kick towards the sprinting Nani, who received beautifully and never looked back. City's stand-in captain, Vincent Kompany, gave Nani a spirited chase... the field in
Nani, the Portugese Red Devil - Man of the Match.front of Joe Hart was practically empty. I can almost hear Roberto Mancini's heart beating loudly in his own ears as he and his men watched helplessly the on-fire Nani sped towards Hart's goal with only about a minute to go. After seeing that Kompany, who was a step behind Nani, had no hope of overtaking the speeding Red Devil, Hart decided to try and foil Nani's approach with a block-of-passage advance - and positioned himself for an intercepting kick. But the Portugese Red Devil kept his composure... he avoided Hart with a fake and a quick side step to swerve to his left, losing Kompany behind him in the process, too, and then tapped the ball behind the goal keeper - the second in a brace of goals that scored ManU their winning goal! And that was how the Portugese winger became the Man of the Match, too. :) Whew!

While they were completely outclassed in all fronts and buried to definite defeat by the extraordinarily brilliant FC Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League fixture last May, also in Wembley, ManU seemed to have moved on from that humiliation. Granted that the itching-to-leave City's captain, Carlos Tevez, and the newly acquired Argentine striker, Sergio Aguero, did not
The Red Devils - victorious!participate in City's Shield campaign, hey, ManU was missing the retired van der Sar and Paul Scholes, and the sidelined Ryan Giggs as well. Therefore, it was as even a match-up as one could get out there on the Wembley pitch. And, if that ManU performance against City was an indication of things to come for the 2011 English Premier League champs next season, then it's going to be fantastic for the EPL! Add to that the possible arrival of Inter Milan's and Oranje's fast-and-furious and prolific striker, Wesley Sneijder, at Old Trafford, and you've got a problematic situation for Mancini, Arsene Wenger, and the new "pretty boy" of the EPL managers circle, Andre Villas-Boas. Ah, there you go... something to chase the economic blues away! :)

The new EPL season begins next weekend. Here we go, adrenalin pump! Can't wait! :)

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Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROGER FEDERER!!! :)

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

More than a Club... and they are European Champions, too!!

Barҫa, Barҫa... Barҫaaaaaaaaa!!
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by Philipina A. Marcelo


And they did it! They are the 2011 European Champions! Woohoo!! Woot-woot!

They battled the Kings of English Football, Manchester United, and the Kings of Spanish Football prevailed, 3-1!! Hail the Kings of European Football! Barҫa, Barҫa... Barҫaaaaaaaaa!!

Greatness in all three Barҫa goals: Uno, after a wonderfully orchestrated play that almost culminated to a Pedro Rodríguez goal, the smooth Xavi Hernandez orchestrated another one... and Pedro Rodríguez completed it to a fantastic first goal! Sweet! A few minutes later, down but not (yet) out, Wayne Rooney exchanged a pass with Ryan Giggs, which momentarily sliced up the Barcelona defense as Gerard Piqué barred Giggs who was dangerously close to the goal. Wayne Rooney quickly took advantage and kicked an equalizer past Victor Valdes who was still eyeing Javier Hernandez and closely watching Ryan Giggs. That brought both Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola on their feet! And so, the first half closed with the two sides even on goals. Moving on... Dos, after a series of Barҫa attempts that scattered the Manchester defense to desperate disarray, bringing down Lionel Messi on the grass a number of times to cut the amazing thread of magic the little genius was weaving, Xavi "called things to order" with the ball. Andrés Iniesta received and passed, and Lionel Messi smashed the second goal in a flash around three stunned Manchester defenders - his first on English soil, and the one that dampened Manchester's spirit! Brilliant!! Of course, it smelled like a win from then on. Tres, Messi set it up, Sergio Busquets picked up and made a brilliant turn around to safety, passed it, David Villa received and kicked it - into the Manchester goal, over the stretched Edwin van der Sar! The third Barҫa goal that sealed the European championship! And there were many, many more fantastic attempts (16 total, 12 on target) with Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Ibrahim Afellay, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué taking a shot, and a few more, at the Manchester goal coming out from some exquisite build ups via tiki-taka vs. meager attempts (three to be exact, only one on target) from the English Premier League's best. Edwin van der Sar was ManU's hero... the score would've been 3++ to 1 if not for his incredible focus and valiant saves.

It was a beautiful match. Barҫa playing their mesmerizing fast-paced football of lyrical beauty that involved every single body in Blaugrana jerseys on the pitch moving in such incredible synchronicity, and ManU trying to keep up with a lot of personality, too. Without a Mourinho hand anywhere in the New Wembley, there were no silliness nor ugliness... only mutual respect, brilliance, fun and excitement... and engaging football wholesomeness in a breathtaking "big boys' play" at the very apex of football beauty. Pep Guardiola once again showed the world that in football, the tiki-taka beauty can be both a delight and a formidable tactical offense - unbeatable, in fact.

People will continue putting "Pep Guardiola's Barҫa" and "the greatest football team ever" in the same sentence when they talk of the beautiful sport that's football, and the gentleman and ever humble Pep will continue to discourage such talk. But after being beaten - and beaten well - by Barҫa in the biggest football stage in Europe, Sir Alex Ferguson - himself, one of football's biggest fans - recognizes Guardiola's Barҫa as "the best in Europe, there's no question of that." And as the Catalans savored their moment of triumph in New Wembley, Sir Alex saluted them with a "they're enjoying the moment... and they deserve to because they are playing football the right way." As for me, words are not enough to describe any part of Barcelona's wonderful 2011 Champions League final showpiece. It's disrespectful to even try! Therefore, I'll leave it at that for now, with a simple CONGRATULATIONS!!! :) I'm a VERY PROUD fan!!! Woohoo!

Visca, el Barҫa!!!

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