It's been a while. A long, long while. Almost a month, I believe.
This shall be another long one. I'll try and keep it short, but I don't think I can. Too much material to cover. It will also be in reverse order. Just because it's easier to do.
So yeah, as anticipated, I just failed Financial Accounting. On the upside, I did surprisingly well in everything else. So really, I did better than expected. Still doesn't ease the hurt though. I think it'll truly hurt when I tell my parents and see their disappointment all over again.
Prior to that, I was exulted to watch Spain beat The Netherlands. My two favourite teams (Netherlands, ex-favourite) duking it out for the cup. And Fabregas with the assist for the winning goal as well. Fairly average final, for a fairly average World Cup. Good stuff though. Only comes once every four years, enjoy it. Just hope they don't bring vuvuzelas next time. Seriously the most annoying things ever.
Prior to that, I went on a roadtrip to Torquay with eight other buds. Apparently I'm not supposed to talk about drunken exploits, so I'll just stick with the clean stuff.
Getting there was most definitely not half the fun. It was a nightmare. Ray was swearing at everybody, I was trying to make sure the car in front didn't get too far ahead, and the car behind didn't get too far behind. The car in front loved speeding, the car behind refused to go faster than 60 km/h. Life is hard in the middle.
Yeah, anyway. Good times mostly. Unhappy about some things, but nothing too sinister. Thoroughly enjoyed watching football not by myself for once.
And I think that's about it. I'm now going to cry in a corner. Good night.
Word of the Day: Backwards
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Monday, 14 June 2010
Le Coupe du Monde
So, like, I'm all done with exams. Man, it was exhausting. I'm 99% sure I failed Accounting, and I'm trying to work out how to work around it.
The hardest part was telling my parents. They reacted surprisingly well to it (well, I only told mother). Once that was over, it was alright. I wouldn't say their opinions are the only ones that matter, but they're definitely up there.
So I've been mentally beating myself up, and resolving to work a lot harder. I guess I'm just frustrated that I'll have to go through that living hell again. Ah well. What's done is done.
I've now moved on to vegging in front of the television.
"What? You don't watch TV!" I hear you exclaim.
Let me clarify that.
I watch Man vs Wild, Flight of the Conchords, and football.
The reason for my vegging is because of the latter.
Yes, after four years of waiting, the World Cup is back. Yes, I watched Australia lose this morning. It was embarrassing, to be honest. I don't know what happened to the Australia of four years ago. We had more fire back then. I'm afraid to say it, but I don't see us getting out of the group stages.
That red card against Cahill was very harsh. He was pulling out of the tackle, and hit the guy with his thigh. Surely a yellow would've been more than enough. Stupid card-happy ref.
Other matches...hmm. Let's do a list.
South Africa 1 : Mexico 1
Surprisingly impressive. Both were trying to go for each other's throats, and played some great attacking football. A very enjoyable opening game, marred slightly by the fact that South Africa almost won but didn't.
England 1 : USA 1
Another draw, this one much, much less entertaining, apart from England keeper Robert Green throwing the ball into his own net. Didn't help that I missed the Gerrard goal that happened in, like, the first five seconds of play.
Australia 0 : Germany 4
The less said about this game the better I think. Australia were lacking in attack, lacking in defense, were missing star players, getting sliced apart by the German machine, and generally doing a really good impression of fish milling around in a bowl of water. Fish that were completely out of their depth. I don't think anybody played well. Lucas Neill was calling non-existent offsides. The offside trap was clearly not working, because they were continually failing to pick up the man who was not offside making the run from deep. Fairly rudimentary schoolboy errors, like not playing the ref's whistle, like Neill and his shadow offside call. Yeah. That's about it really.
Netherlands 2 : 0 Denmark
Was really, really looking forward to this one because a) it's the Netherlands and b) it was an early game, and I really needed one just then, because I am slightly tired from having a total of eight hours sleep over two nights. Anyway, what a game. Certainly didn't disappoint. The movement, passing and vision of the Dutch team is just magnificent. What a joy to watch. Their ball control is also sublime. The way they play is a thing of beauty. They may just be my next favourite outside-of-Australia team, the top one being Spain. I'm still trying to decide whether to buy a Spain jersey or Australia. Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Perhaps I need more money. It's just that, if Spain win this cup, it will be the crowning moment for one of the greatest, if not the greatest, national football sides of all time. I mean, Fabregas and Torres are on the bench for them. That says enough.
And that's mostly it for now. Watched a bit of Greece vs South Korea, got bored so kept playing monopoly.
Just to finish, a comment about the match ball. The scientists and whatnot who designed/engineered/lovingly handcrafted these balls are coming out and defending it, saying things such as "it flies the straightest out of any ball" and "the players just aren't used to it yet." They use these as defences and justifications for why players are complaining about it.
I don't know about you, but I have never heard this many players complain about a World Cup match ball. At the end of the day, if the players, who have spent the better part of their lives playing this sport, say that it doesn't feel right, no matter how perfectly round the ball is, or how aerodynamically awesome it is, the fact remains that the players don't enjoy using it, and engineers and such cannot claim that technological perfection in a ball equates to something exactly the same as balls that these guys have been using since they've been kicking balls.
I also don't understand why they have to keep changing the ball. It's not exactly like loads of people were demanding a massive overhaul of the football. Clearly the ones they use every day are just fine. Maybe their imperfections are what makes them a true football. In a sense, they're used to their imperfections, and have already adjusted to them. What does the new ball add anyway, apart from an alarmingly high frequency of over-hit passes, and ridiculous keeper fumbles? What's it's purpose? Greater speed? Because that's the only thing I can see it maybe doing better in.
Anyway, sleep beckons. Got a big day of buying stuff tomorrow.
Word of the Day: World Cup
The hardest part was telling my parents. They reacted surprisingly well to it (well, I only told mother). Once that was over, it was alright. I wouldn't say their opinions are the only ones that matter, but they're definitely up there.
So I've been mentally beating myself up, and resolving to work a lot harder. I guess I'm just frustrated that I'll have to go through that living hell again. Ah well. What's done is done.
I've now moved on to vegging in front of the television.
"What? You don't watch TV!" I hear you exclaim.
Let me clarify that.
I watch Man vs Wild, Flight of the Conchords, and football.
The reason for my vegging is because of the latter.
Yes, after four years of waiting, the World Cup is back. Yes, I watched Australia lose this morning. It was embarrassing, to be honest. I don't know what happened to the Australia of four years ago. We had more fire back then. I'm afraid to say it, but I don't see us getting out of the group stages.
That red card against Cahill was very harsh. He was pulling out of the tackle, and hit the guy with his thigh. Surely a yellow would've been more than enough. Stupid card-happy ref.
Other matches...hmm. Let's do a list.
South Africa 1 : Mexico 1
Surprisingly impressive. Both were trying to go for each other's throats, and played some great attacking football. A very enjoyable opening game, marred slightly by the fact that South Africa almost won but didn't.
England 1 : USA 1
Another draw, this one much, much less entertaining, apart from England keeper Robert Green throwing the ball into his own net. Didn't help that I missed the Gerrard goal that happened in, like, the first five seconds of play.
Australia 0 : Germany 4
The less said about this game the better I think. Australia were lacking in attack, lacking in defense, were missing star players, getting sliced apart by the German machine, and generally doing a really good impression of fish milling around in a bowl of water. Fish that were completely out of their depth. I don't think anybody played well. Lucas Neill was calling non-existent offsides. The offside trap was clearly not working, because they were continually failing to pick up the man who was not offside making the run from deep. Fairly rudimentary schoolboy errors, like not playing the ref's whistle, like Neill and his shadow offside call. Yeah. That's about it really.
Netherlands 2 : 0 Denmark
Was really, really looking forward to this one because a) it's the Netherlands and b) it was an early game, and I really needed one just then, because I am slightly tired from having a total of eight hours sleep over two nights. Anyway, what a game. Certainly didn't disappoint. The movement, passing and vision of the Dutch team is just magnificent. What a joy to watch. Their ball control is also sublime. The way they play is a thing of beauty. They may just be my next favourite outside-of-Australia team, the top one being Spain. I'm still trying to decide whether to buy a Spain jersey or Australia. Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Perhaps I need more money. It's just that, if Spain win this cup, it will be the crowning moment for one of the greatest, if not the greatest, national football sides of all time. I mean, Fabregas and Torres are on the bench for them. That says enough.
And that's mostly it for now. Watched a bit of Greece vs South Korea, got bored so kept playing monopoly.
Just to finish, a comment about the match ball. The scientists and whatnot who designed/engineered/lovingly handcrafted these balls are coming out and defending it, saying things such as "it flies the straightest out of any ball" and "the players just aren't used to it yet." They use these as defences and justifications for why players are complaining about it.
I don't know about you, but I have never heard this many players complain about a World Cup match ball. At the end of the day, if the players, who have spent the better part of their lives playing this sport, say that it doesn't feel right, no matter how perfectly round the ball is, or how aerodynamically awesome it is, the fact remains that the players don't enjoy using it, and engineers and such cannot claim that technological perfection in a ball equates to something exactly the same as balls that these guys have been using since they've been kicking balls.
I also don't understand why they have to keep changing the ball. It's not exactly like loads of people were demanding a massive overhaul of the football. Clearly the ones they use every day are just fine. Maybe their imperfections are what makes them a true football. In a sense, they're used to their imperfections, and have already adjusted to them. What does the new ball add anyway, apart from an alarmingly high frequency of over-hit passes, and ridiculous keeper fumbles? What's it's purpose? Greater speed? Because that's the only thing I can see it maybe doing better in.
Anyway, sleep beckons. Got a big day of buying stuff tomorrow.
Word of the Day: World Cup
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Real Madrid musings and Rush-released essays
The hot topic of the moment (at least in the football world): Real Madrid and their Galacticos Project Segundo(c) (I think that means Second Galacticos Project). I know everybody has been hanging out for my expert, in-depth, left-field analysis, so here it is.
I'd first like to point out that the last Galacticos project was a footballing, if not economic, failure. Sure, they sold a lot of jerseys to people in Asia. It was alright for the first two seasons. After 2003, the year after they signed Ronaldo, they didn't win anything for three years. And they had Zidane.
The reason for this failure, a reason which looks like being repeated, was the lack the defensive players being signed. This looks like being repeated, with the signings of Kaka and Cronaldo, and the about-to-be-signed rumours of David Villa, Silva, and pretty much anyone who likes to run forward. But no defensive players.
Another contributing factor, which will definitely be repeated this time around, is the titanic clashing of mega egos. This players are all established stars, who each own more trophies than the whole of the Liverpool team combined. It's simple really. Everybody knows that the goal scorers get the glory (and the pay rise). Who's going to pass the ball when they all think that they can score from where they are? And who's going to tell the big star that, instead of belting it from 40m out and missing by double that distance, that maybe they should have passed to the guy who was closer?
A third reason for potential failure, which also occurred last time, was, and still is: how do their arch-rivals Barca do it? They have stars. But not on the scale that Real Madrid propose to have. Every successful team has foot soldiers. Players that get the job done with minimal flair, with little ego, and maximal efficiency, who are willing to sit on the bench if need be. Good teams have good foot soldiers. Real, seemingly pressing for a team made out of 23 stars, will not have these uncomplaining, hard-working players that teams like Barca have. These big-name players actually sulk when put on the bench, ala Cronaldo. I also believe that the footballing philosophy of Barca is also important. The signings they make are in tandem with their style of play. Real just seem content with getting the perceived top players without considering whether they fit their style of football, or whether they really need another person in that position.
I believe that this rash and exorbitant amount of spending will only have an inflationary pressure on the transfer market. Real don't even negotiate. I don't know why, but they just don't. Their transfers all seem to be made in some haste, like the transfer window's closing tomorrow. It seems as though they approach the team that has the player they want, offer an amount of money that no sane club could possibly refuse, and get their player in two days. Why thought? It begs the question of where they get their money from. It's not scary how much money clubs buy players for. What's scary is the fact that they have faith in their ability to make that money back, with a surplus, so they can pay wages and whatnot, and actually still make a massive profit each year.
Good luck to them. If they can pull it off, it should be good football to watch. If, as I suspect it will, dissolve into a haze of in-fighting and massive bust-ups, it'll still be entertaining, in a different way.
And on to the Essay That I Wrote in a Night(c).
Success! Contrary to what I had expected, my essay did not take 18 hours or so to complete. So instead of working up til 1 on Thursday night/Friday morning, waking up at 6 the next day/that day and handing it in at 4, I stayed up til two, woke up at 6 and handed it in at 1. Quality was down a bit, but shouldn't be as bad as what my tutor expects it to be. Which, I guess, is all one can hope for when one writes a 2000-word essay in one night.
Word of the day: Real Madrid
I'd first like to point out that the last Galacticos project was a footballing, if not economic, failure. Sure, they sold a lot of jerseys to people in Asia. It was alright for the first two seasons. After 2003, the year after they signed Ronaldo, they didn't win anything for three years. And they had Zidane.
The reason for this failure, a reason which looks like being repeated, was the lack the defensive players being signed. This looks like being repeated, with the signings of Kaka and Cronaldo, and the about-to-be-signed rumours of David Villa, Silva, and pretty much anyone who likes to run forward. But no defensive players.
Another contributing factor, which will definitely be repeated this time around, is the titanic clashing of mega egos. This players are all established stars, who each own more trophies than the whole of the Liverpool team combined. It's simple really. Everybody knows that the goal scorers get the glory (and the pay rise). Who's going to pass the ball when they all think that they can score from where they are? And who's going to tell the big star that, instead of belting it from 40m out and missing by double that distance, that maybe they should have passed to the guy who was closer?
A third reason for potential failure, which also occurred last time, was, and still is: how do their arch-rivals Barca do it? They have stars. But not on the scale that Real Madrid propose to have. Every successful team has foot soldiers. Players that get the job done with minimal flair, with little ego, and maximal efficiency, who are willing to sit on the bench if need be. Good teams have good foot soldiers. Real, seemingly pressing for a team made out of 23 stars, will not have these uncomplaining, hard-working players that teams like Barca have. These big-name players actually sulk when put on the bench, ala Cronaldo. I also believe that the footballing philosophy of Barca is also important. The signings they make are in tandem with their style of play. Real just seem content with getting the perceived top players without considering whether they fit their style of football, or whether they really need another person in that position.
I believe that this rash and exorbitant amount of spending will only have an inflationary pressure on the transfer market. Real don't even negotiate. I don't know why, but they just don't. Their transfers all seem to be made in some haste, like the transfer window's closing tomorrow. It seems as though they approach the team that has the player they want, offer an amount of money that no sane club could possibly refuse, and get their player in two days. Why thought? It begs the question of where they get their money from. It's not scary how much money clubs buy players for. What's scary is the fact that they have faith in their ability to make that money back, with a surplus, so they can pay wages and whatnot, and actually still make a massive profit each year.
Good luck to them. If they can pull it off, it should be good football to watch. If, as I suspect it will, dissolve into a haze of in-fighting and massive bust-ups, it'll still be entertaining, in a different way.
And on to the Essay That I Wrote in a Night(c).
Success! Contrary to what I had expected, my essay did not take 18 hours or so to complete. So instead of working up til 1 on Thursday night/Friday morning, waking up at 6 the next day/that day and handing it in at 4, I stayed up til two, woke up at 6 and handed it in at 1. Quality was down a bit, but shouldn't be as bad as what my tutor expects it to be. Which, I guess, is all one can hope for when one writes a 2000-word essay in one night.
Word of the day: Real Madrid
Monday, 30 June 2008
Euro 08 Final
And the winner is Spain!Not that it was entirely unexpected. It leaves me with a disappointed feeling that if I had bet on Spain, I would've won money. But I also know that if I had actually bet on them, they would've lost, so it's all the same in the end.
Enough about my luck (or lack thereof). On about the final.
It was a good final, but I was expecting a scoreline in the vicinity of 3-2 in Spain's favour. Turns out the Germans struggle to get a flowing attacking move together at all, and a moment of pace and brilliance from Torres (the boy has exquisite touch) was enough to separate the two teams with a 1-0 scoreline. Here's the goal:
I was pretty happy about Fabregas getting a run, but not happy about him getting subbed off on 60 minutes. But coaches make strange decisions that us mere mortals cannot comprehend.
Word of the day: Spain
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