High Noon in Rome...Arsenal vs Roma!

European Champions' League.

Roma vs Arsenal
This was that 2nd game which I had watched "Live" on TV. Arsenal took with them a 1 goal advantage in their 2nd leg match against Roma at the Stadium Olimpico in Rome.
Roma had to score or be out of the race. And score they did...in the 10th minute of the 1st half when poor defensive action by Gallas and Toure allowed Juan to slot home the only goal of the match. That tied the overall score 1-1...and extra time was played to a scoreless draw. Penalty Kicks followed! I am uncertain how Roma picked their penalty takers but for Arsenal, the kickers were selected by Arsene Wenger himself, all 7 of them. The 8th kicker Diaby volunteered himself when it went into sudden death. The 8th kicker for Roma was Max Tonetto.

Here was how it went as I saw it.
In goal for Arsenal was Almunia and for Roma it was Doni.
Arsenal first, followed by Roma.
1. Eduardo...kick saved by Doni !
Pizzaro scored
2. Van Persie..kicked left and scored.
Vucinic...kicked at centre. Saved by Almunia!
So it was 1-1 upto this point.
3. Theo Walcott...kicked left. Doni nearly saved!
J Baptista...scored, top left corner.
4. Nasri...scored, right corner.
Montella...scored, left corner.
5. Denilson...scored, to centre.
Totti...scored, top right corner.
6. Toure...scored, right corner.
Aquilani...scored, right corner.
7. Sagna...scored, right corner.
Arne Risse...scored, right corner
Upto this point, it was 6-6 converted for each side.
8. Diaby...scored, right corner
Max Tonetto...missed completely! He kicked the ball
high over the bar. And Arsenal players and fans went wild in celebration as though they have won the World Cup!





Photo:
While Arsenal celebrated, poor Tonetto # 22 walked off solemnly and sadly. He missed his penalty kick and with that went his and his team's dream of progressing further.
Toure hugging Almunia, Denilson, Walcott and Nasri in jubiliant mood.


Photo:
The whole team feeling on top of the world.

Liverpool and Chelsea win !

European Soccer

Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Liverpool hosted once 'mighty' Real Madrid managed by Juan Ramos, the sacked manager of Tottenham Hotspurs. The Reds were playing as if they were possessed...that good! And R Madrid? Well, from what I saw they lacked so many things that were clearly displayed by the Reds...fighting spirit, pace, imagination, leadership both on and off the field, speed, self-belief and match fitness.
In the end they were hammered by a whopping 4-0 scoreline which could have been more.
The whole Liverpool team played well especially so was Gerard and Torres, who both scored.
Photo: Gerard scoring !
Both of these games were telecast "Live" at the same time early on Wednesday. I watched them simultaneously at home.

Juventus vs Chelsea

The game was played in Turin ( unk Dicko has been there ), home of Juventus. Chelsea carried a one goal advantage into this 2nd leg. The Final score was a 2-2 draw. Overall it was 3-2 to Chelsea who are through to the next round.

Photo: Didier Drogba slotting home against legendary keeper Buffon.

After the loss, Claudio Raineri the Manager of Juventus and ex-Chelsea manager said he hoped the remaining 2 Italian teams...Roma and Inter Milan win their matches against Arsenal and Manchester Utd on Thursday ( Spore time).

Manchester Utd vs Inter Milan...Stalemate!

So Arsene Wenger's prediction has not come true. He predicted that all 3 English teams would be victorious against their Italian counterparts.

Early this morning( S'pore time ), Man Utd drew 0-0 with host Inter Milan while Arsenal beat visitors Roma 1-0. Later tonight, Chelsea will host Juventus.

Before the Man Utd game, star striker for Inter Zlatan Ibrahimovic declared that he was anytime a better player than Berbatov and Wayne Rooney combined. Luckily he did not compare himself with C Ronaldo...the World Player of the Year.

Why?

If it was up to me to decide who the top player of each side was after the game...it would have to be Ronaldo for Man Utd and Julio Cesar the goalkeeper for Inter Milan.

Both were in top form. Without a doubt, it was J Cesar who saved the day for Inter and prevented a massacre. Man U was in terrific form even though no goals were scored.

And Ibrahimmovic? I think it was his cousin who turned up...a pale shadow, only one shot at goal which went the way of the crowd in all 93 minutes!

And Adriano..the once deadly Brazillian hitman?

He had his gun but his bullets were rusty and crooked.

So what will happen in the return leg in 2 week's time at Old Trafford?

Anything can happen. If Inter can score a goal then Man U will need to score 2 to go through.

If it ends in a 1-1 draw then Man U will be out on the away goals rule.



Photos from the D Mail.

Top: Ryan Giggs shoots but his shot

was saved by keeper Cesar.

Centre and Bottom:

Adriano found Rio Ferdinand a real stumbling block in the heart of United defence.

European Soccer..England 3 Italy 0 ?

It is now 12.45 am Singapore time. In a little over 3 hours an unusual encounter is taking place in European soccer. By the luck of the draw and by their own superb qualifications, 3 top English teams from the EPL will be meeting their rivals who happen to be the 3 top Italian teams from the Serie A.

The 3 match ups are:-
Manchester Utd vs Inter Milan
Arsenal vs Roma
Chelsea vs Juventus
Arsene Wenger, the Manager of Arsenal has predicted that all 3 English sides will beat their Italian counterparts. History is on the side of the English clubs....mostly.
But, as they say the ball is round and anything can happen. Let's wait and see. I shall be catching the games Live.
Photo: Arsene Wenger, Ronaldo, Lampard, Van Persie

The team from Man United training at the San Siro in Italy yesterday.

Manchester Utd has met Inter Milan in the 1999 season.

Results: Man Utd won 1 and drew 1.

Here is the photo from 1999 when Paul Scholes scored the equaliser with just 2 minutes remaining on the clock...to leave Inter shell-shocked, knocking them out in that quarter-final 2nd leg match in Italy.

United won the 1st home leg.

In that terrific year, they went on to beat Juventus in the Semi-final and captured the European Cup for the 1st time after beating Bayer Munich in that unforgetable grand Final...in the dying moments of the game. That game will be forever remembered by me and others as probably Man Utd's finest hour.

Singapore's 1st Organised Club Expedition by Train in EUROPE, 1978

Besides the love of good food, for most people, setting aside time and money for travelling is high up on their list of priorities. Unlike food ,where one can still expect to get a good satisfying meal for a reasonable price...travelling abroad, especially in the 60's and 70's, will burn a big hole in one's pocket. There were few tour agencies then and most that existed catered mainly to the nearby region of S-E-Asia and Hong Kong. Other agencies may book overseas tours for clients, with their foreign counterparts. Plane fares were very expensive as there were not that many planes and airlines in service then. But the yearning to travel, to leave our little island.....to see the world at large, has always remained an unquenchable attraction for many. The main obstacle to seeing to their dreams has always been ....time and money.

For some of these reasons, COMEX CLUB, Singapore came into existence. The setting up of this travel and adventure club began as an extension of the Commonwealth Expedition Club of UK, with Hqrs in London. The expeditions to various parts of the world ..India, South-America, Middle East, Africa etc..generally required participants to travel overland for many months, something that most working people can ill afford.

Thus, we at COMEX Singapore began to plan and organise trips of different durations of our own making. A few days, a week, 10 days , a fortnight, a month and even longer to provide choice and variety to our members numbering more than 600. All kinds of outdoor and indoor activities were organised by our various sub-committees. But the main attraction, for most members ,was joining our overseas trips and expeditions which were truly affordable.

As we were a non-profit club, all savings were passed back to members, resulting in attractive discounted group airfares, land and accomodation packages etc.

In 1977, as then President of the club, I began to research the railway transportation system of Europe. Many people aspired to visit and explore Europe which comprises so many countries. But

the cost of such packages, covering so many countries, was beyond most members.

I found a much cheaper way to see much, much more for much, much less....very much less in the final analysis! That was to buy the Eurailpass train ticket...a 1st Class trainpass pre-paid upfront ,that provided unlimited train journeys covering most of Europe.

In June 1978, the 1st COMEX European Expedition was launched. I organised, planned and led the entire group of 22 members for that 6 week historic journey.....for all involved, a dream of a lifetime fulfilled remarkably, never to be forgotten. The furthest point north we reached was beyond The ARCTIC CIRCLE....Narvik,Norway. South was Italy. And all the main countries of Europe and the UK.

In Europe, we travelled on the Eurail Pass, which came with some fringe benefits in certain major cities...free ferry, some free city bus, sleeping berths, all 1st class coaches! I have yet to blog in detail about this historic journey...Singapore's 1st organised group expedition by train travel in Europe June-July 1978.

Photos:

1. Club asst treasurer V Yap and me, near COMEX Hqrs

2. Buckingham Palace

3. Hyde Park...Speakers' Corner

4. Statue of Winston Churchill

National Library Memo:

Unk Dicko was invited, as President of COMEX Singapore, to give a Talk cum Slideshow showcasing the adventure we had at the old " National Library, Stamford Road ".

The slides, numbering over 300, are still with me today. It cost me a small fortune back then.

But ....they are still BEAUTIFUL !!!