Weltmeister der Herzen - you don't have to win to be a winner



To all the critics of Germany and of the 3rd/4th placing match:

Sure, no one wants to lose in the semi-finals, but it's not just about who wins and who loses. As sportsmen, you play every single match to win, whether or not it counts towards winning a tournament. And the German team showed that it mattered to them and the whole of Germany was behind them in this. They might not have gotten to the final, but that didn't make them play like they didn't care. They cared and people recognised that and were happy for them. It's all about the attitude. Die Idee war den 3. Platz zu feiern, als ob es den ersten Platz gar nicht gäbe. Celebrating 3rd place as if 1st place never even existed...yes, that's the attitude Germany had...and you can see it in everyone's faces. Sportfreunde Stiller's song: '54, '74, '90, 2006 proclaimed that Germany would win the World Cup this year and topped the charts. When Germany lost to Italy, everyone started singing '54, '74, '90, 2010...how's that for bouncing back? We're gonna win the World Cup in 2010! It matters if you make it matter and why do outsiders who don't understand what it means to the Germans want to criticise them for celebrating their team's success? Success isn't measured by ultimate terms, after all. If not, Singapore should go and cry because it didn't even make it to the World Cup, while Germany is the 3rd best in the world.

The whole nation was in mourning when Germany lost to Italy...there were people crying and everyone was so emotional. Even people who don't even really care about football usually were shocked and saddened. It was a tragic way to lose and in your own country as well. It was painful because if it had gone to penalties, Germany might've won...and it was in the last minute of the extra time that Italy scored...how do you turn something like that around? I don't think I'll forget the sad faces of the German team. I will remember the tears falling down Michael Ballack's face...the face that is usually so full of pride (some say almost to the point of arrogance). Yes, football is a game full of emotions...it's not just about tactics and winning all the time.

This World Cup has allowed Germans to display their patriotism without feeling any shame. Never ever has Germany seen so many Germany flags hung all over the place and everyone dressed in black, white, red and gold and singing their national anthem (no, they don't sing it as flag-raising assembly every morning)...and all these appeared spontaneously! Everyone is not only ready to celebrate but also to mourn with the Nationalmannschaft. Germans aren't not the cold, clinical people that stereotypes make them out to be. They're warm and full of emotions...just ask the people who've come to Germany to watch the World Cup. I think they've really taken their motto seriously: Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden. There has been little violence and fans from every nation, regardless of race, language or religion, have gotten together to celebrate...even if their teams lost. This is true sportsmanship. Many people were holding up banners thanking the foreign fans for being Germany's guests.

Today's match was no disappointment either. Sure, the first half was a bit sluggish and there wasn't much action...but the second half more than made up for it. There is no doubt that Bastian Schweinsteiger was the hero of tonight. He scored 2 goals and the own goal by Petit was an attempt to block a Schweinsteiger shot. And they all rendered Ricardo helpless. And we all know that Ricardo ain't no butterfingers. He made a lot of good saves tonight, but tonight was just Schweini's night. And Germany rejoiced with every goal.

The sight of all the flags and fans in the stadium in Stuttgart was amazing. Everyone is also hoping that Jürgen Klinsmann will stay on as coach. They want to start a major petition to convince him to stay. The whole stadium was chanting his name. Yes, this is solidarity. Solidarity isn't forced...or hothoused. It is people coming together because they believe in something. And Germany believed in its national team. Angela Merkel showed her real emotions during the match...it's nice to see politicians being real. And while I cannot forget the tears that flowed on Tuesday, I will also never forget the joy in the faces of the German team when the match ended and they knew that they'd won. Jürgen Klinsmann is a joy to watch...you can see all his emotions written on his face. He's like a little boy with a totally disarming smile.

These players, this team...they are winners. No one even thought they stood a chance at the beginning of the tournament. Everyone basically wrote them off. But they proved the critics wrong. Of course, they seem to need a little taste of success before they really get this drive to win. Just look at the matches with Costa Rica, Ecuador, Sweden and today's match: the goals start rolling in once they score and gain some confidence. I guess to win 2010, they will need more initiative and more self-motivation...but they are certainly auf dem guten Weg...they have many of the qualities needed in a good team..they just need a little push in the right direction. As Klinsi said himself, "Diese Mannschaft wird noch wachsen" and I agree. They have the potential to become a great team...hope they continue to work hard.

Today was also a day of farewells. Lehmann gave up his place to Kahn for the day and Kahn did a great job today...and then announced his retirement from international football. I guess at 37, he has had quite a long and fruitful career. He was #1 until this tournament and even won the Golden Ball during 2002, the first time a goalkeeper had won this award.

It was also possibly Luis Figo's last international match. He didn't even play for 20 minutes though...he said he was having muscle problems and that's why it was decided that he wouldn't start. This photo's from the TV...it shows him on the bench, after it was 1:0. He looked sad. But he managed to show his stuff...and created the sole Portuguese goal. :) Figo's my man!



This match was also a very very fair one, unlike the match between Portugal and Holland, which saw 4 red cards and 16 yellow cards...and Figo could actually have received a red card for his head butt. But this match was calm. No one was injured...ok, well, Klinsmann let nearly all the reserves play today cos a lot of people were injured, including Ballack, Mertesacker and Friedrich. So basically, a lot of fresh pairs of legs today. But yeah, no one had to be treated at all...so there was only 1 minute additional time after the first half and 2 minutes of additional time after the second half. Schweini did get a yellow card for taking off his jersey, but there was close to no violence. That was really nice.

Das kleine Finale war ein ganz großes. There's no doubt about that. Thanks for the entertainment, boys!

Today was one of those days...those days when you just wanna lie in bed and not get out. But I did...went for swimming...can't keep my butt up, which is wasting a lot of my energy. The coach said that based on my swimming style, I should be able to do 400m non-stop...but instead, I feel like dying after 100. So her suggestion was to practice with this foamy thing wedged between my legs..just practice the arms. I wanted to die during the first lap. I kept losing my balance and wasn't going anywhere at all. I did wanna give up, but then I figured I can't drown with this foamy thing...so may as well try, correct? So I somehow made it all the way to the end...think the people behind me me must've been annoyed, but who cares. I even managed 4 laps in the end...and it got progressively better. Will practice next week...after all, it seems to be good for my arms...I hardly get to work on them...maybe will get the foamy thing and practice when I'm back in Singapore too. But I felt good..and the 4 laps I swam after that, without the foamy thing, felt infinitely better than previously...admittedly, it got worse with each lap, but it was after one whole hour of swimming...so I'm fine with it. Except...I couldn't really walk properly after that. Muscles started to ache slightly.

Then when I took a nap before class, I nearly didn't wanna wake up. But I went and it was ok...found out that our prof will give us a question for the term paper. I like term papers with a direction...that's very good and I won't have to crack my brains over it. We had 2 double periods in a row again today, like last week. But we managed to finish slightly earlier than last week. There was one really funny guy. Haha...wish you were there to see his presentation. That's one thing I cannot do..give a humorous presentation..or write an amusing paper. Many people had to leave during the second double period...so there were less than 10 pple in the end, including the prof. I rushed home, shoved food down my throat and rushed for tennis. But Florian wasn't there today...it was the old guy in charge of tennis...Fu Wei's coach. He decided to teach us how to serve...which is called "aufschlagen" in German...I never knew that, but I suppose you learn something new every day. I used to hate serving the most...but I guess it's not too bad now. I mean I'm not one to get aces, but this time, at least about 60% of my serves were in...which is not bad because I haven't tried serving since...erm...2002 or even longer...and I was always shit at it anyway. Wonder if Florian will continue with that next week. Let's hope he'll be back. He had some interview today. Sigh.

Anyway, all that bending meant my back aches now...I think my whole body will be a humongous ache tomorrow. But it's interesting, I suppose...I haven't really worked myself very hard in eons...and this is just interesting, zur Abwechslung. Muscle aches aren't actually good for you.

After tennis, I felt like I needed to work off some of the restlessness that's been bothering me...so I went on an unintended shopping trip. My uncle wanted me to buy him a World Cup pin..so I went to Karstadt Sport. I also bought a Germany scarf...just for fun. Two guys kept saying "Deutschland, Deutschland??" and I had no idea they were talking to me. Erm..until one of them looked me in the eye and repeated "Deutschland?" He asked me what was written on my tank top...the words were covered by the strap of my racquet bag. "Team Germany", I said...and I said it was a pity Germany lost...and the other guy waved the miniature trophy at me...haha. Maybe if the weather tmr is good, I'll go out and watch the 3rd/4th placing. If there are thunderstorms as predicted in the weather report, then I'll stay at home and scream at the TV.

Ok, should really start studying now. Enough of a break!

Sigh. The World Cup is not really turning out the way I hoped it would. But well...that's football for you.

Germany lost...in a super tragic way. In the 119th minute, Fabio Grosso scored a really nice goal from a free kick and more or less ruined Germany's dream of winning the World Cup. Cos if they had gone into a penalty shootout, Germany was very likely to win, while Italy was very likely to lose. After all, it was clear when Lippi substituted in 3 strikers...so he had FOUR strikers on the field by the last stages of the match. Sigh. And Del Piero's goal just sealed Germany's fate. But while Germany played well, they weren't short of problems. Even as a non-expert, I could tell that the German team has 2 major problems (well, there could be more, but these were the most obvious to me):

1) They run too slowly. Everytime the ball gets in front of the opponents' goal, the German attack seems to disintegrate. There are very few players up front and thus, no one to pass to. By the time the rest come over, the other team's defence would've had enough time to regroup and prevent the Germans from scoring. Of course, this might also have to do with Germany having had to play the penalty shootout against Argentina and ending up totally wiped out, while Italy comfortably beat Ukraine 3-0, and perhaps the fact that Torsten Frings was suspended for punching someone.

2) They really really need to work on their counter attacking skills. They basically have to react faster once they win possession of the ball and charge in the other direction. In the match against Italy, they really were a little sluggish.

That said, Germany did show spirit, which is good. They put up a good fight..but Gianluigi Buffon is no butterfingers either. They were unlucky that they made the mistake so late into extra time. But sometimes, football is about who makes the mistakes first, not really just about who's better. True, Italy did seem to play better, but I was impressed with Germany because they didn't give up. Unlike the Czech Republic...aiyoh..that was a real disappointment man! They seemed to have given up once Ghana scored that 2nd minute goal...you could see that their hearts were not in it at all. But Germany was fighting...even if it didn't look like they had many chances.

As I said, it was a tragic way to lose...but well, there's nothing to be ashamed of. They really put up a good fight. It was sad to see all these people crying though...as Florian predicted, the whole nation was in mourning (well, more or less).

Last night was Portugal vs. France. Same sad story...one stupid mistake in the penalty area and that basically sealed the match for the French. Ricardo actually managed to guess correctly, but Zidane's shot was just too powerful. I hate matches won on a single penalty...I always feel that it isn't fair. If the French had scored one more goal, I would've felt less upset...Fu Wei didn't believe me..but it's true. The other goal would've shown that they really are better and really do deserve to win! Instead, it was one freaking penalty for a tackle that was mild and was really basically punished because it was just inside the penalty area...you heard me...JUST inside. Not even 1 metre from the markings. Sigh. And I wanted so much for Figo to get a chance to win the World Cup with Portugal before he retires. Haha...I love Figo. Well, ok, I realise I have this tendency to like over the hill players...but then, I'm not that young anymore. But whoa...when he took his shirt off...*swoon* Hahaha.

Here's my top 5 list of cute football players in this World Cup:
1) Luis Figo (He's so MAN!! *sigh*)
2) Francesco Totti (He looks so good with short hair!!)
3) Miroslav Klose (unfortunately, he doesn't look good in photos)
4) Raul (I only watched one match with Spain...the one they lost!)
5) Milan Baros (ok, so he only played one match)

Ok, I am full of crap. Actually, there are a lot more players I like, like Pavel Nedved, Tomas Ujfalusi, Shevshenko, Del Piero, Ricardo, Buffon...but I shall spare you.

Now I have no idea if I prefer Portugal or Germany to win the 3rd/4th placing match. I was hoping they would get into the finals. Ah well. Probably Germany cos I've liked the German team for a long time and my heart practically beats for them. Pity about Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo though...I'd have liked them to win something too. Haha.

Well, 2 exams down, 3 to go. Wanna go on holiday for a week, but don't know where yet. Wanted to go on a beach holiday, but that would be very very dependent on the weather.

Mr H. didn't give enough time for the Classroom English exam...we had to translate 10 words/phrases, explain 10 words in context/define them, explain grammatical mistakes (10 sentences) and write a 2-page dialogue combining an array of different elements. Hello, can you imagine any normal human being being able to complete this within ONE hour? And he was being "kind" and giving us an extra 5 minutes already...my goodness...he sure does overestimate us!

The Swedish exam was even more crap. I forgot a lot of words...I didn't even remember what beds are called. I also don't remember what a man is called in Swedish. I have no idea what breathing, sweating, every day and a knitted jacket are called in Swedish. I just hope I don't fail too badly. Or that I don't fail, cos I really really need to continue with this...this weekend, I'll have to mug like siao for Czech, because I'm even more behind in that.

Am going shopping for a short while after class today. I need a break...and to collect my photos too. Heh.

Ok, project work got shifted to Wednesday...so I don't have to go out anymore. Should be studying instead but then I've slept for at least 2 hours just before this and have done useless things like cut paper and I dunno what. Blah. What's wrong with me??
I thought when all the action died down, I'd be able to sit down and force myself to concentrate on studying. After all, there's quite a lot at stake. Well, I have to pass Swedish and Czech by hook or by crook. The rest I'm a little more bo chap about.

Ok, I'll give myself another half an hour...and then I really really have to go face my Swedish books. Right now, I am trying to memorize some common adjectives...it's not so easy though. I guess I've been more slack this semester than ever before.

Maybe it's the silence that is getting to me. Maybe it's remembering that it's been a year and there's absolutely no improvement in the love department. I don't count the weirdos who try to move too fast and end up creeping me out. As Raymond and Chris said...it's about the context and about who says what. Well, it's good to know that my standards haven't dropped to the ground.

As I said (apparently, "like I said" is wrong because "like" is a preposition and you use it with nouns and pronouns (there is no use of "like + nominative case", while "as" is a conjunction that introduces a subordinate clause and it thus introduces a subject and a verb, i.e. "I said" - this is what we have to learn for Classroom English. This is where I failed miserably in the last test. Let's hope this time will be better) I have no idea what is wrong with me. But in any case, I'll just have to survive these 2 weeks and then decide what I wanna do during my overseas semester. Tried to write a couple of emails, but apparently, people are not very efficient at replying. The NUS guy, shall not mention names, didn't even give me a reply man! Like how rude is that? I even bothered to write a proper subject line..not just a "hello" or whatever crap.

It's gonna be sunny this whole week! Yay!! Maybe I could go out a bit tomorrow...maybe I've gotten cabin fever. I dunno. But in any case, there's Germany vs Italy tomorrow! I'd love Germany to win...seriously! But at the same time, the Italian team has so many cute guys that it'd be a real pity to see them lose...especially after the 3-0 thrashing of Ukraine. Well, Ukraine was just super unlucky and super bad at finishing. There were one or two scenes where it seemed like a tragi-comedy really! The ball was flicked all around the penalty area but just refused to go into the goal. Shevchenko is cute...but cuteness won't win you any World Cup matches! And congrats on Zidane not having to retire from international football for at least another 2 matches.

It may be football withdrawal symptoms, or just a general refusal to study...but I'm feeling very very extremely restless. I don't wanna study, there's nothing to watch on TV and there's no one to talk to. Maybe I should write some emails...but first, let me complain on my blog.

I guess part of it has to do with not being alone much since the beginning of June...and then suddenly being all on my own again. As much as I loved having company, I thought I would look forward to some peace and quiet again. Unfortunately, I've just ended up not knowing what to do with myself...except eating. And aimlessly surfing, looking for pix of cute football players and finding out who's married to who...and reading about Eric Cantona, whose playing I really used to admire. During the few times they used to broadcast Premier League matches, I remember being impressed with Cantona's goals. Of course, I was about 12 then and I don't really remember much of it. But the impression stuck. I remember owning a copy of his autobiography...but I have no idea where it's gone to now. I'd like to re-read it if I had the chance. I watched the Nike ad where he turns his collar up and says "au revoir" before kicking the ball through the monster. At that time, Man Utd was really at its peak...unfortunately, the team looks really kinda sad now...and I guess by the time they sold David Beckham, it was already all falling apart. Van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo are leaving...and Rooney...well...

Anyway, I just don't wanna study. I hate sitting down and concentrating on something. It annoys me to hell. I need to keep moving or doing something with my hands. I can't just sit there.

Maybe I'm hyperactive. Maybe it's hormones. Maybe I'm escapist. Someone save me!