Today is the Monday after the humbling defeat to Chelsea over the weekend.
The Saturday started off as a normal day, with breakfast at McDonald's at Mutiara Damansara. The girls have been bugging us since Thursday to go to the playground at McD's, so they can't be happier that morning. After a hearty breakfast, we popped over to the Curve, where she made a pit-stop at her favourite Nichii Fashion boutique, while I cleaned up my Inbox.
Since it was lunch time, we went to our favourite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Hoa, for some much needed noodles. It's been quite a while since we've been there, so the food dissappeared off our bowls without much fanfare!! By this time, the girls are tired but kept their eyes wide open for the Carrefour trip to get our groceries.
As per normal, we got some FOC goodies when we buy certain stuff, so it's a 'short' wait at the Customer Service counter, although I'm not sure why they name this counter such when customer service is far from the minds of the staff on duty!! Anyway, it's back home and by this time, the girls were so tired that they literally fainted as soon as they put their cute little heads on the pillows.
Then at 6pm, I had a quick shower and slipped on my long sleeved Man United shirt with Vodaphone logo, and left the house at 630pm. I arrived at Milennium Building PJ at 7pm and found Picaddilly Cafe without any problems, where Soon, Archi and 2 other friends were sat at the second table from the screen. Service was hopeless, and thank god I only ordered an Iced Lemon Tea, which arrived in 10 minutes.
Both Chelsea and Man United opted for the 4-3-3 formation, which I thought was interesting, but in retrospect, contributed to Chelsea having the upper hand in the first half. United fielded Silvestre, Ferdinand, Vidic and Brown at the back, Fletcher, Carrick and Anderson in midfield, while Giggs, Nani and Rooney played upfront. From the opening whistle, United struggled to contain Chelsea's continuous waves of attacks, with some intuitive passes from Mikel, Chelsea's midfield general and the creativity of Joe Cole and power of Didier Drogba.
In a passing build-up till the United penalty bow, Didier Drogba curled in a beautiful floated ball in the box, which Michael Ballack easily and powerfully headed into ven der Sar's left side for Chelsea to lead 1 - 0.
From a United attack, Rooney picked up a half chance pass and shot past the brilliant Petr Chec to level the score to 1 - 1. I jumped up and screamed at the top of my voice GOOOOAAALLL!!!
which stunned the people on my table, as well as the guys around me!!! 1 - 1.
In a dangerous attack down the right, Carrick conceeded a dodgy penalty with an un-intentional handball, which was put away powerfully by Michael Ballack. The crowd at Picaddilly filled with Chelsea fans and the neutral's screamed with delight!! 1 - 2. And this scoreline didn't change till the final whistle. I was left stunned but still appreciative of a hard fought game, which was never in United's favour.
On the way home, I got an emergency call from Azie to 'rescue' my nieces CT and Jah, where I immediately drove there like the US Calvary. The evening ended with a midnight snack with Jah and Mum, and I dozzed off with the Chelsea supporter screams ringing in my ears!! Aaaarrrghhhh!!! But, I'm gratefull for United's superior goal difference, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy and zzzzzzzzzz.......
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Man United 2 - Arsenal 1
Tonight Manchester United will entertain Arsenal at Old Trafford for one of the biggest and most crucial games of the season. United will need to win this game to continue their momentum and increase their goal difference, while Arsenal also needs a victory to keep up the chase for Premiership honours.
I very proudly wore my long sleeved United shirt with the Vodaphone logo on the front. Adriana and Alyssa were puzzled to see me wear this shirt and escorted me to the front door. I gave them their goodnight hug and kisses and made my way to Syed Bistro at 1020pm, with the game scheduled to kick-off at 1100pm. While waiting for the game to start, I turned my attention to the latest issue of the Harakah, for some interesting and thought provoking political news. My table was on the third row, which gave an elevated view of the 40'' TV. Zafri came by just before kick-off.
The first half was a nervy affair, with both teams testing each others defense, however, Arsenal was the more lively with tries that made van der Sar make some crucial saves. Jens Lehmann had a relatively quiet first half due to the creative power of the wonder kid Fabregas. Hleb, van Persie and Adebayor caused United's defense some scary moments but van der Saar showed his sheer class by keeping things tidy. Only a single lapse of concentration by Ferdinand gave Adebayor the space to squeeze into the 6 yard line and head in Arsenal's first goal. 0 - 1
United went on the counter offensive right after the restart and their industriousness is rewarded when William Gallas gave away a penalty for a handball offense. Who else by Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty, but when he paused in mid-stride, Park was too eager to latch on to the rebound and caused the referee to blow the whistle for Ronaldo to retake the penalty. He didn't make a mess of it and blasted the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal, leaving Lehmann grasping thin air!! 1 - 1
After half-time, Ferguson made a tactical change by taking off Park Ji-Sung (who had an excellent game) and Paul Scholes, and replacing them with Anderson and Carlos Tevez. The fresh players made an instant impact by causing Arsenal to fall back and defend in numbers. The United midfield began to stamp their mark and made some interesting and dangerous forays into Arsenal's half. One of these attacks caused Gilberto to commit a foul right outside their penalty box, giving a free kick to United. Christiano Ronaldo stood over the ball with Owen Hargreaves, and when everyone was expecting a Ronaldo Special to thunder past the wall, Hargreaves took the free kick with an excellent curling shot that went straight into the bottom right side of Lehmann's goal, leaving him rooted to the ground. 2 - 1
With 4 minutes of injury time added on, Arsenal made their substitution by taking off van Persie and Toure, and putting on Bendtner and Walcott who immediately made an impact with some close shaves. However, van der Saar made some miraculous saves off his goal line and the score stayed the same till the end.
I promptly shared the score with Mus, Buzz, Syaril and Anderson but they didn't share my joy. (sore loosers!!!). That night I must have slept like a baby.......zzzzz
I very proudly wore my long sleeved United shirt with the Vodaphone logo on the front. Adriana and Alyssa were puzzled to see me wear this shirt and escorted me to the front door. I gave them their goodnight hug and kisses and made my way to Syed Bistro at 1020pm, with the game scheduled to kick-off at 1100pm. While waiting for the game to start, I turned my attention to the latest issue of the Harakah, for some interesting and thought provoking political news. My table was on the third row, which gave an elevated view of the 40'' TV. Zafri came by just before kick-off.
The first half was a nervy affair, with both teams testing each others defense, however, Arsenal was the more lively with tries that made van der Sar make some crucial saves. Jens Lehmann had a relatively quiet first half due to the creative power of the wonder kid Fabregas. Hleb, van Persie and Adebayor caused United's defense some scary moments but van der Saar showed his sheer class by keeping things tidy. Only a single lapse of concentration by Ferdinand gave Adebayor the space to squeeze into the 6 yard line and head in Arsenal's first goal. 0 - 1
United went on the counter offensive right after the restart and their industriousness is rewarded when William Gallas gave away a penalty for a handball offense. Who else by Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty, but when he paused in mid-stride, Park was too eager to latch on to the rebound and caused the referee to blow the whistle for Ronaldo to retake the penalty. He didn't make a mess of it and blasted the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal, leaving Lehmann grasping thin air!! 1 - 1
After half-time, Ferguson made a tactical change by taking off Park Ji-Sung (who had an excellent game) and Paul Scholes, and replacing them with Anderson and Carlos Tevez. The fresh players made an instant impact by causing Arsenal to fall back and defend in numbers. The United midfield began to stamp their mark and made some interesting and dangerous forays into Arsenal's half. One of these attacks caused Gilberto to commit a foul right outside their penalty box, giving a free kick to United. Christiano Ronaldo stood over the ball with Owen Hargreaves, and when everyone was expecting a Ronaldo Special to thunder past the wall, Hargreaves took the free kick with an excellent curling shot that went straight into the bottom right side of Lehmann's goal, leaving him rooted to the ground. 2 - 1
With 4 minutes of injury time added on, Arsenal made their substitution by taking off van Persie and Toure, and putting on Bendtner and Walcott who immediately made an impact with some close shaves. However, van der Saar made some miraculous saves off his goal line and the score stayed the same till the end.
I promptly shared the score with Mus, Buzz, Syaril and Anderson but they didn't share my joy. (sore loosers!!!). That night I must have slept like a baby.......zzzzz
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Azlan's Journey
Hi guys, it's me Azlan, aka Lan Panjang. Not so sure how this is done, so, bear with me.
Anyhow, welcome to my blog, where I plan to allow you into my warped mind, full of anti-establishment sentiments, and generally critical of the Malaysian society we are all a part off.
I'll also share with you my passion for the one and only football club worth supporting on this planet, who else but the current English Champions.....Manchester United!!! Those supporting other minor clubs, this is the time you pressed the green Back button on your browser!!! (grin)
When I'm in the mood, I might also shed some light into the sort of music I'm into at the moment, as well as my all time favourite genre, that is Jazz.
If I have time, I might share some interesting information on food, my favourite dishes, as well as recipes, if I manage to get some interesting ones worth trying out.
So, no matter what your political ideology is, I welcome all of you with open arms. Stay tuned!!
Anyhow, welcome to my blog, where I plan to allow you into my warped mind, full of anti-establishment sentiments, and generally critical of the Malaysian society we are all a part off.
Having said that, I must admit that since the resounding 'victory' of the government-in-waiting on 8th Mar 08, I have evolved into someone wanting to be a part of the change that is happening, compared to the old Azlan who prefers to 'let other people do it and leave me alone'.
I'll also share with you my passion for the one and only football club worth supporting on this planet, who else but the current English Champions.....Manchester United!!! Those supporting other minor clubs, this is the time you pressed the green Back button on your browser!!! (grin)
When I'm in the mood, I might also shed some light into the sort of music I'm into at the moment, as well as my all time favourite genre, that is Jazz.
If I have time, I might share some interesting information on food, my favourite dishes, as well as recipes, if I manage to get some interesting ones worth trying out.
So, no matter what your political ideology is, I welcome all of you with open arms. Stay tuned!!
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