Tell me what to believe
Won't you bring me yonder
Tell me what to achieve
Baby, so I can move over
Tell me what to believe
Finally seven years later after the song was first being played on the airwaves (it did earlier on), I finally found the lyrics to Standfast's Carcrashes. Given when the song was played earlier, I actually found myself singing aloud to this part - Tell me what to believe. Just look at my entry title for today.
Many a times for some reason, I have this mental image of myself on the verge of doing a fencing duel against an invisible person, with me actually almost reluctant to do the fencing. I don't feel like counting down to the day when the 19 November friendly between Germany and England is going to take place in Berlin. Apart from the fact that it will take place a week ahead of my younger brother's birthday. For now, everything begins with a clean slate with me (damn, now I sound like Martin Jol when he first took over the Hamburg coaching job). Forget about the friendly matches which took place after Euro 2008. Heck, forget about Euro 2008 as it's all in the past now.
Coaches have come and gone after the Euro 2008 final. Among the national teams which took part the tournament, two notable sides still has the same person at the helm of things (France - Raymond Domenech, Germany - Joachim Loew). Make it three, if you want to include Croatia's Slaven Bilic. I will have more on the Germany front later. But still from the European point of view, as according to Reuters's on the European qualification for the 2010 World Cup - New-look European sides open World Cup campaigns. European champions Spain has a new coach in the form of Vincente del Bosque, Italy went for Marcello Lippi once again (he was the coach who led the Azzuri to the world title in 2006), Holland has a new man in the form of Bert van Marwijk. Fabio Capello's real work with the England squad begins with the qualifiers. He had said before when he met the English press for the first time - he wants to see a England-Italy final. Going up against his native country in the upcoming World Cup.
Before my yadder on what is happening to the national teams I am still supporting, a little bit of leftover from the fallout of the case Alan Curbishley's resignation from West Ham. The club where he began his professional career. With the case of Kevin Keegan's fate at Newcastle still in a limbo and Curbishley's resignation, suddenly the case of not getting enough players before the transfer window shut is becoming the new reason a football coach is getting the golden handshake. It used to be the coach delivering consecutive poor results being the reason why. In a statement released through the League Managers' Association (LMA), it was a "breach of trust and confidence" led to his resignation. He is not happy over the fact that 'the club continued to make significant player decisions without involving me'. Common sense tells us that a coach's job is to decide on the number of players. That means also having the say on player transfers. Curbs (it's his nickname and it's the first time I am using it) had already made it known he was upset about the sale of Anton Ferdinand to Sunderland last week and the sale of defender George McCartney, also to Sunderland, just before the close of Monday's transfer window was the final straw.
So much for wondering why England is not warm enough on having football directors, general manager of the sort at the football clubs. It may be common in continental Europe (just look at Spain's Real Madrid and Barcelona, even Bayern Munich in Germany) of football men in suits, but it still raises some eyebrows. Felix Magath's work at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga is a testimonial that it's possible to combine the job of a football coach and a football director together (something English football would definitely approve of). The club is playing UEFA Cup football for this season and only the second time they are playing in Europe.
England stuff now. Portsmouth striker Jermaine Defoe believes the time has finally come for him to step into Michael Owen's shoes. Defoe has always been regarded as Owen's deputy in the England attack, and has been forced to bide his time since making his debut for the national side four years ago. And with Owen being left out of the squad for the opening qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia, it's his chance to stake his claim. With the transfer saga being put to rest, Gareth Barry admits he is mentally prepared to give his best for England again and is relieved that he can focus on his football following a turbulent summer at Aston Villa. Barry was even singled out by England coach Fabio Capello for not producing his best form and the Italian had felt that the Liverpool situation was playing on Barry's mind when England was playing against the Czech Republic in the friendly match.
From the European qualifier's point of view, coming in second in the group means that there's still the play-offs. Coming in first in the qualifying group mean that the national team will automatically earn a ticket to South Africa for the World Cup. Bearing in mind that England didn't qualify for Euro 2008, every point earned in the 2010 World Cup qualifier is a must. Starting with the 'away' match against Andorra at Barcelona this Saturday, England's performance will be almost as important as the three points they should collect. Given the last time the two nations met in Barcelona (for the Euro 2008 qualifiers) - Although they won 3-0 they were booed by their own fans after an abject first half display. Steven Gerrard, who will miss both qualifiers following a groin operation, put England ahead early in the second half but it was only late goals from Gerrard and David Nugent that gave the scoreline any respectability. Croatia is the match to settle some old scores from the Euro 2008 qualifiers.
What a bombshell...yeah right. I was expecting this coming (and I'm not a Bayern Munich supporter even) - Speaking to Bild today, Lukas Podolski admits he could consider his options at Bayern Munich. There are times my heart really breaks on his situation at Bayern Munich. The moment Luca Toni is back from injury (which he did ahead of the Hertha Berlin match on Sunday and even scored a goal on his return), Podolski will have to fight for his place in the Bayern squad once again. Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann had made it clear from the start that he will give Podolski his chance, or something like that. There was some sort of mini controversy over what happened at Energie Cottbus over the case of goalkeeper Gehard Tremmel criticising the atmosphere at the club after a disappointing start to the Bundesliga season, with captain Timo Rost not amused at his club colleague is saying on his own website on the state of their club.
Yeah, other than the Curbishley and Keegan sagas in the Premier League, this is one I have also been 'watching out for'. Anyhow, both Tremmel and Rost were ordered to a meeting with coach Bojan Prasnikar yesterday and Rost emerged to say all the problems had been resolved. It reminded me on an unpleasant episode which occured to me a few years ago back in school. I then realised that I have to be careful of what I say on my blog given there could be people I know reading it. Back then, a mini controversy erupted in the classroom between me and another classmate over what I said on my blog. It was one of my friends who told me that the classmate in question did read what I had posted. So much for thinking back then not many know I have a blog, apart from my friends. Heck, those former classmates of mine even know what is my music taste then!
Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery has returned to training for the first time since tearing an ankle ligament. Coach Juergen Klinsmann said that Ribery's getting sharper and sharper and is feeling more stable and added that the Frenchman should be ready for a return to Bundesliga action by "the end of the month".
Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Bastien Schweinsteiger will be the man to lead the German national team and he will have to show he can fill the boots of captain Michael Ballack when the Euro 2008 runners-up begin their World Cup qualifying campaign away to Liechtenstein on Saturday. Ballack (who has always been the captain of the national team) and midfield partner Torsten Frings will both miss the game in Vaduz and Germany's second Group Four qualifier against Finland in Helsinki on Sept. 10 because of injury. It's almost hard to imagine the Bayern midfielder whom they nicknamed 'Schweini' is only 24 this year and he already has 57 caps for Germany so far. He showed during Euro 2008 that he can mend his ways after being sent of for a silly retaliation in the group match against Croatia (which left me shaking my head) and I saw the 'Schweini' I know during the 2006 World Cup when Germany played Portugal in the quarter-finals. I only know I have happy memories of the man who according to Reuters have 'loud taste in haircuts' (let's not go too much into that his girlfriend is the most hottest WAG among those in the German national team...but then again, Schweinsteiger's girlfriend is a model) whenever he does his best for Germany.
I don't remember me used to throw down a gauntlet ever since I started to be a Germany supporter. Barring any injuries (touchwood), I'm going to cry foul if Borussia Mönchengladbach's Marko Marin is not being picked for the World Cup qualifiying matches. The 19-year-old had showed what had been lacking during Euro 2008 in the friendly against Belgium. In fact, he had been almost a reminder of former Cologne's Thomas Hassler, but Marin himself of a smaller build. Speaking to the press today, Germany coach Joachim Loew has spoken on the heavy schedule of domestic and international games for the fact he is without several key players for the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign. But on the bright side of it, this means the young prospects (like Marin whom I was referring to earlier, Hamburg forward Piotr Trochowski and Stuttgart full-back Serdar Tasci) to prove that they are the future of the Germany national team.
I casually brought up whom Germany is going to face in their opening World Cup qualifiers (given this comes after in the wake of my father and I watching Channel 8's Say It If You Dare on the hosts touring Germany and testing their command of German with the locals and they themselves got caught up in the Euro 2008 fever in Berlin when Germany was playing Poland in the Euro 2008 opening group stages) and my father (bearing in mind he is the England supporter) complained that Germany has easy opponents. Eh, Liechtenstein should be okay (in all respect, quoting what the coach says - they are not San Marino; Loew's referring to their former opponents during the Euro 2008 qualifying stages). But Finland is another thing altogether (given Miroslav Klose remembered the time he was in Helsinki and it was a 2-2 draw eventually).
Loew also stood in defence of Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski (given in view of how old is the new Bundesliga season and how old is Podolski himself - 23), backing the striker to have a successful season with Bayern Munich. Podolski's fortunes on the national level could not hardly be more different given he is always guarantee a starting line-up. And even though I am a Manchester United supporter myself, I can't help but finding myself almost grinning when coach Joachim Loew said this when he was talking about Podolski's achievements with the national side - "You don't see that sort of performance from lots of well-respected players, like Cristiano Ronaldo." It almost made me roared with laughter, I don't know. It brought back what I used to say in my post-match thoughts after the Euro 2008 quarter-final match between Germany and Portugal - As much as I am a Manchester United supporter, I wasn't too pleased with Cristiano Ronaldo's performance in Basel. All right, the German defenders were trying to mark him. Even if I have to watch the match as a neutral, so what if he has scored like so many goals in the Premier League? There are times (speaking as a United supporter again) I actually do wonder if Ronaldo really deserves to be the best footballer in the world at the moment. If one cannot prove it on the international stage (like this tournament), there's no point.
You know how The Straits Times reacted to the match then? Disappointed at Ronaldo's performances. One have to think even back then, there are times when the tournament is being view from the Premier League angle. The league which gets the most coverage here (don't think after the arrivial of the Bundesliga, the coverage has been slightly shifted...not). Wait, already back then in the midst of Euro 2008, Miroslav Klose invited controversy when he said that Podolski is better than Ronaldo. I myself is lucky that I follow both the Premier League and the Bundesliga and so I am aware of how both guys are like on the pitch and was muted when Klose said that.
Football (or sort of) thought of the day: I actually find myself thinking back to my Secondary One days when looking at the training photos from the German national team today . Or actually I did say my former Secondary One Science teacher's name out loud in my head (given the coach reminded me of my former teacher in one way or another). Funny I want to call for a 'truce' with the German national team and then suddenly, my former Secondary One days returned. Diana, when can you make up your mind?
Premier League soap opera lurches from one drama to another (From soap opera to the theatre of the absurd, the cash-drenched world of the English Premier League just keeps getting wackier. In the space of 72 hours, Manchester City went from perennial also-rans to the league's new financial superpower, Kevin Keegan came close to a dramatic, second exit from Newcastle and Alan Curbishley quit West Ham even though his side are fifth in the table.)
Who will follow Curbishley at West Ham? (Anyone thinking the closing of the transfer window and the break for international matches would make the Premier League dull for the next 10 days have been proved wrong. All eyes will now revert back to Newcastle and the future of their manager Kevin Keegan who could soon follow Curbishley. West Ham’s next manager will be their fifth in the last seven years since Harry Redknapp left in 2001, a stark contrast to the six managers they had in an 88-year period from 1902 to 1990.)
The right move for Robinho? (He has been roundly criticised in Brazil for his behaviour in attempting to force a move to Chelsea. It has brought back memories of 2005 when he pulled the same trick - and even refused to play for a while - to oblige Santos to sell him to Spain. One of Brazil’s leading pundits, Paulo Vinicius Coelho, wrote that ‘the strike at Santos and the lack of professionalism at Real…show that the star is still a spoilt child, that he hasn’t become a man.)
Gazumping of Abramovich signals power of latest rich-list leaders (Abramovich is not used to being gazumped. His club have been happy to flex their muscles to secure players identified by Manchester United over the last five years - Arjen Robben, Michael Essien, Mikel John Obi. But, from nowhere, he suddenly has a rival with pockets deeper than his own. There was a while on Monday when it appeared United would be the first victims of the new order as City's late bid for Dimitar Berbatov threatened Sir Alex Ferguson's pursuit of the Bulgarian. Yet it was Chelsea who ended up bloodied and bruised, with Kenyon no doubt left to recall memories of how Barcelona had outmanoeuvred him to sign Ronaldinho five years ago while he was still employed at Old Trafford.)
German engineering good for U.S.’s Bradley (The expected transfer saga involving Michael Bradley never took off this summer. Bradley, who holds the keys to the United States national team’s midfield, possibly for the next decade, was the subject of speculation for months as he was linked with more than a dozen different clubs before parting company with Dutch team SC Heerenveen this week, a day before the European transfer window slammed shut. Instead of a big switch to a team in England or Spain, he completed a move to Borussia Moenchengladbach, a newly promoted side in the German Bundesliga.)
Goal.com Profile: Robinho (Robinho completed a surprise move to Manchester City on the last day of the summer transfer window and many will be eagerly waiting to see how he performs at a club that is on the rise rather than part of the established elite. Lucas Brown had a look back at how the mercurial Brazilian ended up at Eastlands...)
Goal.com Profile: Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria’s most expensive-ever footballer has finally got his longed-for move to Manchester United. Goal.com profiles the mean, moody and majestic Dimitar Berbatov…)
