Proud of Our Harimau Malayas

*Safee, Amirulhadi & Khairul Fahmi apologizing to the fans*

It was a sad end to Malaysia's quest to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Our hopes were dashed by our neighbours, Singapore, last night at Bukit Jalil Stadium. We lost 6-4 on aggregates but the fans gave them a standing ovation (definitely deserved) for taking us to such a wonderful ride. We lost, but there's a long way to go. And as far as I can remember, we're planning for the Asian Cup 2015. Disappointed, yes. But we all know that our Malaysian football is back and we're heading the right direction. We also have the Olympic qualifying to look forward to.

*3-0 was the scoreline needed to progress through*

I'm very proud of what our boys have achieved and will definitely be looking forward to more great matches and experience with them. Here's a thought.. When was the last time you folks experience this kinda hype or excitement about Malaysian football? Probably the last time was in the 80's.

*Safee celebrates scoring a goal*

Last night's match saw a home crowd of nearly 95,000 supporters come to cheer our boys and make life a living hell for the Singaporeans. There were some mind games between the managers and the fans wasted no time in making their voices heard. I am especially livid that the Singaporeans easily give foreign players nationality access in order for them to represent their national team. Give me a break folks!!! They're trying to say that they have a small population and all kinds of crap. It only takes 23 players to represent any country in any football tournament around the world. For qualifying, you may only need 50 players (50 is already a very high number). Don't say that you can't find 23 home grown players???

*Singapore celebrate their equalizer*

I can understand like certain cases e.g. Lukas Podolski (Polish born German international) or Mesut Ozil (Turkish born German international) where they have the luxury to choose which national team they want to represent because of their family backgrounds. Plus they both have represented their country at youth level. But to give nationality rights to a 41 year old and represent Singapore??? To a Chinese player that are not up to the China national team standards??? Are you kidding me???

*Ahmad Faruqi, a huge disappointment last night*

The best (in a super sarcastic tone) part of the match was the play acting from the Singaporean players. I was like WOW!!! I've seen worse before, back in 2003 when FC Porto under then Jose Mourinho beat Celtic 3-2 in the final of UEFA Cup. The Porto players should be given an Academy Award each for their play acting but yesterday was far worse from the UEFA Cup Final. I can assure you that the physio (a lady) ran a lot more than the cry babies. Every tackle they fell down like flies. Those who saw the match on tv said most of them didn't even had any contact. The ref got conned easily.

*Khairul Fahmi and Mat Boyot (fans called him that)*

The crowd last night was magnificent and we all made sure that Bukit Jalil Stadium was a fortress. It definitely felt that way. I just wished we could turn it like the famous Attaturk Stadium in Turkey. Many players claim that it was a fortress and a hostile that gave them the chills when step foot into the field. Aside from that, great praise should be awarded to stand-in skipper, the outstanding Safee Sali, the talismanic captain marvel Safiq Rahim (although suspended last night), Mohd Amirulhadi Yahya, Muslim Ahmad, Aidil Zafuan, Amar Rohidan and Khairul Fahmi for their stellar performace. I was especially impress with Safee as he showed he's "THE MAN" on the field last night. Quick turns, great awareness, great possession, great reading of the game and most definitely great finishing. If Malaysia is benefiting from Safee's stint in Indonesia, why not send other top players there and learn their trade. I personally believe that it will elavate the Harimau Malaya into another level. Not forgetting the coach, Dato' K. Rajagopal and his staff. Without them, we could not achieve this great feat. Let us come together again and support our Harimau Malayas in the future!!!

*Harimau Malaya fans showed great support*

Penang Asam Laksa Ranked No. 7

It doesn't matter if you live to eat, or eat to live Penang's famed asam laksa is one of the dishes worth traversing the world for, according to a CNN International food survey.
Under its CNNGo guide to lifestyle, shopping, hotels and restaurants, Malaysia's popular dish is also seventh among the world's 50 most delicious food. CNNGo describes the dish as “poached, flaked mackerel, tamarind, chili, mint, lemongrass, onion, pineapple an addictive spicy-sour fish broth with noodles.” It added that the Penang asam laksa was especially great when fused with ginger “that'll have your nose running before the spoon even hits your lips.”
Two popular Singaporean dishes (that's also part of our staple diet in Malaysia) have made it to CNNGo's list as well. At no. 45 is the national dish of Singapore, chicken rice. 'Whenever you're not actually in Singapore eating chicken rice, you're thinking of it,' the website says. Placing higher at no. 35 is Singapore's infamous chilli crab, which the website describes as a 'spicy, sloppy, meaty specialty' that is a must-try when visiting Singapore.
Thailand's Massaman curry tops the list, and is described as the 'king of all foods', with its 'spicy, sweet and savoury' flavours.



The Amazing Spider-Man

Have you all got a glimpse of the new reboot movie of The Amazing Spider-Man to be released in 3rd July 2012? If you haven't, you can catch it here. But let me brief you all a lil' about the upcoming movie. While the previous Spider-Man franchise under Sam Raimi was a global phenomenon (no doubt about that), this time it focuses more on Peter Parker's life as a college student. This time around, he's into Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone from Zombieland). And you thought Bryce Dallas Howard was hot as the much grown up Gwen in Spider-Man 3, wait til you see Emma. Hot too!!! Personally I prefer her as a red head than blonde. Hehe... The villain this time around is The Lizard (played by Rhys Ifans). There's a bucket load of updates, trailers, interviews etc. at San Diego Comic Con happening right now in USA. Check out Comic Book Movie website for more info. Finally, enjoy the trailer!!!

San Diego Comic Con 2011

Have you all heard of San Diego Comic Con? Every year I look forward to the event. Although I have never been to any of its events, there's lots of updates/rumours/interviews from directors/producers/actors & actresses for upcoming movies, mainly on comic book adaptation movies. It's basically the biggest convention for the movie world (sorry New York Comic Con). People from all over the world come together to witness the great convention. For example, Marvel and DC Comics will announce the upcoming movie for the year ahead, premiere new trailers, conduct interviews etc. just to please the fans. Besides that, favourite tv shows will take this opportunity to further their fan base and preview the upcoming season as well. I wish one day I could go there and witness it myself. Believe me, it's gonna be great. Let me show you folks some of the photos courtesy of http://www.comicbookmovie.com/ . I fully recommend the site as there's lots of videos, trailers, interviews, posters that you can have a look at. Enjoy!!!

*The Avengers booth - movie in 2012*

*The Batman suit - movie in 2012*

*The Ghost Rider new bike - movie in 2012*

*The Joker suit - tribute to Heath Ledger*

*Men in Black 3 ride - movie in 2012*

*The Amazing Spiderman booth - movie in 2012*

*Underworld Awakening poster - movie in 2012*

Japan Edge USA for Maiden Title

Bet it's already old news but I'm still gonna blog about it. As we all know, Japan beat USA in the FIFA Women's World Cup few days back. It was an entertaining match. A nailbiting end to a fantastic match.

The trophy seemed to be heading back to the USA since 1999 but Japan had other ideas. It was 1-1 (goals from Alex Morgan and Aya Miyama) at 90 minutes. The game went into extra time and the US had taken the lead through Abby Wambach from a header yet again. She's huge and a tall striker which remided me of another legend from the women's football, Birgit Printz, a 3 time FIFA Women's World Player. Homare Sawa scored an exquisite equalizer 3 minutes from the end of extra time to rock the USA again. And they headed into penalties.

The USA had never miss a penalty for years (can't remember when was the last time they missed it). Defender Saki Kumagai had the honour of hitting home the decisive spot-kick as Japan triumphed 3-1 and claimed the crown and world's best after the devastation of tsunami not so long ago. I guess the USA will mostly be remembered for Hope Solo's fantastic efforts in goal and also gather thousand more fans for her beauty (I've been a fan of her since the Women's World Cup in 2007). Hehehe..

The Dark Knight Rises

The most anticipated movie for 2012 has just released a teaser trailer online. Christopher Nolan's eagerly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises will be in theatres in the summer of 2012. After an epic The Dark Knight, the final conclusion of the Batman franchise comes to a closure with tons of new villains in the coming film. A whole lot of actors/actresses been signed on to the movie. And confirmed and rumours been swirling around of an appearance for Bane, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Talia Al Ghul etc. I'm sure this upcoming movie will live up to its expectation after an awesome The Dark Knight. I just wonder, how can Mr Nolan top that? Enjoy the new The Dark Knight Rises teaser trailer folks!!!

Exceptional Performance by Harimau Malaya

Bet most of you went to the Malaysia vs Liverpool last Saturday. I was one of the ecstatic crowd in the packed stadium. Reports suggest there were 84,000 fans turned up at Bukit Jalil to watch the thrilling match. A thriller indeed. The first time Liverpool come to our shores and we were treated to a football exhibition. Our national team lost 6-3 but the fans gave them a standing ovation. YES!!! A STANDING OVATION!!! That shows how far our national team have grown and achieved since the visit of current Barclay's Premier League champions, Man Utd back in 2009.

We arrived at Bukit Jalil at 2.45pm and we went for a shopping spree. My twin nephews were extremely excited as this was their first match going to a stadium to watch football. Their dad was so happy that he spent hundreds of Ringgit for jerseys/shirts only. Oh and he bought for me one too!!! The twins also bought some air horns and hats and loads more which i lost count.

The 7 of us bought tickets for the red gate and we were supposedly to be seated behind the goal post. But we searched for better seats and managed to get the corner side of the pitch. A definitely better angle to see the play. Man Utd fans look away cuz I was blending in with the crowd. Hehehe...

The crowd had started to fill the seats when we got there. Check it out...

Liverpool the lead through a Charlie Adam penalty, which is a total dive from Andy Carroll. The ref was a total "kayu" also by giving away a very soft penalty. The crowd went wild when Adam scored a re-taken penalty. Our national players didn't give up and were up for a fight. The captain, Safiq Rahim led by example from the heart of the midfield. The scored a superb.. I repeat, A SUPERB free kick for the equalizer.

*Picture courtesy of Shidah Arshad*

Even a full stretched Brad Jones couldn't save the thunderous free kick from Safiq Rahim. The crowd went absolutely balistic when Malaysia equalized. I was jumping for joy myself and shouted "Brad Jones cium tiang weih!!!". Me and my partner in crime, Fashah, kept on shouting and screaming towards Joe Cole, cuz he was simply rubbish throughout the game. At first, some fans were looking at us and gave a weird look on our behaviours but in the end, they agreed with us. Hahaha...

At one stage, Liverpool were already leading 4-1 but our national coach introduced Safee Sali into the match. The crowd were already on their feet when he made the entrance. He repaid the coach's favour by scoring 2 goals to reduce the deficit to 4-3 and the national team smelled blood. Everytime the national squad came near the Liverpool goal area, the crowd were shouting Goal!! Goal!! Goal!! Goal!! It was a nail biting and thrilling end to a match. But Liverpool managed to put the nail in the coffin and sealed the match at 6-3.

*Picture courtesy of Shidah Arshad*

*Picture courtesy of Shidah Arshad*

The crowd stood up, clapped their hands, shouting and singing to both teams for an outstanding performance. I give my hat to our Harimau Malaya players cuz they were extremely good and gave their all against Liverpool. I hope they can maintain their performance if not raise it againts Singapore. C'mon lads!!! WE WILL BE SUPPORTING YOU!!!

Arsenal, Liverpool & Chelsea in KL!!!

Football fans in Malaysia will soon be entertained by 3 Barclays Premier League teams coming down from next week onwards to kick start their pre-season tours. Arsenal on 13th July, Liverpool on 16th and Chelsea on 21st July respectively. Have you all got your tickets yet? I know I have (except for Chelsea). Although i'm not a fan of all these 3 clubs, I haven't seen them in action right before my eyes in years. So i'm going as a football fan and enjoy the beautiful game. And poke some fun to Arsenal (I'll be wearing a Barcelona jersey) and Liverpool (I'll be wearing a Man Utd jersey) fans. Hahaha...

The sad thing about these teams coming to here is that, most of the main star attraction could be leaving before they jet off to Malaysia. It seems like Samir Nasri will seal his switch to Man City real soon (before Sunday as reported) and talismanic captain Cesc Fabregas desperately wants lo leave and have mentioned to close friends he's not going to play for Arsenal again (as reported by tabloid in the UK). I'm sure many of Fabregas's female fans would be very disappointed if he's not coming. I guess from Arsenal, only Jack Wilshere & Van Persie as the main attractions. Unless they could sign Gervinho real soon and as reported, Karim Benzema of Real Madrid.

For Liverpool, it has been confirmed by Kenny Dalglish that their captain marvel Steven Gerrard will not be traveling to Asia, in order to keep him fit for the coming campaign. WTF??? We know Luis Suarez is in Argentina for the Copa America. Should Dalglish complete the signing of Charlie Adam real soon, then there's some attraction to Liverpool's game. Although Carragher aka Mr Reliable will be traveling. That's a good sign.

Chelsea meanwhile, there's the new manager Andre Villas Boas and Fernando Torres as the main attraction. I could care less about the others. Hahaha...

Oh and it will be a good build up to Malaysia's Harimau Malaya squad when they face our neighbours, Singapore on the 23rd and 28th July. Personally, I hope we can keep a clean sheet against all 3 teams and the defence needs to tighten up really good. Anyway, see you folks at the stadium!!! Or Stadium Astro for those who can't make it.

New iPhone to be released in September 2011

The Wall Street Journal independently reports that the new iPhone generation will be launched in the 3rd quarter of this year. According to close sources of the supply line, the next iPhone is expected to trim down the famously svelte iPhone 4, making it both lighter and slimmer than the current model.

While we still don' know the name of the new iPhone, the phone will have an 8 megapixel camera and will also sport the same powerful A5 processor as the iPad, which boosts the speed of the device. Let's hope it is a new model entirely and not like an upgrade of the 3Gs model. I know i'm looking forward to its release.