The Suzuki Cup: Laser Warfare? What Say You Julia Perez?

Football is important! In fact, to some it is so important that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure a victory for their side of choice. The extremes that some are willing to go crosses the line of fairness, sportsmanship, and fair play. One such instance is the recent Asian Football Federation Suzuki Cup Final (First Leg) between Indonesia and Malaysia.

This game was played in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia beat Indonesia 3-0. It is always a good thing to give credit where credit is due. However, if one side benefits from less than sporting assistance from their fans is credit really due?

Malaysian fans were permitted to brig laser pens into the stadium where the game was played. The fans wasted no time in making use of these lasers by shining them at, and into the eyes, of Indonesian players. To say it is distracting is an understatement. It is dangerous. If these people were to shine these lasers at aircraft they would be arrested and charged with serious criminal offenses, perhaps even terrorism. They are an embarrassment to themselves and their country. Is it cheating?

Soccer is just a game. It is great that people are passionate about their sport and the teams that they follow. It is, however, just a game.

However, the response from Julia Perez takes the cake. I am not a fan of her singing or her dancing, but I am a fan of her ability to take what skills, and "attributes", she does have and turn them into a successful career as an entertainer and one-time political candidate.

Perez reckons that there is no need for lasers in the return leg. Rather she is going to dazzle and blind the Malaysian team with her most ample of assets, her breasts. Apparently, stripping down to her bra and knickers is probably enough. Although, I would hazard a guess that a die-hard fan like Ms. Perez might be willing to go the full monty and give her Malaysian fans a full-frontal show if it meant Indonesia winning 4-0 and taking the Suzuki Cup.

Better still though would be a bra and panties-clad Perez will strategically placed lasers that she could direct at those Malaysian footballers staring at her naughty bits, where they would not only get an eye-full of what they were expecting, but also an eye-full of very bright, and distracting, red light!

Viva Julia Perez and Viva Indonesian football!

Is This the Real Reason the Philippines Lost?

The Philippines went down 1-0 to Indonesia in the recent semi-final of the Asian Football Federation Suzuki Cup. Not long after that defeat, the above picture surfaced on Twitter courtesy of Rahma Azhari (@RaAzhari). The photo shows Rahma getting cozy with Simon McMenemy, the coach of the Philippines.

It appears that some supporters of the national team will go to extraordinary lengths to get a competitive advantage for their team.

Seriously though, the Indonesian national team is playing good football. The "Red and Whites" have reached the final on the back of excellent performances throughout the tournament.

So, how does Rahma Azhari get herself to an after-game party where the Philippines coach is? Is it a family thing that the Azhari's have a special interest in all things football?

Although, the last time I heard anything about Rahma Azhari it involved a good deal of nakedness and full-frontal nudity and a couple of shower scenes with her sister, Sarah Azhari. As I recall, those photos went "viral" on the web as well. Ah, Rahma, and controversy ... I wonder if I posted those pictures, hmmm!

Liverpool Football Club in Indonesia

It is surprising that Indonesia has not produced more home-grown football or soccer talent. There are plenty of footballers out there who have some Indonesian blood pumping through their veins. Yet, there are not a lot of footballers who have been born and raised in Indonesia who have gone on to successful world-class football careers. This is surprising when one considers that Indonesia is a country of some 240 million people and there are plenty who are avid football fans.

This may soon change, but soon being relative of course, as the Liverpool Football Club has indicated that it is going to enhance its presence in Asia, and Indonesia is where they are going to start this expansion. The growth phase will include the establishment of a permanent football academy. The Liverpool International Football Academy is part of the youth development section of the Liverpool FC.

Ian Rush, a Liverpool legend, has been in Jakarta in 2010 to conduct a football clinic. There is another clinic underway throughout this week and next. It is expected that the football academy could be up and running as soon as May 2011.

A permanent training and development facility based in Indonesia will ensure that there will be quite a few locally-born Indonesian youngsters getting the opportunity to show their wares to all and sundry. This may lead to Indonesians getting the chance to play football with Liverpool in the English Premier League and maybe other clubs throughout Europe. This is a really positive development for Indonesian football.

There are a lot of Indonesian youths under the age of eighteen. So, in terms of sheer numbers, the possibility of unearthing a global star is a very real one.

If soccer is truly the world game, then an Indonesian star or two on the world stage will truly reflect this claim.

Is This An Advertisement?

These images came courtesy of GQ Magazine in the UK. As far as I can make out it is something to do with Chinese Women's soccer. Although, to me it looks like an advertisement for underwear. Nevertheless, keeping with the theme of distracting the Yemeni beach volleyball team...

David Beckham Does Newcastle: Football Clinic Style...

David Beckham is in Australia at the moment. It is part of an end-of-season tour for the Los Angeles (LA) Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) fame. The Australian part of that tour includes an exhibition game against the struggling, financially, Newcastle Jets.

Aside from the friendly football, it is also an opportunity for Becks to run a soccer / football clinic or two. The clinic saw the participation of 680 children from some 20 local schools. Apart from the obvious skills and 'stuff' that football clinics are all about, it was also an opportunity for Beckham to re-tie the odd shoelace when they came undone. Even Becks knows you cannot take a free kick with an undone shoelace.

If nothing else, this photo suggest that David Beckham is a genuinely humble fellow that is as comfortable running round with a group of soccer mad youngsters as he is running around some of the world's greatest and largest football stadiums.

I am pretty sure that young Harrison Jones is going to get a real kick out of telling the story of this picture as he goes through life.

It has to be really tough sometimes to always live your life under the constant glare of public scrutiny.

Football's Worst Ever Miss?

This comes from the 2010 Asian Games. The game is a quaterfinal match between Qatar and Uzbekistan. The young man that misses the golden opportunity is Fahad Khalfan. What makes this miss extra special is that it happened in extra time and ultimately Qatar lost the match 1-0.

You have to feel sorry for this young man, don't you?



Enjoy!

Lingerie Football...

The Lingerie Football League (LFL) must be an acquired taste. The Mayor of Oklahoma City, Mick Cornett, has decided that he is not going to allow Oklahoma City to host a franchise of the LFL.

This begs the question "is lingerie football a serious sport or just a bunch of women running around in their underwear?" With that question in mind, I set out to do some research. Luckily for me, Foxtel's sports channels carry the LFL. Thanks to Foxtel I have been able to watch a few games and get a "feel" for the game and whether it is serious sport.

I have to say, having watched a few games, these girls go at it hammer and tong. There are some really big hits. I am sure there are plenty of people who watch it just for the sex appeal. Yet, the players themselves, like Natalie Jahnke, consider it to be legitimate sport. Nevertheless, Jahnke does admit that sex sells.

Yet, whether the LFL is legitimate sport or just a little bit of voyeuristic opportunism, is irrelevant if it brings in the crowds and is profitable, isn't it?

But one has to give credit where credit is due. These young women train hard and get out there week-in and week-out during the season to play football. My guess is that the most exercise some people will get will be watching these young women run around in their panties and bras.

Now, for the pictures...

The Physics of Penalty Kicks...

It is better to be safe than sorry, right?

I used to play soccer when I was a kid, but pretty much stopped when they started calling it football. I have taken a few penalty kicks in my time. I have not seen one like this before.

Enjoy!

Wayne's World...

So, Wayne Rooney ends up with a new 5-year deal at Manchester United which is set to pay him a paltry 250,000 quid per week or a royal 60 million over the five years..

I am not sure about anyone else, but a simple apology is not likely to cut it with MU fans. Let's face it, this whole thing reeks of nothing more than a young man angling for a much bigger salary. This is his right of course. I am not advocating that footballers with talent do not get the best deal that they can. I am suggesting that the way this one played out was particularly unsavoury, and simply the fans have a right to be a little peeved at the way it was done.

I really should have done more to be famous. The 250K per week is made up of a base salary of 160K and a further 90K in image rights. How many images do you need to be moving to justify 90K per week? I am guessing that image rights also includes products like playing shirts and the like.

Time for bed and a dream or two about what might have been had I been more dedicated to my footy!

Oops -- Goalkeeping Blunder...

In a penalty shootout in the Coupe du Trone in Morocco Maghreb Fez defeated FAR Rabat. The FAR goal keeper thought that he had saved a penalty, but his celebrations were a little premature to say the least. His team ended up losing 7-6 on penalties.

A lesson in going from hero to zero in seconds. I am guessing it is a mistake that Khalid Askri will not be making again anytime soon.

Wayne Rooney & Jenny Thompson -- Another Soccer Sex Scandal in the Making...

What is it with mega-sports stars and their sexual appetites. Tiger Woods and his mistresses is now well know fodder for the international press. It cost him his marriage, and for what? Well, it would seem that Wayne Rooney of Manchester United and England fame has decided that high-priced prostitutes is something that he needs to be involved with as well.

The obvious question, as it was in Woods' case, is: "your wife is successful and beautiful, and has borne you a child...what don't you have at home?" I am sure that there are answers to this. I am sure that each of us have our own problems, but all the same, it is a legitimate question to pose. If you are out sowing your wild oats while the missus is at home, then one really needs to be thinking whether getting hitched in the first place was the right choice.

Apparently, Ms. Thompson has a charge out rate of 1200 quid which supposedly is the one-shot rate (if you know what I mean).

I appreciate that we are all human, some of us more than others, and as such, we make mistakes and err in our judgment at times. Nevertheless, I still cannot fathom how celebrities think that they can get away with it. Sooner or later you have to luck out, the odds demand it, and score a person more interested in securing their own 15-minutes of fame and some big bucks into the bargain. The bigger the celebrity, the bigger the fame, and conceivably the bigger the rewards.

I was reading last week about Divine Brown. Yep, the one and only Divine Brown (aka Stella Marie Thompson) and the former oral sex partner of Hugh Grant. She has made millions apparently from that 'quickie' and the notoriety or infamy that brought her. Yes, a USD 60 blow job has earned her millions. If I recall, she labeled it a real "Pretty Woman" story, one that Julia Roberts could have been proud of.

Anyways, this story about Wayne Rooney seems destined to be a major player in our newspapers and splashed across our television screens for the next few weeks as the story unravels into more sordid details or as a beat-up by an over-zealous press looking for any old gossip to sensationalise to make money.

Ho hum...

Here is the delightful Ms. Thompson...

Soccer & Dreams of Greatness -- Bebe & Manchester United...

It is always uplifting to read, or hear, a story that is rags to riches. So, the story of Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, or Bebe as he is known to his fans, being signed by Manchester United is one of those feel good stories.

Bebe was a homeless street child whose skills with a soccer (football for you purists out there) ball saw him play some amateur and third division soccer in Portugal.

Bebe has been signed for a handsome 7.4 million pounds. This bodes well for a pretty decent salary (even if he spends most of his time just warming the reserves bench.

Hopefully, Bebe comes good and lives up to the potential and the hype. If nothing else it will make a good movie. Kind of reminds me of that movie where the kid gets plucked out of obscurity and plays for Newcastle in the English Premier League; Goal: The Dream Begins.

Well, it is soccer time...I am off to watch Arsenal and Liverpool do battle in round one of the EPL.

Good night all.

How To Take A Penalty -- Spanish Style...

Ezequiel Calvente showed one and all how to take a penalty in the recent U19 European Championships. I wonder how long it will be until we see someone have a go at this in one of the big leagues or senior championships.

From Yahoo Sports and here.

Dutch Indonesian Footballers...

I was thinking of posting something of Dutch footballers (soccer players to the rest of us) while I was watching the 2010 World Cup final the other week. The commentators on the broadcast that I was watching mentioned a number of times that there were plenty of Dutch footballers with Indonesian blood pumping through their veins. In the final, the names of Robin van Persie, John Heitinga, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst were mentioned a number of times.

However, this post actually came to life as I was reading an article in The Jakarta Globe earlier tonight.

It was interesting to read that the Indonesian Football Association has a plan in place to recruit Dutch players with an Indonesian ancestry to play for the Indonesian National Team. At face value, sounds like a good plan, and why not? However, politics and bureaucracy means that this is nothing more than pie in the sky dreaming.

Indonesia's citizenship and naturalization laws and regulations are notoriously difficult to navigate. On paper, it can be argued that becoming an Indonesian citizen is easy. Nothing more than filling in the paperwork and going through the motions. Personal experience tells me that this is not the case.

However, this post is not about me, but about football players who may be tempted, or not, to change their stripes from the Oranje of Holland to the Red and White of Indonesia. One of the biggest obstacles to the idea of dual citizenship is that Indonesian politicians do not seem to be able to get their collective heads around the idea that someone can hold two passports yet be a devoted patriot to one. Sometimes, practical considerations, such as family or work, dictate  dual citizenship.

I am sure that there are some fringe players who cannot secure a regular gig in the Dutch national side that might be tempted by the prospect of playing consistent international football. However, the established stars like van Persie are not likely to be suiting up in the red and white of Indonesia.

Nevertheless, Indonesians have had a chance to see what van Persie might look like in the red and white when he suits up in the Premier League for Arsenal. My guess is that is as close as van Persie will get to wearing the red and white of his ancestral homeland.

Yet, if the Indonesians are serious about this then it requires that the government get on board and look at putting some flexibility into the current laws and regulations relating to holding more than one passport. Dual citizenship will go a long way to enticing those fringe players into considering a stint with the Indonesian national team. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a couple of old Indonesian men sitting round a table dreaming of world cup glory in 2110 when Indonesia hosts its first ever football world cup.

A couple of other notable Dutch footballers with Indonesian connections include Roy Maakay, Bobby Petta, Denny Landzaat, Michael Mols and Sergio van Dijk.

That is the Arsenal strip, but I am pretty sure that is not Robin van Persie. The body paint though seems to be the way of the future, something about aerodynamics and energy efficiency. Oh well and happy viewing!

The World Cup 2010 -- A Body Paint Retrospective...

Surprisingly enough I watched most of the 2010 World Cup. I do not mind watching some good football. This is not to say that every game was a cracker and worth the price of admission. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and I enjoyed watching it.

The final was a bit of a let down, on a personal level, I was hoping that the Dutch would get up for the win. However, in the big scheme of things it really did not bother me that Spain won. The game was interesting to watch for the comparison between the beautiful and brutal game adopted by Spain and The Netherlands respectively. I cannot recall a game where I have seen so many yellow cards and only one red one.

Now, on with the show. This retrospective is about what could have been. There definitely needs to be more fans getting into the body paint thing. This would ensure that the cameramen and camerawomen had something to do when the game became a little boring. Besides, I am not sure if anyone else has noticed this, there is a lot of crowd shots and close up shots of good looking crowd members (usually women) at all sporting events now. I noticed this not only at the world cup but also on the cricket last night on the television. I can understand it in cricket, there needs to be something to break up the monotony of watching the grass grow.

So, this post is about the fans that we did not see in the crowd (these are the more tame pictures that I found).

"Pants on the Ground" -- General Larry Platt

I watched American Idol this morning. It is the audition rounds again. This means you get to seem some really good potential and some real shockers. It also means that you get a chance to see the weird and sometimes inspiring.

One of my favourites was General Larry Platt and a song he wrote himself "Pants on the Ground". There is not a lot going on in the song. However, it was interesting to see that Simon Cowell suggested that he had a funny feeling that the song could be a hit. Cowell might be right. The song has already been covered by Jimmy Fallon doing a Neil Young inspired version of it (awesome) and Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings has done a version of it post-game in the Vikings locker room.

Here are all three versions for your easy viewing pleasure.

Football -- Indonesian Style

I wonder if it is difficult to find referees in Indonesia or people willing to be trained up for the job.

This photo shows the Manager of PSIS Semarang attacking the referee in a match against PSIS Medan held last Thursday.

Where Are They Now?

This is one of my favourite pictures. It is more than a couple of years old now. So, this kid is probably in his early teens by now.

I wonder has he gone on to be a soccer hooligan or is he still a soccer hooligan in waiting? Or has he become a model Feyenoord fan or has he changed allegiances to another team?

The questions keep coming.

Pele -- Robbed At Gunpoint

Being arguably one of the world's greatest ever football players and declared a national treasure by your government does not make you immune from crime. It is probably a bit of an understatement to say that there is a crime problem in Brazil but maybe this robbery of Pele might inspire the government to do something about the crime rate. Then again probably not!

The reports are that the crime occurred on 13 June in Santos in the south of Sao Paulo State. In the robbery Pele was robbed of a gold necklace, a watch, and a mobile phone, and presumably any cash that he was carrying.

Now, if the reports are true the man has some serious testicular fortitude. It is reported that Pele was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car when it was stopped by 10 or so youths armed with guns and knives. The report goes on to say that Pele rolled down the window and identified himself but was robbed anyways. I would reckon the last thing that most people would be doing in their panic is rolling down the window.

The reports are not saying why it has taken so long for this to become public. However, it seems that perhaps Pele himself did not bother to report the crime.

Well, I guess that is life in Brazil.

Racism and Sports

Racism in sport is not something new. However, when the ugly spectre of racism raises its head at increasingly lower levels of sports then there is a more apparent and urgent need to address the problem.

In a rugby league match between the Mascot and the South Eastern Rugby Leagues clubs in Maroubra on Sunday there is an alleged report of an under 12 player being racially abused by a person.

I hope that what I am about to write offends your sensibilities and if you never come back and read me again so be it. I want to offend your sensibilities because if you are a reader based in Australia then this is something that must be stamped out at all levels of the game! If you are a reader somewhere else then I hope that you join in the campaign to stamp out racism.

The more offended you are the more likely you are to do something about it. Write a letter to the paper, post something on your own blog (if you have one), or talk to your friends about it, but do something. It is alleged that the person making the remark was an adult.

It remains unclear whether this clown was a parent or a team official. Either way he is still a clown! I am competitive and I want to win. I am sure that is something that will transfer in the genes to "the kid". Yet, being competitive does not involve any need for me to racially abuse the opposition.

It is alleged that this person was calling the under 12 player a "black cunt". One assumes that the player was one of my indigenous brothers. I am not apologizing for the word and I am not going to disguise it with an asterisk or some other symbol. I want you to be offended. The more offended you are the more likely you are to take a stand against this. Calling a 12-year old a "black cunt" cannot be justified on any grounds, no matter how bad the kid is. But in this context of a sports match there is no justification I can see. Feel free to enlighten me if you can!

The punishment for the crime is to black-list the perpetrator (is black bad or something?) and to de-register the child. I have no problem with banning the perpetrator for a period of time in order that the person reflect a little on their racism and do something about it. However, banning the child seems to me to be punishing the child for the sins of the parent (father). To me this is inherently wrong! The picture is from the "Show Racism the Red Card" campaign.

The father of the victim on hearing the racial slur was then alleged to have king-hit the maker of the remarks and a fight then broke out between a number of spectators. An ugly incident all round.

It is my sincere hope that something is done about this sooner rather than later.