Football recollection

For some strange reason, i am reminded of playing futsal back in NZ, down at the wharf in one of the warehouses. The futsal court had a low wall around and so the ball could be played against the wall on the sides (but not on the ends), while the goal itself was about the same height as the wall and fairly wide. Only the goalkeeper is allowed in the D area around the goal but because of the width, it is pretty easy to score one v one.

I got to play there a few times when a few regulars from the team could not make in, and usually we had fun, especially when i had a Brazilian or two on my team. By and large, the standard and style of kiwis we played against was pretty pedestrian and boring. Possession soccer was yet to be the in thing, but we had the mentality that playing street soccer was all about keeping the ball and denying the other side. So for the most part, it was a slaughter. Hilarious. =)

Haze 2015

Two years ago we had really bad haze, and i should have updated my post from then that we experienced the highest PSI level of 400 then, which looked scary as hell when you gaze out of the window to see only white smog and nothing else (not even the building just across the street).

The key difference from the last time i wrote about this is that it IS election year this year however it has already been conducted and the men in white won big time, so overall, still no change in strategy: i.e. jaw jaw, talk talk, better than war war, walk walk. Just a hypothetical situation, if we send our hypothetical aircraft carrier with aircraft armed with water bombs and we go over and water bomb all the hot spots, would it count as an act of aggression or self preservation? Some of them might even support us since the PSI in Kalimantan is some ridiculous 4-digit level.

Good thing the wifely person and offspring are in HK for the weekend so they'll miss most of the smog (schools are closed today! (unprecedented!)).

Weekend of learning

Was flying solo on driver duty this past Saturday, as the wifely person had a full day retreat to attend while the offspring had a full day of classes to attend. Had to wake her up and then be face to face with a putu mayam hungry girl that had to be disappointed with koko crunch instead (life is tough and full of disappointments), but we thought it through and decided it was not worth expanding the energy of crying. We both got ready quickly, somehow sensing that it would be good day, and headed out to ballet class, arriving nice and early to get ready for class and have our goodbye/goodluck hugs and kisses. Made her my usual promise that i'll be right here waiting for her when her class ended, which i was (am happy to say i've never disappointed her despite several close calls. i think the thought of her disappointed face just spurs me on to be really on time). I even managed to grab my fav breakfast of laksa nearby (mee rubus lost out lol) while waiting for her.

After her lesson, the first thing she wanted to do was locate the nearest putu mayam stall (how's that for persistence!) so having done my research already, we went to nearby Ghim Mo hawker centre and found that they were left with the last putu mayam and daughter was happy. =)

We had several discussions in the car during the course of the day today and i wish i could record it all for posterity, as they involved heavy topics such as how to count to twenty in Roman numerals as well as "why is my name my name?". I should explain that our regular bedtime story of Wizard of Oz is the original full version, so we read one chapter a night, and the chapter headings are in (you guessed it Sherlock) Roman numerals. =)

In the afternoon after her nap, we went exploring at the old HDB estate of Dakota Crescent and had teatime there before taking a walk around (new camera to try lol), following the Kallang river where we found some mimosa plants, so had the opportunity of explaining and showing her the joys of "tickling" the mimosa plant. The look of fascination and joy on her face was priceless and that picture will be one i will keep in my heart forever.

Different strokes

Due to a scheduling conflict, I couldn't make it for soccer training this week. =(

So i decided to join some friends for sunday soccer instead, and we started out with a larger pitch (two small pitches combined) before we had to switch to a smaller pitch with 3 teams. As they say in Fifa10 the game, the gulf in class is evident both on the pitch and on the scoreline. J decided to stick with being a defender although he did roam up a couple of times, even unleashing one of his trademark thunderbolts which fizzed past the post. I did have a pretty good time on the right, scoring one and setting up two in the first minutes of the game and it was interesting because i kept running and squaring the ball and we kept knocking them in. J remarked when he scored from such a situation that although he would usually first time it, he had so much time and space that he actually stopped the ball first and tapped it in. I even managed to make an outside boot pass from a fast break when i saw the last man come towards me, but as i turned with my back towards goal to receive the pass i saw a runner on my right and flicked it on into his path, leaving the last defender stranded, but the runner shot wide *facepalm*

Switching to the smaller pitch with three teams, i promptly sprained my left ankle on some dodgy turf and was left quite static for the rest of the game, although i still managed to rock the crossbar a couple of times, score a few goals and rack up more assists. =) I did managed to walk the ball through their defence thanks to the "many small touches" approach only that i got a bit lost and couldn't find a pass or a shot to end the run.

All in all a good session although for some strange reason we are both carrying aches and pains today, probably the lack of warm up. lol

Crowded pitch

Quite a few came for training so we had four teams of 8 for the full match, but with smaller goals on the halfway line to form two separate pitches, it meant that the playing field was wide but short, kinda like me. Overall we came in second to J's team, who had a few monster midfielders who were fast, made intelligent runs, could shoot well and passed well. Tough to defend and we conceded 3 against them while overall i had a pretty bad night with lousy touches, a chance to volley (which i ballooned into the far pond) and poor crosses. I didn't have to play as defender though since my teammates were pretty decent defenders, although i did drop back and make a few defensive tackles (earning a skinned knee in the process). Also managed to score one with a return assist a couple of minutes later.

We also had a new coach on board, who remarked that i was pretty fast on the pitch, and that i was probably faster when i was younger. LOL

Playing fair with the fairer sex

Due to a lack of sleep thanks to a faulty air conditioning unit that kept us up all night, was really bushed when we went for training, but still a good session nonetheless.

The possession drill was really tiring because we were doing 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 by the numbers, so by the time the really long full pitch match came around, i was knackered! Due to the larger turnout, we did have two subs so that was helpful when i twisted my ankle and had to sit out. LOL Before that, i did manage a shot on goal as our team played some good possession football and the funny thing was the three positions i operated in were all on the left, as i started in left mid, moved to left centreback and then finally left back where i got injured. Their right wing was a girl who played in the disabled world cup and she's really good, fast on her feet, quick runs and intelligent passes. Difficult to defend, but i made sure that one-on-one she never got past me and she was often forced to pass but with good teammates covering, we either intercepted the return or snuffed out the attack entirely. I even managed to steal the ball cleanly off her toes when she was trying to break down the right (again). Kept hearing Gandalf's phrase "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" in my head whenever an attack strode down my flank. Hahahaha.

Good contact but no result

Another training session and it was tough trying to control the ball on the slick pitch after it rained in the evening, but also made for a cool (but humid) climate. Was fully suited up with the guards to prevent accidents but in the end was still injured when a couple of us clattered into each other and i got an elbow into my collarbone which hurt like the blazes.

I did start off the match as striker though, and thought i made space pretty well however our strike options are limited only to a couple of us, so it was tough going. I did make a good play when receiving the ball on the left middle, i beat my marker by turning with the pass and threaded a ball with my left foot that was just in front of 3 returning defenders as well as Rafa in goal, and it reached the only other guy in attack with me at that time, my right wing, who couldn't first time it because the angle was too steep by the time he got to the ball. Instead, he controlled and took it to the byline and whipped in a low cross by which time i had run into the box and volleyed it on the move. Was trying to have a good contact with the ball and i did, only that it whistled past the top right corner in a flash and it was gone. =( It was a good play for me because there were only two of us, yet we managed to carve up their defence left and right, and made everyone look out of position. Funny thing was even though i missed, Rafa thought that was a really good play and was even congratulated by their defender (more out of relief i suspects!).

Was bushed after all that running (was even sent a cross for sissorkick but i lack the skills to do so lol) so i swapped with J for a defenders role, and he did well with our coach in CM sending in the passes. We even traded passes as i moved up into attack in order to bolster our strikers but then was caught out of position with the counterattack and we conceded. Eventually lost 3-0. Bugger!

Coaching the coaches

The head coach was not in town so two guys from his coaching team took us instead. Personally, i had a decent to good session as i managed to practice shooting with both feet during the drills before actually scoring a goal during the match. As we had enough defenders (and i was quite tired, not sure why the feet felt like lead in them), i played in midfield, which meant i could stroll around the center of the park and dictate play by watching the runs and lobbing the passes in. More than once after sending the ball i heard "good pass lah" which was heartening, and such passes included a straight down the left flank lob pass, a diagonal pass into space (onto a runner), and cross into the box after winning the ball (our tall player didn't challenge!). We also had good combination play on the ground and one such move (involving five players, including me, on the left flank) resulted in the ball near the left of the goal with a good ballholder on it, who slid the ball back to me and i had time enough in the box to control and shoot for the top right corner.

What was more telling was the difference between the two coaches present. During the match, both sides had a coach in their team, but one had a coach as a keeper and the other played outfield and their goalkeeper stayed in goal for the entirety of the match. The coach in goal also gave pointers and coaching during the game, telling us to spread out, and to compact/defend when needed and even taking the time to talk to our left wing about running positions from a goal kick. On the other hand, we have a coach who may have scored a goal but did it by dribbling past a couple of defenders and shooting from an acute angle into the top corner, which was commendable except that he had able team mates lined up in support but they were not utilised. Long ranged efforts were also undertaken in order to try to score for his team but seemed to contradict what he was yelling at his teammates in choosing the easy pass instead of shooting, which aside from missing the target also had the effect of confusing his teammates as to whether they should pass or shoot should they be in the same position.

There is worse to come, as there were some pretty tough tackles on the pitch but this is part and parcel of soccer and we play on, the same outfield coach had the ball and was doing one of his dazzling runs and encountered a bunch of our guys trying to take the ball off him and he says "easy easy" which can either mean that we should be easy on our tackles on him or that dribbling around us is that, either case presents conduct quite unbecoming of a coach. During the drills, the same coach also said that he teaches 8,9 year old kids and they can pass better than us. For some new guys who just joined it can be disheartening. 

Movie review: Far from the Madding Crowd

Scored some free tickets to the premier of Far from the Madding Crowd at Bugis+ (new cinema called Film Garde) and was kinda expecting a snoozefest but it surprised me in the way it tried to interweave the female protagonist coming into contact and her relationships with three main men in her life. She seemed to change from a strong independent young woman, to a strong independent owner of a farm, to a smitten gushy young girl (i blame the moustache and uniform), to a inner contradicted widow, then back to a smitten gushy girl. I guess we were all rooting for the farmer from the start, who seemed to buck the strong, silent type and offer his opinions and advice when called upon, and the fact that his good friend is a border collie seals the vote (naturally). Would give it 2 stars out of 5 (with at least one star for the BC!) for being so draggy, inconsistent and being generally very "Mr Darcy".

Also, it did not help that we had a couple of aunties behind us giving us a running commentary of what was going on onscreen, like "wah, he didn't die wor!" "she lost her scarf!" and the champion comment "that's his dog!" (duh). Makes me want to rewatch this far from the maddening aunties!

Attacking the ball

Another training session and this time with even more new faces, but mostly decent chaps. There are some tackles that shouldn't be made and some of them approach the drills with a greater amount of physicality than needed but i also recognise that this is a training technique by the coaches, (not favoured by an older player!) one that the new first team coach at Liverpool favours:

His ideas clearly match up with the origin stories of so many of the greatest ever players, playing in the streets. The teams would often be lop-sided, from a young age players like Gerrard would play against much older boys, and there was no referee to stop games for a foul. These are the circumstances that created Maradona, Pele, Messi and so many others. 

After the warm up drills, we had a one v one drill (by the numbers) and i was matched against a really big sized guy, whereupon gaining possession of the ball, we would dribble through the sets of coloured cones as instructed, which made it interesting because the coach allowed play to go all over (no boundaries) and any physical contact was not stopped. The outcome was the big guy kept leaning on me and was trying to use his mass to his advantage, but i managed to negate it with some footwork, winning two out of three of our exchanges (the odd one was stopped with the ball too far away), even though he managed to gain possession most of the time i still managed to nip in and take the ball off his toes before turning and dribbling it through. What this did to me was make me really tired out for the match (and i went swimming with Bubs the day before lol) but i managed to wrangle myself in midfield and played some good passing football with the guys, including a newcomer who only played futsal (and didn't know what position to play in). I even managed a rampaging run into the box, drawing one behind and two in front before squaring the ball with a no-look pass that found my left wing who shot wide. We had about three great shots on goal but were denied by the heroics of Rafa in goal, including a rather dubious behind the line save. I played a good part in the build up of all our shots and was rather satisfied about that. Coach Ivan then highlighted after the match that we should look to pass to a good player in our team, not to put him under pressure, but so as to get the ball back via a good return pass because that is what a good player would do. I hope i'm a good player and aim to be a better one, although my fitness needs to improve. Rafa did mention that aside from looking the darkest he's ever seen me, he hopes to be playing like me when he is my age. LOL

Wirelessly charging your battery

Our daughter was recently showing off her camera to my relatives and i thought nothing of it until my aunt came to ask me afterwards whether my camera has wireless charging, because apparently when asked about charging her battery, daughter had adamantly replied that "i just need to put the empty battery in the pocket of the pouch (her camera pouch) and it will charge you know!"

What i didn't realise was that in trying to teach her to put her things away, i showed her how to change the battery of her camera and to keep the spare battery in the pocket, which i would then charge through the night when she was sleeping. Funny how this led to my aunt thinking i had bought some latest and greatest technology for my daughter to use. LOL

Charging down the flank

Another day, another training session, and this one was quite full of people because the Monday and Thursday sessions were cancelled (venue used for SEA games).

The technical session was a pass and go, receive and shoot exercise, and we rotated between shooter, passer, goalkeeper (picking up the ball) after each shot. By randomness, i ended up shooting against J in goal and actually scored off the post. LOL

The match itself was good for me, as i played up front to begin with and had several chances to send the ball in although my strikers could not convert. One particular opportunity of note saw a clearance by J (playing in central d again) bounce towards me on the left flank and i hoofed it with my left foot due to an oncoming defender. The ball looked like it was going marginally out but bounced on the line, so i ran after it willing the ball to stay in, and it did! Saw a defender coming across to cover but managed to prod the ball past him and ran to the byline and pass to the center only for my midfielder to scruff the shot. Maybe i should have gone for goal myself but was rather spent after that run. In fact, i was so tired i decided to play in goal instead, especially since we had a rather decent ball holder/winner playing as keeper then. Made a few easy saves and got off easy with the bar saving me after i was beaten. Even had two one-on-one situations where i advanced quickly and spread my body, so managed to prevent the goal.

Also managed to tap myself on the left ankle with my right foot *facepalm*

Pride

They say pride goes before the fall, but i was proud to take the stage with my brothers in music as we played some country music for a wedding banquet (for a friend of ours). What was strange about this gig was that there were originally three bands playing: ours, a band that covers a broad spectrum of music, and a house band playing top 40 hits. However, given the logistics and inevitable comparison (lol), the house band pulled out. Actually, due to all the things taking place, our set was fairly short and the other band did the most work. Personally, i didn't have to do much within our set either as songs with my lead and solo were in the later set which were not used. Even for the few songs that we did, it was evident that we were having fun, and partly this is due to practicing and being confident. We actually took a couple of months hiatus due to the lack of a playing venue, but when we came back, it was as if we never left. =) Overall, our music was tight and it seemed that everyone was enjoying themselves, especially the groom's family who hail from the states and flew in for the occasion. We also supported the groom who wanted to serenade his bride with Okie from Muskogee, which was a blast for me since i've never heard the song until that night, but it was quite straightforward.

Tiring out

Another training session, this one had one v one drills which of course makes me very worn out for the match itself, but still good fun. Was on RB this time with J in the center, and we did do pretty well. I gave the ball away cheaply once but won it back shortly, while J had a blinder clearing everything that came his way and was only caught out of position once by a high pass but recovered to speedily dispatch it away for a corner. Final score of 2-0 flattered the other side considering the number of chances we had.

CM had Nat wasn't fighting for the first ball, so they pretty much had the center of the park covered but we closed them down either on the ball carrier or on the passes, so defense was spot on. I even tried to attack by swapping positions with the RW (who honestly wasn't very effective), but I didn't have much luck either, especially when i don't get any return passes after running in with the ball. The session felt more tiring than usual, i guess i'm really feeling my age. Hope i'm still playing when i'm 40!

To our dearest offspring

In the off chance that you'd read this sometime in the future (since the internet saves everything lol), I am addressing this letter to you.

We love you very much and want the best for you, and though you don't realise it now, there are times when we would really do anything for you. This sometimes makes me worried that we'd be spoiling you, especially when your grandparent dote on you as much as we do (you may feel even more at times)

technical skills

Attended a different training session this week due to a family dinner on my regular session, which had guys we played with before. Generally more tactically sound than the other group, and skills-wise pretty decent, so when it came to the 11-aside, it was a pretty even match in terms of pace and strategy, but i think we played better as a team, so came away with a 3-0 win at the end. =) Played at leftback (unusual but nobody wanted to play there) with J in left centerback (as usual) and between us we pretty much closed down their entire right side. Nothing would get past us, not even a shot on goal, not with one of us closing them down at speed, defense FTW! By covering each other, we even managed to make some forays into attack and J even nearly scored, while i scored an assist and an intercept in their half (block two shots and stopped a cross in our half =)). Our midfield was also pressing very intelligently as their centermids were skillful lads who were great at protecting and spreading the ball. By not pressing their CM too hard, they pounced on the guys the CMs passed to, if not, the long balls by the CM would be cleared by our defenders. Defending layers in practice, awesome.

As usual, our coach had some gems to impart during the warm down, and he mentioned that those with better technical skills tend to play along the spine of the team, in the middle of the park, while those with speedier but with less skills would play on the flanks while those who are still learning should play in defense. At the same time, those who are skillful and intelligent with the ball can play in any position, because the fundamentals and basics are down pat. Not sure which category i fall in, although i like to think i can play in any position LOL.

Had an amusing intercept when a long pass found their right wing who then ran down the flank cutting inwards towards the center. He never made it into the box with the ball because in trying to run fast (i had the inside track), i could tell he was out of puff and was going to check the ball, so i waited for him to check the ball and collected it.cleanly. Heard a chuckle from the coach (playing as keeper) when i did so and i ran forward with the ball because there was no defenders ahead of me and ran into their half, still no defenders, and ran abit more with my left wing calling for the ball, before i finally drew a defender and released my left wing and he took a shot (but hit the side netting). Good session overall and good teamwork prevailed over individual brilliance.

One on one

Another day, another training session. After the warm up rondos, we started doing one on one drills by assigning numbers the guys in each team and having them fight for the ball when their number was called. While we have done this before, the variation here was that the ball had to be dribbled into a set of markers only upon a given instruction. Other variations was to initiate a long pass upon instruction (where another set of guys would take the ball and send a cross in and score). Because of the nature of the drills, i was bushed! Even had to play against J as we were given different coloured bibs, and i think it was a close fight because of his speed, but my close control was slightly better so i got the better of him a few times. As a result of being tired, the full pitch match was done at walking pace for me, although i did have a few good passes and link up play. Quite a few new faces so it was interesting trying to play with them, but the overall idea was conveyed and we had bouts of beautiful football.

Running

Another day another soccer training session, and because a group of guys came to train together, we invariably got lumped together with the rest of the guys in the other team, which had a mixed bag of technically skilled guys, the unfit, the unskilled and uncoordinated and groot. Yes, we have a groot, the big tall awkward guy who cannot seem to do anything right, whether it is running into space, trapping the ball, passing or shooting. Groot can be a different person in another training but the traits are the same and they are always tall, gangly, and don't communicate much. I had a terrible first 15 minutes with stray passes and loose possession, but managed to tighten up purely because i dropped back to defend and we were defending alot.

Having lazy teammates doesn't help and this is where the difference in mindset comes into play. Their rightwing was young, fit, and fast so our leftback was kinda overwhelmed, especially when he gets caught out of position. Even so, he stopped tracking the run after a few meters and as i covered, i asked why he stopped and his answer? "He's too fast" I'm not fast either but i still chase and track, it may be fruitless in the sense that i'm unlikely to get the ball, but it is sure better than letting the guy have a free roam with the ball. The coach actually noticed and said it was good that i was making those tracking runs, the runs that no one wants to make. =) J had a blinder of a half as centreback, reenacting the flash (with his red top) and cutting across to clear what seemed to be a golden through on goal chance. 

Even with my defensive duties, i still managed to make some forays into the attack (together with J) and we combined well, until the ball reached our striker who seemed hell bent on making the wrong decisions, but the one that got my goat was when he encountered two defenders and passed to me at the top of the penalty box, after passing I saw that he ran into the box so i returned the pass to him diagonally into his path, only that he had stopped running after a few steps. *facepalm* The pass and go is one of the most basic passing techniques and if he had run on to that, the shot would have taken place near the penalty box.

the company we keep

I suppose it is natural that we have different friends at different stages of life, as social as human beings are, the hustle and bustle of life, its expectations, and demands mean that most of the time, we lose touch with friends by a natural decay in contact time. There are friends where despite being apart for ages, you get together and it is as if they never left. Then there are those who seem to require constant reassurance in order to "keep in touch", and it was just recent that I lost such a contact, rather brutally i might add, although i still wish him all the best for the future and with his new bride. Kind of reminds me of an ex-girlfriend, i guess that was why we broke up. LOL Still one cannot help but feel sad at the loss.

Positions

Due to the lack of pace, i've been stuck playing in defence for the past couple of sessions (together with J who seems to be relishing this new role). The coach mentioned that we may not have the stamina, but at least we have pace and playing from the back allows us to see more and take our time on the ball which negates our slower reaction times.

Last night was an exception though, while J played in central defence, i moved forward to midfield and had the usual frustration of playing with teammates who did not understand the concept of possession football. I did manage a shot from a short corner that was heading towards the top corner but the goalie palmed it away. Wet pitch and a humid night meant that long passes tended to go astray and short passes whizzed fast on the slick ground, ideal to just take potshots. =) What happened from the resultant corner? The same two guys who worked the short corner did the same thing and tried the same pass to me again and the result was me being bumped off the ball since everyone saw it coming. Sigh.

Interesting factoid from the coach: in terms of statistics, 30% of goals come from mistakes made by the conceding team, 30% from set pieces or tactical play, and 30% from counter attacks (where conceding team players are out of position). The last 10% of goals comes from good strategic build up where the conceding team is in position but the scoring team managed to pass their way through, or through sheer individual brilliance. Moral of the story, if you're a defender, get that ball away from you. We actually conceded a silly goal thanks to our left back making a pass between the goalie and our central defender (he did that all night) and pass went to a striker who said thank you very much and thumped it in. *facepalm*

Soccer and age level up!

Recently celebrated another birthday and i really felt my age during soccer training. No longer am i able to sprint like i used to, beating a man with a flick and a feint then pulling away with the ball. These days i have to use guile and cunning in order to play well and it seems to be coming together. At the previous training i had to play at the unfamiliar right-back position in a back three and the head coach (playing keeper) remarked that in the game i played, he observed that all the decisions i made were the right ones, whether it was tracking a man and deciding when to take the ball or after winning possession the direction of clearance (long or short). Felt pretty good after that. =)

This week's training was a little more loose because there were enough players for two 7-a-side games at the end with half-pitches so plenty of space, especially out wide. Once again due to the make up of the team, i had to play in defence but i had DC with me so that was alright. =) I did have a few chances to run up and made the most of it, sending in a couple of dangerous crosses which resulted in a few goals. Even had a young 'un track me down only for me to keep turning him inside out, outside in with a stop-check, backpass to a teammate , run through on the return pass and check again. J bagged a brace and my only regret was not scoring any myself, but i was content with my HG passes because the look on the defender's face was priceless. =)