It Starts Again

Went to T.Intan in the afternoon. My uncle wanted to treat before I leave. Meals in T.Intan = seafood and its always great. Really grateful.

The EPL's season begun, finally. It was quite dull without any games going on for the past few months; it's much more exciting now. Yet I always have mixed feelings in regards to Liverpool particularly because I just want them to at least get into the top 4 but competition's getting tougher and tougher every season. Just wish the best for them. :)

Disappointing start yesterday, only managed a point. But a point's better than nothing and seeing how Sunderland came back in the second half with so much more energy and determination, I guess they deserved it.

Still, YNWA. Go REDS!

I wonder how I'll keep up with soccer in the States. If I even have the time. The timing's gonna be really weird though. A 3pm kick-off in the UK would mean I'd be watching it at 10am compared to 10pm here. But as weird as it may be, its much more feasible.

I'm thinking it could be just 'weird' because I'm not used to it.

Food for thought: Have you ever done something and when someone (usually from a different ethnicity) ask you why and the only answer you can give is 'because that's how we do it?'

There's much more to that and I'll talk about it some other time. I read a really interesting book on deep culture and thought it'd be interesting to share. :)

Till then!

you'll never walk alone

16th July 2011; a day to remember indeed.

Stv and me went to Starbucks at Amcorp Mall while waiting for Abel who was at Urbanscapes near Asia Jaya. It was 3plus by the time we left and reached Masjid Jamek where he had to switch trains at 4. We were surprised to see the huge crowd lining up to buy tickets. Of course we knew many would go for the game but we didn't expect so many at the station at that time.



We reached the stadium just in time for the match. Stv initially bought RM58 tickets for us both and we were supposed to sit there. But I received 2 grandstand tickets from a church friend who works in Standard Chartered. I'm really grateful. We sat there and it was quite a good view though during the second half it was quite difficult to see the action taking place at the other end (where most of the goals were scored) since we were closer to the other end. Still, it was more than what I could ask for and it was amazing. 20 minutes into the game, the people around me started looking to the back and we realized it was an MU fan. They started shouting and asking him to take it off. It was a white guy this time and he aggravated the fans when he kissed the MU crest. Seriously? I was anxious for them to stop looking and focus on the game which happened shortly after the scene.

The 80,000 crowd

I expected the crowd to cheer more throughout cause I felt it wasn't as loud as it could and should be. Support for the national team exceeded my expectations and I guess it was a good thing cause I wasn't really contributing any. Not that I'm anti Malaysia or anything, far from that really. But like it or not, I was and am all out for the Reds and that's it. I have to admit I was rather impressed at how the national team played against a very relaxed Liverpool. I'd give them the credit for their hard work and persistence. But even against an under par Liverpool performance; it clearly wasn't good enough. The fact that the score ended 6-3 says everything. I found it amusing how the Reds were so relaxed throughout the game; it was evident in the way they celebrated goals (or lack of) and maintained such a cool composure even when 'threathened'. They weren't really complacent and still played at a wholly different class. I thought the 2nd half was much better though; the team played better together. Aquilani and Kelly stood out for me. Even players like Ngog, Poulsen and Shelvey who are usually on the bench played really well.

The match was exciting from start to finish though the most 'kan cheong' (suspenseful) times were after Malaysia seemed to be on the verge of a comeback (good thing they didn't). But I really thought Liverpool had better be on their feet or they might end up equalizing, which were just irrational fears of mine. Obviously they had the upper hand, no question about it.

The players during the half-time break

Lap of honour after the game :)

Still, it was exhilirating and the crowd was rather loud and supportive for both sides. My throat hurt badly after the game but it was worth it. Just being with all the other Reds supporters from the nations; knowing that there are just so many! It fostered a sense of pride and belonging; although everyone was a complete stranger. Yet we were all behind the same team, shouting, cheering and singing at the top of our lungs. It would've been better if was louder and stronger but I was glad enough. I really felt the reality of the club's anthem and motto: You'll Never Walk Alone.

I managed to video the crowd singing the anthem.

Left the stadium still feeling surreal and wished it didn't have to end so fast. To say that I enjoyed the night was an understatement. After the game, we packed the LRT station again; it was nice to see that the spirit was still so strong and even small gestures like walking up the stairs, and entering the train in packs triggered Liverpool chants. I could only smile.

And once again, some sharp-eyed people pointed out an MU fan right across the train tracks and asked him to take it off; not sure what happened though. The train was jam packed but I didn't feel frustrated as one would on a normal day; it was no normal day. We reached Sentral after half an hour and Soni picked us up and dropped Stv at the airport.

Dinner at Murni, SS2.

YNWA.

training session

Liverpool flew in from China on Thursday morning and the training session was scheduled to be at 7p.m.

I went to college to meet up with some July juniors to go for the game. Kyle drove us there. There were 4 of us in the car; the other two being Caleb who doesn't support any club and Jun Hou who's an Mu fan. Lol.

We left college at 4plus and reached around 5. The stadium was already quite packed. There were approximately 38,000 people who came for the training session as reported by the papers. Malaysia was already training when we came.

The one and only shot I got of them.

Caleb, Suman and Jun Hou

A pic with Kyle instead of Caleb.

There were so many false alarms while we were waiting for the team to come. When people stood up, everyone else followed so it was kinda funny. Oh, and for those of you who've watched the video on the Mu fan being forced the take off his jersey by the Liv fans; we kinda saw it from afar. It was right across us; obviously we couldn't see what was going on but the people behind us were pointing and saying that there was an Mu fan wearing the jersey over there. We saw many lights flashing, people moving around and guessed something was going on. You can watch the video here.

We waited till 7 and thought the team will probably be late due to bad traffic. When the first few people from the Liverpool team (not the players) came on the pitch, everyone stood and cheered. It built up till the players themselves arrived at 7.30 and by then, the noise level was elevated. The training session seemed rather intense compared to how the national team trained. There came a point during the training where the crowd started doing a Mexican wave that went around for 7-8 rounds. It was hilarious but I found it quite annoying after awhile. C'mon, we're supposed to be cheering for them and not S-S (Syok Sendiri) right? But I remembered we were Malaysians after all.

Paul Rogers, the head of content for Liverpoolfc.tv said: "I’ve certainly never seen a Mexican wave amongst fans at a training session before but then again, I can’t ever remember seeing almost 38,000 fans at a training session before"..

HAHAHA.

The rest are pictures I took of the training and a short video as well.

It ended at 9; took us half an hour to get out of the station yet it was worthwhile. It was only a fraction of what we were about to experience on Saturday. Was really looking forward to the day then.

Next post: Matchday

loyalty

About two months ago, when World Cup was just starting, I wrote a post on the probability of Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres leaving the club.

Mascherano's most probably leaving for Inter. Gerrard committed to stay right after Joe Cole signed for Liverpool. Torres just pledged to stay as well. He even had this to say:
"My commitment and loyalty to the club and to the fans is the same as it was on my first day when I signed. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead."

The picture that made people realize he might not leave after all..

My admiration and respect for this guy has increased. I'm not surprised though; he was always loyal to the club despite speculation from the press and his own doubts about the club. He's not going to leave the club when they need him; when the season gets tougher, when they need to rebuild their confidence after a bad season. Some multi-million deal isn't gonna attract him, unlike some player I know; need I say who. Gerrard too, is a true mark of a captain.

Liverpool isn't just a great club with a great history and great achievements; they have great players. Players who have a heart to play and go all out. Of course, they've also got great fans who've been the driving force of the club... As I said before, you stick to your club through thick and thin.

2 weeks to EPL, I'm getting all pumped up. :D

it doesn't change

A friend just dropped the bomb.. So I just found out that Benayoun's leaving Liverpool. Fair enough. As much as he's good to stay, I guess his decision should be respected. But going to Chelsea definitely's gonna cause him to sit on the bench more, I'm sure of that.

Then I was told Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres were leaving too, each to different big clubs.

I couldn't believe it. I went to look up online news of them REALLY leaving and thankfully none confirmed it to be true. I remember Torres saying he'll only decide after World Cup. Gerrard has been disappointed with the season, who wasn't? But it seems Real Madrid's not going to bid for him anymore. Let's hope it's true. As for Mascherano, it's still unknown.

I'll be really upset if any of them leaves. I just wish they'd give one more, at least just one more season. With Rafa out, it could either be worse or better off for the club. No one knows yet. But one thing's for sure; all of them can leave and it won't change a thing about how I feel. Sure, quality will drop tremendously and the future of the club will be even bleaker than it already is. But I won't be moved. 

YNWA. You stick to your club through thick and thin, no matter how good or bad. Let people say what they want, it doesn't change anything.

"Form is temporary but class is permanent."

At least there's the World Cup going on to forget club woes right now. :)