Long Time No See, AC Milan & Inter Milan...

AC Milan and Inter Milan are former giants of Italian and European football. They were the leading football champions during the turn of millennium. However life is always about wheel. Sometimes you are on the up and sometimes you are at the bottom. Sadly for these two Milan clubs, they have slowly faded into obscurity after a long period of success. It is coincidence they face the same bad fortune at almost similar period, and now definitely is their bad and dark period. For those who don't know (very rare if you don't know), these Milan clubs share the same stadium as their home. Whenever AC Milan has its home game, the stadium will be called San Siro and whenever Inter Milan has its home game, the stadium will then be called Giuseppe Meazza. It is actually the very same stadium they use.

There were also set of players who have donned the famous jersey of both clubs in their careers. They were Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, and many more.

Now, both clubs are in the middle of Serie A. They are working their way to the top but there are obviously long roads towards stardom again...

It is hugely interesting to rewind our memories of these both legendary clubs during their heydays. Here I share with you some of their moments when they were on top of the football world. Pictures below will show and describe thousand memorable words...

We all miss their success on the pitch and more importantly their aura and the air of legendary and invincibility whenever either AC Milan or Inter Milan play their football. Hopefully both clubs will come back strongly and reclaim back their glory days. Until next time. Ciao!

Fan Labelled Muslim Praying At Anfield, Liverpool As Disgrace

Liverpool FC will take action against a fan who labelled two Muslims praying at Anfield during halftime in a FA Cup match against Blackburn Rovers as 'Disgrace'. That fan, Stephen Dodd, tweeted a picture of Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula worshiping on their knees in a stairwell of Liverpool’s Anfield ground.

However one of the Muslims, Asif Bodi do not want Liverpool FC to ban Dodd from football matches at Anfield as he said Dodd should just need to be educated on other religions and cultures. One Liverpool player, Emre Can who is also of Islamic religion, was seen praying before a match started like any other Muslim players always do. Looks like Dodd will face and learn more and more Islamic rituals after this.

In another incident years before this, England football legend, Gary Lineker called Muslim players' goal celebration of worshiping on their knees as similar to 'eating grass'. He was then forced to apologize in public.

This post never intend to cause roar among religions and believes. But just to stress on the importance of embracing each others' way of livings and upbringings no matter who we are. Ciao!

How Much Do Footballers in Malaysia Get Paid?

Ever wonder how much salary do footballers in Malaysia pocketed? Most high profile footballers in Malaysia get paid handsomely, even most CEOs would envy. Even though they are not as good as footballers in Europe, but they deserve this paycheck because of hours they spend in training and playing football. They have to be separated from their family for days to prepare themselves for matchday and even have to train during festive. They have to strictly control their diet every single time. They have to sleep early. They have to keep their discipline in check. They also have to do commercial and charity works. These are all part and parcel of a life as a professional footballer. If you are in disagreement over how much these local footballers earn, maybe you yourself should consider being a footballer. As we can see in the above picture, both are highest earners in Malaysian football. New signing from JDT, Patito earns a whopping amount of RM 250,000 per month while our national team striker, Norshahrul earns around RM 80,000 per month by joining his new team, Terengganu FA. Below I share with you some other salaries earned by footballers who ply their trade in Malaysian Football League. Check them out...

JDT:

Safiq Rahim earns around RM 70,000 per month

Safee Sali earns around RM 40,000 per month

Felda United:

Indra Putra Mahayuddin earns RM 75,000 per month

Shukor Adan earns RM 70,000 per month

Selangor:

Andik Vermansyah earns RM 54,000 per month

Nazmi Faiz earns RM 40,000 per month

Pahang FA:

Dickson Nwakaeme earns RM 160,000 per month

Razman Roslan earns RM 50,000 per month

Azamuddin Akil earns RM 40,000 per month

Terengganu FA:

Paulo Rangel earns RM 108,000 per month

Zubir Azmi earns RM 45,000 per month

Ashaari Shamsuddin earns RM 45,000 per month

Sabah FA:

El Hadji Diouf earns RM 150,000 per month

Kedah FA:

Baddrol Bakhtiar earns RM 65,000 per month

So, those are some salaries earned by our footballers playing in Malaysia. Sources are from New Straits Times and various footballing websites. A huge credit to them. In Europe, as we all know, footballers earn extravagant amount of salaries. And in fact they are per week, not per month in Malaysia. So just wonder how much money do they received. But as I say, footballers deserve their money for their relentless effort to play and entertain us fans. Football is an entertainment, other than the usual purpose of sport activity. So they should never be a disagreement over how much they earn compared to us as a general worker. Their careers are so short that this is the only time they can earn a fix income. Why celebrities can earn thousands and millions and footballers cannot? Footballers work harder than celebrities, I can say. Erm maybe in majority, where there are otherwise in minor percentage. Nevertheless everyone will be paid accordingly and we as fans should just embrace football and footballers as they are and enjoy football as much as possible. Ciao!

Chelsea 14/15 Is Keeping The Blue Flag Flying High

The best team in the English Premier League at this moment should go to either Chelsea or Southampton. But I opt for Chelsea. No doubt. Their early success is no fluke and not down to good luck whatsoever. Southampton may benefit from good luck and there will be times this season where bad luck will be chasing after them. They will crumble and top 10 in EPL is my realistic final placing predicted for them. I know many will not agree with me on that. But Chelsea 14/15 is a result of proper combination of good and hungry players by Mourinho. They certainly have learn from last season’s shortcomings. Chelsea 14/15 is a typical Mourinho’s team. Aggresive, provocative, ruthless, hungry, and resilient. And if you saw the way they were hugging each other after every win this season, you know that they are in this together. They play for Mourinho. Like every other winning teams created by Mourinho before this. There is no arrogant superstar and there is never a one man team. 

Let us look into this Chelsea 14/15 briefly to see more clearly on why they are the early clear favorite to dominate England and Europe this season. In goal, Chelsea has two of the best shot stoppers in the game today. One is young and one is an experienced campaigner. Both are world class and the problem facing Mourinho in keeping both happy regularly playing is a good problem to have. He just have to convince Petr Cech to stay at Chelsea for at least this season and giving every opportunity for Thibaut Courtois to excell in keeping more and more clean sheet. In defense, Chelsea has the best defensive players in EPL. That may sound cliche and lazy but in truth, they really worth the praise. Branislav Ivanovic has came far from the barren spell he faced when he was signed by Chelsea almost 10 years ago. At that time, he failed to convince Mourinho to play him and he just stuck in the reserves. Changes of managers later, Ivanovic was becoming more and more important to the Chelsea defence. Until now. He is not just able to defend brilliantly but also have a knack of scoring goals. Either from headers or from the late surging runs into the opposition penalty box. He is a beast at right back. Now Mourinho cannot resist to use him in his first eleven everytime. Then there are Gary Cahill and John Terry. Both also love to score goals in addition to their great defensive partnership. Personally I never believe Cahill would be this good. He was just an ordinary young English defender back then. Coming through the ranks at Aston Villa, he was not the super-hyped wonderkid like Phil Jones. He was just doing his own business at Villa before moving to a more stable club which was Bolton Wanderers. Even at Bolton, Cahill had already shown his ability to defend fearlessly and scoring goals. The move to Chelsea brought him up to another level. He was groomed nicely by Terry. He is now the best defender in the England squad. This season, his composure under the opposition’s pressure was calm personified. He is similar to Gerard Pique in the way he is always comfortable with the ball on his feet. Never one who just clear the ball away to the flanks or into the oppostion half. And like Terry, he is as brave as a lion. Together with Terry, he shows leadership and no nonsense defending. A great centre back pairing. Then there is Cesar Azpilicueta. I know many would have tought Filipe Luis to dislodge ‘Azpi’ for the left back position. However Azpi shows that last season performance at left back was not down to the decline of Ashley Cole’s career. Azpi was just better than Cole. Mourinho knew it long before we all knew it. Don’t ever blame Mourinho after this, of not renewing Cole’s contract last summer. And now, Azpi is just better than Filipe Luis. Even tough a right footed player by nature, Azpi is well adapted to this left back position. His style of defending reminds me of Pablo Zabaleta. Not the greatest defender, not the strongest, not the bravest and far from being elegant. They are just an effective defender. They know how to defend and they read the game well. No need for hard tackling, they just intercept the ball from the oppositions and pass it to their teammates. Their interception rate must have been 90% and above in every game. 

We finish with this fantastic four defensive pairing, we now move to Nemanja Matic. The anchor man, the water carrier, the stopper, the ‘regista’, or whatever you want to call his job. He is just magnificient and again an effective player. I’m afraid that I will use the word effetive too many times here, but that just sum up it all about this Chelsea 14/15. Matic was once a Chelsea player in the era of Carlo Ancelotti as you all knew. It was a destiny for Chelsea to buy him back last season and it was not a case of regret for Chelsea. Had he didn’t make the move to Benfica, he may well now sit in the reserves or maybe on loan at England lower division club like Josh McEachran. He really succeed in improving himself at Benfica and he is now a giant in defensive midfield. Not for his more than 1.88 meter height, but for his dominant style of play. He is a true replacement of Claude Makelele, some might say. But for me, he is just his ownself. Makelele was an experienced player playing with big clubs before joining Chelsea. So he already knew the tricks. Matic is a new boy. His experience at Benfica was actually really short, but that don’t stop him from being as good as Makelele. Matic is a strong boy, mentally. Not many would have want to return to the club that made them look useless. And Matic really enjoy the challenge to prove he can be a great player at a great club. Kudos to him. Next, there is Cesc Fabregas. I have written about what things he contributes to Chelsea, that Frank Lampard didn’t before this. Try look at my previous article entitled ‘The Curious Case of Chelsea’s Strikers’. But just to sum it again, Fabregas is the link between the defend and attack for Chelsea. If Matic helps the defend, Fabregas helps the attack. With just one touch, Fabregas can open the game for Chelsea to attack and score goals. Arsenal’s unwillingness to take him back just benefit Chelsea. And most importantly Diego Costa. Had Fabregas didn’t make the move to Chelsea, I seriously think that Costa will just become a flop like Fernando Torres, Andriy Schevchenko, Samuel Eto’o and others. That shows the importance of Fabregas to this Chelsea 14/15. Fabregas is one of the best suppliers of the ball in the world and it was great business that Mourinho managed to snap him to solve his strikers’ crisis in front of goal. This can be proved by looking at the highest number of assists in Europe this season. It is by Fabregas, and long may it continues until the season’s ending. 

Next, there is Eden Hazard. The one-time wonderkid that all big clubs were after once upon a time. Back then he was like Marco Reus now. A wonderkid ready to move on to the next level. But he follow his heart which was Chelsea. And he made a great decision. I supposed Reus should follow his heart too, not money not glamor. That way he will be more inclined to succeed because he will be more comfortable with his mind. Hazard this season is just as dangerous as he was in the previous two seasons. Dribbling at full speed and shooting after cutting inside from the left are Hazard’s trademarks. However Mourinho managed to make Hazard do them more consistently, especially this season. Hazard is also willing to track back to help Azpi in defend now. My important advice to Hazard is, don’t try to be like Messi and Ronaldo. They are both out of this world. Hazard cannot score consistently like them every game. Let alone a hattrick in even a month or a year. Hazard should just be focusing to be part of this great Chelsea 14/15 side. Ok next there is Oscar. Another version of Kaka. He is not a typical Brazilian who is skillful on the ball, just like Kaka. But he has the technique in shooting the ball, in passing the ball, and being at the right place at the right time to score goals. Just like Kaka. If he keeps scoring goals like now, he will be going to achieve as much as Kaka had in his career. Then there is Willian, Andre Schurrle, Ramires, and Mohamed Salah. They are the players being rotated in the right side of the Chelsea’s attacking trio. They are those typical Mourinho players in the way they will tirelessly run into the opposition defence and also willing to tirelessly run to the back of their own half to help the defense. The things that Mourinho does not like in his players are making the game slower, inability to help the defence quickly and being too fancy at times. That is why he sold Juan Mata. Mata has that all unfortunately. Willian, Schurrle, Ramires, and Salah are willing runners for Mourinho. They make Mourinho’s counter attacking game bear fruits most of the times and many opposition teams were punished by the swiftness of their counter attacking game. 

The last jigsaw of this Chelsea 14/15 puzzle is Diego Costa. The man that gets the most praises this season for Chelsea’s good achievement. To be honest I was skeptical upon hearing Chelsea really wanted this guy and were ready to pour 32 million on him last summer. I never believe he is that good. I’m afraid he will be another Roberto Soldado. Clueless after leaving Spain for the English Premier League. But over the years, whoever stikers that succeeded at Atletico Madrid will also be a success elsewhere. Torres, Aguero, Forlan, Falcao, Hasselbaink and others, you name it. And Diego Costa proved that theory is right and he also proved to me that he is the real deal. He is another player who sums up the traits loved by Mourinho. Aggresive, provocative, fearless and very hungry to succeed. The fact that he was a late bloomer means he will want to win everything before he retires. He is a genuine character in EPL right now and he can learn more by having Didier Drogba as mentor everyday at Chelsea. Drogba was strong but more of a soft spoken character on the pitch while Costa is a no nonsense striker and loves a battle or a confrontation with the opposition defenders so much. However he still needs to strengthen his body because of the frequent injury issues he suffered. Other than that, he is a Chelsea and EPL scoring legend in the making. The other supporting casts in this Chelsea 14/15 are Loic Remy, Kurt Zouma, Nathan Ake, and John Obi Mikel. They are able deputies nonetheless. Whoever we support, lets just enjoy this Chelsea 14/15. Ignore the fact that they have made or will make our Monday Blues more blue this season by beating our favorite teams in EPL. They deserve their success and they deserve to wave their blue flag flying high. Ciao!

The Journey Man

Nicolas Anelka has such a nomadic career. He has played for many clubs and tried many leagues. He is quite a decent footballer after all. Who would not want him if an opportunity arises. Right now, he is playing in the Indian Super League. So, where next Anelka?

Liverpool post-Suarez vs Tottenham Hotspur post-Bale

Both bought big after the sale of their world class player. Spurs' purchase was already considered as total failure. While Liverpool's might look like that too. Only time will tell. The conclusion, do whatever we can to keep our best player. If powerless, find another world class players before the one we already have want to leave. One world class player can make a huge difference. And it is far important than splashing the cash for the unknown quantities. Ciao!

West Ham Academy

Many would have not realized that John Terry was once in the book of West Ham academy. He was there starting his football journey at  the age of 11 until 14. When he was 14 years old, he moved to Chelsea and the rest was history. The other big names that emerged from the famous West Ham academy were Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, Jermain Defoe, Rio Ferdinand, Anton Ferdinand, Mark Noble, Jack Collison, James Tomkins, Paul Ince, and Bobby Moore among others. The Writer presumes readers have already known about this.

The man that is responsible for the success of this West Ham academy is of course the legendary Tony Carr. He was the academy director, he was the chief scout and he was the youth coach that helped developed some of those big names. More importantly he set the standard high at the West Ham academy. However he is now retired. Football needs more people like him and also needs more football academy like West Ham.