MISS UNIVERSE 2005 THAILAND

Watching it LIVE now by NBC! I saw some introductions already, some of the girls are really beautiful. Overall, most of the better looking ones are from smaller and unknown countries. We'll see who shall get the crown. There are 81 countries participating this time and Bangkok is the host. They start the show so early at 8am Bangkok time and 9am Singapore time! Probably just to suit the time for the Western countries.

I must admit that last year's winner, Jennifer Hawkins from Australia is quite beautiful. Of course, not so stunning to such an extend that I will just stun there and freeze. Among the judges, there are some beautiful ladies as well. Models Heidi Albertson, Cassie Lewis and former Miss Ukraine, Alexandra Nikolayenko.

TOP 15 selected:
Miss Mexico - Laura Elizondo (21, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 7 inches)


Miss Latvia - leva Kokorevica (19, blonde hair, hazel eyes, 5 feet 9 inches)
Nice eyes!


Miss Dominican Republic - Renata Sone (22, brown hair, brown eyes, 6 feet)
Sweet lady!


Miss Canada - Natalie Glebova (23, brown hair, blue eyes, 5 feet 11 inches)


Miss South Africa - Claudia Henkel (22, blonde hair, blue eyes, 6 feet)
I remember she has nice boobs! Hehe!


Miss Venezuela - Monica Spear (20, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 9 inches)
MY FAVOURITE!


Miss Norway - Helena Traasavik (19, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 8 inches)
She is a mix of Norwegian Thai! Interesting!


Miss Switzerland - Fiona Hefti (25, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5 feet 10 inches)


Miss USA - Chelsea Cooley (21, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 7 inches)
Trying to give face to America, I don't think she is pretty at all. Reminds me of Britney Spears for some reasons.


Miss Indonesia - Artika Sari Devi (25, black hair, black eyes, 5 feet 6 inches)
I think she is lovely!


Miss Trinidad & Tobago - Magdalene Walcott (22, brown hair, brown eyes, 6 feet)
Tall!


Miss Israel - Elena Ralph (21, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 9 inches)
Suicide bombings? Still, I think she is pretty!


Miss Peru - Debora Sulca (19, brown hair, blue eyes, 5 feet 11 inches)


Miss Greece - Evangelia Aravani (19, blonde hair, green eyes, 5 feet 9 inches)
Ice queen beauty! Green eyes! I like!


Miss Puerto Rico - Cynthia Olavarria (23, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 10 inches)


Evening Gown Round
After the evening gown parade, my vote goes to Miss Venezuela. She is so stunning, my eyes just can't get off her face. Model material complexion and beautiful eyes! My second choice is Miss Israel, out of the 15, I pick her and Miss Venezuela. However, Miss Puerto Rico's presentation is the most elegant for this round to me personally. I like her gown! Miss Mexico is also not bad.

TOP 10 selected after the evening gown round:
Puerto Rico
Canada
Peru
Switzerland
Latvia
Domican Republic
USA (the ugliest for the top 10)
Mexico
Venezuela (Wah! I still love her!)
Israel

OK, at least all my favourite four go through. That means my taste on beauty is still not too far off! Haha!

Swimsuit Round
This has always been the main reason why guys watch this competition! Haha! Miss Puerto Rico is still leaving me good impressions! Wow! Miss USA? She cannot make it lah! Wahlau eh! Trying too hard! I want to vomit! She is too rough! Miss Israel and Miss Mexico are still my picks! However, my favourite is Miss Venezuela! She is gorgeous, body beautiful and again, repeating myself, stunning!

After this round, there are awards to be given away.

Best National Costumes: Miss Thailand
Chananporn Rosjan (23, black hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 8 inches)
She looks tempting!!!


Miss Photogenic: Miss Philippines
Gionna Cabrera (22, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 9 inches)
She is very sweet and lovely, I agree she should win this award. Nice eyes and mouth & teeth! Marvellous smile! She will be the perfect model for Darlie! :) I'm sure she is worth more than that!


Miss Congeniality: Miss US Virgin Islands
Tricia Homer (23, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 5 inches)


TOP 5 selected after the swimming round:
Miss Mexico
Miss Puerto Rico (She may create a stunning win! She looks beautiful in black!)
Miss Dominican Republic
Miss Canada
Miss Venezuela (Yes! She is still in!)

Now, all four from South America and only one from North America. OK, one of my picks is out, Miss Israel. I guess it is very hard to give the crown to her. I can imagine how she is going to spend a whole year solving the political crisis of her country and Palestine and we will know it will never be solved forever.

Questions Round
As I had watched from past Miss Universe competitions, those coming from English speaking countries have an edge in this critical round. That itself is not fair, but well, I can't do anything about it.

Miss Mexico - question from Miss Venezuela, nice answer, she is smart to answer about the book question. I think she can go through.
Miss Puerto Rico - question from Miss Canada, failure learnt the most, not really a good answer.
Miss Dominican Republic - question from Miss Universe 2004, what men can learn from women? Not a good answer too. I don't quite get what she was saying.
Miss Canada - question from Miss Dominican Republic - biggest challenge of your life, from the only English speaking country, this is definitely the edge she has over all others.
Miss Venezuela - question from Miss Mexico - the difficult problem your country goes through, she is nervous! I think she can't go through. Damn! I still love her anyway!

Not to forget Miss Universe 2004 with her sexy braless suit as she comes out to give her crown to Miss Universe 2005! Wooh! I'm sure you guys will be drooling non-stop when you see her in that dress!

4th runner up: Miss Venezuela (so sad! expected! never mind, go for modelling!)
3rd runner up: Miss Mexico
2nd runner up: Miss Dominican Republic
1st runner up: Miss Puerto Rico (almost make it! damn!)
Miss Universe 2005: Miss Canada

Honestly, I don't like Miss Canada, she looks like an evil queen to me! The only reason I can think of for her to win is her ability to speak better English than the others.

For more photos and videos, check out the website yourself:
Miss Universe

FOOTBALL: 2004/2005 SEASON BEST 11

This is my list of starting 11 that are the best performers of this season in Europe. With a 3-4-3 formation, it is pretty much attack oriented. I seem not to be able to put anybody in from the Serie A. To me, this starting 11 is what I called the Dream Team of this season.

There are 3 from Barcelona, 3 from Chelsea, 2 from Liverpool, 1 from Arsenal, 1 from Bayern Munich and 1 from Villareal.

GK- Cech (Chelsea)
DF- Carragher (Liverpool)
DF- Puyol (Barcelona)
DF- Terry 8 goals (Chelsea)
MF- Gerrard 13 goals (Liverpool)
MF- Ronaldinho 13 goals (Barcelona)
MF- Riquelme 18 goals (Villareal)
MF- Lampard 19 goals (Chelsea)
FW- Eto'o 28 goals (Barcelona)
FW- Makaay 29 goals (Bayern Munich)
FW- Henry 30 goals (Arsenal)
(*goals for all competitions, the total goals scored by this team is 158 goals!)

What about every league top scorers by not counting European goals? Here is the list:

(Player, Team, Goals, Value, Total)

1. Diego Forlan, Villarreal (Spain) 25 2 50
1. Thierry Henry, Arsenal (England) 25 2 50
3. Cristiano Lucarelli, Livorno (Italy) 24 2 48
3. Samuel Eto'o, Barcelona (Spain) 24 2 48
3. Marek Mintal, Nuremberg (Germany) 24 3 48
6. Fatih Tekke, Trabzonspor (Turkey) 31 1.5 46.5
7. Alberto Gilardino, Parma (Italy) 23 2 44
8. Ricardo Oliveira, Real Betis (Spain) 22 2 44
8. Roy Makaay, Bayern Munich (Germany) 22 2 44
10. Dirk Kuijt, Feyenoord, (Netherlands) 29 1.5 43.5

Note: A player's league goals are multiplied depending on the 'value' of their league. Only the leading five countries in the UEFA rankings are given a multiple value of 2.

What do you guys think? Who do you think deserve to be in and who does not deserve to be in? By the way, do you know that Lampard is Chelsea's top scorer for this season? I am surprised!

MEIJI SNACKS PART III



"U" means rabbits, "zu" means "figure", "maki" means rotation, and "Uzumaki" means spirals or swirls.



Usumaki or uzumaki, I don't know what is the correct spelling or whether they carry a different meaning. If you watch Naruto, you know his full name is Uzumaki Naruto.



Whatever it is, this is another Meiji product I am going to introduce today. Again, a very nice box design and this thing costs me S$3.60!



Everything is written in Japanese so I have no idea what is this thing. It has almond, milk and chocolate as the main ingredients, that's for sure!



If you don't see the box packaging, I am sure you cannot imagine this to be chocolate but sweets. The packaging suggests that to me eventhough I know it is chocolate from the box.



When you unwrap it, the shape looks identical to the Tong's Garden crab cracker! Haha!



Then, you just bite it, and you will see the almond nut inside. Nice! Personally, I have no preferences on nuts, I love them all! It does not matter what nut they are gonna use. Still, again too much wrapping! It is tiring also to eat them by unwrapping every single piece. Imagine you have Tong Garden's crab cracker with every piece to be packaged. You will go nuts eating like that!

FOOTBALL: MORE TRANSFER MATTERS

Robinho
Yes, Adriano has always been mentioned as Brazil's next big thing but prodigies don't come by everyday. To me, Adriano is not really that skillful because he seems to be relying too much on his strength and speed rather than techniques. Football genius is a rare thing and Robinho seems to be the next big thing after Pele. He could be a bigger star for this generation of Brazilian talented stars of Ronaldinho, Adriano and Kaka. The amount of praises I heard about him this season is scaring me.

This player to me will bring all glory to any European club that is able to get his signature. Whoever is able to sign him up will bring trouble to the entire league and Europe opponents! Arsenal are the latest to be linked with him and thus a chance to play with Henry is definitely the main attraction to him. If that is realized, the attacking partnership will totally be damn scary and it will bring shivers down any defensive line on earth. It will confirm wrecking havoc to the opposition goal.

Henry
Barcelona have been buying players trigger happy. There seem to be hints here and there that Henry is wanted in Barcelona and I can feel it in my bones that something is done now to get him to be there next season. The talks of Ronaldinho and Guily is not making me any calmer. Henry had in the past shown his affection to Arsenal, his loyalty to Arsene Wenger and always seem to be the very last person in Arsenal to ever leave. Now? I am not sure, but as a great striker, it will not be surprising that he is always being linked with transfer rumours season after season. If for any reasons, Barcelona do succeed to get his services, Real Madrid will have another torrid trophyless season for sure.

Pires
Inter Milan seem to be interested in Pires. The Frenchman is under contract at Highbury until the end of next season. Pires had not really performed well during the FA Cup final. Roberto Mancini is a keen admirer of Pires, who has not been too impressed with the way talks over a new Gunners deal have progressed. The 31-year-old wants a fresh two-year deal at Highbury but the club would prefer to offer him just a 12-month extension. Reports in the Italian media suggest that Inter will try and test Pires' desire to stay in North London with an attractive offer to move to Serie A.

However, Pires is not the only option for Mancini, as he is also eyeing Valencia's Stefano Fiore and Rodrigo Taddei from Siena. Inter already have tonnes of famous players in their squad. They are just like Barcelona, buying players like there is no tomorrow. I envy such clubs.

Benitez
Since Liverpool won the Champions League, there has been Liverpool jerseys around the street very often nowadays. Yes, many Liverpool fans suddenly appear all over the place. It seems that it is the only jersey that is worn the biggest amount in Singapore now. Benitez, the God that Liverpool fans worship now has been linked with Real Madrid. I was thinking inside me that as long as Perez keeps on changing coaches in short durations, Real Madrid will remain chaotic and producing poor results. As for now, Benitez has been denying any possibilities of him leaving Liverpool with the big contigent of Spanish players he brought over.

Bellamy
This trouble making striker seems to be still uncertain of his destination next season. Wherever it is, it is unlikely to be to Newcastle. Celtic are eager to get him, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers too. However, it seems that Birmingham are the most interested party right now. Of course, the only problem now is the agreement of the transfer fee between Newcastle with any clubs that want to sign him. It will be interesting to see him in the EPL again next season, especially when he will be facing Newcastle United. I'm sure he wants to put hattricks of goals behind Newcastle's net.

Given
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will make signing a new goalkeeper a priority this summer after Roy Carroll and Ricardo were both released on Friday. It was a big surprise news to me, especially Carroll. With Tim Howard the only senior goalkeeper now at the club after he signed a two-year extension last week, the Old Trafford boss will be looking at options to get a new goalie. This is where Given comes in. He has been one of those regular players for Newcastle and I don't know the outcome until Newcastle say something about this matter.

Cudicini
Everton seem to be interested to get Chelsea players who are not in the starting eleven with Carlo Cudicini as the latest target. Scott Parker and Mikael Forssell have already been on the Toffees' wishlist. Cudicini did not play much last season due to the form of Petr Cech, but I never remember hearing him complaining at Stamford Bridge. However, Everton could be hoping to lure him to Goodison Park and Champions League football. Everton's first choice keeper Nigel Martyn will be 39 this year and may retire very soon.

Essien
Mickael Essien's agent claims Chelsea are leading the race to sign the Lyon midfielder after Real Madrid dropped out of the running. I have never heard of the Ghanaian player but I heard he is very impressive this season for Lyon to clinch their fourth successive Ligue 1 title. The regulations limiting the number of non-EU players Primera Liga clubs can field have dissuaded Madrid.

Madrid are thought to have earmarked central midfield as one of the areas they have to strengthen this summer. They signed Thomas Gravesen from Everton in January but a big-name arrival is expected with Patrick Vieira and Steven Gerrard also mentioned as possible targets for the Bernabeu club. To me, both of them are highly unlikely going to leave their respective clubs so stop dreaming. Get someone who is more realistic.

Baros
Even after winning the Champions League, Milan Baros seemed to be very realistic of his chances in the starting eleven for next season. He knows there are Morientes, Cisse, Le Tellec, Diouf (maybe), Pongolle and Mellow as some of the contenders of his place in Liverpool. Although we heard of Bolton wanting to sign Diouf after making a great impact at the Reeobk Stadium this season by securing the UEFA Cup football for them for the next season. Right now, it seems that if he is going to leave Liverpool, it will be to Valencia. Although I heard Fiorentina are interested to get him as well.

Saviola, Riquelme, Gerard
Saviola was a very promising talent signed by Barcelona few years ago. Now, it seems that Barcelona want to offload him as coach Frank Rijkaard does not see Saviola to fit into his plans. Riquelme is also certainly to be shown the exit door as well even how impressive he is this season for Villareal.

Rijkaard wants a 22-man squad for next season and would prefer to trade Saviola and Juan Roman Riquelme as a package if it would help land one of the world's top strikers, which seems to be Henry at the moment. It could also be Robinho. Riquelme has spent two successful seasons on loan at Villarreal, but the Yellow Submarines are unable to sign him permanently due to his wage demands and he is set to return to Camp Nou in June.

If the pair are unable to be offloaded together, then Saviola will be the first to be shown the door with Liverpool, Valencia, Deportivo La Coruna and Atletico Madrid to be possible interest parties. I don't know how well Saviola performed there this season, but I know he was one of those fine strikers when he played for Barcelona.

As for Riquelme, it just reminds me of the fate of Morientes. I remember Riquelme scored a hattrick and beat Barcelona impressively, just like Morientes who helped put Real Madrid out of the Champions League campaign. In the end, Morientes is shown the exit door anyway. For any reasons if Riquelme should be able to fit into Real Madrid's squad, sign him!

Barca have offered Gerard a new deal, but it is thought to be well below the player's expectations and he is now set to leave the club. The deal on offer suggested that Rijkaard sees the midfielder as a back-up player and he is not prepared to accept another season of watching from the sidelines.

INSTANT PASTA



This is probably the first time I have pasta in a cup. They follow the style of instant noodles and have a few flavours available.



It is locally made in Singapore. I decided to give it a try out of curiosity.



It has those Campbell creamy mushroom soup taste. Just add the creamer powder and hot water and it will be ready in 3 minutes. I still prefer instant noodles though because the creamer don't dissolve that easily in the hot water. Some more if you pour in the whole packet, you will need to drink few litres of water to get rid of your thirst. They may claim that it is MSG free, but I think whatever else the substitute in, it is just as bad!

KAM KEE BAK KUT TEH



This is another back post of my visit to Kota Kinabalu end of next year. Bak kut teh is one of the favourite Chinese food and I always heard the best bak kut teh is Malaysia has to be in Klang, Selangor. Unfortunately, in my maiden visit to Klang, Malaysia was having the JE Virus attack spreading so seriously with the most biggest infections to be in Negeri Sembilan.



Bak kuk teh is not a very popular dish in my hometown though. People won't die if they don't eat it. In Kota Kinabalu, it seems that it is a favourite dish. There are three types available. Original, herbal and pepper. To me, I love them all, regardless of whatever pig parts combos they serve. You can always order side dishes like u cha kui, tau hu, salted vegetables and with tea to compliment. Then, it will be complete! Most people will need at least 2 rice bowls and above. I am no exception! Hehe! Probably they just use small bowls and you thought you eat alot. Good business strategy!

GREAT SINGAPORE SALE 2005

This year's theme is SALE-A-BRATION! To be held from Friday, 27 May to Sunday, 24 July 2005, this year's GSS has been timed to coincide with the local (June) and regional (June / July) school holidays, the Singapore Arts Festival (June) and the Singapore Food Festival (July), to boost cross-promotional opportunities, visitor arrivals and consumer spending. You can save up to 70% on everything from fashion to food and electronics to jewellery as well as chances to win cash and prizes too.

Retailers are hoping shoppers will spend enough in the next 8 weeks to boost this year's retail revenue up to S$5 billion. To achieve that target, organisers are packing this year's Great Singapore Sale with bigger bargain hunting competitions and there's even late night shopping to boot.

Late night shopping starts on (26th May 2005) Thursday night at selected shops along Orchard Road. For the first time since the sale was launched 12 years ago, sleepless shopaholics can wander the shops till as late as 2am at major malls in Marina Bay on selected days in June. Seven out of 10 shoppers at last year's Great Singapore Sale were Singaporeans. However. with budget travel making it easier for them to shop overseas, organisers of the sale appear to be putting their bets on tourists, and are aggressively reaching out to those from beyond the ASEAN region.

Eager to grow both the local and tourist pies, are heartland retailers in Toa Payoh and Marine Parade, who are making a comeback despite poor response three years ago. For the first time, Holland Village, Bugis Street and Kampong Glam will also be part of the Great Singapore Sale.

Link:
Great Singapore Sale 2005

This is the first time that I am around for the Great Singapore Sale. I feel quite sad instead of happy because I am still around even exam had been over long ago with holiday started just as long for me. I am still around doing stupid projects. Sad life. I need a holiday to relax myself! I may not be going back to Sibu at all this time. I am planning for a holiday in West Malaysia in July with a visit of Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak and Penang. Seems highly possible, I will notify relatives around these areas so I get free accommodations! Hahaha!

FOOTBALL: TRANSFER MATTERS

Barcelona are already in the lead in making news of their capture of Van Bommel of PSV and now Santi Ezquerro of Athletic Bilbao. I always wonder how come players in Barcelona never complain if they don't make it into the starting line-up. They have as much players as Chelsea or more. They are still buying like peanuts.

There are news of Ronaldo linking to AC Milan. If it is anything but true, I am more than happy! I want however Robinho to come in. To me, this is the guy who is able to match Samuel Eto'o easily or far better. Bring in Joaquin too, it will be a great buy. Cristino Ronaldo? I really don't know about that kid. No doubt I am impressed with his abilities during the FA Cup finals, but I feel he is not the type who can decide match results for you. Still not quite there yet. Sell Beckham and buy Riquelme. That will be great! However, I don't think Perez wants to sell his business asset so I will just keep on suffering as a Real Madrid fan.

Still, there are alot of rumours of Owen going back to England to play for Manchester United. New Manchester United supremo Joel Glazer is set to discuss the signing of Real Madrid striker Michael Owen with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. How true is that? No idea. Beckham? Well, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger expressed interest in signing Beckham earlier this month, while reports emerged over the weekend that new United owner Malcolm Glazer was to speak with manager Sir Alex Ferguson about bringing the England captain back to Old Trafford. For me, just another baseless rumour no matter how I don't want Beckham in Real Madrid.

Edu is still free for grabs. Have not agreed terms with anybody. Luis Fabiano is going to Sevilla. He, like Robinho, are Brazilian future stars. Sevilla had been quite good this season and this transfer from Porto will add more strength in their offence. Who is Vogel? For a while I thought it was 'Bogel'. Haha! I heard him signing for AC Milan from PSV. Is he good? Any of you heard of him?

Will Baros leave Liverpool still? What about Figo leaving Madrid and with news of him going to Manchester United? Reyes? Don't even think of buying him, I don't see anything special about him, especially after the FA Cup match. These are some questions lingering in my mind now. So far, Chelsea is pretty quiet. Hmmm, very weird indeed. I heard though that Mourinho is only looking at two players to be signed. That's it for the summer purchases.

Asier Del Horno, not familiar to me, is a left full back of Athletic Bilbao which interests Chelsea. I heard many good things about this fellow, that he has alot of pace and aggression to get forward and score goals.

Then, another highly rated player that everybody talks about in Spain is Sergio Ramos of Sevilla. He is fast, hard and skilful as a centre-back. Arrigo Sacchi seems to fall in love with his abilities and wanted to get him for Real Madrid. Forget Woodgate! Julio Baptista of Sevilla is also getting alot of attention from Sacchi.

Real president Florentino Perez asked after Ramos during Sunday's 2-2 draw between the two clubs, but Laporta has instructed his representatives to accelerate negotiations with the youngster's agent and also Seville officials. I remember Sacchi also interested in Juventus' Emerson as well as Osasuna's Pablo Garcia.

As for Deco's remark for Cristino Ronaldo.

"Personally it does worry me that Cristiano Ronaldo could play there," he said. "He is a great player and it is better that he plays at Barcelona.

"I like my friends and want the best things for them but not at Real, our biggest rival in Spain."

So what is he trying to say? That players only get the best things when they play for Barcelona? Fuck off lah Deco, you are no different than Eto'o. I have no respect for players who persuade others to join their club in fear that they join other clubs and saying bad things about others. This really piss me off. These kind of players don't behave like professionals.

In Real Madrid, there is Luis Figo too, who also plays for Portugal, I don't know what is in his mind when he said this, but if I am Figo, I will be damn pissed to have him playing alongside me in the Portugese team knowing Deco is a Brazilian and then said such things to persuade Cristino Ronaldo to go Barcelona. His excuse was he only get the best in Barcelona, meaning he will only get second best if he plays for Real Madrid. They are showing no respect to Real Madrid.

This reminds me of Ronaldinho advice to Adriano.

Barcelona ace Ronaldinho has urged Inter Milan striker Adriano to join him at the Nou Camp next season. Adriano is a favourite of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, but Ronaldinho said: "I hope Adriano soon joins me.""He is an absolute champion and I would love to play with him here.""In any case, I will do what I can to make sure he does not finish at Real Madrid."

To me, Barcelona are really KIASU! That's the right word to use. Whoever Real Madrid are interested, they will ask them to sign for Barcelona instead, not forgetting their squad is as big as two Real Madrid squads combined together. So scared of good players joining their rivals by persuading them to join their club instead. I have never heard of Real Madrid chasing every single Barcelona target like what they did.

Let's have a look at the star players of Barcelona, not counting Riquelme and Saviola. They have Valdes, Belletti, Marquez, Puyol, van Bronckhorst, Edmilson, Sylvinho, Motta, Xavi, Giuly, Ronaldinho, Gerard, Gabri, Deco, Albertini, Iniesta, Larsson, Eto'o, Maxi Lopez and now Van Bommel with Santi Ezquerro. That will be 1 goalie, 6 defenders, 10 midfielders, 4 strikers. This does not even include their total substitutes. How do you make everyone happy?

FOOTBALL: INTERESTING LIVERPOOL COINCIDENCES

Liverpool won the Champions League five times.

1. 1977 - Liverpool 3-1 Borussia Moenchengladbach, Olympic Stadium, Rome
Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Joey Jones, Tommy Smith, Ray Kennedy, Emlyn Hughes (c), Kevin Keegan, Jimmy Case, Steve Heighway, Terry McDermott, Ian Callaghan

2. 1978 - Liverpool 1-0 Brugge, Wembley Stadium, London
Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Phil Thompson, Alan Hansen, Ray Kennedy, Emlyn Hughes (c), Kenny Dalglish, Jimmy Case (Steve Heighway, 63), David Fairclough, Terry McDermott, Graeme Souness

3. 1981 - Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid, Parc des Princes, Paris
Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, Phil Thompson (c), Ray Kennedy, Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish (Jimmy Case, 85), Sammy Lee, David Johnson, Terry McDermott, Graeme Souness

4. 1984 - Liverpool 1-1 Roma, Olympic Stadium, Rome
Liverpool won 4-2 in the penalty shoot-out.
Bruce Grobbelaar, Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan, Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish (Michael Robinson, 94), Sammy Lee, Ian Rush, Craig Johnston (Steve Nicol, 69), Graeme Souness (c)

5. 2005 - Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan, Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul
Liverpool won 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out.
Dudek, Finnan (Hamann, 46), Traore, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Kewell (Smicer, 23), Baros (Cisse, 85)

Here are some very interesting coincidences of 1978 with 2005 as well as 1981 with 2005.

1978 & 2005

1. Wales win the Grand Slam in Rugby.

2. The Pope Dies.

3. Liverpool lose in the League Cup final to the eventual League Champions that year (Forest -1978 & Chelsea -2005).

4. Liverpool win the European Cup.

1981 & 2005

1. Prince Charles get married.

2. Both Norwich and Crystal Palace are relegated.

3. Peter Davison starred in Doctor Who in 1978, Christopher Eccleston starred in Doctor Who in 2005 (both names rhymes). Doctor Who is the world's longest-running science-fiction television programme, having originally aired on the BBC in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1989, spawning a movie revival in 1996, and finally returning as a regular fixture to television in 2005.

4. Liverpool win the European Cup.

FATE?
Andriy Shevchenko believes Liverpool were destined to claim the Champions League but still praised their 'winning mentality'. He told PA International: 'It's very hard to explain.'

'But I think it was destiny that decided to change sides and give the cup to Liverpool.'

'With a 3-0 advantage it's difficult to think that any team can come back against Milan.'

'But Liverpool found the courage to continue.'

'Believe me, it's not easy when you are 3-0 down.'

'They never lost hope, they believed right until the end that it was possible and I guess that is the winning mentality.'

Next time, if there are such coincidences again, you know Liverpool is going to win the Champions League again. Even Shevchenko believed it was fate. Weird. :)

FOOTBALL: LIVERPOOL, 2005 KINGS OF EUROPE!

CONGRATULATIONS LIVERPOOL!

I was too tired after a long day and managed to wake up for the second half. I was very shocked by the scoreline, Milan 3-0 Liverpool. Then, came the moments of magic. 3 goals one after another from Liverpool and you get Milan 3-3 Liverpool! Incredible night! Shevhenko was quite lively average and missed some really good chances. Tomasson too.

The flow of the game was fantastic. Not like the super fouling FA Cup final, both clubs are playing with good discipline and nice football. That's what we want to see. The match went into penalties just like the FA Cup final. However, this one provides 6 goals in full time so there is no complaints. The players were really tired going into the extra time.

Dudek was trying to be funny during the penalty shoot-out. Haha! I was wondering whether such tactics is allowed. Never have I seen goalkeepers do such comical acts. Serginho, Pirlo, Riise and Shevchenko missed. Interestingly Shevchenko who helped Milan win the penalty shoot-out 2 years ago had missed this time to hand the Champions League to Liverpool.

This match reminds me of the Deportivo VS. Milan match few years back. It is incredible and extraordinary comeback indeed. Milan should not be too sad, most of the current squad players have won the Champions League title just two years ago. The way they lose it will be a very painful memory for them.

Now, the greatest question of all time. Will Gerrard stay in Liverpool now? Likely possible with this fantastic and incredible victory! The next greatest question is whether UEFA will take action to see Liverpool coming back to defend their title next season after such an emotional, dramatical and determined performance? Hope it will be sorted out.

FOOTBALL: AC MILAN VS. LIVERPOOL

This is probably the last biggest football match for this season. The season is almost ending and we have a long mid year break. We will be bored to death with no football until July/August. This is surely a sad time of the year for all football fans.

Now, let us focus on the Champions League final! I think the best way to compare the teams are the different departments.

OFFENCE
Shevchenko, Inzaghi, Tomasson, Crespo VS. Baros, Cisse, Mellor, Pongolle, Morientes

Crespo may not make it to the final and definitely Morientes too. Let's have a top 5 goal count of all competitions for both teams this season.

AC MILAN
1. Shevchenko 20
2. Crespo 14
3. Kaka 9
4. Tomasson 7
5. Seedorf 6

LIVERPOOL
1. Baros 13
2. Garcia 13
3. Gerrard 12
4. Riise 8
5. Cisse 5

As you can see, both teams are having almost the same goal scoring record this season. AC Milan have an older squad generally and so are their offence. They will have the edge of experience. Liverpool will have the edge of speed. I have never seen Cisse playing in French league before but to me, he is an over-rated striker. He has not convinced me whole season with his lousy striking ability in front of goal. Baros will be the best striker in Liverpool to lead the attack. However, with so many rumours of him leaving Liverpool next season, people are saying that he may not even start. That to me will be a disadvantage.

MIDFIELD
Gattuso, Pirlo, Kaka, Seedorf, Rui Costa, Serginho VS. Gerrard, Alonso, Garcia, Finnan, Riise, Smicer, Kewell, Biscan, Hamann

This department seems pretty balance for both. Liverpool have their star in Gerrard while Milan have the reliable Kaka. It will be interesting to see how the midfielders of both fight it out for possessions and passings. The clash will be very interesting!

DEFENCE
Maldini, Nesta, Stam, Cafu, Pancaro, Simic, Costacurta, Rodrigo, Abbiati, Kaladze VS. Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Josemi, Pellegrino, Welsh, Otsemobor

Surely, looking at both collection of players available, you have to say Milan have a better defending squad both in terms of experience and quality with Maldini, Nesta, Stam and Cafu. However, the only good news for Liverpool is that their defence is pretty old and that means slow. It will be one of the best advantages for the Liverpool offence if they can make full use of their speed. Liverpool though have Carragher and Hyypia who have been very convincing this season in the middle. Thus, Milan may have to attack through the wings to have a better chance to penetrate into the defence.

GOALIES
Dida VS. Dudek
Let's have a simple comparison of the conceded goals in the league. Milan conceded 27 goals out of 37 matches while Liverpool conceded 41 goals out of 38 matches. This may not be a true measurement of the abilities of the goalies especially in the Champions League but it will roughly show the performance of both for the whole season. Dida has always been very reliable to Milan, never to give away easy goals for the opponents. Dudek however can be so inconsistent that he can give away very simple goals in big matches. This will surely be Liverpool's weakness. He must perform to his best for this final and not regret his entire life for it.

DECISIVE PLAYERS
Gerrard will definitely be one of the players who can determine a game for Liverpool. He must get his midseason form back to be able to do that. Alonso and Garcia have brought in the great dribblings and passings that are dangerous and decisive to the forwards. They are great to watch when the play to their abilities.

Shevchenko has been Milan's saviour whole season. He is the sort of player who can perform in the highest level and decide results. I would love to see the Kaka of last season again, I hope he will show his stuff too to make the final a great one. Crespo is the player to watch, he has been quite effective in front of goal for Milan this season. I won't be surprised if he scores in front of goal.

FINAL WORDS
Surely Milan will be the favourites with experience and quality in their squad. Liverpool have quality too but not the experience. Liverpool may be also short of firepower too but have enough midfield support to push through. Whatever the outcome, we will surely ask for an explosive final match with plenty of goals and not to repeat the FA Cup final! Anything can happen. Underdogs Liverpool may be, a slight moment of genius is all that is needed to determine the champions. However, they must also know the greatness of Milan. It is not easy to win but everything is possible.

XBOX PLAY
In my university, Microsoft promotes the XBox by having 4 of the machines available in campus to play. I played the Winning Eleven 8 this morning. I played 3 games of AC Mlian Vs. Liverpool. I took AC Milan.

1st game: AC Milan 1-0 Liverpool
Pirlo scored from a free kick

2nd game: AC Milan 2-2 Liverpool (Liverpool won penalty shootout)
Forgot who are the scorers but I think Kaka and Shevchenko scored for Milan. In the penalty shootout, Milan lost! Haha! I admit I cannot handle the controls well.

3rd game: AC Milan 1-0 Liverpool
Shevchenko scored from open play, a pass from Kaka

Tonight? Who will win? What is the scoreline? Haha! Nobody knows! Hope it will be an exciting high scoring match! I wish Liverpool can win this one but it won't be easy!

SINGAPORE RANDOM SHOTS

Photo shooting post. Nothing much, just some shots taken in Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall area.

RESTORAN VIETNAM PEPPERMINT



This is a back post of my visit to Kota Kinabalu end of last year. This is probably the first time I ever tried Vietnamese food. I don't know how authentic is this shop but the food tastes nice to me. I realized there are alot of beef in the menu. I am a spring roll lover so wanted to try theirs.



Lime is used alot for most dishes with the leaves of some spices I think. If you don't dip those leaves inside the soup, the ultimate nice smell won't happen and your soup will not be as good!

FOOTBALL: FA CUP FINAL



I was in Tampines Mall to watch the football match live. It was at the roof of the building itself. It was organized by The New Paper and TigerBeer I think. Since we have Tigerbeer sold at the place for viewers to enjoy while watching the match.



They prepare a large screen for the projection of the match with a left and right hand side of the stage having a television each for those sitting at the sides.



The host is a guy whom I am not familiar with. You see this lady helping him out in giving prizes as they have alot of questions and games before the match for those who come.



The crowd filled the whole place as the match is about to start. Judging from the noise generated, there are a significant amount of Manchester United and Arsenal fans around the place, though there are those claiming to be Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle fans here and there.



The match itself was pretty much dominated by Manchester United. Cristino Ronaldo, the player I hate, created alot of trouble in Arsenal's wings for the whole match. He should be the man of the match for Manchester United. Vieira is not playing well and had some very lousy tackles which I think should have him red carded long ago. Wayne Rooney with his force and effective ball controls and dribblings also almost get a few goals.

van Nistelrooy, another of my hated player wasted so many balls, with many of them going past his legs with no action. He wasted alot of chances. Ashley Cole was not very effective, with many balls going past him easily the whole night through, he was struggling to defend his side of the field and almost costed Arsenal a few goals. If not for the amazing Lehmann! He is Arsenal's man of the match. Reyes is also one of those amazing lousy tackler, he should improve his tackling skills. To me, he was lucky to stay in the field for that long, he should be out long ago with a red card.

Overall, Manchester United deserved the cup, they have more chances and played much better as a team. They threatened the goal more often. Luck and super goalkeeping by Lehmann was the reason Arsenal won. Van Persie to me is the most effective Arsenal offence of the night. I like his style. He may become big some day.

Another trophiless season for Manchester United, the richest club in the world. As for Arsenal, they finished with silverware for the fourth consecutive season. Manager Arsene Wenger has now won seven major trophies (three championships, four FA Cups) in his eight full seasons with the Gunners, making him the most successful Arsenal manager of all time.

Manchester United are still the most successful club in the history of the FA Cup, with 11 wins from 17 final appearances. However, Arsenal have now closed to 10 wins from 17 appearances.

Arsenal may not deserved the cup but football is not about the number of chances you took but about goals you scored. Arsenal have lost cup finals themselves on shoot-outs: the European Cup Winners Cup to Valencia in 1980 and the Uefa Cup to Galatasaray in 2000. They’ve also lost a couple of Charity/Community Shields to Manchester United on penalties in the past. In 2001, the Gunners outplayed Liverpool at Cardiff and should have had two or three more goals than Freddie Ljungberg’s strike to show for their superiority before Michael Owen turned the game on its head with two stunning goals in the closing minutes. It was devastating for Gunners. It seemed unfair but that's football for you!