An excuse for a little shut-eye

There are 64 total matches at the World Cup and I will admit to being a guy that will try to watch every single one of them. I will do it with very little effort in fact.

But if I needed to take a few games off to keep my endurance up for the long haul, here are five games I could miss and not be upset at myself for doing so.

The 2010 Thailand Futsal League season gets underway on Monday, with Port Authority taking on Bangkok FC at The Mall, Ngam Wong Wan, Nonthaburi. I don't really know much about Futasl, but I will try my best to report Port's results throughout the year.
Udom Taveesuk's men will go into the season full of confidence having performed superbly to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Futsal Club Championships in Iran.

(Pictured above) SAFFC' are hoping for better showing after hitting bad patches lately.
(Media Information from Football Association of Singapore)
SINGAPORE, 9 April 2010: S.League Champions Singapore Armed Forces FC and Henan Jianye from China meet in the 2010 AFC Champions League Group G match which will be played on Tuesday, 13 April at the Jalan Besar stadium.

Well, not here on this very computer screen, that would be just silly. But it will start, officially, in Canberra this week with the first Matildas camp in 2010. While Tom Sermanni had close to 40 players in some camps last year, he's about to start whittling down to find his A-team that he hopes will qualify for the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany.

The SAFFC's foreign legion being sandwiched by the Suwon's defence in a dead-ball situation
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Unlike last year, when he wouldn't want to risk his key players because of "the weather and the field", the Korean legend Cha Bum-kun must have decided that pride means everything as he brought along his strongest squad despite those "damaging factors" looming over his head.

The latest news on the squad that is set to start the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup opener for Australia is this, Lydia Williams in goal, Melissa Barbieri on the bench. Defender Thea Slatyer will wear the captain's armband. And two wonderful stories in that Aivi Luik will play, completing the journey she set out to when she came back to Australia from America at the end of last year, with a goal to get into the Matildas, and so will Sally Shipard, who is back on the international stage after a two-year-break and a W-League season where she signed for Canberra United but couldn't play at all due to an international transfer hold-up.

The AFC 2011 Asian Cup has several qualifying matches on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 including Thailand v Jordan. The match will be covered live at the links below.

Free Live Sports TV Thailand v Jordan AFC 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying Wednesday, January 6, 2010 11:30 GMT

Live Football Streams Thailand v Jordan AFC 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying Wednesday, January 6, 2010 11:30 GMT

Here is a young Dennis Bergkamp playing for Ajax AFC youth team. Bergkamp began playing for Ajax when he was twelved years old. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, Arsenal and also represented the Netherlands at international level. He is regarded to be one of the greatest players of his generation.

Thai Port let a 2 goal lead slip through their fingers at Suphachalasai Stadium in front of 5,000 fans (attendance from AFC website). A sloppy own goal by a Thai Port defender Moudourou Swa-Moise just before half time was the turning point in the match. We should have been going in at the break 2-0 up and cruising, but a needless error gave the visitors hope.

The traditional terracing at the home of AFC Barrow, who play in the Blue Square Premier, England's fifth tier.

Photo credit: stevie odessa on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion Photo Pool.

The DPR Koreans are nobs of the highest order. When the Matildas gained a penalty at the end of the first half, the Koreans walked to the sideline on masse and delayed the game for a further five or more. Each one starting with the Keeper should have been booked. Why weren't they?
Or the penalty be taken without a keeper.

The picture above is a snapshot of a historical moment for Singapore football.
This being the moment when substitute striker Erwan Gunawan (second blue jersey player from the right) headed home the winning goal to give SAFFC and Singapore their first victory in the continental elite club competition over China's Henan Jianye.

SOURCE: REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, May 6: The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has formally decided to halt the matches of Martyrs Memorial A Division League matches until May 19.
The matches have been suspended owing to the AFC President´s Cup qualifier match to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from May 12-16.

I commented on this here the other day, not the three outstanding players in the German side, but the way the media are harping on about this 'young fearless German side' a German side that has yet to win anything, but still the pundits rave on and on...

Funny enough we have a young side at Arsenal, often we play without fear, often we play football that many applaud, however, the pundits never rave much about us in the same fashion do they?

Keisuke Honda celebrates his goal in Japan's 3-1 win over Denmark

Stoppage Time International Football Blog reviews the Asian nations' performances in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Japan and South Korea both qualified for the knock out stages of a World Cup for the first time outside of their own continent.

A mi me gusta ver a mi equipo ganar, verlo a buen nivel, que se armen bien y que este torneo vayan a competir con todo. Me gusta el concepto, realmente siento que he ayudado a construir lo que es este club y por ello creo que puedo expresarme en este espacio sobre lo que siento, veo y lo que me gustaría que ocurriera.

According to Malaysia's Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek it might come true. Both Indonesia and Malaysia have suggested the formation of a possible trans-national football league in southeast Asia to help encourage the club game in each respective country.

Nationally, each ASEAN country has participated in competitions with the AFC as well as the Southeast Asian Games.

At the end of my preview article for the Thai Port vs Al-Qadsia first-leg match, I wrote: "It is vital that we take a positive result into the second-leg, because from what I've heard about these kind of games, you don't get much out of the referee in the Middle East". That comment looks even more pertinent following the AFC's announcement that the match officials for Tuesday's game are all from Iran, a country separated from Kuwait by 9 miles of Iraqi desert at their closest point.

At least we know there's something that Fergie would envy of Wenger

As the internationals get into full swing tonight, I was very concern on the lack of topics for today's post. Fortunately for me, what I found out from the news today made me even prouder of my beloved Arsenal Football Club (if that is possible).

As the week has worn on, the situation concerning the ownership of Liverpool Football Club has descended into chaos. With each passing day, the tug of war for the ownership of the club has passed through low comedy, drama and bathos to the point that has started to feel exhausting. There is too much information.

PARIS, France— UEFA announced Thursday it had started disciplinary proceedings against Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and two of his players, Xabi Alonso and Sergi Ramos, over a 'time-wasting' controversy. The pair are suspected of deliberately time wasting to get sent off in the closing minutes of Tuesday's 4-0 Champions League win at Ajax and [.

Come out come out wherever you are.
1. Australia, FFA or Government has given $5 million to the AFC, no problems from me, but it hasn't been trumpeted loud and proud by anyone from either group. Weird?
And the Aussie media, the football media, are so limited in their analysis of the game and the issues surrounding it that they haven't even asked a question.

By Ollie Irish

Bournemouth players Anton Robinson (left) and Marvin Bartley were caught up in Pizza Hut race row

A small group of Bournemouth players – all of whom happento be black – were asked to pay for their meal before eating during a recent trip to a Pizza Hut branch in the south-coast town.

The final weekend of the NFL regular season is here and there are still a bunch of things to figure out, like who is going to win the NFC East, the wildcard spots in the AFC, and seeding. During the final Sunday of the season, games will kickoff at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Some teams might know that their games means nothing as they take the field because of earlier results.

PREVIEW
I came to realize the recent comment by the MM does actually makes sense.
Don't draw your guns at me because I'm not referring to those content of those comments, but I drawn this conclusion after a brief chat with a co-worker of my over the discussion of the upcoming Lions' Asian Cup Qualifier fixture against Iran.

The AFC 2011 Asian Cup has several qualifying matches on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 including Singapore v Iran. The match will be covered live at the links below.

Free Live Sports TV Kuwait v Australia AFC 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying Wednesday, January 6, 2010 14:30 GMT

Live Football Streams Kuwait v Australia AFC 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying Wednesday, January 6, 2010 14:30 GMT

The AFC 2011 Asian Cup has several qualifying matches on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 including Singapore v Iran. The match will be covered live at the links below.

Free Live Sports TV Singapore v Iran AFC 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying Wednesday, January 6, 2010 11:30 GMT

Live Football Streams - Singapore v Iran AFC 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying Wednesday, January 6, 2010 11:30 GMT

On the eve of the crucial Asian Cup Qualifier tie against one of Asian football powerhouses - Iran, national midfielder Hariss Harun shares his thoughts on tomorrow's game.
Hariss is an ambassador for the Nike RED campaign
Hi Hariss, thanks for taking the time out of your busy training schedule to speak to us.

A one man pitch invasion last night at the Bung Karno Stadium could well put the Indonesian FA into more trouble. They were fined by the AFC after fans through plastic water bottles at Kuwaiti players who were warming up last November.
Last night a fan got on to the pitch, took the ball, dribbled into the Oman penalty area, shot feebly at the keeper before being wrestled to the ground by a dozen security personnel.

You can always rely on Malaysian football to provide some light relief and it ususally involves money. Former Perak player Wing Hoong is claiming that he is still owed money from the 2008 season!!!
If it's true how the bloody hell can this thing happen time and time again in Malaysia? Where does the AFC and FIFA stand on this and other similar matters?

Indian club Mohun Bagan will send its youth team to the first Great Wall Cup of Beijing in China organised by the Beijing Football Federation. The FIFA-accredited tournament, played between 25-31 July 2010, will host around 40 Asian teams. Mohun Bagan academy's U-19 side is coached by former India international Jo Paul Ancheri, who holds an AFC "B" coaching licence.

The Asian Football Confederation appears to be still looking for a challenger to Australia's application to host the 2015 Asian Cup; the continent's major sporting tournament. Australia was the only country to put in an intensive bid to host before AFC's original March 2008 deadline and an AFC delegation carried out a formal inspection of the country's prospective stadiums and facilities in

(Media Information from Football Association of Singapore)
SINGAPORE, 26 January 2010: S.League Champions Singapore Armed Forces FC (pictured above) and the Copa Indonesia holders, Sriwijaya FC will contest the 2010 AFC Champions League East Zone play-off match to be played in Singapore on Saturday, 30 January at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

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Indeed, SAFFC shown why they are dead serious about making to the lucrative Asian Champions League (ACL) group stages, by bulldozed the woes-besieged Sriwijaya 3-0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
While there are some gelling works to be done in the Warriors camp, what their opponents in the S.

That was what SAFFC's skipper-cum-custodian Shahril Jantan (picture above in foreground) said to this blogger before the start of the penalty-shootout that would determined who will join the elites of Asian club sides in the lucrative Asian Champions League.
And the 'keeper, who missed the last weekend's game against Sriwijaya due to suspension, got his wish at the end of the day after the S.

I was having a gander at the match ticket for the SAFFC match at the weekend and saw that fans are being called patrons!
What's that all about?
A fan is a fan. Maybe a supporter but fan is better. What's with all this tossing around, trying to gentrify the game, almost as if the powers that be are ashamed of the working class roots of the game.

O último jogo da Copa do Leste Asiático, foi realizado no dia 14-02-2010, no Estádio Nacional de Tóquio, com uma temperatura de 7,3º C, e para um público de 42.951 pessoas e reuniu as seleções do Japão (40º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Coréia do Sul (49º no ranking da FIFA).

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Unfortunate to have conceded an early goal to the Jordanians, but except for some usual scary moments, the boys hold themselves well against their hosts in front of a hostile crowds.
The already depleted Lions suffered another early blow when skipper Noh Rahman was replaced by Rosman Sulaiman due to an injury.

(In collaboration with Temasek Review Sports, the following match report was written by MJ,who was reporting on behalf of the online portal.)
By MJ
sports@temasekreview.com
Recently-retired Singapore skipper Indra Sahdan Daud (left) tussling for better position with Gamba's defender Sota Nakazawa.

Oh Boy!

It doesn't get much bigger than this does it?

If you can't get excited about the occasion, you are at the wrong place European nights are always such a special occasion but tonight is about getting one big toe in the semi final of the Champions League.

As Arsene Wenger pointed out, we have so many things in common with Barca, the breeding of young players, playing beautiful football which is why there is so much hype around the game.