i sing for your love

Chelsea FC players during a training session

Captain John Terry salutes the supporters after winning the game

Chelsea's new coach - the good looking Andre Villas-Boas

OK , so I have missed the one & only opportunity to watched The Reds play in Malaysia…but GOD have compensated me in another handsome way. Natalie got 2 FOC tickets worth RM108 to watch The Blues take on our very own Malaysian Team. You see, I’m a diehard fan of Liverpool while Natalie sings Chelsea! Chelsea! every day. We make a pact that Natalie will accompany me to watch The Kops played and I will accompany Natalie to watch the boys from Stamford Bridge in action. I cannot pass on this great chance to be in the stadium to watch a world class football team in action...even though I am not a Chelsea fan. And I was not disappointed. I had a great time :) It was truly rewarding. We got a good seating place in the middle section; directly facing the pitch. I cheered, I roared, I yelled, I jumped out from my seat, I clapped both of my hands, I did the Mexican Wave…every time a Malaysian player touches the ball. Seriously, I think I saw a different side of me :) so spontaneous and cute. I guess I can feel the energy, the crowd, the adrenalin rush, the excitement, the atmosphere, the vibration that prompted me for doing so. Being in the stadium is a totally different kind of feeling compare to watching the action on the TV. Seriously, our local boys did very well in defending their turfs, the goalkeeper was excellent in making many saves…and of course like a typical Malaysian team, they also didn’t create that many chances to score. I am sure all of the Chelsea diehard fans who came to watch the game that night were very disappointed with the 1 – 0 score line…since Arsenal have set the high benchmark by beating Team Malaysia 4 – 0 and Liverpool maul the team apart with a thumping 6 – 3.

The English giants Chelsea with star-studded players who are all millionaires failed to shine under their new & young boss Andre Villas-Boas. It was a dull affair with Chelsea rarely creating many chances. Unlike their rivals Arsenal and Liverpool, who handed the Malaysian national side a firm beating, Chelsea struggled to break down a stubborn Malaysian Selection side made up of mostly Olympic Under-23 players. It took a controversial goal by Didier Drogba in the 80th minute, from a free-kick, as the London side belatedly broke the deadlock. However, replays showed that the ball, which hit the goal post before bouncing off Malaysian goalie Mohamad Izham Tarmizia's back, did not cross the line. The referee was just doing Chelsea a favor. It will be embarassing if the Blues didn't win the game. And as for Fernando Torres, as usual...he has yet to find his form back yet. He is still firing blanks. Luckily he was sold off to Chelsea for 50million pounds, thus giving Liverpool the sufficient funds to purchase strikers Andy Carroll & Luis Suarez.

The only thing that annoyed me during the whole game was the racial abuse towards Chelsea’s Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun (a former Liverpool player too). The sour point of the match, however, was the constant booing of Benayoun - the first Israeli to play in Malaysia in the first-half of the game. Well, that’s because the Muslim-majority in Malaysia is an ardent supporter of the Palestinians and has no diplomatic relations with Israel. It’s very unfair because at the end of the day; he is a footballer, football is his rice bowl & his pride and he is not representing the views of his country’s government. I find them to be childish and intolerant.

So, when the new season of the EPL opens on the August 13th...I can expect Chelsea will be struggling to establish themselves in the game with the rise of Manchester United & Manchester City, with Liverpool’s new look and Arsenal’s credentials. Go Liverpool :) And I really have to made a trip to Anfield one day.