the national stadium

the national stadium will officially, finally, be closed after an extended opening of 1 year. it has been a place where i has been very close to my heart for the past few years, starting from the dawn of the new millennium in 2001. it's hard to believe i have only been to the stadium 11 times. 8 times as a spectator and 3 as a member of the media. 2001 Singapore 1 Manchester United 8, Friendly 2002 6 July, Singapore Youth Festival Opening Ceremony Parade 2006 6 October, Singapore 0 China 0 Asian Cup 2007 Qualifiers Group Stage 2007 27 January, Singapore 1 Malaysia 1 (5-4), 2007 ASEAN Football Championship Semi-Final 2nd Leg 31 January, Singapore 2 Thailand 1, 2007 ASEAN Football Championship Final 1st Leg 30 June, Singapore 0 Australia 3, Friendly 9 November, Singapore 2 Tajikistan 0, 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 2 1st Leg 2008 26 March, Singapore 2 Lebanon 0, 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 3 Group Match 2 28 May, Singapore 0 Bahrain 1, Friendly 2 June, Singapore 3 Uzbekistan 7, 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 3 Group Match 3 14 June, Singapore 0 Saudi Arabia 2, 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 3 Group Match 5 it has been a wonderful privilege to be the second last person to leave the Press Room at the end of the Saudi Arabia match on 14 June. my only regret is not being able to step onto the pitch at least once in my lifetime. and i will never get to do it ever again. maybe when the new Sports Hub is up, i will have that opportunity. but it will never be the same as the Grand Old Dame.

learning Italian

i am seriously considering learning Italian...

progress

so many great things have happened, and some bad things as well the bad news first, where the Lions were beaten 3-7 at home by the far superior Uzbekistan. sure, the Uzbeks did tear our poor defence apart, but they really did teach our Lions a lesson in football. however, we also did manage to score 3 goals against them, when Malaysia, China, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia all failed to score even 1. such is the brilliance and flair of the current Lions attack is that they could score 3 goals against a team which has not conceded for several games prior to this one. well, this defeat isn't really heartbreaking for me. it's not the end of the qualifying campaign yet. we're only three games old. the good news is, Milan have finally made some great moves in the transfer market. as we all know, Mathieu Flamini signed at the beginning of May, and now Gianluca Zambrotta has joined him! returning players will be Marco Borriello and Christian Abbiati. also, the production for Special Police Dekaranger is finally taking some good shape. more good news to come!