Sunday, May 31, 2009

Onore a Maldini e Nedved

One cannot start by not mentioning the great career both players have had and the plethora of leagues, cups and personal awards that they have won. Maldini has won a grand total of 26 trophies in various competitions, has a record of appearances in Serie A, Uefa Competitions, Champions League and minutes played in the World Cup. Many players can only dream to remain physically fit and continue playing till 40 just like Maldini managed to do and he is also a role model for many people, not only football players for apart from being one of the greatest players ever to grace football stadiums around the world, he is also a gentleman and holds close to his heart strong family values.

Certainly the farewell given to Maldini by some pseudo Milan supporters cannot be condoned for a player who has spent more than half his life giving his all for the same club and being booed on his last home game for some petty disagreement beggars belief. At least all this was offset by the dignified farewell given to him by the Florentine supporters in his very last game; a fitting end for a great player.

Nedved’s determination both when playing and during training are characteristics that distinguish him from most other players. He always gave his all with whatever jersey he wore and will be mainly remembered for having won the Golden Ball in 2003 and for having stayed with Juventus when they were relegated after the 2005/2006 season which made him an undisputed idol amongst all Juventus players. One most not forget to mention that he won 16 trophies in various competitions.

Chapeau to Figo who also retires after a glorious career and to Ibrahimovic for winning the best goalscorer award.

May more players of this calibre allow football supporters to go through raw emotions that football is so capable of producing!

Friday, May 29, 2009

The Roman Final

The 2009 Champions League Final brought to an end another great season of European competitions, with entertaining games, spectacular football and goals, drama and unfortunately also some controversial decisions.

The Barcelona vs. Manchester United final consecrated two greats in modern European football. First and foremost is Lionel Messi, who tormented the United defence for long phases of the game and scored a spectacular goal through a flying header even though he was the shortest player on the pitch! Second but definitely not inferior in importance is Guardiola, the 38 year-old Barcelona coach. In his debut year as a coach, he won the Spanish Liga, Spanish Cup and none other than the Champions League. Pretty impressive for someone who many believed didn’t have the necessary experience to coach such an important and world-wide known club. Watching Barcelona play this season has been a joy, with their slick passing epitomised by the midfield duo Xavi-Iniesta and the huge number of goals scored by the team in general.

Hats off for Manchester United in graciously accepting that on the night Barcelona were the better team and did not create any sort of controversy.

The host city was praised for its organisational procedures that worked like clock-work and the lack of knife attacks that many feared would take place. The atmosphere inside the stadium was as expected electric and full of tension and full of colour and joy. Hopefully all major football finals will be like the 2009 Champions League Final!

Friday, May 22, 2009

The Eurovixin

Much hullabaloo is created on an annual basis regarding Malta's participation in Eurovision. Just like in politics, public opinion is divided into two; those who favour participation of local talent in this event and those who are of the opinion that it is a waste of money and taxes. A positive step forward was taken when private sponsorships were sought to part-finance this venture.

I'd like to consider this aspect on a two-fold basis, in the sense that if it does not involve an exorbitant expense to participate, I do not see why Malta should not involve itself. Participation has the potential of promoting both local talent and Malta as a prospective destination for tourists since the Eurovision is viewed by millions of people all over Europe. On the other hand, expectations in Malta winning should be toned down a little bit. It is good to be ambitous and be of the opinion that Malta has a winning chance, but this should not be taken to extremes and be turned into a matter of life and death and heated discussions.

The second aspect I'd like to discuss is the singer that represented Malta, Chiara. I admire her great talent and voice and most of all her resilience in reaching such heights in her career especially when faced with adversity. She has definetly made Malta proud each and everytime she has participated in the Eurovision. But it is also time that other singers are given a chance on the Eurovision bandwagon and with them different types of songs and fresh ideas.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Logħba tipika bejn il-ħbieb ta’ matul il-ġimgħa

Il-plejers jibdew jaslu ftit ftit għal madwar il-ħin tad-disa’ ta’ filgħaxija ġewwa l-grawnds ta’ Swatar. Jibdew jitkellmu bejniethom dwar x’ikun ġara fi tmiem il-ġimgħa ta’ qabel jew dwar xi karozza lussuża li jixtiequ jixtru. Ftit wara l-plejers li jkunu waslu jidħlu ġol-grawnd u jibdew jagħmlu ftit eżerċizzji qabel ma tibda l-logħba. Fl-aħħar kull plejer jasal u wara li jitqassmu l-plejers, il-logħba tibda bil-plejers kollha ħerqana li jkollhom prestazzjoni tajba. Il-logħba ta’ madwar siegħa tkun mimlija b’kollox; gowls spettakolari, azzjonijiet ta’ attakk li jħalluk bla nifs, xi żamma inkredibbli mill-gowler biex isalva t-tim tiegħu fost azzjonijiet oħrajn. Ma jonqosx xi dagħwa meta plejer ifalli ċans tad-deheb biex jagħmel gowl jew meta jkun hemm xi fowl ikraħ fuq plejer. Fl-aħħar tal-logħba kulħadd jinġabar fuq it-taraġ għajjien mejjet, min jixrob biex jirkupra xi enerġiji , min jipprova jsib il-flus sabiex iħallas is-sehem tiegħu għall-kiri tal-grawnd u min jiddiskuti l-andament tal-logħba.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Much ado about nothing



When initially released, the photo on the right caused quite an uproar, with people labelling it as a 'disgrace', as not being fit for a President and that the background was too cluttered amongst other points raised. A few days ago, a new version was released and found more consensus amongst the Maltese but some still found some nitty-gritty points to pick upon. As one blogger on the timesofmalta.com said with some tongue in cheek, "Finally, the biggest problem we had in the last 12 months has been solved!"

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Driving manners

Malta is an island of around 410,290 people, with a square area of 316km and has 2,254 kilometres of roads with 87.5% of them paved and the remaining unpaved[1] (even though some might snigger at this fact!) and in December 2005 there were 213,651 registered vehicles.[2]

From all this information one can gather that our island is rather crowded in all senses and therefore basic manners towards other drivers should be a must but are unfortunately lacking. This can be clearly seen in the way a good number of Maltese drive, showing no respect towards basic driving rules and especially towards fellow drivers. Drivers not giving way when they should, shooting red lights, driving slow on the fast-lane with the proverbial arm dangling out of the window or overtaking dangerously are only a few examples of daily occurrences on Maltese roads. Stop signs also do not need to be put up because with or without them does not make much of a difference. I think that we can all identify ourselves in having witnessed and/or been a victim in one of these situations at least on a weekly basis.

If we were all to observe basic manners when driving it would make life much less stressful for all Maltese drivers and there would be less accidents as well as less cases of road rage.

You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. ~Author Unknown

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta
[2] http://www.maltatransport.com/en/tsd/transportstatistics/DrivingLicenses2005.pdf