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Stalemate will do me fine, and even do me proud

By: Rayed Mamun | March 26th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

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It may have been one of the most boring games I’d ever seen, but it brought a smile to my face at the end of it. A deserved valuable point away from home against China in Kunming. 0-0 was the final score.

To say that our preparation was ‘not ideal’ would be an understatement. Before I even begin with the problems we’ve had in the past few days, months beforehand, the Chinese FA decided to hold this match at an isolated city, at altitude. They even pushed back the Chinese League so that the national squad would have adequate preparation time. So what this meant was that they’d have over two and a half weeks to prepare at 1,900 metres above sea level. We had the best part of two and a half days, because of our European based players, not to mention the A-League which already finished last month.

So weeks beforehand, we knew this would be tough for us. China may not be the most formidable opposition, but they certainly aren’t the worst team in Asia. So the time came for us to slowly start preparing for Kunming. Unfortunately, call it a conspiracy, or just bad luck and bad timing, but all of our big stars happened to get injured this week. Cahill, Kennedy, Sterjovski, McDonald and Emerton all ruled out in recent days. After a poor showing in Singapore, Kewell and Djite were ruled out just before the start of the big game against China. This meant that Archie Thompson had to start as a lone striker today. The curse then continued, he was tackled early on and had to be substituted in the 9th minute. What a nightmare, but we still managed to hold on.

We played well, but were helped by the way China played. You’d expect a huge crowd in a formidable place like China to put pressure on the visitors, but it never really happened. For all the preparation they had at altitude, they really lacked the killer punch. Their passes were always going astray and they never really looked like they were trying to tire us down. Having said that, we really didn’t have much venom in our attack either but that’s understandable, seeing as all our main attackers were ruled out. 0-0 was a fair result. The next qualifiers are in June where all the European players will be available and will be much better prepared. I can’t wait.


More Australia World Cup News

Grand Final? More like Grand Fight!

By: Rayed Mamun | February 28th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

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Before I criticise the dark side of the Grand final, I would like to congratulate the Newcastle Jets on a deserved victory. It was a pleasure to watch their unique stylish football, the only one of its kind in the league. The Australian public was amazing as well, especially all the fans who came ... [read]


The Premier League must not come to Australia

By: Rayed Mamun | February 16th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

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When we first heard about this idea we were over the moon. Manchester United V Arsenal at Telstra Stadium in front of 80,000 people is a mouth watering prospect, however, this should not, and will not ever happen. The negatives far outweigh the positives.
First up, why are we playing a 39th game in ... [read]


Losing not an option for Sydney FC

By: Rayed Mamun | February 6th, 2008 | No Comments »

Sydney FC coach John Kosmina
John Kosmina has been rewarded for his revival of Sydney FC, and has been handed a two year extension to his contract with an option of a third year. Right from the start he has set high aspirations for the glamour club of the A-League, and after signing his new ... [read]


Back at the World Cup

By: Rayed Mamun | February 5th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

It has been 588 days since our last World Cup match. 588 days, since that fateful afternoon in Kaiserlautern, when all of our hearts were broken by Fabio Grosso, and we were (unfairly) eliminated from Germany 2006. Tomorrow is our next World Cup match, a new beginning, on the road to South Africa in 2010.
Despite the tougher road through ... [read]


The war against Iraq

By: Rayed Mamun | January 30th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Nashat AkramIraq may not have a blog on this website, but I’m going in to bat for them (even though they beat Australia in the Asian Cup, dammit).
Why the hell was Nashat Akram refused a work permit required for his impending signing to Manchester City? Apparently Iraq isn’t in the top 70 ranked teams ... [read]


Goldmember would rather watch Bundesliga training, and so would I

By: Rayed Mamun | January 28th, 2008 | 4 Comments »

Goldmember
Before I start, I’ve been a bit slack and have taken a longer break than I should have. Anyway guys, sorry, but I’m back now!
The Sydney FC fans have made the hilarious claim that Pim Verbeek looks like “Goldmember” from the 2002 Austin Powers movie! You be the judge, but personally I think there ... [read]


Verbeek is the man

By: Rayed Mamun | January 2nd, 2008 | 3 Comments »

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Ok, it looks like not much went on around here while I was away. Anyway I’m back!
Just to fill you in on some old news, the long search for Guus Hiddink’s successor is over and Pim Verbeek is the man. Personally I am happy with this appointment, but I think the FFA gave the ... [read]


Lady luck, is not on our side….

By: Rayed Mamun | November 27th, 2007 | 3 Comments »

I was looking at the pots for Asia on Saturday. I knew this was going to be a tough draw for us, regardless of who we got. I then thought of what would be the worst case scenario: Australia, Iraq, China and Qatar. No prizes for guessing what happened. It seems we had absolutely no luck, and Murphy’s law came ... [read]


Advocaat, what a Dick! Where to now?

By: Rayed Mamun | November 22nd, 2007 | 4 Comments »

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It has been the worst kept secret in Australian football. It has now become the worst kept promise.
This should be a post describing how wonderful our victory was against Nigeria, and how great it was to see our new coach, watching from the stands. Instead I’m sitting here, still fuming and still shocked at ... [read]


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