How To Be A Professional Footballer?

Every football fanatic has a big dream of becoming a professional footballer. Sadly for many Malaysians, we are in a country where the football standard is as low as Digi's low flat rate and not forgetting about the awful corruptions as well. So even though you have the skills and determination to become a professional footballer, you just don't have the opportunity or chance to start. If not for this reason also, most are already becoming 'apek' and it's way too late for them.

There are many of us who are still dreaming day and night, especially after watching the EPL or UEFA Champions League matches, you will wish how much you want to play on the carpet field, with spotlights shining and seeing replays of your matches. You don't have to be very sad about your impossible dream because you can do something to have the closest feel of being a professional footballer! XD

Michael Ballack Scoring Against West Ham Recently. Chelsea Won 4-0.

So how do you start? First, get yourself a team. Find your other football fanatic friends or go out and know more friends if you're a geek who always hide yourself at home and play DotA or chat with your gf on MSN, you lifeless jerk. Form a football team and name your team that rhymes with any of the professional clubs such as Butoh United, AC Mulan, Real Kampung, Bayern Bombastic or the easiest, just add a FC to the back of your team's name to make your team looks like it's big and has a fan club. Then, fight for the number that you like, normally the same number of your favourite player. Everyone has his own football idol and it's very very good because idols often influence people and give them the passions and confidences to succeed. For me, Michael Ballack does really inspire me a lot. He scored in the recent EPL match against West Ham and the next day, i scored 2 goals for CFC's friendly match against Politeknik Ungku Omar. We won 3-2 and the best thing was i scored the 2nd equaliser and also scored a stunning long shot at 90th minute to help the team won! Tell me what's happier than this? XD

Don Your Idol's Number.

If you really want to be like your idol, you will have to be 'like' him. Doesn't matter if you have an ugly look, fat or short as it doesn't matter physically. You're a professional footballer and the most important is your skills and what you can do on the pitch. Play like your idol. If your idol is good at performing long shots, then practice your shootings. Same goes to if he's a great header, dribbler, crosser or a diver. Do not forget basic soccer skills are the most important, such as ball control, passes, ball-stopping and that's why you need to focus on these basics first before you think of becoming like your idol. Another closest way to be like your idol, after donning his legendary number, is to wear the same boots he wears. If he wears the Adidas Predator, Nike Mercurial Vapor or whatever expensive boots, you will have to throw in money to experience why the boots are so expensive. However, if you are poor after spending too much on your gf, then just get those lower range of the same model.

My New Baby - The Adidas Predator PowerSwerve.

And there you go, you're on the verge of becoming a "professional footballer", of your own lol. Although you don't earn million pounds or get thousands of fans, you get a better feel everytime you play football. Get your team to play with other teams every week by finding a referee and pay him to organize friendly matches for you. It's very important if you believe in yourself. It's good to tell yourself, "I'm a professional" everytime when you play because it makes you play better, train harder and gives you the eagerness to improve. Watch how your idol plays and follow his greatness. Don't expect to be like a professional if you don't train. Practice makes perfect and my advice is don't ever ever lose the heart of playing a wonderful football. Believe yourself that you can do something and show to the world what you're capable of. Remember Adidas' inspiration motto, "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!". Learn from mistakes you made during games and come as a better player tomorrow.

Canning FC's Michael Ballack. =P

If that's not enough, make your team looks even more professional as well. Create a website or an account in Friendster and collect fans while updating them with your current fixtures and results! You can think of many ideas and do them. As long as you feel happy and it doesn't offend anyone. What's life if can't enjoy some happy moments, right? Remember you can't be playing football forever, so play when you have the chance. Do not ever forget your team-mates as well because without them, you won't have a team and you don't get the chance to feel what is teamwork and team celebrations.

Check out Canning FC's Friendster profile and join its Friendster group to get the team's match fixtures and updates!

Canning FC - A Fresh Start Of The Year

Canning FC (CFC).

Last Sunday, on the 6th of January 2008, Canning FC played its first match of the year. After playing 25 matches by winning 14, drawing 4 and lost only 7 matches last year, we ended the 2007 season with quite an impressive record. As the new season began, we were determined to win our first match of the year. It was indeed an interesting match, probably one of the many great matches that we will remember throughout the year. Losing 1-2 in the first half and the team which was filled with winning enthusiasms after the half-time break, fought back with a never-give-up attitude which ended the intense match with an amazing win of 7-2.

It was a cloudy evening when both sides arrived at the DR Park field at around 5pm. The field was not in a good condition as heavy rain stormed through the area earlier, leaving the pitch wet, muddy and with patches of water. The opponent was a malay team, called the Orange FC which was printed on the back of the players' shirts. They looked very confident prior the match as the team players warmed up in sync with discipline. They even had training kits to be worn while warming up and changed to their team jerseys when the match began, how wealthy. The team looked like the favourites to win on the eyes of the spectators as some of the CFC players looked young and small in body sizes. As the referee arrived as well as the late players (including me hehe), the match kicked off.

CFC Futsal Team During Kosmo Xfresh.fm Tourney.

First Half
CFC was playing with a 4-5-1 formation. CFC had a star-studded team with Tai Hau aka Peter Schmeichel (my friend who i asked him to join us recently as CFC had no GK) as the goalkeeper, Dr. Basel aka Gael Clichy guarding the left-back, Ah Kwek-Quek aka Tal Ben Haim guarding the right-back and the 2 solid top defenders of CFC, Wai Lune aka Alessandro Nesta and Syed Meerah aka Jamie Carragher as the centre-backs. The left-winger was a newly recruited member with fast paces, who was called Prakash aka Florent Malouda while the right-winger was an imported chinese player who was on trial with the team. Controlling the midfield for CFC were Calvin Kong aka Xabi Alonso, the shorty skipper Ivan Teh aka Gennaro Gattuso and Alexander Lim aka Michael Ballack. The lone striker was Salinder Singh aka David Trezeguet. The opponent seemed to be playing with a 4-4-2 formation.

The first half kicked off with both of the teams struggling hard to pass around on the wet pitch. Several short passes and through balls were interrupted by the patches of water, which put a halt to the moving ball. CFC's attacking strategy was to attack on the wing most, particularly on the left side. On several occasions, Prakash tried to beat the opponent's right-back and most of the time he did but always failed to send the ball to the middle successfully. There were some chances for CFC, created by long balls and through balls but they were mostly denied by outrageous offsides. Nonetheless, CFC opened the scoring first with a fluke goal by Sal. Prakash assisted the goal by passing from the left to Sal who was in the middle of the penalty line. Sal made a very weak and slow shot but the goalkeeper failed to catch the ball and let it passed through his legs, what a sudden and shock goal for CFC! Sadly, CFC failed to hold on to the lead as the opponents put on pressure to CFC by launching fast counter attacks on the wings. Wai Lune worked very hard to keep the opponents at bay by making a lot of pin-point sliding tackles. However, Orange FC equalised from a corner in which CFC defenders left one of the players unmarked, allowing him to head in a free header at point-blank. CFC was struggling hard to play on such a wet pitch but still created a few chances where Sal and Prakash made some shots wide. Calvin Kong wasn't at his peak form as he failed to stop and control many incoming passes, due to the slippery condition. Right before half-time, Orange FC again counter attacked on the left side. This time the crosser sent in a curling ball to the middle which was punched away by Tai Hau. The ball didn't go out or far away from the goal but it landed on the right side of the post where the Orange FC striker made a jumping kick to score the second goal at point-blank again. Wai Lune was quite furious with the goalkeeper for not punching the ball away hard enough but it was difficult for Tai Hau as well since he didn't put on his gloves and the ball was definitely slippery.

Futsal Team During Ipoh Futsal Tourney.

Second Half
CFC had a team-talk during the break which gave a boost to the team morale. Three changes were made, Ah Kwek-Quek came off for Jason Tay aka Michel Salgado, the imported chinese player was substituted with Justin aka Ze Roberto and Sal who was not on form, came off for Chris Conrad aka Thierry Henry. With no desire of losing the first match of the year, CFC players came on the 2nd half with great passion and determination to win. This was when the goals kept coming and things got more interesting. Crowds started to gather to watch the exciting match. Just minutes after the start from the break, Jason Tay received a ball from 22 yards out of the goal. He made a lob into the penalty box but one of the defenders used his hand to block the ball while challenging for the aerial ball. Obviously, the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. Alexander Lim, who was inspired by the recent penalty goal Ballack scored during the match against Fulham, stepped up to take the penalty with confidence. Without any mistake, he shot past the keeper to the left-bottom of the goal, similar to the goal that Ballack scored. By getting the equaliser, CFC team chemistry went up a level. Chris Conrad, was the super-sub of the match by scoring a hat-trick for CFC. Chris' first goal was a professional header to the goal's right side, resulting from a nice cross by Justin on the right. Alexander Lim made a precise long ball from the near half-way line that found Chris breaking the offside trap and slotted in his second goal. Chris completed his hat-trick after he stole the ball from the opponent on the left side and made a perfect grounder-shot to the right side of the goal. Orange FC was stunned after CFC managed to make the score 5-2 after just 70 minutes. Calvin Kong was totally not on form that day when he wasted 2 chances to score from a 1v1 situations and on another occasion Calvin Kong was attacking on the left side but he failed to send a cross to Alexander Lim, who was left unmarked in the middle. CFC's skipper Ivan Teh substituted him out for Nyin Cheong aka Martin Demichelis. Ivan Teh and Dr. Basel also came off for Alan Goh aka Richard Dunne and another imported chinese player who was also on trial with CFC.

Champ of Kejohanan Futsal Kelab Sukan Komuniti Dun Teja 2006.

Orange FC tried to attack as much as they could but their efforts were always stopped by the 2 CFC's solid center-backs. Wai Lune made a lot of precise sliding tackles whenever he had the chance while Syed was too good in reading the opponent's play, often intercepting the ball when the opponents tried to dribble past him. Syed did not fail to include his name to the score sheet as CFC won a free-kick, around 28 yards on the left side of the penalty box. Freekick specialist, Alexander Lim took the free-kick with a Lampard style, which was by sending in a curling cross into the penalty box for the teammates to head in. True enough, the ball curled in at a right height and angle and Syed headed the ball with power, which saw the ball hit the back of the net. At this point, Orange FC was devastated and the players were too eager to get a goal, causing them to lose focus and concentration on the game. It was on the 90th minute injury time, CFC made a last attack from the right. Justin sent in a strong cross to the middle but the Orange FC's goalkeeper dived out to punch the ball. Luckily for Alexander Lim, the ball rolled slowly to him just at the line of the penalty box and he blasted in to the left-bottom to make the final score 7-2. The referee blew the final whistle right after the shocking and depressing Orange FC restarted the game. Both of the teams' players shook hands with smiles on the faces and congratulated each other for an intense and exciting match. Orange FC walked home in disbelief while CFC celebrated with joy, satisfactions and 3 points for the start of the year.

CFC Early Days When Jerseys Were Not Made Yet.

Well for me personally, it was indeed a memorable match for me. I was really satisfied with my performance that day, giving myself a proud high rating of 9/10 haha =P. Scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists made me felt so happy that i had done something for the team. What i'm happy most is that i knew Ballack really inspired me a lot. After watching him came back to play for Chelsea, he made me want to play football more. When he scored the penalty against Fulham, i actually told myself if there was a penalty during my friendly match, i would definitely take it even though i don't take penalties for the team. I was shocked that God decided to award a penalty for me that day (thanks!!!) haha. When i took it, i just wanted to take it like how Ballack did, not thinking about whether it would go in or not lolz. The free-kick was another happy moment for me. When i took it, i just thought of how Lampard usually took free-kicks from this situation and angle. His free-kicks are creative and brilliant, sending a curling cross into the penalty box which at the same time, aims for the far post of the goal. This means it will have 2 chances of scoring, either the teammates head in like how Syed did, or if everyone misses the ball, it will go straight into the back of the net. I was really impressed with my free-kick, which was at the right angle and height and Syed was good too to get the header on time. Wow i just can't forget the incidents hehe.

I Have To Say This Again, Ballack Inspires Me! =P

Anyway, i should say all of the team players had really shown great performances that day and a lot of efforts were put in. We made great passes, kept possession most of the time and scored amazing and professional goals. We can prove that our multi-ethnic team which has a mix of chinese, indian, malay and even mamak players is capable of producing wonderful and interesting football. It's sad that we can't train together regularly due to some players who are busy with works and studies, but it's surely great that as an underdog team most of the time, we are able to win teams that train regularly and even teams that play in the current Ipoh's Division League.


Check out CFC's Friendster profile and join its Friendster group to get the team's match fixtures and updates!

Willkommen zurück Michael Ballack!

Welcome Back Michael Ballack!

It has been a while that i've wanted to blog on the only player who inspired me the most in football, the magnificent German skipper Michael Ballack!

It was a very sad, upsetting and disappointing moment for me during the long period of Ballack's absence in the Chelsea squad. I didn't have the mood to watch Chelsea's matches anymore. Ballack injured his ankle during an EPL match against Newcastle United in April 2007. He underwent two major operations to fix his left ankle and he admitted that he thought the serious injury had put an end to his career. Thank God for knowing Ballack is one of the rarest and talented footballer in the world, Ballack's injury healed slowly and he's back to show the world what he is capable of.

The Injury That Nearly Ends Ballack's Career.

The experienced midfielder returned after 8 MONTHS! Damn, i missed him like hell! He has come at the right time to help Chelsea, currently suffering from a mass injury list of key players such as Lampard, Drogba, Terry and Cech. In his four appearances so far, the German international has made an impact, scoring an expertly-taken free-kick against Aston Villa and winning and converting the deciding penalty at Fulham, as well as taking on the captaincy for the time being.

Michael Ballack Back In Action After 8 Months.

He played his first EPL match of the season during the match against Aston Villa in which he replaced Lampard when he limped off with a thigh injury at the 26th minute. For many fans who doubted his fitness after a long-term injury, Ballack proved them wrong by winning a penalty and scoring a thunderous free-kick for the Blues. How about that for a player who had been out from action for 8 months and coming back with a goal and an assist for his club in his first match. Ballack scored the free-kick on the 88th minute, which made many people thought it was a last minute win for Chelsea and that Ballack will surely have his name on the headlines the next day. I'm sure Ballack was very very happy and impressed with his own performance right after the goal but then luck turned to Aston Villa as they won a penalty after the lousy referee pointed to the spot, saying that Ashley Cole used his hand to stop the ball from crossing the line at the 90th minute. Well to me, it didn't look like a handball to me and Ballack was surely frustrated and he got himself booked for arguing with the referee's dubious decision. The decision stood and Villa scored the penalty, which made the final score 4-4 and Ballack couldn't be anymore happier as he failed to make his goal a winning goal.

Ballack Taking The Free-kick Against Aston Villa.

Not long later, Ballack scored his 2nd goal on his 3rd game of the season! 2 goals in 3 matches! No one believed he can get back to the team so fast after an injury as normally players who just come back from injuries would not be 100% fit and not play well. But Ballack showed that he's special and this time he captained Chelsea for the first time since Lampard and Terry were out from injuries. During his 3rd game against Fulham at Craven Cottage, again he won another penalty and this time he took it. His shirt was pulled by Fulham's Dempsey inside the penalty box and the referee had no hesitation awarding a penalty. The 31 years old former Bayern Munich midfielder is a free-kick and penalty specialist, which is why i like him so much. As Ballack has taken hundreds of penalties and scoring most of them in his entire career, he made no mistake by slotting the ball to the left-bottom of the goal. This time Ballack deserved the credit as his winning goal helped Chelsea to earn 3 points.

Ballack Scoring From The Penalty Spot Against Fulham.

I have never been so happy seeing Ballack back in action finally and what's more, scoring 2 goals in his first 3 games. To be honest, watching Ballack plays really gives me a lot of inspirations and improvements in football. He makes me wants to continue playing football and i really improved myself a lot after watching his games, especially when i always imagine and tell myself that i am him. The urge of becoming like him really pushes me to do more on the pitch. I've got a great story to tell next about my recent team's friendly match last Sunday, which is our first big win of the year and probably one of my happiest and unforgettable matches in my life. I've got to say that Ballack is the one who made me played so well during that match because the experiences i had were similar to Ballack's recent comeback. Stay tune for my next blog.

Admit It, Chelsea Needs Ballack!

Michael Ballack is a monster standing at 189cm and weighing 80kg. He's tough as a rock and produces creativity on the pitch. Besides being a free-kick and penalty specialist, he's one of the players who is deadly on the air, making powerful and precise headers. He slides and intercepts with fast paces and sends through balls and long passes in a blink of an eye. He can execute powerful long shots from as far as 25 yards and roars at the opponents who tried to play dirty. Despite the critics of many people, he has shown them that coming over to Chelsea is not a bad choice after all, as he admitted playing with Chelsea had made him a better player. Man, i love football as much as i love Ballack! Hail the number 13! XD

Michael Ballack, My Inspiration.