Saturday, August 09, 2008
My True Blue Adventure!
My training cum match date with my Chelsea boys was slightly more than a week ago and yes, still no entry. I should really write one real soon shouldn't I, before it gets old. I'm still in yay-i-watched-chelsea-LIVE mode but the excitement has expectedly died down a little.
The tripwas is awesome! Seeing them play LIVE is rather surreal. Because i know I have mentioned too many times that I'd like to see them play LIVE. But I've never really thought it'd happen. BUT it did, it did. And i was a HAPPY SFQ when it did!
So i will try to recount details of the trip via pictures I've taken. Please close one eye and not be bothered by the lack of quality of the pictures. Thank you very much (:
...because when Michael started to walk in, somehow people from behind managed to squeezed themselves in front of me. And even the tiptoed me couldn't see whats happening. So all i got was a picture of people holding up their camera...
...or so i thought! When i was looking at all the pictures again for the 10th or 11th time, i realised that Michael is indeed in the picture i took! ok, more like the back of his head. But that's good enough.
Can i be a sports reporter when i grow up? So i can go to press conferences and score chances to interview sportsmen. And maybe sent to places to cover news on the World Cup or EURO Cup. Or even sent to Stamford Bridge to cover a Chelsea FC match.
I may not get any autographs of the players. But i have the pretty training pass for keepsake! And i placed it right next to my bed so i'd be constantly reminded of the awesome 2 days I had with my Chelsea boys. And i still wear it sometimes, because i like the feel of it around my neck.
TV usually only show snippets of training sessions. But we saw the whole 1+ hours of it. From the warming up, to the practice match to the warming down. And i get to see John Terry, all fit and tall.
Yes, I was THAT far. But with the help of the person next to me, we managed to figure out who is who.
Petr Cech during his training with the goalkeeper coach.
Even Stamford, the Chelsea mascot, was there.
Ballack and Deco. Ballack is freaking tall. Freaking.
I like how the players moved like they did on tv. It'd make me appreciate them more i think, the next time i watch them on TV. Like how Lamps kinda slouched and put his hand on his waist before taking a free kick. and then move back a little before kicking the ball down low with a move that is uniquely his. and how JT looked so calm, collected and cool when he tackled a player off the ball. Ah!
Even the LIVE Lamps looked alot like the TV Lamps when he did that arms up, clap pose. Again, a fraction of a second too late. He was looking over at my side just a few millisecond before this shot was taken.
Sheva. I pity this guy. He's really having a psychological battle, with himself. Which explains the many lacklustre performances. But i'd still like to see him do good.
Steve Clarke (asst manager) and Michael Essien, the hardworker.
Wayne Bridge, Obi Mikel. Err, i don't know who is the third guy. I was contemplating if it's Franco Di Santo. But i highly doubt so.
Ricardo Carvalho! I like this guy. But then again, i always have a liking for defenders. And i wondered if the guy behind him is Franco Di Santo. Even if Di Santo is the one in this picture or the picture before, the shots didn't do justice to him. So I just have to post a picture of him i found online.
I save the best for the last - John Terry!
One of my favourite part of the trip has to be meeting other Chelsea fans from all over. Like Tiffany and her mum, who are Malaysians. We first met them in the train on the way to Shah Alam. They spotted my dad's Chelsea shirt and asked if we're heading to the stadium and that we should stop at that station. Or else, we would have missed the stop.
Petr Cech, warming up before the match.
We got a pretty good view, much better than we had during training session.
I like how the Malaysian fans proudly put on the Malaysian team kits and support the team with so much passion and zest. Even those with the Chelsea jerseys still root for the Malaysian team when the players attacked.
What i like about LIVE matches is you can choose what you'd like to see. As opposed to watching matches on TV, where you see whatever view the TV people chooses for you. In LIVE matches at the stadium, you can look at what your goalie is doing even when the ball is at the other side of the pitch, and scream "Cudicini! what are you doing so far out from the box?!"
This was a few minutes after Wright-Phillips was fouled.
Frank Lampard, about to take a free kick. I like it when this dude takes free kicks. And corner kicks.
The stadium was almost fully filled.
And the match ended 2-0 to Chelsea.
And another poster found near the stadium. Apparently the organiser didn't distribute it but just left it on the floor. So a few of us, me included, saw them lying helplessly on the floor and gladly picked them up. Yayy.
Totally.
The trip
So i will try to recount details of the trip via pictures I've taken. Please close one eye and not be bothered by the lack of quality of the pictures. Thank you very much (:
1) Supposed autograph signing session with Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard
Supposed, because it never happened. The papers reported that there will be an autograph session with the 2 players at an Adidas shop in a mall in KL. But it ended up to be a private event where only authorised figures can enter, which really is a bummer. Because we stood there for freaking 1.5 hours. But then again, i heard some fans waited for more than 3 hours.
Even when we found out the autograph session wasn't going to happen, I still insisted on staying. I wanted to catch a glimpse of the 2 players. I know I'd get to catch more than one glimpse of them during the training and match. But i'm just kiasu that way.
Unfortunately, I didn't get that glimpse. It went too fast and the crowd were unbelievably more kiasu than me. Lamps didn't even show up ok. Only Michael Ballack did.
I was about 3 people away from the front row. I tried to snap a picture and see if i'd get at least a picture of his face. From this shot, i thought chances were pretty good. But that was pretty naive of me...
...because when Michael started to walk in, somehow people from behind managed to squeezed themselves in front of me. And even the tiptoed me couldn't see whats happening. So all i got was a picture of people holding up their camera...
Can i be a sports reporter when i grow up? So i can go to press conferences and score chances to interview sportsmen. And maybe sent to places to cover news on the World Cup or EURO Cup. Or even sent to Stamford Bridge to cover a Chelsea FC match.
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2) Chelsea FC training session at Shah Alam Stadium, 28 July 2008
I may not get any autographs of the players. But i have the pretty training pass for keepsake! And i placed it right next to my bed so i'd be constantly reminded of the awesome 2 days I had with my Chelsea boys. And i still wear it sometimes, because i like the feel of it around my neck.
Thanks to the supposed autograph session that never happened, we reached the stadium late. The players are already out on the pitch. BUT i was still happy. Very happy. Because that was the first time i set my sight on my Chelsea boys. And not via a TV screen, mind you. Though i can hardly make out the faces of the players, seeing them LIVE still feel pretty good.
My two favouritest goalie EVER - Carlo Cudicini and Petr Cech. I always somehow snapped pictures a fraction of a second too late. Else, I would have gotten snapshot of their faces.
My two favouritest goalie EVER - Carlo Cudicini and Petr Cech. I always somehow snapped pictures a fraction of a second too late. Else, I would have gotten snapshot of their faces.
TV usually only show snippets of training sessions. But we saw the whole 1+ hours of it. From the warming up, to the practice match to the warming down. And i get to see John Terry, all fit and tall.
Yes, I was THAT far. But with the help of the person next to me, we managed to figure out who is who.
Petr Cech during his training with the goalkeeper coach.
Even Stamford, the Chelsea mascot, was there.
Ballack and Deco. Ballack is freaking tall. Freaking.
I like how the players moved like they did on tv. It'd make me appreciate them more i think, the next time i watch them on TV. Like how Lamps kinda slouched and put his hand on his waist before taking a free kick. and then move back a little before kicking the ball down low with a move that is uniquely his. and how JT looked so calm, collected and cool when he tackled a player off the ball. Ah!
Even the LIVE Lamps looked alot like the TV Lamps when he did that arms up, clap pose. Again, a fraction of a second too late. He was looking over at my side just a few millisecond before this shot was taken.
Deco! I tried taking lots of shots of Deco, because Sheena is a fan of his. But sorry Sheena, most of the shots i got are all very blur.
Deco is definitely a promising player and one to watch when season starts. He really impressed me, during training AND match.
Sheva. I pity this guy. He's really having a psychological battle, with himself. Which explains the many lacklustre performances. But i'd still like to see him do good.
Steve Clarke (asst manager) and Michael Essien, the hardworker.
Wayne Bridge, Obi Mikel. Err, i don't know who is the third guy. I was contemplating if it's Franco Di Santo. But i highly doubt so.
Ricardo Carvalho! I like this guy. But then again, i always have a liking for defenders. And i wondered if the guy behind him is Franco Di Santo. Even if Di Santo is the one in this picture or the picture before, the shots didn't do justice to him. So I just have to post a picture of him i found online.
Girls, meet Mr Good Looking. He's Argentinian and he's 19 years young.
Boys, meet Franco Di Santo. He's a striker, he plays some great football and scored a couple of goals during the pre-season Asian Tour.
I save the best for the last - John Terry!
One of my favourite part of the trip has to be meeting other Chelsea fans from all over. Like Tiffany and her mum, who are Malaysians. We first met them in the train on the way to Shah Alam. They spotted my dad's Chelsea shirt and asked if we're heading to the stadium and that we should stop at that station. Or else, we would have missed the stop.
After the training session, my dad and I, together with Tiffany and her mum, met a couple from Sabah and had a great time talking about all things Chelsea and lamented about the tragic loss agst manU during last season's Champions League Finals. It's comforting to know that they were equally distraught as i was.
It feels really good, being in a place with sooooo many Chelsea fans.
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3) Match Day - Chelsea vs Malaysia, 29 July 2008
I'm so keeping the match tix! And laminate it. Or frame it. Or something.
I'm so keeping the match tix! And laminate it. Or frame it. Or something.
Petr Cech, warming up before the match.
We got a pretty good view, much better than we had during training session.
I can figure out which player is which and see the numbers and names on the back of their jerseys. Thanks to Tiffany! Who saved us 2 seats. In fact, Tiffany helped us alot throughout our True Blue adventure. Chelsea fans are such nice people (:
I like how the Malaysian fans proudly put on the Malaysian team kits and support the team with so much passion and zest. Even those with the Chelsea jerseys still root for the Malaysian team when the players attacked.
My Chelsea boys rock clocks though. They played awesome, in my eyes at least. I've gotten feedback from other fans who said Chelsea didn't play good this match. But I think they played great. I'm probably blinded by the fact that i'm freaking watching my boys play LIVE. I insist on only seeing the good and see past anything bad.
What i like about LIVE matches is you can choose what you'd like to see. As opposed to watching matches on TV, where you see whatever view the TV people chooses for you. In LIVE matches at the stadium, you can look at what your goalie is doing even when the ball is at the other side of the pitch, and scream "Cudicini! what are you doing so far out from the box?!"
And I can even hear the players shouting at one another. Brilliant.
This was a few minutes after Wright-Phillips was fouled.
Frank Lampard, about to take a free kick. I like it when this dude takes free kicks. And corner kicks.
The stadium was almost fully filled.
Atmosphere was breath-taking. Though I'd still like to experience the atmosphere in Stamford Bridge.
What's not fun is when we were queueing to enter the stadium. The crowd got pretty rowdy. There was alot of cutting queues and pushing. But we got in unscathed, so all is good.
And the match ended 2-0 to Chelsea.
Experience is needless to say, PRICELESS.
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he, who agreed to come along for the True Blue Adventure. I have the bestest dad in the whole wide world, no kidding.
I got this poster from the Chelsea fan from Sabah i met during the training session. I'll take any souvenior i can get. Jersey from John Terry seems too much to ask for. So poster is good enough.
And another poster found near the stadium. Apparently the organiser didn't distribute it but just left it on the floor. So a few of us, me included, saw them lying helplessly on the floor and gladly picked them up. Yayy.
Totally.
And I'm looking forward to the next season which officially starts next weekend!
(:
Labels: chelsea