Minggu, 14 Agustus 2011

Edin Dzeko, Bosnian's Football Icon




Everyone must be know who is one of the most expensive strikers in Premiership. Yep! Edin Dzeko is the one.

This Bosnian footballer currently playing for Manchester City, a rich club in the UK. He may has not showed his best but his goal against Manchester United in Community Shield last week obviously proved his quality.

Dzeko was born in Sarajevo, on 17th March 1986. He lived during the Bosnia war. He recalled; "It was a hard time for everyone in the country. There wasn't much to eat, not really enough for three meals a day. I was very afraid every day. We were always having to hide when shots rang out or bombs fell. You could get shot at any time. I cried a lot in those days. Thank God the war is in the past." Ouch, it's terrible!

“I was six when the war started,” he said. “It was terrible. My house was destroyed so we went to live with my grandparents. The whole family was there, maybe 15 people all staying in an apartment about 35metres square. It was very hard. We were stressed every day in case somebody we knew died,” he added.


“A lot of footballers start to play kicking a ball around in the street but for me that was impossible, when the war finished I was much stronger, mentally. After the war I played with my friends in the streets, at school, then my father took me to Zeljeznicar,” he finalised.



A 1.92 metres guy had ever played for Bosnian clubs, FK Željezničar and FK Teplice, and Bundesliga club, VfL Wolfsburg. He played successfully at Wolfsburg, even he started brightly, with five goals in the first twelve matches. Last season was a different story, though, as Dzeko became half of the most successful strikeforce in Bundesliga history alongside Brazilian frontman Grafite, beating Gerd Mueller and Uli Hoeness's record from 1972-73. Dzeko notched 26 of the pair's 54 goals which helped propel Wolfsburg to the Bundesliga title. Amazing eh?

Felix Magath, Wolfs' manager said: "He is just the kind of striker a club would wish for. He is unselfish, has an accurate shot and header, and knows what to do with the ball the moment he receives it."

His successful at German made some English clubs interested to sign him. They are Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City. But he preferred Eastlands club to be his next destination as they bid the best price.


Trivia:

^^ Edin Dzeko voted as Bundesliga Best Player of The Year in 2009 by Kicker magazine.

^^ Dzeko is a Muslim but he admits that he prays once a day instead of the traditional five times. Err, Dzekooooooo!

Senin, 18 Juli 2011

Stewart Downing, Our New Wing


Kamis lalu, tanggal 14 Juli, berita menggembirakan datang dari kota pelabuhan, Liverpool. Winger timnas Inggris--yang sudah diburu The Reds sejak jendela transfer dibuka--Stewart Downing, akhirnya bergabung ke klub peraih 18 titel Liga Inggris tersebut.

Stewie, yang sebelumnya bermain untuk Aston Villa, datang ke Melwood untuk melakukan tes medis. Pelatih Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish--yang tengah berada di Asia dalam rangka tur pra musim--bahkan rela terbang lebih awal ke Inggris demi menyelesaikan proses transfer pemain 26 tahun itu.

Pemain kelahiran 22 Juli 1984 itu sempat merumput dengan Middlesborough sejak tahun 2001 hingga tahun 2009 dan pernah dipinjamkan ke Sunderland pada tahun 2003. Pada musim panas 2009 dia bergabung dengan Aston Villa lantaran M'borough terdegradasi.

Stewie yang berpostur 1.80 m itu telah 27 kali memperkuat timnas senior Inggris (per 18 Juli 2011). Dia juga dinobatkan sebagai Player of The Season 2010/11 oleh Aston Villa.

Hari ini Liverpool mengkonfirmasi bahwa Stewart Downing akan memakai nomor punggung 19 musim depan. Seperti halnya di klub-klub sebelumnya maupun di timnas, pemain yang gemar nge-DJ di klub malam ini selalu memakai nomor 19. Entah ada magis apa dengan nomor tersebut.

Well, jujur saja saya sangat bahagia dengan transfer pemain kali ini. Mengapa? Yah, saya sudah mengamati skill Stewie sejak dia bermain untuk The Boro. Umpan matangnya dari sayap kiri sangat memanjakan para penyerang. Saya berharap--Stewie yang tidak lain sahabat dekat Andy Carroll--akan mudah beradaptasi dan mendukung pergerakan sang striker tersebut.

Mungkin beberapa fans tidak setuju dengan kedatangan winger--yang hendak menginjak 27 tahun bulan ini--lantaran harganya yang terlalu mahal yakni 20 juta pounds atau setara dengan 971 unit mobil Pajero Sport Exceed. Halah! Bagi saya tidak masalah bila dia dihargai semahal itu. Jika manajemen menyanggupi angka tersebut, itu berarti Stewie memang bukanlah pemain sembarangan.

Jadi sebaiknya kita tetap mendukung setiap keputusan yang diambil klub. Selama itu tidak menimbulkan dampak negatif, mengapa tidak?

Well, You'll Never Walk Alone!

Welcome Back

Yeah! Finally I come back! It's been 3 months since my last post.

Nah, nothing wrong with me. I just feel lazy to write. Umm..

Well let's blogging! Enjoy!

Selfish Territory: 14 Things About Xabi Alonso

Selfish Territory: 14 Things About Xabi Alonso

Minggu, 24 April 2011

Hattrick Maxi Hempaskan Brummies

Sabtu malam (waktu Indonesia) yang indah bagi Liverpudlian. Kenapa?

Liverpool berhasil "meluluhlantakkan" armada Birmingham City dengan skor telak 5-0 di Anfield. Adalah Maxi Rodriguez aktor pencetak hattrick malam itu. Dua gol lain dicetak oleh Dirk Kuyt dan ex Chelsea, Joe Cole.

Gak ada yang menyangka sebelumnya kalo Maxi bakal cetak 3 gol. Selain karena dia sering dibangkucadangkan, dia juga kerap tampil buruk saat diturunkan pelatih. Dia bahkan masuk daftar pemain yang akan dijual musim panas ini. Namun aksi impresifnya menjawab keraguan fans. :D

Selain Maxi, Joe Cole—yang keberadaannya nyaris terlupakan—juga mencetak gol terakhir The Reds setelah masuk di menit ke 84 menggantikan Maxi. Selebrasinya pun gak berlebihan. Cool.

Tapi jangan lupakan aktor utama dalam pertandingan tersebut. Ialah Luis Suarez. Mungkin pemain asal Uruguay ini gak mencetak gol, tapi dia menyumbang assist bagi terciptanya gol Maxi. Suarez juga sempat beberapa kali mengancam gawang Colin Doyle namun finishing-nya kurang sempurna.

Dengan hasil ini Liverpool hanya terpaut 3 poin dari Spurs di peringkat 5 dan 4 poin dari Man. City di peringkat 4. Sementara The Kop masih akan berhadapan dengan Spurs di gameweek 37 :D bismillah^^ YNWA