Gamba Osaka - Champions of Asia

A double from Brazilian striker Lucas inside the opening twenty minutes gave Akira Nishino’s stylish outfit cup glory at a packed-out Hindmarsh Stadium.

First Half

It took Gamba only four minutes to effectively end Adelaide’s hopes of lifting Asian club football’s most prized trophy, doing so in a matter perhaps more befitting an archetypal league encounter than a continental cup final.

However, the nature of the goal highlighted the gulf in class between the two clubs that was apparent across 90 minutes in Japan a week ago.

Midfielder Hayato Sasaki was at the heart of the move, twisting and turning just outside the penalty area with the surrounding Adelaide players simply unable to shackle the 25 year-old.

His eventual shot was parried by 17 year-old Mark Birighitti into the path of the mobile Lucas, who tapped the ball into an empty net.

The sharp movement of the striker was a stark contrast to the lethargy of those defenders around him, both in the lead-up and reaction to a goal that silenced an initially vocal sell-out crowd at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Immediately appearing unable to break down their cultured J-League opponents, Adelaide’s first attempt on goal arrived courtesy of a half-turn by Cristiano outside the box, after which the Brazilian striker’s tame effort was saved comfortably by Fujigaya.

It was only a minute later however that Gamba tore apart the home side’s defence with the simplest of moves.

A complete absence of man-marking from Adelaide was a stark contrast to the apparent impenetrability of the Japanese side’s defense, as Takahiro Futagawa found himself unchallenged inside the Adelaide half.

The Gamba veteran then produced a perfectly-weighted through ball for Brazilian striker Lucas, who spun away from Michael Valkanis with ease before producing a wonderfully delicate finish past Birighitti to make it 5-0 on aggregate.

Cristiano’s disallowed goal on 26 minutes epitomized what was has been a frustrating and fruitless final for Adelaide United, with the Brazilian striker rightly flagged for offside after heading home Jamieson’s cross from close range.

Their defensive frailty was similarly reflected only two minutes later, as Robert Cornthwaite decided to let a cross into the area run free, only to see it arrived to Futagawa at the back-post.

His cushioned header set-up the influential Sasaki, who could only direct his half-volley at Birighitti.

Gamba’s first-leg star Michihiro Yasuda then embarrassed Robert Cornthwaite when he turned the towering full-back on the by-line, before playing the ball back to Hideo Hashimoto, whose close range effort was blocked by the ‘keeper.

Second Half

An improved start to the second-half by Adelaide saw them denied what appeared to be two penalties when Kristian Sarkies and then Cristiano were brought down in the area, with the crowd galvanized by the flurry of attacking pressure from the home side.

Even with a new-found momentum and sense of purpose, Aurelio Vidmar’s men still struggled to break down their opponents, with their first half-chance arriving through a misdirected Diego snap-shot on 62’ minutes.

The fact that it was virtually Adelaide’s last opportunity of the match is an indication of the quality of performance of the Japanese outfit, who comfortably held on to the lead secure their first ever Asian Champions League trophy – just reward for the style of football cultivated by manager Akira Nishino, whose players were quick to hoist up their leader in celebration after the final whistle.

Adelaide 0
Gamba Osaka 2 (Lucas 5', 15')

(Gamba win 5-0 on aggregate)

by: Chris Paraskevas

DPMM FC Update - Shukor Adan plays for DPMM next season

Shukor Adan sah wakili DPMM Brunei musim depan

KUALA LUMPUR, Selasa (Bernama) - Ketua pasukan kebangsaan Mohd Shukor Adan akan mewakili pasukan Brunei Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota (Brunei DPMM) pada saingan bola sepak Liga Super musim depan.

Perkara itu disahkan oleh pengurus pasukan Brunei DPMM, Pengiran Muhd Waslimin Pengiran Abdul Momin kepada Bernama setelah kata sepakat dicapai antara kedua-dua pihak pada awal bulan ini.

"Shukor akan menandatangani kontrak dengan Brunei DPMM dalam masa terdekat setelah selesai tugasannya dengan skuad kebangsaan Malaysia di Myanmar," katanya, Selasa.

Muhd Waslimin memberitahu pemilihan Shukor,yang menjadi buruan mereka sejak bulan lepas, adalah berdasarkan pengalaman dan mutu permainan yang ditunjukkan oleh pemain berusia 29 tahun itu.

"Malah kita juga telah menandatangani dua bekas pemain pasukan Malaysia iaitu Bobby Gonzalez dari Sabah dan pemain pertahanan, Chan Wing Hoong yang bermain untuk Perak musim lepas," katanya.

Sebelum ini, pasukan Brunei DPMM cuba memikat pemain kebangsaan Indra Putra Mahayuddin dengan tawaran gaji yang lumayan tetapi bekas pemain Selangor itu memilih untuk menyarung jersi Kelantan.

Muhd Waslimin berkata pasukannya itu meletakkan sasaran lima tempat teratas pada musim depan yang bermula Januari ini selepas hanya menduduki tangga ke-10 daripada 13 pasukan musim lalu.

Pasukan negara kini menyertai Kejohanan Piala Cabaran Grand Royal Ketiga di Yangon, Myanmar, mulai hari ini hingga 21 Nov ini.

Skuad bimbingan B. Sathianathan itu diletakkan dalam Kumpulan A bersama Ulsa Hondai Club dari Korea Selatan dan skuad bawah 22 tahun Vietnam manakala Myanmar, Indonesia dan Bangladesh membarisi Kumpulan B.

Movie review

007: Quantum Of Solace

[ENG] U
1hr 55mins, SRD, Action
Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Jesper Christensen
Directed by: Marc Forester

"Quantum Of Solace" continues the high-octane adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) where it left off in "Casino Royale". Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth after the betrayal of his beloved Vesper, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr White (Jesper Christensen). Forensic intelligence links an MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where Bond meets the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a major force within the mysterious organisation known as Green Planet. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, Agent 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop his organisation.



Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa


[ENG] U
1hr 40mins, SRD, Animation
Peter Saarsgard, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Andy Richter
Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

When New York Zoo Animals Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo finally leave Madagascar, they find themselves instead stuck in the wilderness of Africa. There, Alex connects with his roots when he meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending most of his life at the Central Park Zoo.

My views..

What's new?? well not much really... i still haven't got a job yet.. i just had an interview last week..so i'm still waiting for the reply. Anyways, there's been a lot of things happening around the world..recently its about the financial crisis that has hit America and the world. It's not the first time that America has been hit by a financial crisis.. they had "The Great Depression" of 1929, where the stock market in wall street crash. The exact date: October 29, 1929, also known as "Black Tuesday". I just hope that everything will be alright...and that i hope the rest if Asia won't be affected by it especially Brunei.

The next big thing, is Barack Obama becoming the first Black American to be President of the United States of America. I've been following his progress since the debate against Hillary Clinton. I would like to congratulate him on this historic success and moment. Most of the people, believes that he is a muslim but infact he's not, as obama himself has said that he is a christian even though he did live in indonesia in the 1960s. As well all know, Indonesia is one the largest muslim populated country. By living in a muslim country, unlike the other president before him, obama knows that Islam is not a religion that teaches people to be a terrorist but its a religion of love and compassion towards others.

Obama Acceptance Speech November 4th 2008

Obama Acceptance Speech Part 1

Obama Acceptance Speech Part 2

Gamba 3-0 Adelaide: Gamba close in on ACL glory

Adelaide's Brazilian duo of Cristiano (right) and Cassio double up on Gamba midfielder Hideo Hashimoto.

OSAKA – Gamba Osaka have one hand on the AFC Champions League trophy after dismantling Adelaide United with a 3-0 victory in the first leg of the final at Expo ’70 Commemorative Stadium on Wednesday.

Brazilian striker Lucas opened the scoring with a deflected shot in the 37th minute and then set up the second for Yasuhito Endo six minutes later.

Michihiro Yasuda volleyed home Gamba’s third in the 68th minute and although Endo had a late goal disallowed, the margin of victory gives Adelaide a mountain to climb in next week’s return match in South Australia.

With Eugene Galekovic still feeling the effects of a groin injury, Gamba tested the Adelaide keeper early on with Myojin sending in a snap shot from 25 yards that was alertly palmed away.

However, the pressure of the home side paid off in the 37th minute as Takahiro Futagawa’s neat pass from the halfway line picked out Lucas in the right channel with only Angelo Costanzo in close attendance.

The Brazilian worked his way to the top of the Adelaide box and although his shot lacked real conviction, it took a deflection off Costanzo and wrong-footed Galekovic as it bounced into the net.

Sota Nakazawa sent a header straight at Galekovic shortly afterwards before Gamba grabbed a second two minutes before half-time after some fine interplay in the Adelaide half.

Hayato Sasaki fed the ball to Lucas and the Brazilian quickly played it to his left to a completely unmarked Endo. The Japan international advanced into the box and fired a low shot across a helpless Galekovic into the far corner of the net.

Travis Dodd crafted his side’s best opportunity early in the second half, sending in a low cross from the right byline that found Robert Cornthwaite. But the Adelaide player failed to make clean contact and the ball eventually went over the crossbar after a scramble in front of goal.

Sasa Ognenovski deflected a shot by Lucas into the side netting but from the resulting corner in the 68th minute, Endo picked out an unmarked Yasuda, whose first-time volley from the top of the Adelaide box bounced past a crowd of players into the net.

Gamba continued to press for more goals and were unfortunate not to add a fourth as substitute Roni fired over in the 75th minute before Masato Yamazaki saw his shot tipped over by Galekovic seven minutes from time.

Endo then fired home a free-kick in stoppage time but the effort was disallowed after referee Abdul Malik Bashir spotted an infringement in the box.

Barack Obama Becomes US President ~ Historic Moment

Democrat Barack Obama was elected as the first black president of the United States of America on Tuesday night.

The 47-year-old senator from Illinois defeated Republican Sen. John McCain. Officials said voters came out in record numbers on Election Day — 130 to 140 million people.

The crowd is going wild in Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama will give his first public speech as president-elect.

Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President on January 20, 2009.