TRAVEL LIGHT

Tatlong Pinoy, Tatlong laban, Tatlong Bagsak!!!

Sa muli ipinakita ng Pinoy sa buong mundo ang husay at galing nito sa boksing ng pabagsakin nila Manny Pacquiao, Brian Viloria at Rey Bautista ang kanilang mga kalaban kahapon sa STAPLES Center sa Los Angeles.

Manny Pacquiao stopped Hector Velasquez by TKO in the 6th round.

Fil-Am Brian Viloria (right) scored a first round knockout over Eric Ortiz to win the WBC Light Flyweight championship.

Rey Bautista (right) knocked out Felix Flores in the third round of a scheduled eight round bout.

Mabuhay kayo Manny Pacquiao! Brian Viloria! at Rey Bautista! Binigyan ninyo nang pag-asa at karangalan ang ating bayan.

Sana ang susunod na laban, laban sa mga TRAPONG ganid at gahaman…at dapat first round pa lang knockout agad ang mga lintek na pulitiko!

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Photos taken from: fightnews.com

It’s UEFA Champions League Season once again. The UEFA Champions League 2005-2006 season Group Stage competition will kick-off on Wednesday, September 13,2005.

There are 32-teams in the group stage. The clubs are split into eight groups of four teams, who play home and away against each of their pool opponents between September and December to decide which two teams from each pool advance to the first knockout round. The third-place finishers in each pool enter the UEFA Cup Round of 32. The 2005/06 UEFA Champions League final will be played at the Stade de France in Paris as the competition returns to its roots in its 50th anniversary year.

My teams for this Champions League season are Real Madrid and Barcelona. This season will be the debut of a strong Brazilian reinforced line up of the Los Galacticos. Real’s new recruits, Robinho and Julio Cesar Baptista will add glitter to the starry team up of Ronaldo, Raul, Zidane and Beckham. And of course there’s also Barcelona, also led by Brazilian stars, Ronaldinho and Deco, which remains a favorite in the Champions League.

Too much excitement is promised by this footballing season. The UEFA Champions League season serves as a curtain raiser to the most awaited event of the footballing world – the FIFA World Cup which will kick-off on June 2006 in Germany. Immediately after the UEFA Champions League finals in May 2006, FIFA World Cup begins.

UEFA Champions League matches are shown in live telecast at ESPN and Star Sports Channels. In the midst of an ongoing political imbroglio our country is facing today, this footballing season will be a perfect respite.

Not even the most serious political scandal in our country can take away my passion for football. In the midst of an intensfying political turmoil I’m still football crazy. And one thing that makes me gaga over football is Brazil . In the world of football, God is Brazilian, and I’m a believer.

After being defeated by Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Qualifying rounds three weeks ago, Brazil once again reminded the world that they are still Lords of the Beautiful Game. In Frankfurt, Germany, the Samba stars lifted the FIFA Confederation Cup after defeating arch-rival Argentina in the tournament finals with a commanding 4-1 victory. Brazil’s most famous star Ronaldo wasn’t in the team but he surely wasn’t missed as spectators relished the footballing brilliance of Brazil’s new rising stars, Adriano, Robinho, Kaka and of course the awe inspiring, Ronaldinho. The host team, Germany got the third place after defeating Mexico. The FIFA Confederation Cup tournament has given footballing fans all over the world something to whet the appetite for the coming World Cup 12 months from now. The tournament has already given the world a taste of how Brazil will defend its fifth World Cup crown.

(Photo credits: www.fifaworldcup.com)

Here’s a montage of my idols and all-time favourites.

(From left to right, top to bottom)

* my partner in life Bambit, Jacques De Molay, Gary Granada, Matsuo Basho, Trevanian, Sophia Loren, Pablo Neruda, Efren “Bata” Reyes, John Lennon, Ursula Andres, Al Capone, Albert Einstein, Muhammad Ali, Asia Carrera, The Baptist, Bart Simpson, Bjorn Borg, Andres Bonifacio, Marlon Brando, The Carabao, Beavis and Butthead, Woodstock, Bob Marley, Barangay Tanod, Bruce Lee, The Beatles, Che Guevarra, Cheech and Chong, Robert De Niro, Charles Darwin, Blondie, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Conrad De Quiros, Jose “Pepe” Diokno, Donovan, Prince Vlad Dracula, Bob Dylan, Martina Hingis, The Filipino Peasant, Hassan Al Bana, Jose Feliciano, Ho Chi Minh, Hugh Hefner, Sir Isaac Newton, Isabelle Allende, Wolverine, James Bond, Victor Jara, Pinoy Jeepney Driver, Jess Santiago, Jimmy Page, The Evangelist, Joni Mitchel, Crisanto Evangelista, The Katipuneros, Himura Kenshin, Jack Kerouac, Sultan Kudarat, Lean Alejandro, Vladimir Lenin, Pele, Lualhati Bautista, FC Barcelona, Malcolm X, The Filipino Workers, Martin Luther King, Karl Marx, Moreihi Ueshiba, Mother Theresa, Nancy Kwan, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Noel Cabangon, Prof. Nur Misuari, Al Pacino, Pete Sampras, The First Filipino Propagandists, Pugad Baboy, Pancho Villa, Robert Ludlum, Ronaldo, Ustadz Hashim Salamat, Sting, San Miguel Beer, Sugar Ray Leonard, Lorenzo “Ka Tanny” Tanada, Bertolt Brecht, James Taylor, Tetchie Agbayani, Ronaldinho, Vincent Van Gogh, The Unknown Soldier, Yasser Arafat, Zinedine Zidane, The Sakadas, Mad Comics, Tanduay Rum, Bagong Bayani – our OFW’s, Real Madrid FC and my Maia.

It was simply incredible as it was astonishing.

Whoever had watched the UEFA Championship Finals last night was regaled with football at its purest. The 2005 UEFA Champions League finals can be considered as one of the most dramatic and finest moments in European Football history.

The match started with AC Milan leading by 3 goals after the first half with Liverpool FC nil. Every footballer, fan or player, knows that to catch up and equalize to a lead by 3 goals in the remaining forty five minutes is a feat that is almost impossible to achieve. But in a sudden twist at the second half, Liverpool FC in a remarkable turnaround scored succesive goals equalizing the game by 3-3. Everyone who witnessed the game and perhaps including the players themselves were gripped by a mixture of fascination and disbelief. The final whistle was blown with a socre tied to 3-3 by full time. The excitement increased as an added extra time ensued with both teams coming out with a clean sheet.

The moment of truth came as the tie was to be broken and the winner to be decided through a penalty shoot-out. The first kickers from each team has once again levelled the score to a tie . The decisive kick was to be made by AC Milan’s Andrey Shevchenko, Europe’s Player of the Year. But an inspired Jerzy Dudek, Liverpool’s goal keeper, saved the ball and denied AC Milan and it’s legion of fans the taste of victory. Liverpool FC team song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” resonated in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium as Steven Gerrard, captain of Liverpool FC lifted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Cup. This fairytale match made Liverpool FC back to the top rank of European football after twenty years.

Every football match is decided by whoever scores most goals. My team, AC Milan lost not because they played poorly but simply because they missed to deliver the last decisive goal. And admittedly I admire Liverpool FC for having played a football deserving the Champion’s Cup.

There’s one good reason why I’m going to be awake at 2:30 in the morning of Thursday, May 26.

Nope, I’m not going to watch an allignment of planets or a meteor shower (heaven forbid!)….

I’m going to watch the UEFA Champions League Finals shown live at ESPN Channel !!!

Istanbul, Turkey will host this big football event. The 2005 UEFA Champions League finals match will be played by two of Europe’s successful Clubs, Italy’s AC Milan (The Rossoneri) and England’s Liverpool FC (The Reds).

Surely this is going to be one spectacular match. In both their club’s history, this is going to be the first time that they will be facing each other in a final match to capture Europe’s most coveted Champions League Cup. And for this match, I’ll go for the Rossoneri!! AC Milan’s Kaka, Sheva, Crespo, Cafu and Maldini are among my favorite footballers.

I was about to have a change of heart. From being a Madridista (Real Madrid Fan) I plan to become a Barcadista, having FC Barcelona as my team of choice. The performance of Real Madrid during their past matches in both the UEFA Champions League and the Primera Liga was a dismal failure. Barcelona on their hand had maintained their lead in the Spanish Primera Liga. Both teams however failed to make it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Last night I decided to postpone my impending transfer of affection. I was awake from 1:00 AM till 3:00 AM watching a Spanish Primera Liga match between Real Madrid and league leader FC Barcelona shown live at ESPN. It was such a great match apty coined by the commentators as El Grande Clasico. Of course there’s no other superlative than can describe a match between the two giant arch-rivals of the Spanish league than that of being a Great Classic.

The match was held in Santiago Bernabeau, Real Madrid’s home stadium filled by a massive crowd of 78,500 spectators. Both teams treated the spectators with awe by showing spectacular football from kick-off till fulltime. The Los Galacticos, as what Real Madrid team is called by its adoring fans, crushed the visiting Catalans with a 4-2 victory. This made the Los Galacticos closer to claiming the lead in the overall Spanish league standing.

At the start of the match I was a bit confused as to where I’m going to put my bet on. At first I intended to cheer for Barcelona. But less than 20 minutes of the first half time play, I saw a Real Madrid team playing football the way that made me fell in love with them. A performance of pure and classic football. A cohesive teamwork, fluidity of movements, perfect set pieces, deadly attacking tactics and the ability to shoot at will. The team of stars, thats why they’re called Los Galacticos, shone brightly during that match. Individual attacking skills of Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul and Owen complimented with intelligent set plays provided by the genius of David Beckham sealed their victory for the night. This made me cheer for my almost to be abandoned team, Real Madrid. But strangely enough, when given a chance i found myself also cheering for the other side.

Barca played with equal class and flamboyance under the compass of their maestro, FIFA player of the Year, Ronaldinho. But luck was not on their side. The Catalans failed to break a Maginot-Line-like defense that Real Madrid had readied for them. With much grit, Barca through the brilliance of their gifted striker Eto’o was able to hammer a shot on goal, while the magic of Ronaldinho’s free kick gave them their second goal. There were chances for Barca that can level the score but Iker Casillas, Real’s ever dependable goalkeeper, was always there to frustrate them. Though defeated, Barca proved itself to be a most worthy opponent.

What a superb match indeed! It made me revise my decision. Why should I abandon one and chose the other when I can get the best of two worlds by patronizing both teams. For me, a match between this two great teams is not a competition. It doesnt matter who wins or who lost. In the end, the premium I get from watching a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona is a delightful affirmation of why Pele called football the Beautiful Game.