The Making of a New Season

Thought the new season has already began? No, not for the Hong Kong Division One which will only begin on Friday, 31st Aug. And speaking of changes, think the HK league tops the list not only with players leaving, coach switching, but change of team names and more…

Picture of The Day: Hello, Andesron!

Image via Soccer Memes

We saw this picture all over Facebook today, and as Photoshop is so popular nowadays, of course we have to double check with some match video clips. And guess what? Yes, this picture is real. Man Utd tries to expand their squad by signing Andesron. 



Sir, How do you pronounce your name, please?

The Beginning of 2012/2013 Season

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After such busy summer with Euro 2012 and Olympics one after another, the new season has finally began,. The Premier League and La Liga both started during the weekend, and of course The 12th Man has a lot to update our readers, as many changes had made in many clubs.

Community Shield: First Trophy for Man City

Image via Zimbio

Community Shield indicates the new season is just around the corner. Sorry for missing in action and lack of updates lately, we were just enjoying the summer holiday like what our footballers always do. Since now they are all back in action, so do we. After a busy summer with Euro 2012 and Olympics occupying our TV lately, the beginning of new season is going to slow down our life a bit, back to the usual weekend routine.

Pre-Season Tour: Gunners to set Bukit Jalil on Fire

Behold fellow Gooners, the Gunners have finally touched down in Kuala Lumpur, kicking off their pre-season Asia tour. We were very lucky to be invited by the ProEvents, the promoter of the tour, to attend the Arrival Press Conference.

Euro 2012: Spain, The Unstoppable

Image via Zimbio

Four years ago, they became the champion of Euro 2008; two years ago, they added another title to their pocket, the World Cup champion, and when people think that must be the top a team can ever be. Now, they became the first team in history to lift three major trophies in a row and becomes the first team who successfully defended the Euro Cup champion. World Cup awaits them in two years time, with such great players and talented youth in the team, it seems possible for them to lift the World Cup trophy once again.

Euro 2012: Group D Sum-up

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Just a quick update today on Group D, as we need some sleep to know who will be the last two teams to qualify into next stage. Okay, here we go:

Euro 2012: Group C Sum-up

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Being the defending champion, Spain didn’t come out very strongly. In the same group as Italy and Croatia, they do have some challenges to face. Today, Spain is going to take on Croatia and Italy plays again already-out Ireland. Who do you think will stay in the tournament?

Euro 2012: Group B Sum-up

The outcome in Group B after two rounds is probably the most shocking among all? Yes, they are the group of Death, so we have expected some dramas in the group, but never thought the biggest failure would be Netherlands. One of the finalist in the World Cup might not be able to make their way through in Euro 2012, hmmmm that’s shocking!

Euro 2012: Group A Sum-up

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Pretty sure quite a number of us (probably all!) were surprised by the outcome of the first two rounds, nothing else, just the unexpected results are enough. Or, you can add the poor referee quality (not that surprise as they barely improved) to it?

Euro 2012: Players to Look Out For

Image via UEFA

With the Euro 2012 in less than a day to go, in no particular order, we present you our list of players who will keep your football radar beeping throughout the entire tournament.

Say Goodbye to Cristiano Cordeiro

Photos by Karen Chan

Sun Hei footballer Cristiano Cordeiro played his last football game on Sunday, in Mongkok stadium with a lot of fans and friends. Cordeiro, now 38 years old, dedicated his best time for Hong Kong football, played for SCAA and Sun Hei in his 14 years time in Hong Kong. He also gave up his Brazilian citizenship in order to represent Hong Kong in the international stage.

Kitchee vs TSW Pegasus: Emotional FA Cup Final Turns Violent

At first glance of this picture, it kinds of reminded me of El Clasico. Yeah, I know Kitchee and TSW Pegasus can be in no way compare with Barcelona and Real Madrid, but isn’t this scene familiar? Didn’t El Clasico usually end with some red cards and fights? Need not to emphasize how much we dislike such scenes as they always ruined a great match. Alright, let’s get back to the topic.

Weekend Sum-up: The Blues Continued to Shine, and more…

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For many years, the football world had been filled with the red colour, Man Utd, AC Milan, Spain national team, and so on. This season, however, the colour has finally changed, to the Blues. Man City won the Premier League; Chelsea won the Champions League for the first time during the weekend and in Hong Kong, Kitchee lifted the league champion trophy again.

Weekend Sum-up: Madrid Celebrates Victory, and more…

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Sorry for the late update as we had a busy week. Real Madrid confirms to be the Champion of this season’s La Liga, but in Premier League, and Hong Kong League, chances are there for a huge turnover at the very last game. Both Manchester teams have 86 points; Kitchee and TSW Pegasus are just 1 point apart. So…Will there be a huge turn over? Or will City and Kitchee end up keeping their lead? We will find out soon enough.

Weekend Sum-up: Championship, Play-offs and more…

Image via Zimbio

So the football season is coming to an end. Championship teams played their last games during the weekend, now all eyes are on the play-offs, wondering who will be the third team joining Premier League next season. Dramas seems to continue in the Premier League, Wigan looks set to earn themselves another season in the Premier League, pretty amazing huh? As for the Hong Kong league, title run is over for SCAA and Sun Hei after they lost the FA Cup games on Sunday. To top all these news? How about Hodgson will be the next England manager?

Weekend Sum-up: Barcelona Crashed and more…

Image via Zimbio

Another eventful weekend had passed. La Liga title run seems to have come to an end, whereas City seems to stand a chance in winning Premier League title again after the surprising outcome between Man Utd and Everton. Reading has confirmed their promotion to Premier League next season but who will be the second team joining Reading for a direct promotion? Kitchee looking good in claiming the title but will Pegasus turn it around after losing two games in a row?

League Cup Final: Kitchee vs TSW Pegasus

Sunday was the big day for League Cup final between Kitchee and TSW Pegasus. Both teams have chances to win League Cup champion, League champion and FA Cup champion, but being the better team throughout 90 minutes on Sunday. Kitchee claimed their first trophy of the season. Winning the game with a 2-1 scoreline.

Weekend Sum-up: Series B Tragedy and more…

Image via Zimbio

Another unquiet weekend. Before we talk about England FA Cup, Premier League, Hong Kong League Cup final and La Liga, we would like to send our condolences to Italian Series B player, Morosini’s family and friends.

Weekend Sum-up: Arsenal Shatters City’s Dreams and more…

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Premier League, La Liga and Hong Kong First Division are all moving toward the end of the season, ‘Who will win the title?’ becomes the main concern to all football fans. So, will it be Man United or Man City? Real Madrid or Barcelona? Kitchee or TSW Pegasus?

Weekend Sum-up: Championship Gets Exciting and more…

Image via Zimbio

What caught our attention this weekend, was the Championship game between West Ham and Reading. Both teams are fighting for a direct promotion space to the Premier League, yet after the defeat on Saturday, Reading is already 4 points ahead of West Ham. Talking about losing precious points, in Premier League, Man City drew Sunderland on Saturday and  in Hong Kong Local League, SCAA and Pegasus both drew and lost points that may help them win the champion.

Weekend Sum-up: Hong Kong FA Cup First Round and more…

 

Which one of these interest you more? Man City continues to lose points? Real Madrid continues to lead the La Liga table? Or Hong Kong Sapling managed to qualify for FA Cup second round after penalty shootouts with Tuen Mun? Guess I shall start with our local league first.

Weekend Sum-up: Pray for Muamba and more…

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You must have gotten bored of us saying, ‘It was a crazy weekend.’ Yet, it was really one crazy weekend after another. Shall we begin with Torres scored two goals (yes, he finally scores.)? Or Real Madrid finally stopped winning? Or Pegasus and Citizen scored 10 goals in their game? Before we mention all these, we would like to dedicate this post to Bolton player Muamba, who is still in hospital fighting for his life. We really hope he will get well soon!

European Leagues Wrap-up: Manchester OUT!

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Guess no one expected both Manchester teams to leave Europa so soon? Or you have expected that because you think both teams want to concentrate on Premier League? How about Chelsea? Did you expect them to be the only English team standing and made such a comeback after sacking AVB? Well, this is the fun in football world, sometimes it is impossible to make predictions!

Weekend Sum-up: League Cup Semi-finals and more…

Another eventful weekend, so let’s cut the crap and start talking about it!

In Hong Kong League…

League cup semi-finals were played during the weekend, which Kitchee took on rival SCAA on Saturday and TSW Pegasus  played against Citizen on Sunday.

Feature: Eight Reasons Why Parker Should be England Captain

Image via Zimbio

Many different opinions appeared after Pearce appointed Scott Parker as England Captain for the friendly against Netherlands. Some said it was a joke, and some said Gerrard or Lampard or Hart deserves to be the captain more than him. I know in football people always disagree with each other, but hear me out before you disagree on this appointment. Below are 8 reasons why Parker SHOULD be England new captain:

Weekend Sum-up: Chelsea Sacked AVB and more..

Goodbye for real this time.
Image via Daylife

Many things happen in football during weekends, so we decided to have this new ‘Weekend Sum-up’, to summarize things for our readers. Okay, here we go:

In EPL …

TSW Pegasus vs Sham Shui Po: Mckee Scores Hat-trick in Extra Time

We have seen many hat-tricks in football, but hat-trick during extra time, is rare, extremely rare. So when Pegasus player, Jaimes Mckee scored hat-trick during extra time to bring his team into semi-final, the whole stadium was heated up.

Feature: Premier League, The Best in Europe?

Should I say, ‘Farewell, AVB.’?
Image via Daylife

Everyone knows Napoli or AC Milan are not an easy team to play against. So when both Arsenal and Chelsea arrived in Italy, I am pretty sure most of their fans were hoping for a  draw. ‘Just, don’t lose this game.’ was probably what they were thinking. But guess what? Both teams lost their games in the most unacceptable way.

Senior Shield Final: Sun Hei vs SCAA

The crowd at Hong Kong Stadium yesterday.Image by my crappy camera

Yesterday was a match day, and after being away from local football for a couple weeks, we CANNOT miss this final. It is the first final of the season, Senior Shield Final between Sun Hei and SCAA. The game was played in Hong Kong Stadium yesterday, these two teams played a very exciting final despite the cold and windy weather.

Matches to Catch: The European Leagues are Back

Relax, Pep. Just Breathe!Image via Daylife

After some rest, the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League will be back to business this week. With some big teams playing in Europa this season, we are pretty sure both Leagues will be exciting to watch. Let’s see which matches are up this week, that you shouldn’t miss:

Feature: Is England in Trouble?

Image via Zimbio/GettyImages

The departure of Capello had definitely put a lot of people in shock. No matter what the real reason is for him to come to such a decision, WHO should be the new manager is a more important question. With Euro 2012 in 4 months time, this is really a bad timing to get a new manager.

Picture of The Day: Puss on the Pitch

Image via Daylife 

This is rare, huh? To see a cat running round on the pitch. Guess the cat wants to have a taste of football, so it decided to join the players during the Liverpool-Tottenham game. And no one stopped it yesterday, everyone was looking and smiling until it walks to the sideline. Probably they already foresee that would be the most entertaining part of the game.

Bet all Liverpool fans were envy, as it must be everyone’s dream to step on the Anfield grass.

Match To Catch: Blues vs Reds

 
"I want one!"
Image via Daylife

Torres seems determined to end his four months goal drought tonight. Yet, since his last goal was against Swansea, and didn’t manage to score against big or small teams after that. No wonder Chicharito said "Not a chance, Fernando. Not tonight." He had a point there you know. Torres should probably think more about how to stop the Red Devils from scoring than to get a goal himself.

Picture of The Day: Football Fan Gets Creative

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I know it is nothing new to see a fan running on the pitch during a game, or even rush toward a player to give him a hug or whatsoever. But handcuffs himself to the goal, THAT is new! It is also very creative and smart. How is this smart? Because the staff can’t just lift you up and throw you out.

Bridge to Sunderland and more…

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Expecting a Tevez picture? Well, Bridge is the latest confirmed deal so far. He will be on loan to Sunderland for the rest of the season, which I think is a good thing for him. On the other hand, still no news on Tevez’s next stop. Only hours till closing time, and he may choose to remain in City, since he didn’t need to do anything but continue to get his salaries, sound pretty good to me. No?

Our First 3D Football Experience

Before I start, I would love to wish all our readers a Happy Chinese New Year and all the best in Dragon year. =)

Cable TV broadcasted 3D football game for the first time last night, and it was the first ever 3D football match that’s being broadcast in Hong Kong as well. We were all ready at home at 9.15pm to prepare for this big moment. And, of course it didn’t disappoint us. It was an amazing experience and you MUST try it!

Real Madrid vs Barcelona: As Ugly As Usual?

Fouls, yellow cards, red cards, players shouting at each other, pushing each other, and so on, are all nothing new in the El Clasico. So somehow we are all expecting something more than just a 90 minutes football game, whenever Barcelona takes on Real Madrid. There are people who think Barcelona players dive a lot, but there are also people who think Real Madrid’s tackles were ugly. Right or wrong, depends on how you see it.

We understand facing a team like Barcelona, sometimes you do need to do some dirty works to stop them. But to stamp on someone’s hand? I don’t think so. Please behavior yourself, Pepe. That looked really painful.

Feature: What Does Ballon D'or Tell Us?

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Messi won Ballon D’or three times in a row, well a hat-trick in winning this award is really impressive, but when the mighty Ronaldo was unable to achieve this, what does it tell us? Is it because there were no other players better than Messi? Or is it because the world already blinded from other footballing style and only know how to scream Barcelona?  This should probably be called, Football Imperialism.

Gary Neville in Hong Kong

What did we do yesterday? We went to Hong Kong international airport and see who we found?! Gary Neville! He is in Hong Kong for a few days to meet his fans, and we were lucky enough to see him yesterday. Nah, not to interview him, just…like a fan girl. =P

Picture of The Day: Paul Scholes is Back

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The Manchester Derby? The red card? Even the result of the match were all not important enough to catch the headline that day. Why?  Because Paul Scholes is back in action! A shocking name appeared on the team sheet that day and surprised the world. Paul Scholes came out from retirement and will play for Manchester United till the end of this season. No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson is not looking for any new signings during the January transfer window. But what do you think about Paul Scholes back in United? Is he the solution for Man Utd?

Sun Hei vs Pegasus: Winner of Half Season

 
Mong Kok stadium was very busy last week, hosted plenty of big games, including this one on Saturday, JC Sun Hei vs TSW Pegasus.

Home team Sun Hei scored an early goal at just second minute into the game, goal scorer was Gerard. Both teams were testing water and no one managed to score another goal at 1st half, so the scoreline remained 1-0 as it reached half time. However, Sun Hei’s nightmare began at the 2nd half.

Citizen vs SCAA: Some Shocking Moments

It wasn’t a quiet night at the Mong Kok stadium on Friday. Citizen was there to take on South China, and the match ended with a lot of noises.

Carreiro scored at the 3rd minute for Citizen to give them an early lead. Citizen kept pressing throughout first half which gave them plenty of chances. At 32 minute, SCAA Yeo Jeehoon was sent off after receiving his second yellow. Later, Yuto Nakamura managed to scored another goal before the end of the first half. Giving Citizen a two goals lead into half time and SCAA was a man down. It all looked like Citizen had the upper hand, but things started to get complicated when 2nd half began.

Player Thursday: Super Donovan

If you have been waiting for our Player Thursday, sorry for letting you down and kept you waiting. Life has been busy but we have been trying hard to keep on track! Let’s get back to the topic. Yes, Landon Donovan.

Many probably remember him from the 2010 World Cup, not for me but that was the time when he gave me a strong impression. USA is never the top teams in football (men football), but somehow, the team got into last 16 and managed to impress a lot of people. Donovan played a big role in it.

Howard Scored a Goal!

Video via Footytube

The title has said it all. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard scored a goal in the game against Bolton earlier. He took the shot somewhere in front of the goal post, thanks to the wind (or blame the wind), the ball hit the ground once then flew pass Bolton keeper and went right into the back of the net. It was a 102 yards goal. Howard now becomes the 4th goalkeeper in Premier League that scored a goal.

Hong Kong Wins the Cup after Rare Penalty Shootout

Image via hkfa

Although we were unable to follow the team to China, we were supporting them in front of our computers during the game. We are glad that Hong Kong team managed to bring home the trophy after 120 minutes and a rare penalty shootout.