EURO2008

I am sure I am not the only one following the Euro2008. The matches are watched all over the world, some by bleary-eyed fans. I stayed up during the early rounds but settled for the repeat telecast of the quarterfinals.

I was impressed by the never-say-die attitude of the Turks. They scored late goals to win. Terengganu folks would call these goals "buah garrek" (buah maghrib). I guessed when football matches were played in old Terengganu, the matches started at around 5 in the evening and ended very near maghrib time. Hence "buah ggarek". With a proper stadium and floodlights, there are no more "buah garrek" - only surprising late goals.

In a few hours, Spain will play Italy in the last of the quarter-finals. I shall watch that tomorrow. I hope nobody will tell me the results until then.

To me, France was a disappointment. I guessed Thierry Henry could not carry the whole team. Holland was a joy to watch until they met Russia in the quarter-finals. So much for Total Football. I guessed Holland brought too many vans while other people took buses. They brought van Basten, van der Sar, van Nistelrooy, van Persie etc.

Who will be champion? Your guess is as good as mine. Like the fans around Padang Paya Bunga would say at the beginning of each match "Bola tu bulat".

Labels: buah garrek, Euro2008