I never liked Pizza. Really.

(Pictures say more than words. Please try to derive which team I was cheering for on Monday morning...mon dieu...First picture shows a Singaporean French (or was it French Singaporean? I think that night, she wasn't really sure herself. Unfortunately she rejected my offer for a jersey swap..Second pic shows the Lady who provided my face painting in the tricolore)

PARTY OVER?

Well, Germany lost against the Mafia (sorry, but I'm still cranky), my favorite French team lost against them as well ('MON DIEU'), Klinsmann decides to head back to California (high praise for him to decide against a whole people just like that)....if it wasn't for the fabulous victory against Portugal, it would have been really depressing right now. My voice is still throaty from all the 'ALLEZ LES BLEUS' screams Monday morning (the match went live here from 2am-4.30am). How nice it was to 'celebrate' with all the French at Chijmes that night..

So what are we doing now? Falling in a Football deprivation depression? Do we really have to switch over to the Tour de France? Naaah. It's only 2 years to the European Championship. In the meantime, we can rediscover Football a la Zizou. You know, whatever HE does MUST be cool and have a reason. I like the way a journalist interpreted the incident in the way that Zidane probably planned this all time long to escape his godlike appreciation after the World Cup...so he can live as a normal person. Yes. Sure...

Find out here and become Anti-Champion as well (thx for the link, Sandy!!)

(We are in a Chinese supermarket. What is different for example on the checkout counter? Well, look closer to find out what is sold here as a lastminute good...no...no sweets for kids, it's more or less for pleasing adults. Yes, right. They sell condoms, lubricants and other helpful utilities just next to the checkout for the rushing customer. Gosh, how often I forgot to put them in my trolley. But thanks to this procedure it will luckily never have to happen again...)

UNIQUELY SINGAPORE

It is nice to be back in this lively, clean and small city state close to the equator. Of course, considering the (I confess unexpected) success of the German team, I would have loved to stay longer and inhale the wonderful atmosphere in Munich. It was not difficult to realise soon that even here, in this remote corner of the world, my home country has made quite an impression. Although the matches were broadcast at the most unconvenient time possible (always around 3am...one basically loses a whole night of sleep, if you don't go to bed at 9, which I can't), some Singaporeans jumped over their shadow and swapped their Business clothes with Football jerseys.

I heard that Singapore even has its own Football League (the S League, S=S'pore). I will not start talking about their performance, since I have no clue and never heard or read ANYTHING about Football in this city. However, 100% of the locals I asked describe their style as 'miserable', which speaks for itself. I'll put it that way: There's probably quite some room for development.

(Asians love to eat chicken! That is one fact. By the way, Singaporeans generally don't seem to like the big chunks of meat like Westerners, but more the thighs and small pieces. That way we will never collide and there's one reason less for war ;-) Well, since chicken meat is widely considered healthy, this company 'New World' here sells a product which supposedly provides you with the best essence of chicken. Whatever that is. It's not meat, but a concentrated liquid that somehow resembles chicken soup..a cocktail of predigested protein, that's already disassembled into amino-acids, I was told. Sounds yummy? It seems to be one of the many 'miracle makers' one can buy here to better the health. No, I did not try it and I have no intention to ;-))

Unbelievable also, how many 'Deutschland'-jerseys, hats and t-shirts could be seen on the days around our matches. And isn't it good for the German soul when my Malaysian friend Yong sends me an sms that reads 'Wow! What a game! Germany above all! So glad you guys won!' Go, go, Germany! Head forward! See you in 2008!

(Another example of the already mentioned 'miracle makers'. According to an article I read, these probiotic drinks (like Yakult or Nestles LC1 in Germany) only have a measurable effect if the digestive system...let's put it mildly...is really not working properly anymore. However, Singaporeans never ever even think about changing their diet. "Let's mix some Chicken Essence and Vitagen instead and pour it over the steak, lah" ;-) Well, at least the advertiser admits that the beautiful healty-looking Lady is a 'MediaCorp Artist'. We all know what THAT means...)

This might after all be the last Football post for a while. The jersey will be carefully washed (why on earth does the original cost 50% more in Germany than in Singapore?) and put away until the next big patriotic occasion comes up. Shame on Adidas who rip off the Germans so badly. Ok, it works. I bought it. But this was the last time. Really. Really...

Maik