After a 2-month long hiatus from blogging, it can only be fitting to end it with an article on the very person whose name is the topic for it.

Juan Roman who? you might ask. Juan Roman Riquelme.28 years of age. Wasn't even chosen for the 2002 WorldCup. Former Barcelona player but loaned out and subsequently sold to Villareal after a dismal 1 season..... Now , main playmaker for both the Argentine national team and club team Villareal.

Now if you are one like me who had no inkling whatsover on this magnificient player prior to Villareal's shocking run to the semifinals of the UEFA champions league this season, fret not for it's still not too late to find out about him as the World Cup is still 2 months away.

Having been a loyal Brazilian fan all these years, it's not often you find me raving about a player from Brazil's fiercest rival nation.What more with all the headlines about the living legend Ronaldinho on how he's tearing rigid world-class defences aside like strolls on parks, few players if not none attract my attention nowadays.That is of course until I saw JRR in action for the first time playing for Argentina against England. A match in which the old-school-styled midfield genious totally dominated the flow of the game. However at that time I shamefully wasn't really appreciative of his unique composed and slowstyle of playmaking. Sure newspapers were always there to remind me of his match-winning plays each time he produced his usual excellent brand of playmaking ( which is happening on a frequent basis ).. but I couldn't really be bothered staying up late just to catch his matches on SuperSports.

And then there was the Arsenal match last night.No words can express my admiration for him.Calling him a good player isn't enough justice for a man whose style of play has brought back fond memories of the time when Brazillian greats Zico and Falcao used to capture the imaginations of the people back then. A style of play so lacking recently as increasing emphasis is placed on physical fitness and agility. A style of play I have not seen from any player my entire 17 years from an active player until now.

What Riquelme lacks for in the area of speed , he more than makes up for it with his extraodinary technical skills with the ball.No,he does not try to run defences each time he gets the ball ala Cristiano Ronaldo. He's too cunning for that. Rather, he accesses the entire situation around him while hes on the ball and then makes his moves.He wouldn't have time to do that due to the fast speed of today's game you say? Tell that to the Arsenal defence who has just broken the Champions League record of most number of clean sheets.There wasn't a single instance where an Arsenal player managed to get the ball off him. The only time they managed to make him lose the ball was in fact a foul by Gilberto Silva on him which was missed by the referee ( A blatant foul which also resulted in the shoes of the Argentine great coming off. ) Each time he's with the ball I could never turn off eyes of the tv.

Granted he failed to score the penalty which might have saved Villareal from being eliminated by the undeserving aggregate winners that is Arsenal from the Champions League, but the way he took the penalty again suggests the brilliance of this individual. Being a penalty on the last minute of extra time , and a penalty which will make or break the game , chances are any other individual might have blasted the ball well off target. Riquelme however did not.With enormous and overwhelming pressure on him, he opted wisely to focus on hitting the target rather than trying for precision which more often than not causes great players to totally miss the target. It was really unfortunate that the current German number 1 keeper was also having a brilliant game and all credit should be given to him for saving that penalty.

A picture means more than a thousand words. So heres a link to a hightlights video of him playing against Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEOHwCKLbrE&search=villarreal

Enjoy the sheer beauty of his footballing style whenever you can guys, because there won't be many like him for many years to come.

hello there children,

im back again after a couple of busy weeks of not posting anything here....

i decided this time that instead of arguing and spitting over each other's teams, why not we discuss something mutual such as the January european transfers?

actually i have a ton of arsenal, chelsea and liverpool jokes and criticisms in my mind even right now but as they put it, lets try to keep our minds off "unhealthy jokes".

here are some of the major january european transfers:

1- DJ Campbell from Brentford to Birmingham City

2- Quincy Owusu-Abeyie from Spartak Moscow to Arsenal

3- David Bentley and Sinama Pongolle from Arsenal and Liverpool to Blackburn

4- Robert Earnshaw from West Brom to Norwich

5- Robbie Fowler from Man City to Liverpool (again?)

6- Dean Ashton from Norwich to West Ham

7- Theo Walcott from S'ton to Arsenal

8- Maniche from Dynamo Moscow to Chelsea (Jose is apparently trying to bring the Portuguese starting 11 to Chelsea)

9- Vidic and Evra from Monaco to MAN UNITED

10- Marcus Bent from Everton to Charlton

11- Danny Murphy from Charlton to Spurs

My pick of the bunch is Robert Earnshaw's 3.5 million pound move from West Brom to Norwich. With Dean Ashton's departure, Norwich desperately needed the strike venom up front and Earnshaw is the right man to hopefully lead Norwich back into the Premiership next season. (Im not just saying this because Norwich is partially sponsored by Proton)

hopefully United's new defender, Patrice Evra can provide the cover at the back and return United's glorious defending just like the days of Dennis Irwin and Jaap Stam.

WHAT IS YOUR PICK IN THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW?

LET US KNOW AND WE CAN DISCUSS....

*p/s: i hope the graphic nature of this man utd treble wining team does not hurt Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, City fans in any way. Anyway its not our fault we were too good to win the treble.

Okay this is my first time posting an entry here…… please excuse me cos my English is not as artistic or terrific like mr. francis goh but I'll try my best…..

 I realized "Damn it, today is the classic Manchester Derby. How the hell did I miss the timing?"….. anyway I was anxious to see our new gun Evra play for the first time. I knew the SHITTY (city) fans would give United a tough time at their home ground. I was happy with the line-up. Sir alex played his classic 4-4-2 with rooney playing right behind the lone striker, van the man.

When we missed some early clearcut chances, I thought this would be another long day where eventually the match would end in a draw……. So it took me by surprise when Sinclair scored….. but as we say, "you can NEVER write off Manchester united…". United is so used to scoring late goals……. Anyway there's no use talking about this defeat cos I believe you guys know what followed next.

What I would like to stress out here is that I am really pissed with some assholes who keep on persuading us – he UNITED brothers to quit supporting united n join others. I can tell u that the first time I watched English football bout 10 or 11 years ago it was United playing at home…. Those were the cantona, pallister, irwin and schmeichel days. I fell in love with United ever since and I never ever had the thought of supporting another club.

My brother francis, I really upset with u when u said u ALMOST joined the bandwagon. How could u even entertain the attempt of those idiots who tried to lure u? one good example I would like to point out is Fiorentina….. im sure u guys know fiorentina….. just 3 or 4 years ago, they were declared bankrupt and demoted from Serie A to Serie C2 (equivalent to the conference league in England). Eventhough big names left the club, did the fans turn their back on the club they love? Now they are back in Serie A. could they have done it without the support from the people who love the club? I don't think so. Let me ask you, 3 years ago before the roman empire at Chelsea, when Chelsea were barely fighting for European places, how many Chelsea fans did u meet? Nowadays Chelsea fans are emerging from nowhere….. I hate this kind of glory-seekers…….

Anyway I just want our RED ARMY to stay UNITED and ignore all those critics and concentrate on things to come. Just remember that smart people have smart conversations and smart discussions-not everyone has it , opinions and critics are like assholes- everyone has one……. So all you Chelsea, arsenal, Liverpool, city fans – if you have nothing constructive to say, don't say anything at all…….

To me, its all easy. What I want every season is United to finish above Arsenal in the league table- its as simple as that……. Looks like mr asshole whiner has nothing much to say about united nowadays…. I wonder why…. Before I go, I would like all my red brother to read my little poem to lighten things up a little…..

  If I had the wings of a canary,

                                    And the arse of a cow,

                                    I'll fly over Highbury,   

                               And shit on the bastards below…

  We will never die, we will never die, 
  We will never die, we will never die,
  We'll keep the red flag flying high,
 `Coz Man United will never die.   

This song here is the one song that was being sung steadfastly and never waveringly even though Manchester United were losing 2-1 and on the verge of being knocked out for the first time in the group stages of the Champions league( p/s: The final score was 2-1 to Benfica and Man Utd was knocked out ) last Wednesday against Benfica FC , which ironically was the club that Manchester United legend George Best who just passed on the week before produced 2 of his most famous performances (1 of which helped cement his title as the 5th Beatle ). However what striked me the most was how the Manchester United away fans disappointed as they may be decided the best way to handle the situation was to continue singing the ol' We Will Never Die song till their voices were hoarse. For that I salute and applause them for their unwavering support for their club , the one and only Manchester United .

Well obviously the media lambasted Manchester United's performance and elimination from the Champions League group stages and some even went as far to say Manchester United already weakening empire has definitely crumbled already. Being the gullible fool I am I almost jumped onto the bandwagon along with the masses and nearly quit supporting Manchester United.Note the word ALMOST =) as I am proud to say that as I was on the brink of destroying all ties between me and the first and only club I ever supported the song above came into my head. " We will never die we will never die "......

What made me forget that Manchester United was the first and only club I ever fell in love with? What made me forget all the times I had and definitely cherished as long as I supported Manchester United? Above all , how could I have let elimination from the Champions League make me sleepless and restless when its so obvious its no more the prestigious cup it was before with 2 bogey teams winning the "Most coveted club trophy on earth" ( Porto and Liverpool anyone? ) for the past 2 years?

As disappointed as I am over the defeat , I have come to realise the importance of that loss. Just like life sure sometimes you have your ups but sometimes you will experience downs too. So in the same way if you lose your job theres no reason to end your life like that. Manchester United may lose as many times as they can heck even if they finish bottom of the table they are still the one and only club I have supported , still support and will always support . There is only one Manchester United.

We will never die.