checkerboards):

Jun 21, 2008 06:30

A "checkerboards part2" to signal Croatia's exit from Eurocup08 was inevitable. But i wasn't expecting them to go out this fast. A modest 4th finish couldn't be that hard for them, anw. But no, Thanksgiving didn't come early for the Croats & they carved no turkey.

The whole quarterfinals against Turkey was so damn boring! The Croats did their passes and crosses well enough but Turkey wasn't putting in the effort to put up a good fight. Fell asleep. Until the last 5 minutes where Klasnic put one in, followed by Semih and the penalties..well.

Croatia was damn unlucky. So many chances to score but they just kept missing the net. From the first attempt by Olic you could tell that this just isn't going to be Croatia's day. Srna took 3 freekicks towards goal and all 3 times he didn't hit the back of the net, eventhough the balls were on target. Olic pulled a stunt that made me love his attitude so much more. & Niko Kovac received a ball to his ribs during a freekick when he broke from the wall and ran straight on to the freekick taker.

And the penalties. Modric missed. Rakitic missed. And they've been playing extremely well since the start of Eurocup qualifiers. Ironic. When Rustu blocked Petric's ball (ie the last chance for Croatia to salvage the game), it's like the guillotine going down, the final seal to say that "Yup, it's not meant to be Croatia's."

Fatih Terim & the Turks have some serious luck on their side. 3 back-to-back games where they won cos of last minute comebacks. But they better not play like how they did today when they meet Germany for semis. If not, sure GG. But maybe they're luck will pull them thru to the finals heh. They're turning out to be another Greece04 man. And someone said they're like those creatures in B-grade horror movies. You think they're dead but bloody hell, they just keep coming back.

I won't be seeing the checkerboards go out on the field again. Won't hear their anthem. Won't see Niko Kovac talking to the little UNICEF kids before they walk out onto the field. Won't see Olic chasing down every stray ball upfront. Won't see Modric weaving around the midfield. Won't feel Simunic's presence at the back. Won't see Pranjic crossing the ball to the rightfield. Won't see Srna taking free kicks & corner kicks. Won't see Corluka dominating the right back. Oh and I won't see Bilic celebrating & kissing his assistant coach.

I'll miss their fluid short passes, and how they LOVE to play the ball ON the line. That takes skills and guts. I'll be waiting for WorldCup2010, & I'll be praying that Bilic will take them there. It'll pretty much be the same team plus Eduardo minus the Kovac brothers. I'm gonna miss N. Kovac as captain): But I'll wait.

(& while waiting, maybe I'll watch their recorded matches against England and Germany from time to time.)

I LOVE CROATIA'S EUROCUP08 FIRST-11 A FRIGGING HELL LOT & IM GLAD THEY DIDN'T GO OUT COS OF A SHITTY PERFORMANCE. AM PROUD.

Gains and losses are part of life. Everytime you gain sth, you will lose sth else in return. Like the potential and kinetic energy of a falling object. Haha. Oh the other day I woke up at 6am, thought I had a phys exam & so I rushed to put on my uniform. Wth. & so this last week of hols, I gained loads of good stuff personally, but i lost my favourite soccer-playing nation. Surprisingly heartbroken but let's get on with life, yes?
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